EAK170 Korea: Its culture & heritage                                                         Spring 2007   

Call Number 8495 / 3 credits                                                                 

Professor:  Dr. Andrew Sangpil Byon  

 

Assistant Professor

East Asian Studies Dept. – HU 244

State University of New York at Albany

Albany, NY 12222

E-mail: abyon@albany.edu

(518) 442-2597 (voice)

(518) 442-4118 (fax)

http://www.albany.edu/eas/byon.html

Office Hour: MW 245-400 or by an appointment

Class meeting time & location: MWF 140pm – 235pm  HU128

 

 

Characteristics of all General Education Courses

  1. General Education courses offer introductions to the central topics of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields.
  2. General Education courses offer explicit rather than tacit understandings of the procedures, practices, methodology and fundamental assumptions of disciplines and interdisciplinary fields.
  3. General Education courses recognize multiple perspectives on the subject matter.
  4. General Education courses emphasize active learning in an engaged environment that enables students to be producers as well as consumers of knowledge.
  5. General Education courses promote critical inquiry into the assumptions, goals, and methods of various fields of academic study; they aim to develop the interpretive, analytic, and evaluative competencies characteristic of critical thinking.

 

Learning Objectives for General Education Regions Beyond Europe Courses

Courses in the General Education category of Regions Beyond Europe enable students to demonstrate:

  1. knowledge of the distinctive features (e.g. history, institutions, economies, societies, cultures) of one region beyond Europe or European North America
  2. an understanding of the region from the perspective of its people(s)
  3. an ability to analyze and contextualize cultural and historical materials relevant to the region
  4. an ability to locate and identify distinctive geographical features of the region

 

 

1. Course Objectives:

 

This is a survey course that is designed to introduce students to important elements of Korean culture. This course aims to identify a unique pattern of cultural construction of Korea in the major aspects of Korea's pre-modern and modern history, language, literature, art, and philosophy/religion.  Introducing the fundamentals of Korean culture in interdisciplinary and comparative approaches, this course also attempts to discuss contrasts between American and Korean cultural patterns and expectations.  Films, videos, and other multimedia materials will be used in conjunction with lectures and class discussions to promote students' understanding of the basics of Korean culture and heritage.

 

2. Required Textbooks (available at Campus bookstore)

1.       Cumings, Bruce (2005). Korea’s Place in the Sun. NY: W. W. Norton Co. ISBN: 0-393-31681-5 (available at Campus bookstore)

2.       Korean Overseas Culture and Information Service. A Guide to Korean Cultural             Heritage.  Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International Co. ISBN: 1-56591-213-6 (available at Campus bookstore)

3.       A Course Reader for EAK170, (available at Shipmate, Stuyvesant Plaza, 458-7758)

 

3. Important Class Policies

  1. This course is lecture-intensive. The reading is meant to be supplemental, not the core of course material. Therefore, attendance is essential.
  2. Attendance will be taken every class and students are expected to attend class regularly unless extenuating circumstances prevent it. Attendance and punctuality is included in your participation score. Attendance check will be strictly enforced; extremely low attendance may further lower your final grade, unless a written proof of inevitable circumstance is provided;  Each absence beyond three will result in a reduction of the student’s final letter grade by one level (A becomes A-), and this continues for each successive absence as well. Tardiness is also not acceptable and considered inappropriate behavior in a university classroom. Three repeated lateness will be counted as an absence.
  3. Questions and comments are welcome at all times.
  4. No make-up quizzes or exams (either take-home or in-class) are given, unless notified in advance of a legitimate reason.
  5. Please check the important dates and deadlines, weekly and daily schedules, reading and other assignments.

 

4. Testing and Grading:

 

Both the mid-term exam and the final exam will consist of fill-in-the-blank & short-answer questions. In addition to the exams, students have to write one 1500-word paper (4 to 5 pages), which they have to submit for a grade (15% of your course grade) by the end of semester.

 

Grading will be based on the following criteria:

            Homework Assignments:           15%

            5-page Paper:                           15%

            Mid-term Exam:                        25%

            Final Exam:                               40%

            Film Reaction Papers:                5%

 

This syllabus is a non‑negotiable contract. I agree to teach the topics listed below, and to grade you on the criteria listed above. I consider a grade of "Incomplete" to be for emergencies (death in the family, extreme illness, etc.), not for students who fail to plan ahead. I do not curve grades.  I do not give extra credit assignments. My grading scale is as follows: 93-100%=A; 90-92.9%=A-; 87-89%=B+; 83-86%=B; 80-82%=B-; 77-79%=C+; 73-76%=C; 70-72%=C-; 67-69%=D+; 63-66%=D; 60-62%=D-; 0-59%=E.

 

Sample paper topics (5 pages)

 

Choice (1): Reaction paper

After critically reading one of the following chapters (in your own words):

Ch. 3 Eclipse 1905- 1945 (pp. 139 – 184) 45 pages

Ch. 4 The passions 1945- 1948 (pp. 185- 236) 51 pages

Ch. 5 Collision 1948-1953 (pp. 237-298) 61 pages

Ch. 6 Industrialization 1953-present (pp. 299-341) 42 pages

Ch. 7 The democratic movement 1960-present (pp. 342-403) 60 pages

Ch. 8 North Korea 1953-present (pp.404-447) 43 pages.

