Category: One-day Conferences

The 2009 Spring conference brought thirty-four K-12 instructors together for a day of lesson plan instruction based on Korean art and folktales. The first session was led by Jin Young Choi who spoke to the recurring theme of filial piety in Korean folktales as well as the symbolic ties of the dragon, tiger, turtle and phoenix within society. Participants were then introduced to the four basic brush styles of Korean calligraphy by painter Grace Park. Participants were then given the chance to create their own renditions of common Korean themes including bamboos, orchids and dragonflies. Towards the end of the session, the teachers were educated on the the Metropolitan Museum’s exhibit Art of the Korean Renaissance, 1400-1600 by curator Grace Park. Each instructor was given a copy of the instruction lesson plan guidebook Introducing Korea Through Art and Folktales which was co-authored by Cathy Spagnoli and Anne Drillick.

June 5, 2008

A group of forty-eight instructors participated in the Spring conference led by Professor John Goulde, Professor of Religion at Sweet Briar College and retired Professor Marjorie Bingham of Hamline University. The day opened with a lecture on Neo-Confucianism’s origins which were ushered in by the Chinese philosopher Zhu Xi of the Song Dynasty. The second half of the conference shifted the focus towards Professor Bingham’s new curricula focusing on Neo-Confucianism in China, Japan and Korea from the 1300s to the present day. The seminar concluded with a screening of Im Kwon-taek’s film Festival followed by a discussion of the day’s materials and plans for future implementation.