Korea-Sean+Washington



Korea: Background

﻿Korea claims a 5,000+ year history, dating from the country's foundation by Tangun. Its history is full of foreign invaders and various factions vying for power. Korean history is broken down into the following periods: Three Kingdoms (57 B.C. - A.D. 668) Silla (668 - 935) Goryeo (918 -1392) Joseon (1392 - 1910) Japanese Occupation (1910 -1945) Republic of Korea (1945 - present)

Population: Approximately 73 million people currently. Currency: Won Time Zone: KST Official Language: Korean

Korea is split into South and North Korea. The separated is on the border between Russia and China. It was a unified state at one point, but later became divided. This division came into effect in 1948. North Korea became the part that was considered a socialist environment led by Kim Jong-il. However, South Korea, which is officially the Republic of Korea, became a free market. The area also turned into a democratic area. Lastly, South Korea gained a membership in the United Nations, and were considered a developed country.

In Korean mythology there is a story about how the Korean nation was born. The story is that a god named Hwanung came from heaven and transformed a bear into a woman. He married her and she gave birth to a son, Tangun, the founder of Korea. Tangun created the first capital of the Korean nation in 2333 B.C and called it //Joseon-// 'Land of the Morning Calm'. (buzzle.com)

Arts Education in Korea

The focus of the arts in Korea is minimal. The primary subjects of focus in education are Math, Science, Korean, Social Studies and English. The school system in Korea follows a 6-3-3-4 ladder pattern which consists of elementary school (1st to 6th grades), middle school (7th to 9th grades), high school (10th to 12th grades) and junior college, college and university. Elementary school provides six years of compulsory elementary education to children between the ages of 6 and 11. Middle school offers three years of lower secondary education to those aged 12 to 14. High school offers three years of higher secondary education to students aged 15 to 17. High school graduates can choose to apply to a junior college or a college or university to receive higher education.



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">It is easy to see how Korea's view of arts education is reflective upon the culture. Overall, they have a pretty intense schooling process, and they find their education important. However, their focus is towards subjects in which they believe that their students can make good money and earn a living.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">Artist Profile <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Karen O <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: medium;"> Karen Lee Orzolek was born on November 22, 1978 in South Korea. Her mother was Korean and her father was polish. She spent a little bit of time in Korea, but eventually she moved to the United States. She is now known as Karen O, the lead singer of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs band, started in New York. She attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where the band got its start. She is not only noted because of her band, but she is also recognized because of her sense of fashion. Once her band began its quest, she was noted because of her behavior during her live performances.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: medium;"> media type="file" key="Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps.mp3" width="264" height="22" //Maps//, released in 2004 is one of the most successful songs made by the band (as well as a personal favorite song of mine). media type="youtube" key="_YweT8jvGXI" height="346" width="432" align="center" <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">In 2006 she directed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs video for //Cheated Hearts//. This video also allow you to see the crazy sense of style in dress and performance that Karen O offers her fans. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">More recently, Karen O has composed the complete soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are. Ironically, her ex-boyfriend Spike Jonze directed the film.

<span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Successful Korean Arts Organization  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 27px;">The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">NCKTPA was founded in 1951. It is the primary institution of learning for Korean traditional music. It is located in Seoul, South Korea. NCKTPA "traces its roots all the way back to the Eumseongseo, the Silla Dynasty's Royal Institute of Music, over fourteen hundreds years ago." (NCKTPA website ) ﻿The primary focus of the organization is to be able to present the community with the same traditional styles of art and performance that was seen back in the day.


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">Programs: **

__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">Class for Foreigners __ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;"> The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts provides Korean traditional music classes for foreigners who live in Korea to help them to understand traditional culture through live experiences. The entire program is conducted in Korean and English by professional performers of NCKTPA and lecturers with experiences.

__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Seminars __ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">In addition to the class for the foreigners, the organization also hold seminars for the general public. These seminars discuss ways that the community can get involvedas well as different ways that the organization will attempt to implicate its way into the schools.

<span style="background-color: #ff0000; color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">Teacher Training Programs

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">Korea is very specific with their training programs. Although I couldn't find tons of information on their teacher requirements, I did figure out that at least a B.A is required. They separate training depending on what kind of teacher someone wants to be. For instance, there is post-elementary, elementary, middle school, and high school which is split into vocational and and post-secondary education. Since high school is not required like middle school is, the training isn't as significant for high school teachers than it is for middle school teachers and elementary school. The teachers are taught to make their teaching "Teacher Centered". This means that the classroom is set up to be taught one way by the student, and the student learns exactly as taught. This can be seen in math. The teachers may teach a math problem one way, and its the way that is required to learn. Therefore, you can see how they set up their classrooms to make things easier for the teachers rather than students.

<span style="background-color: #000000; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px; line-height: 19px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-align: center;"> Arts Funding

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px; line-height: 19px;">﻿In this case, I want to talk about the lack of funding that Korea get for the arts. As I have stated before, they are focused heavily on Math and Science. Therefore, a lot of the money that they do have goes towards making sure that math and science based programs are heavily funded like they want them. This puts the arts on the back-burner because the people and organizations that are interested in the arts are not getting the type of money that they need. This causes them to have to raise money on their own in various ways. That can go anywhere from getting sponsored to fundraising programs. The arts are not looked at the way that they should be in my opinion.

<span style="background-color: #0000ff; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px; line-height: 19px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; text-align: center;">Conclusion <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">I have discovered so much about Korea and their education system that is so different than what we see here in the United States. Comparing to my personal experience with the arts, it is a different world. They are focused on math and science. However in the U.S studies are pretty broad and people have the freedom to study what they want. As a matter of fact, majority of my education had some type of the arts incorporated into them. I find it very suprising and interesting that the classes are set up to be taught one way. I think that the classes should be more organic, allowing the teachers to be able to teach the way that they want, which can also allow for a different connection with each student. In the end, I enjoyed researching this education system, however I am definitely glad that I had the opportunity to go to school with the arts incorporated. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16px;">

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18px;">Sources [|asianinfo.org] <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|Buzzle] <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; cursor: pointer; padding-right: 10px;">[|Edunet]

<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Google Images] <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;">[|Google Translate] [|IMDB]

<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px;">[|KERIS]

[|MOST] [|Youtube] [|Yeah Yeah Yeah's official site] [|Wikipedia (just for additional backup information)]

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