Professional Storyteller Cathy Spagnoli will Bring Korean Folktales to Your Students at No Cost
March 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, 2008

Each year, The Korea Society's School Visit Program sponsors authors, musicians, storytellers and other creative professionals to conduct workshops on Korea-related subjects at schools throughout the tri-state area. In 2008, The Korea Society is presenting Cathy Spagnoli, professional storyteller, who will share the folktales of Korea with New York students on March 5, 6, 7, 10 and 11, 2008.

Applications for the program-which will bring Cathy Spagnoli and the magic of Korean folklore to your classroom at no cost to your school- are being taken right now. The format of Spagnoli's programs can be scaled to fi t your needs: from small groups to assembly sized meetings.

Korean folktales are filled with exciting age-appropriate stories of heroes, tricksters, animals and ghosts that can help your students understand the history and culture of Asia. Cathy Spagnoli brings the stories alive with her animated narrative style. Having traveled throughout Korea, and produced a two volume educational recording, Tales of Korea, Spagnoli spins tales that simultaneously enthrall and educate.

Currently scheduled for:

• March 5, 2008 at MS 142 John Philip Sousa School (Bronx, NY)
• March 6, 2008 at PS 81 Thaddeus Stevens School (Brooklyn, NY)
• March 7, 2008 at PS 205Q Alexander Graham Bell School (Bayside, NY)
• March 8, 2008 at McGoldrick Library (Flushing, NY)
• March 10, 2008 at PS 24Q School (Flushing, NY)
• March 11, 2008 at PS 26Q School (Fresh Meadows, NY)
• March 12, 2008 at PS 159Q (Bayside, NY)

January 31, February 1, 2, March 1, 2, 2007 

Storytelling and Korean Folktales

Professional storyteller Cathy Spagnoli visited three schools in the New York area to entertain and educate students with folktales from Korea. Spagnoli started each session with a personal introduction on how she became a storyteller and how she came to be interested in Korean folktales. Multiple sessions were held at each school, ranging from small classes to large assemblies. Programs were conducted at P.S. 32 Elementary School in Flushing (on January 31), East-West International High School in Flushing (on February 1) and Flushing High School (on February 2).

Brush Painting and Calligraphy

Artist and calligrapher Sung-Sook Hong Setton visited four schools in the Half Hollow Hills School District in Long Island, New York, as well as the East-West School of International Studies in Flushing, New York, to introduce students to the art of Korean brush painting and calligraphy.
At her workshops, Setton provided students with Korean rice paper, brushes and ink and taught them about basic Korean brushstroke patterns and the cultural meanings they represented. The students were enthusiastic about the new material, and by the end of the session were able to paint Korean words such as 어머니 (mother) and 아버지 (father).

The program venues and dates were as follows:
East-West School of International Studies          -        November 30, 2006
Sunquam Elementary School                              -         December 14, 2006
Candlewood Middle School                                -         December 18, 2006
Otsego Elementary School                                 -         December 18, 2006
Vanderbilt Elementary School                            -         December 20, 2006

April 4-7, 2006

The Korea Society’s School Visit Program arranges semi-annual visits by authors, musicians, storytellers, dancers and other experts on Korea to primary and secondary schools throughout the greater New York area.

This spring, choreographer In-Young Sohn and her dance group performed a series of traditional Korean dance routines at five schools. Students were taught the basic movements and meanings of traditional Korean dance. The schools visited were: PS 119 and PS 75 in Brooklyn, New York; Martin Van Buren High School and Flushing High School in Queens, New York; and Anna C. Scott Elementary School in Leonia, New Jersey.

Pattie Hart, a teacher at PS 75 whose class took part in the program described it as “ absolutely wonderful.  It was great to see the awed looks on the children's faces as they watched and participated. It was definitely a beautiful cultural experience for all.”

March 2-3, 2006

An award-winning artist and calligrapher, Grace Sunsook Park visited the Anna C. Scott School in Leonia, New Jersey on March 2 and Memorial Junior High School in Whippany, New Jersey on March 3 to conduct workshops on Korean brush painting and calligraphy. At Anna C. Scott School, Park taught 40 second-graders in two sessions and at Memorial Junior High School she taught a total of 160 students in four sessions.

November 15-17, 2004

An award-winning artist and calligrapher, Grace Sunsook Park, visited Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village, Anna C. Scott School in Leonia, NJ and Herricks Middle School in New Hyde Park, NY, November 15–17, 2004 to conduct workshops on brush painting and calligraphy. Park provided the students with Korean rice paper, brushes and ink, and led them in a hands-on exploration of the Korean tradition of painting and calligraphy.