June 19 - July 5, 2008
Twenty American educators, led by Yong Jin Choi, senior director of Korean studies at The Korea Society, attended the 20th annual Summer Fellowship in Korean studies from June 19 to July 5 in Korea. The fellows participated in intensive morning workshops in Korean history, cinema, art, language, politics, culture, society and education at Korea University for the first week of the program. Following the morning sessions, afternoon field trips were held to points of interest around Seoul, including Daeil Foreign Language High School, the Insadong District, Ch'angdŏk Palace and the Samsung Museum of Art. From June 25 to June 30, the fellows traveled to southern Korea, visiting notable sites such as Heinsa near Taegu, Pulguksa and Sŏkkuram Grotto, and Andong-Haeho Folk Village. They also participated in a hands-on workshop in metal-type printing at the Ch'ŏngju Early Printing Museum.
After returning to the U.S., summer fellow Richard Sandler wrote:
[The 2008 Summer Fellowship in Korean Studies] was one of the most important experiences in my 25-year training as an educator. I found the lectures, field trips and day-to-day experiences invaluable...Both the lectures and traveling gave an incredible boost to my performance in the classroom. I went from someone who had a vague sense of Korean history and culture to someone with a hunger for more information about Korea...Most importantly, I have included two new novels, a collection of poetry and two films that I discovered while involved in the program to my Asian Literature in Translation honors class...My classroom and my appreciation of such a vital country were immensely enhanced by [this] experience.
2008 Summer Fellowship Participants
Robert James Bloomhuff
Evergreen Junior High School
Redmond, WA
Barbara Boyd
Rosemont High School
Sacramento, CA
Molly Brauhn
West Port High School
Ocala, FL
Albert Cho
Newton North High School
Newtonville, MA
John Eret
Centennial High School
Circle Pines, MN
Diane Rowen Garmire
Libby Center, Spokane Public Schools
Spokane, WA
Sydele E. Golston
National Council for the Social Studies
Silver Spring, MD
V. Delene Goode
East High School
Rochester, NY
Mona E. Grib
Romig Middle School
Anchorage, AK
Dixie Johnson Grupe
Columbia Public Schools
University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO
Jason Ho
North Hollywood High School
North Hollywood, CA
Kimberlee Johnsen
Portsmouth High School
Portsmouth, RI
Irving Kagan
Hunter College High School
New York, NY
Noah Lawrence
World History Hinsdale Central High School
Hinsdale, IL
William D. Linser
Robinswood High School
Bellevue, WA
Heather Longstreth
Linden Middle School
Linden MI
Richard Lyle Sandler
John Burroughs School
Saint Louis, MO
Michael Smith
Henrico High School
Richmond, VA
Joanne L. Wetzl
South Fork High School
Stuart, FL
Kevin Witte
Kearney High School
Kearney, NE