Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Captain Corea]

I talk to my fair share of Korean adults everyday, and I am constantly surprised by the news events they miss. Sometimes, they have an impressive interest in a subject that surprises me, but very often I'll start discussing something in the news and will be met with blank stares.

Recently I was talking to someone about the whole 'saga' in Madagascar, and they had no idea about any of it.

Does anyone else have any examples? (and no, the fact that your middle school students don't read the paper does not count).

[Tjames426]

Current events are neat to teach children about the world and Social Studies.

Recently...

1. There was a news article in the Korean press about the finding of the last Korean Emperor's official stamp chop. It was shaped like a golden turtle. All the students were very proud of it. They wondered where it was and etc... .

2. Last week or so, an unexploded Korean war bomb was found in a School in Korea. Apparently. construction workers were digging or moving some stuff to expand or something. The students gasped and were amazed at it. It gave me the opportunity to talk about Europe and the findings of "graves" and "bombs" occasionally there.

3. Occasionally, I show articles or talk about the lack of rights children have in other countries around the world. Some children do not have the right to education, for example. Some children are forced into marriage before the age of 16. Some children do not have the right to "choose" their belief system.

What I try is show how blessed my students are that they live in a country like South Korea. A country that has freedoms because people fought for them from 1950 - 1952.

[Kurtz]

Can't say I speak to too many Korean adults apart from my co-workers.

The few I do speak to seem quite ignorant about global news unless Koreans are involved. The killing of the Koreans in Yemen they knew about, also a Korean got killed in NZ a couple of years ago which I got reminded of.

As a side note, I saw that recent Hollywood car movie Fast and Furious with some teachers and when it was mentioned in the film that one of the bad guys was a Korean, they gasped in horror, what an embarrassment!

My 53 year old co-worker thinks that the Sikh religion (as they wear turbans) are responsible for all the Muslim bombings, but I guess there are the same ignorant people all over the world.

[ducati]