Sixteen New York City teachers attended an intensive, five-day course on Korean history, religion, literature, film, politics, language, and pop culture at The Korea Society. The goal of this in-service course was to expose educators to Korea and provide them with a framework for bringing this knowledge into the classroom. All teachers successfully completed the course assignments and were awarded 3 credits from the NYC Department of Education’s After School Professional Development Program.
Gari Ledyard, Sejong Professor of Korean Studies (Emeritus) at Columbia University, presented a rich overview of Korean history. Daniel Levine, Vice President of Media & Communications at The Korea Society, demonstrated the educational resources available on The Korea Society’s website. John Goulde, Director of the Asian studies program at Sweet Briar College, explained the religious and philosophical beliefs that shaped modern Koreans' worldview, and screened the award-winning film Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring. Angela Cleveland, a middle-school guidance counselor, led a fun-filled workshop on strategies for teaching about Korea. Shin-hark Suk, a former Korean-language instructor at Queens Community College and The Korea Society, introduced the teachers to written and spoken Korean. Jinyoung Kim, Gallery Director of The Korea Society, reflected on the Korean War exhibition on display. Mark C. Minton, President of The Korea Society, spoke about Korea's division, its role in the Cold War and current inter-Korean politics in his lecture, “Two Koreas: Crisis and Cooperation.” Mark Peterson, Professor of Korean studies at Brigham Young University, lectured on classical Korean literature and held a sijo writing workshop. Hyangsoon Yi, Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Georgia, introduced teachers to Korean pop culture. Gail Ludwig, Professor of Geography at the University of Missouri-Columbia, conducted a Korean geography workshop. Patricia Rosof, Adjunct Instructor of History at St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, New York, managed multiple workshops for lesson planning and differentiated instruction for History. Participants were also treated to a traditional Korean buffet lunch.