| October 17- 29, 2009
This year's Fall Fellowship selected nine participants to travel to Korea from October 17 through 29. The first stop upon arriving in Seoul was the sisupje (guest house) at the Academy of Korean Studies where the fellows stayed overnight and enjoyed dinner and conversation with Mark Peterson, professor of Korean studies at Brigham Young University. During the first few days, the group spent their mornings attending lectures given by some of the best scholars in Korea. The lectures included "The Historic Villages of Korea and Hanok," by Dr. Hong Hee Jeon, professor of Architecture at Seoul National University, and "Insights into Contemporary Korea," by Dr. Choong Soon Kim, president of Korea Digital University. In the afternoons, the fellows traveled to notable sites, such as Seoul National Museum and Kyŏngbok Palace. Following their exploration of Seoul, the group embarked on a seven-day tour of major cultural and historical sites throughout the southern part of the country, starting with Ch'ŏngju and its Early Printing Museum. For the next few days, the participants learned about Korean Buddhism through a visit to Haeinsa and an extraordinary overnight stay at the Unmunsa convent outside Taegu. The temple stay gave the fellows rare insight into Buddhism and its impact on Korea. A visit to Yangdong Historic Village helped the participants understand the lasting influence of Confucian values and engaged them in questions of how to incorporate Confucian scholarship into American social-studies curricula. Following a visit to the Sŏkkuram Grotto and Pulguksa in Kyŏngju, the fellows climbed Namsan. The fellows concluded the trip by returning to Seoul to visit the Leeum Museum and enjoy a modern dance performance by the Sohn In-Young Dance Group at the Art Center.
Fall fellow Jennifer Oldstone-Moore shared her reflections on the program:
“The Fall fellowship is a smart and effective way to bring people who teach and publish up to speed on Korea's culture, politics, economics, and history. Lectures (delivered both in the classroom and on the bus) and field trips were equally valuable to me. Dear to my heart are the visits to Unmunsa and Yangdong... My own understanding of Korean culture and history has been quite transformed. I do not think of it as derivative, or as “the place in between.” I can now see Korea as an independent subject and I am confident that I can teach it as such, not needing the crutch of my familiarity with China and Japan to situate my information any more. I'm grateful to all of you for giving me the opportunity and the tools to make Korean religion, culture, and history something I look forward to teaching."
Fellow Maya Lotz also shared her excitement upon returning from the trip:
“Nearly every activity of the Fellowship was worthwhile and memorable. Lectures were relevant and engaging. Field trips were varied, comprehensive, and fun! Learning about ancient history (at temples, museums, and archeological sites) at the same time as we were experiencing avant-garde Korea (at contemporary dance performances and modern art installations) was a fascinating juxtaposition that helped put Korea's dynamic culture into perspective.”
Fall 2009 Fellowship Participants
Elizabeth Carpentiere
Cobblestone Publishing
Peterborough, NH
Kyung Sun Cho
California State University, Fullerton
Fullerton, CA
Elizabeth W. Harris
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Austin, TX
Andrea Maya Lotz
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Orlando, FL
Lorraine Murray
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
Chicago, IL
Jennifer Oldstone-Moore
Wittenberg University
Springfield, OH
Christian E. Peterson
University of Hawai’i at Manoa
Honolulu, HI
Nancy Rogier
Teachers' Curriculum Institute
Palo Alto, CA
Rachel Winter
Pearson Education
Upper Saddle River, NJ |
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June 24 - July 10, 2009
Twenty American educators, led by Yong Jin Choi, senior director of Korean studies at The Korea Society, attended the 2009 Summer Fellowship in Korean studies from June 24 to July 10 in Korea. During the first week of the program, the fellows participated in a series of intensive morning workshops held at Yonsei University on topics such as Korean history, culture, education, art, language, and politics. Yonsei served as a springboard for the group's exploration of Seoul and their growing understanding of Korean culture. After morning lectures, the fellows decamped for afternoon field trips to points of interest around Seoul, including the Sangdo Meditation Center, Chong Wa Dae (the Korean Presidential residence), Ch'angdŏk Palace, Insadong, Koyang Foreign Language High School, the DMZ, and the National Museum. From July 3 to July 6, the fellows traveled throughout southern Korea, visiting historical sites such as Suwon Hwasong Fortress, Ch'ŏngju Early Printing Museum, Haeinsa, Kyŏngju National Museum, Sŏkkuram Grotto, and Pulguksa. On July 8, the group was led by docent Mark Peterson, professor of Korean studies at Brigham Young University, to Kyŏngbok Palace and SungKyunKwan, a Confucian Academy during the Chosŏn period. The fellows learned about the Confucian tradition and its legacy. On July 9, their last night in Korea, the fellows participated in a farewell dinner and closing ceremony.
Summer fellow Brian Hyland shared his reflections upon returning from the fellowship trip: “The summer fellowship in Korean Studies was an intense experience that profoundly affected me on many levels. I reveled in the constant barrage of sensations—new sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile experiences that made each day an adventure. The reading list which we each received before departure will become an invaluable guide over the next several months as I process all of the information and integrate the experiences into my professional life as a teacher. I owe an immeasurable debt to the Korea Society for choosing me as one of its twenty educators for the 2009 Summer Fellowship in Korean Studies. It was an honor to be chosen for such a great adventure. I owe thanks as well to the Korea Foundation and the Freeman Foundation for their overwhelmingly generous financial and logistical support that made the fellowship possible.”
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| April 7-19, 2009
The 2009 Spring Fellowship in Korean Studies took place from April 7 through 19 in Korea. A group of nine American educators—composed of classroom teachers, social studies coordinators, specialists from state departments of education, university professors and a history project site director—participated in the program. Upon arriving in Seoul, the group's first stop was the Academy of Korean Studies. The Academy, which housed the fellows in its sisupje (guest house), served as a gateway for the group's exploration of Seoul as well as its understanding of Korean culture. During the first three days of the trip, the participants alternated between on-campus lectures, given by some of the most renowned professors in Korea on topics ranging from current events in Korea to the history of the Koryŏ Kingdom, and field trips to locations in downtown Seoul, including the National Museum of Korea and Kyŏngbok Palace. The fellows also took a day trip to visit Suri Middle School to learn about the Korean education system firsthand. The fellows then traveled beyond the capital to visit historical, cultural, and religious sites throughout the rest of the country. On April 12, the group left for Ch'ŏngju where the fellows visited the Early Printing Museum, as well as to the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute in Taejŏn. A visit to Haeinsa marked the highlight of the program as the participants were allowed to participate in traditional Buddhist ceremonies. On April 15, the fellows visited Yangdong Village, a historic village that demonstrates how Koreans lived during the Chosŏn period, and discussed it with the clan elder. The group spent the last few days touring around historical sites in Kyŏngju, including Najŏng, Onung, Aryŏngjung, and Hwangnyongsa, as well as the famous Sŏkkuram Grotto and Pulguksa. On the last day of the group's stay in Kyŏngju, the fellows climbed Namsan and returned to Seoul for a farewell dinner. The group departed for America on April 19.
Fellow Jennifer A. Suker, an English teacher at Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in New York, shared the following reflection on the visit to Yangdong Village:
"This experience was very fascinating; the chance to sit down in the male quarter of a Confucian elder's house, as a woman, was a rare one indeed. The village elder...spoke about Neo-Confucianism, explaining how, inspired by Buddhism and Taoism, it deals with cosmological issues without being theistic. When asked if everyone in Korea is Confucian, he answered in the affirmative."
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