Workshop 1: ORIENTATION
November 13, 2002

New York, NY
An orientation workshop was held to kick off Project Bridge 2002-03. Meeting each other for the first time, the participants introduced themselves to one another through a "show and tell" involving objects of special significance in their lives. Most of the objects had a unique cultural significance for them.
      After the introductions, the program coordinators reviewed the expectations and commitments of the program and worked with the participants to establish ground rules. The group then exercised their creative capacities by designing maps of their lives and using them to tell the stories of their lives by noting key influences that define who they are and who they would like to become. They presented their maps to each other, explaining the meanings of the different symbols and thereby conveying the story of themselves to each other. While each participant presented her/his life map, all the others wrote down one word that they felt best described the presenter. These words were then given to the presenter, who used the words to compose a poem about him/herself. The mapping activity not only gave the students the opportunity to "flex their creative muscles," it also provided the group with an enjoyable means of getting to know one another better, a particularly important feature at the early stage of the program.

Pasadena, CA
A welcoming reception and orientation session was held at the Arirang Restaurant in Pasadena for the newly selected Project Bridge 2002-03 participants from the Los Angeles area. The program was hosted by Mr. Spencer Kim, chairman of the CBOL Corporation and a member of the board of directors of The Korea Society, on behalf of the Pacific Century Institute. Mr. Hosei Maruyama, who was a group leader for the Project Bridge 2001-02 program, also attended the session.
      Mr. Kim opened the session with an informal presentation on the history and objectives of the Project Bridge program. He also spoke about the overall goals of The Korea Society's Intercultural Outreach Program (ICOP), and stressed the continuing need for efforts aimed at promoting greater understanding among Americans of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Following Mr. Kim's presentation, the participants were invited to introduce themselves to one another. The evening ended with a presentation by Mr. Maruyama highlighting the experiences and insights he had gained from his involvement in the program.

Workshop 2: SAIGU - A CASE STUDY
December 11, 2002, New York, NY

Project Bridge participants met at The Korea Society to learn about and discuss Saigu, the L.A. Incident that began on April 29, 1992. The workshop began with a screening of the documentary Sa-I-gu by Dai Sil Kim-Gibson. The film presents interviews with Korean immigrant women directly affected by the uprising. David Ryu, special project coordinator of the 4.29 Center, facilitated the remainder of the workshop. Ryu began by discussing the roots of the conflict among the communities involved in the uprising. He then gave the participants the opportunity to participate in role-play scenarios, which illustrated the friction between Korean merchants and Black and Latino consumers at that time. Ryu rounded out the workshop by identifying the ways the 4.29 Center and other organizations are attempting to address the issues at the root of Saigu. On an individual level, he encouraged the participants to be proactive, not just reactive, in addressing the issues raised.

Because the previous workshop on Saigu raised many complex questions, Project Bridge participants met to review and further expand on the issues that sparked the L.A. Incident. This workshop focused primarily on group discussion and hands-on activities to delve deeper into the fundamental issues at hand, such as stereotypes, racism and interracial relations in American society.

Project Bridge met at the Lotus Multi-Cultural Music and Dance Studio in New York City to learn the Sogo Ch'um, a small drum folk dance traditionally performed by farmers. Song Hee Lee, a long-time performer and instructor of traditional Korean dance, facilitated the energetic workshop, leading the students step-by-step through the elements of the choreography. By the end of the lesson, the students were able to perform a short piece, interspersed with many moments of laughter.

Project Bridge headed out to the YMCA Camp Bernie in Port Murray, New Jersey for a retreat that focused intensively on Korea-its culture, history and contemporary issues-while leaving time for everyone to have fun and become better acquainted with each other. During the first night of the weekend, the participants played ice-breaker games and reviewed the expectations and guidelines for the upcoming study tour to Korea. The majority of the weekend was spent in workshops that covered various areas of Korean culture, history and society. Ms. Shin-Hark Suk, an instructor of Korean at Queens College and The Korea Society, taught the basics of the Korean language, including the alphabet. Ms. Joy Kim, a Ph.D. candidate in East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia University, facilitated a discussion on modern Korean history, a conversation that merged with a more specific focus on the current state of relations among South Korea, North Korea and the United States. While the remaining workshops focusing on etiquette, food culture and the education system were lead by the coordinators and group leader, the students also gave presentations on topics such as Korean arts, family structure, and Japanese colonization and the issue of "comfort women." After this grueling day of learning, the students were rewarded with a viewing of the Korean blockbuster, Joint Security Area (JSA), as well as outdoor activities, such as ice skating and snow tubing.

Frederick F. Carriere, executive director and vice president of The Korea Society, led an informal workshop on the history of Korea. The workshop centered around three main points: Korea possesses a very complex and ancient history; Korea was heavily influenced by interaction with neighboring countries; and Korea is still developing today. The workshop concluded with a succession of maps showing how Korea has changed geographically since the time of Ancient Choson, the first Korean state.

Filmmaker J.T. Takagi screened her documentary, Homes Apart, in a workshop on North Korea/South Korea relations. Focusing on separated families on both sides of the 38th parallel, Homes Apart gave a more humanitarian and personal perspective on the highly politicized issue of relations between the two countries. Rather than concentrating on the tension existing between North and South Korea, Homes Apart emphasized the shared history and heritage of the people. The workshop ended with an active discussion on the possibility of Korean unification.

During a Project Bridge workshop, filmmaker Yunah Hong facilitated a screening and discussion of her documentary film, Between the Lines: Asian American Women's Poetry, comprised of interviews with and readings by Asian American women poets. Hong briefly introduced herself and her film, stating that she wanted to explore the ways in which these women's life experiences were reflected in their work and how the written word could be translated into her medium of film. Hong also led the students through a reading of several of the poems presented in the film.

An information session was held at The Korea Society for the parents of the Project Bridge student participants. As in past years, the session started with a brief overview of the Project Bridge program by Frederick F. Carriere, executive director and vice president of The Korea Society. HanNa Kim and Naomi Paik, co-coordinators of Project Bridge, reviewed various aspects of the trip, including logistics and the study tour itinerary, as well as rules and responsibilities. The Q&A session was extremely active this year as many parents were concerned about the SARS virus in the Asia region. All the parents were relieved to hear that no SARS cases had been reported in Korea and the risk of contracting the virus in Korea was minimal.