Korea Websites (Updated January 2008)

Art/Architecture:

http://www.orientalarchitecture.com (A photographic survey of Asia’s architectural heritage, featuring nearly 6000 photographs of 404 sites in fifteen countries.)

http://www.kscpp.net (Korean Spirit and Culture Website) This site includes an entire book beautifully illustrated and the newest entry is "Fifty Wonders of Korean Art."

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/ (Excellent as it includes many examples combined with text. Includes 900 high resolution images)

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Korea/koreaonline/index.htm The Metropolitan Museum in New York has a beautiful collection of Korean art. Enjoy to activities, “Discover a Korean Dragon” and “What Color is Celadon?”

http://www.korea.net  The South Korean government’s official English-language homepage offers information about contemporary and traditional arts.

http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/KoreanHome.htm  (Freer Sackler Gallery)

http://www.pem.org  Peabody Essex Museum

http://www.philamuseum.org  Philadelphia Museum of Art

http://seattleartmuseum.org  (Explore Korea: A visit to Grandfather’s House)

http://www.hoammuseum.org  (site of one of Korea’s leading museums)

http://gyeongju.museum.go.kr (site of another major museum)

http://www.museum.go.kr  (The National Museum, Seoul)

http://www.kccla.org  (Website of the Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles)

http://www.lifeinkorea.com (art, architecture, pictures, articles, culture, society, customs)

http://www.koreafolkart.com/eindex.asp

http://www.rom.on.ca/exhibitions/wculture/wckorea.php  (Gallery of Korean art, Royal Ontario Museum)

http://www.asianart.org  (Asian Museum, San Francisco. Search Korean art, check “The New Asian” in particular)

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/Korea/design.html (ceramics, metalwork, decorative arts, Buddhist sculpture and painting)

http://www.cha.go.kr/english/about/greeting.jsp?catmenu=ES_01_07  Website of the Republic of Korea’s Cultural Heritage Administration.  Includes information on restoration projects and the royal palaces. It also has some downloadable bookletsthat might be of interest. 

Asia in the 20th Century:

There are invaluable resources on Asia that will provide information on Korea.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook52.html (primary sources/20th century)

http://www.askasia.org/teachers/Instructional_Resources/index.htm

The above site includes lesson plans, readings, maps, photos and drawings.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ This site is not entirely on the 20th century, but it is an outstanding resource that will be very useful for teachers and students.

http://www.exeas.org  A new Columbia University site that includes useful and extensive information arranged by theme. Each of the resources is treated as a teaching unit and includes lists of readings for teachers and students.

Civics and Government:

http://www.koreaembassyusa.org

http://www.korea.net/government

Community Service Options:

http://www.linkglobal.org LINK (Liberty in North Korea is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-ethnic group with a mission to educate the world about North Korea. It also acts as an advocate for human rights and humanitarian aid. Students can become involved in learning about conditions in NK and support projects which will assist in LINK’s mission.

http://www.worldvision.or.kr ) See DPRK/North Korean ministry. World Vision International is a Christian relief organization to help poor communities and especially children all over the world)

Economy:

http://www.korea.net

http://english.mofe.go.kr/

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/

http://www.kse.or.kr/index.html  The Korea Exchange

http://www.oecd.org  Extensive economic information, including a yearly economic survey of Korea. 

Environment:

http://greenkorea.org/english/

http://eng.me.go.kr/docs/index.html  Ministry of the environment, government of Korea.

http://eng.kei.re.kr/     Korea Environment Institute

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/skoren.html  Analysis by the US Dept. of Energy

www.savingcranes.org/species International Crane Foundation (ICF).  Read about the ICF's conservation and education efforts on behalf of the red-crowned cranes that winter in the DMZ.

www.dmzforum.org The DMZ Forum.  Read about conservationists' work toward establishing a peace park and environmental laboratory in the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Films:  (Also see Korean Wave)

http://www.asianfilms.org

http://koreanfilm.org

Geography:

http://www.koreaembassyusa.org

http://www.kois.go.kr/  (outstanding site)

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001127.html (A fascinating NASA photograph of the earth at night. East Asia is particularly interesting because South Korea appears somewhat like an island, as North Korea is barely visible)

Global Educator News (National Peace Corps Association) Global TeachNet (Announcements- opportunities for professional development and students)

http://www.globalteachnet.org

History/Culture

http://www.kscpp.net (Korean Spirit and Culture Website) This site includes entire books: King Sejong, Admiral Yi Sunsin, Fifty Wonders of Art, and Chung Hyo Ye (Folk Tales). Outstanding for middle school and high school classroom use.

http://www.koreafocus.or.kr (articles on culture, economics, politics, and society)

http://www.fpri.org/education/koreas/  (Foreign Policy Research Institute) Lecture/audio/power point presentations of major historians on the following topics: “Dealing with the Nuclear Threat,” “Why Americans Need to Know About Korea,” “Modern Korean History,” and “Korean Religion.”

http://www.korea.net (culture, history, economy and society)

http://www.koreanculture.org 

http://www.koreaembassyusa.org

http://www.state.gov/ (click on countries, South and NorthKorea)

http://www.kccla.orgKorean Cultural Center Los Angeles website

http://www.pbs.org/hiddenkorea/(food, religion, ancestral traditions and villagelife)

http://www.amnesty.org/library/eng-prk/index

http://www.aems.uiuc.edu/HTML/WebResources.html#KoreaWeb

http://www.instrok.org  (East Rock Institute’s website)

(Outstanding lessons on cultural values of the Choson dynasty, different cultural values reflected in the 1882 US and Korea Treaty and Korea’s landscape, and the P’ungsu (feng shui) model)

Institutes and Fellowships for Teachers:

http://www.fpri.org  Foreign Policy Research Institute.   Download an outstanding powerpoint lecture (“What You Need to Know About Korea”) by Professor Edward Shultz, Director of Korean Studies, University of Hawaii.

http://koreasociety.org  New York Korea Society Fellowship Program offers approximately 20 fellowships for elementary and secondary English/Language Arts and History/Social Studies teachers to study and travel in Korea.

http://www.iie.org/ksw Institute of International Education offers the opportunity for secondary social studies teachers and administrators to study and travel for 12 days in Korea.