Ch. 10 Korea’s place in the world (pp. 470-514) 44 pages.

 

Choice (2): Research paper

Regarding one of the following historical persons or topics (refer to the index of the textbook for finding sources):

 

Kim Song-su,

Rhee Syngman,

MAcArthur, Douglas

Kim IlSung

Chang, Myon

Park Chung Hee

Chun, Doo Hwan

Roh Tae Woo

Kim Dae Jung

Kim Young Sam

Kim Jong pil

Kim Jong il

Moon Sun Myung

Chong Chu-yong

 

Daewoo Group

Hyundai Group

Samsung Group

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

 

 

5. Tentative course schedule (subject to vary)

 

Jan. 19   F             

  • Orientation

 

Jan. 22   M           

  • Orientation & Film “Dynamics of contemporary Korean culture”

 

Jan. 24   W           

  • Basic fact of Korea: Geography / Climate

 

Jan. 26 F

  • People/ Language/  Old Choson/ three kingdom era (2335 BC – 660 AD)

 

Jan. 29 M

  • The three kingdom era: Confucianism/ Buddhism/ Film Temple.

 

Jan. 31 W

  • The three kingdom era

 

Feb. 2 F

  • Unified Silla

 

Feb 5 M

  • The Kyoryo period

 

Feb 7 W

  • The Kyoryo period

 

Feb. 9 F

  • The Kyoryo period

 

Feb. 12 M

  • The early Chosun period

 

Feb. 14 W

  • The early Chosun period

 

Feb. 16 F

  • The Chosun period

 

Feb. 19 M – Feb. 23 F (Winter break)

 

Feb. 26 M

  • The Chosun period

 

Feb. 28 W

  • The Chosun period

 

Mar. 2 F

  • The Chosun period

 

Mar. 5 M

  • The late Chosun period

 

Mar. 7 W

  • The late Chosun period

 

Mar. 9 F

  • The opening of Korea

 

Mar. 12 M

  • The colonial era

 

Mar. 14 W

  • Mid-term

 

Mar. 16 F

  • Mid-term review

 

Mar. 19 M

  • The Korean War

 

Mar. 21 W

  • The Korean War

 

Mar. 23 F

  • The democratic movement of South Korea (between 1960-present)

 

Mar. 26 M

  • The democratic movement of South Korea (between 1960-present)

 

Mar. 28 W

  • The democratic movement of South Korea (between 1960-present)

 

Mar. 30 F

  • South Korea’s economic development

 

 

Apr. 2 M – Apr. 9 M (Spring break)

 

Apr. 11 W

  • South Korea’s economic development

 

Apr. 13  F

  • South Korea’s economic development

 

Apr. 16 M

  • North Korea

 

Apr. 18 W

  • North Korea

 

Apr. 20 F

  • North Korea

 

Apr. 23 M

  • Film JSA

 

Apr. 25 W

  • Film JSA

 

Apr. 27 F

  • Film JSA

 

Apr. 30 M

  • North and South Korean issues / Korean-American issues

 

May 2     W

  • Korean-American issues

 

May 4     F

  • Summary/ review

 

May 7     M            Last day of instruction / Paper due

 

If you want to check on your performance at any point in the semester, feel free to come to my office and we'll run through the numbers.   If there are extenuating circumstances that you anticipate will unduly affect your grade, it is your responsibility to speak with me IN ADVANCE.

 


6.  Reference Books (available in the SUNY library)

 

Economy

Korean Economy: Reflections at the New Millennium. Seoul: Hollym.

Folklore

Han, Suzanne Crowder (1991).  Korean Folk & Fairy Tales.  Seoul: Hollym.

 

History & Culture

Eckert, Carter et al. (1990). Korea Old and New: A History. ILCHOKAK Publisher for Korea Institute, Harvard University.

Lee, Ki-baik (1984).  A New History of Korea.  Translated by Edward W. Wagner with Edward J. Schultz, Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Lee, Peter (1993). Sourcebook of Korean Civilization. New York: Columbia University Press.

Nahm, Andrew (1988).  Korea: Tradition & Transformation.  Seoul: Hollym.

------------- (1993).  Introduction to Korean History and Culture.  Seoul: Hollym.

Ministry of Culture and Sports, Republic of Korea (2000). Religious Culture In Korea, Seoul: Hollym.

Saccone, Richard (2001). Business of Korean Culture, Seoul: Hollym.

Coleman, Craig S. (2001). American Images of Korea, Seoul: Hollym.

 

Religion and Philosophy
Kwon, Ho-youn, Kwang Chung Kim, and R. Stephen Warner (eds) (2001). Korean Americans and Their Religions. PA: The Penn State University Press.

Choi, Min-Hon. (1978).  A Modern History of Korean Philosophy.  Seoul: Seong Moon Sa.

 

Korean American Issues

Hurh, Won Moo (1998). The Korean Americans. CT: Greenwood Press.

Linguistics

Sohn, Ho-min (1999). The Korean Language. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Literature

Phil, Marshall, et al. (1994). Land of Exile: Contemporary Korean Fiction. Sharpe Press.