Korean Job Discussion Forums

[applesandshanana]

This seemed the most appropriate forum for my question, although its not necessarily current.

I'm planning on teaching in Korea next summer, but right now I teach high school social studies in the states. One of the first things I'll touch on with my 11th graders is the Korean War. With all the Korea-thinking I've been doing lately, I started wondering how the Korean perspective of the war differs from the American. The textbook we use gives a pathetic three pages to the conflict, which is more about MacArthur being fired than the situation itself.

How is the war seen there? Is it brought up at all in your classes?

[riverboy]

You may be in for anunpleasant surprise. Most of ytour stundent will not even understand what you are talking about. I suggest you think about teaching basinc question and answers. Such as; "I am a....","It is a.....", "I like...," and the ever favourite," I'M FINE THANK YOU. AND YOU?"

[applesandshanana]

No, no... I don't plan on talking about it with my students in Korea, I just wanted to have my American students see the Korean perspective of the war. I was wondering if it was something that was ever mentioned by English speaking Koreans or in general.

[Harpeau]

Most Korean youth seem to have a very distorted view of the war. There seems to be a tendency of exaggerating what Korea's role was and minimizing what the UN's role was. It's very distorted.

In addition, there is a sense that Korea was a victim of various nations that planned to split it up against its own will. They have some weird crap hung up spouting fictional crap at the War Museum. It's quite sad, really.

Finally, be aware that many of the school teachers in Korea teach an anti-American rhetoric to the kids. Quite a distortion of "reality".

[thepeel]

They believe that America purposefully split the Koreas, as if they stood united they would ultimately challenge American hegemony. This, not because the Koreans have such a proud history of accomplishments (or, a history of accomplishing things) but because their racial superiority and purity vis a vis the Americans necessarily makes it so.

Their racial narrative has elements of manifest destiny, and their history of the war reflects this.

[Alias]

I've always wondered why there isn't more anti-Chinese rhetoric with regards to the war? Afterall if China did not enter the war the Korean peninsula would be united today.

[Harpeau]

[thepeel]

[The Perfect Cup of Coffee]

I wish I had the time to go through and translate a middle-school / high-school social studies textbook from South Korea, North Korea, China, and Japan. now THAT would be an educating experience. Especially if you put competing descriptions of the same events side-by-side.

A description of the Korean War might look like this:

ROK - We almost won but the foreigners conspired together and stopped us.
DPRK - We almost won but the Yanks, being deceitful devils cheated and stopped us from re-uniting the peninsula
China - We defended our Socialist neighbor heroically and never lost a battle.
Japan - Those trouble-making Koreans were fighting each again. Why don't they like us? Don't they remember our enlightening modernization program?

[koon_taung_daeng]

[Kuros]

Applesandbanana,

I don't think you'll hear too many dissenting views from what's come before my post at this point. Many Koreans have a distorted view of their history, but I want to impress that there is a huge division between the older generation, the ones who actually went through the hard times, and the younger generations. Most Koreans who lived through that time tend to side with the UN forces, most tellingly the veterans who fought alongside UN troops.

A good illustration of the modern sentiment towards the Korean War is contained in the Korean movieWelcome to Dongmakgol. Its a good representation of the modern Korean desire for re-unification and their take on the futility of the war that avoids a directly anti-American vein (although there is subtle anti-Americanism at play).

[Ya-ta Boy]

Korea's modern history goes something like this:

* The last Chosun king was a good man. The last queen, who resisted modernization, is a heroine because she was assassinated by the Japanese troops.

* The Americans betrayed Korea when TR failed to save Korea from Japanese occupation.

* The Koreans struggled heroically against the Japanese occupation which ended in a Korean victory, coincidentally at the end of World War II.

* The Americans betrayed Korea again by intervening against their independence and dividing the country in 1945. (The presence of Soviet troops in the north are mysteriously missing in this scenario.)

* The Americans put corrupt collaborators into power and forced Korean women into prostitution for the first time in Korea's history.

* The first president, Rhee, was a cruel corrupt despot. It is unclear if he ordered troops across the border in June 1950 or not, provoking the Korean War.

* The Americans intervened in Korea's civil war, committed a series of atrocities and prevented the unification of the country.

* Some add: The Americans failed to protect Korea by nuking Beijing when they had the chance.

* The statue of MacArthur in Incheon should be removed because it is an embarrassing memorial to yet another foreign invasion of Korea.

* South Korea then modernized in the Miracle on the Han, doing in a couple of decades what it took Westerners more than a century to do.

*In a heroic struggle against the American governments wishes, Korea brought down the military dictatorships.

* All was achieved just in time for the 'most important event of the 20th Century'--the '88 Seoul Olympics.

[Mr Crowley]

* South Korea then modernized in the Miracle on the Han, doing in a couple of decades what it took Westerners more than a century to do.

Great post Yata!!! Do you think Koreans REALLY believe this ?

[Saxiif]

Most Koreans I've talked to don't really know/care all that much about the Korean War, most don't know what years it took place in etc. Much more historical emphasis on the Japanese occupation...

[Ya-ta Boy]