Korea Society:

http://koreasociety.org

This is the best site in the United States for obtaining carefully developed lessons, PowerPoint lectures, and I-pod information, and recordings for the classroom. Go to Korean Studies Curriculum materials. There are lessons for grades K-12 in nearly all disciplines. The Korea Society website includes information on their annual summer fellowship program to South Korea.

Korean Americans:

http://arirangeducation.com/main/ (an interactive classroom DVD,
a documentary on Korean American history). Includes lessons.

http://www.kamuseum.org (The Korean American Museum, Los Angeles, CA)

http://www.geocities.com/mokkim/kafacts.html(Excellent information on Korean Americans)

http://www.naka.org (National Association of Korean Americans)

http://www.capaa.wa.gov  (Committee on Asian Pacific American Affairs)

http://www.kaanet.com/  (Korean American Adoptee Network)

Korean Tourism Organization

http://www.tour2korea.com (an opportunity to view excellent photographs of Korea
and to learn about travel opportunities)

Korean War

http://school.discovery.com/lessonplans/programs/koreanwar/ Provides a lesson plan from the discovery.com Web site aimed at level 9-12 students. This site includes link to interesting recollections from Korean War veterans.

http://www.koreanwar.org

http://www.centurychina.com/history/krwarfaq.html

http://www.koreanchildren.org  Korean War Children’s Memorial.  On this web site there are currently posted over 1,000 stories and over 1,000 photos relating to the GIs and the children of Korea during the period 1950-1954.

http://www.theforgottenvictory.org  Website for the Korean War National Museum.

http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/korea/large/index.htm  Truman Museum and Library

Korean Wave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Wave

http://www.yaentertainment.com/  YA Entertainment is a distributor of popular Korean TV drama programs with English subtitles.

Lesson Plans/Resources:

http://www.aasianst.org/EAA/about.htm (Sample articles and lessons from the outstanding journal for educators – “Education About Asia”

http://www.koreasociety.org   (Online lessons, podcasts, and resource guide)

http://www.koreak12.org (Lessons on the following topics: Korean War, geography, Internet, religion, education, architecture, dance/music, north/south issues, economy, art, society/culture, women’s issues, language, history, getting to know Korea, and teaching more about Korea)

http://www.msmc.la.edu  (Includes excellent list of books, K-12)

http://ncta.osu.edu/korea/shiplet-kor.pdf  Lesson plan about Kimchi, with extensive links to other sites.             

http://ncta.osu.edu/wooster/Parish-Korea.pdf   Lesson plan about Korean table manners.

Life in Korea:

http://www.lifeinkorea.com  (an outstanding travel guide that includes extensive information on various dimensions of life today in South Korea). The images of art and architecture are large enough to be useful for bulletin boards, power point presentations and research papers)

News:

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/

http://www.chosun.com

http://www.donga.com

http://www.kcna.co.jp/ (current news from the North Korean Central News Agency)

http://world.kbs.co.kr/english  KBS TV/Radio website

http://www.kimsoft.com

North Korea:

http://www.marshwong.com/200709_DPRK/ A collection of 100s of photographs of North Korea taken in September 2007. They include images of the North Korean people, Pyongyang, Kaesong, the DMZ, and rural areas. They are excellent for classroom use.

http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/nkhra.htm  Official materials related to the North Korea Human Rights Act.

http://www.hrnk.org  The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) is a bi-partisan, not-for-profit human rights organization.
www.cfr.org/background/background_northkorea_crisis.php  Council on Foreign Relations.  Examine analysis of the events leading to the tensions created by North Korea over its possible nuclear capabilities in the Council's "North Korea: Background on the Crisis" presentation.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4657702 Radio broadcast by Pyongyang resident Richard Ragan about his life in North Korea.  His family is the only American family authorized to live there. (2005).

http://www.nkhumanrights.or.kr/(human rights violations in North Korea)

http://www.choices.edu(North Korea and nuclear weapons)

http://www.korea-dpr.com(Official North Korean website)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/asia_pac_unseen_north_korea/html/1.stm  A Western businessman who has had the rare chance to travel throughout North Korea has sent these images of daily life to the BBC News website.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kim  Video examines the relationship between the US and North Korea.

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=topics.home&topic_id=230972  an informational clearinghouse on North Korea.

Pen Pals:

www.prkorea.com/estart.html(E-mail addresses of Korean students are available through the assistance of the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea (VANK), an NGO that promotes friendship among Korean and non-Korean students. This organization also strives to educate the public around the world about Korea through mutual understanding. You can find the Class Exchange section on top of the screen. From this program you can obtain the e-mail address of Korean youngsters who want to become pen pals with American students. Getting such an exchange program up and running takes about two weeks)  

Reunification:

http://unikorea.go.kr/english/ Ministry of Unification.

http://www.koreascope.org

http://www.csis.org/  (Center for Strategic and International Studies)