DC Public School Students Welcome the Embassy a Second Time, Focus on Korean History and Culture

Team Seoul (aka the Alice Deal Middle School sixth graders) reunited with the Embassy in a spacious auditorium for the second of three trips to the school for the Embassy Adoption program.

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The Embassy Adoption Program (EAP), allows local public school students to learn about a select country and its culture directly through a series of special events at the school planned by a local embassy.

After an explosive introduction to Korea with Taekwondo workshop for the first visit, it was time for a history lesson. On March 29th the kids were privy to an interactive power point presentation to get them more acquainted with their host country.
Cameron, 12, said he enjoyed the Taekwondo lesson, but that he was ready to learn more about Korea. "I don't know a lot [about Korea] so I want to see everything!" Sophie, also 12, said she was "interested to learn about Korean schools".

The sixth graders were given an overview of Korean history, including the origins of the later three kingdoms of Korea, accompanied by a retrospective on the Korean War. However, Taekwondo still proved to be a popular subject with the crowd, as a highlight reel of Korea's national sport elicited impressed reactions from the kids followed by enthusiastic clapping and cheering. Then there were segments on Korean b-boys and Korean food, followed by a computer-animated cartoon about a bear and an alien that made the kids laugh and giggle.

The entire presentation was bookended by a successful Q&A session during which the students asked about everything from Korean sports to food. At the end, there was a special preview of what was to come for the third visit. Small model kobukson or Korean battleships were passed around the auditorium to show just one of the crafts they would make.

After that came easily the most anticipated activity of the afternoon – candy, given out to each student as they exited the auditorium. This visit may have been more subdued than the last, but the sixth graders were appreciative of it all the same. Meredith, 11, particularly enjoyed the presentation as a whole. "I really liked the power point presentation", she said. "I think the video was really well done and that it balanced out the old traditions with the modern".

There is one more visit to go, a game day in April during which the kids will participate in Korean crafts and games. It seems likely they will have no trouble adjusting to the different pace.

By Ashley Turner
Dynamic-Korea.com Intern