The Sejong Korean Scholars Program (SKSP) is an online course for high school students sponsored by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education and the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. The course is offered twice per year—spring and fall—but applications for both terms must be submitted the previous fall. For each term, 20-25 exceptional high school students from throughout the United States are selected to engage in an intensive study of Korea.

The SKSP provides students with a broad overview of Korean history and culture. Ambassadors, top scholars, and experts throughout the United States provide online lectures and engage students in live discussion sessions. Students also complete readings and weekly assignments, with the coursework culminating in an independent research project. Final research projects are printed in journal format. Students who successfully complete the course earn Stanford Continuing Studies Program (CSP) credit and a Certificate of Completion from SPICE, Stanford University.

Students participate in 9–10 “virtual classes” via the Internet during either the Spring or Fall term. Students should expect to allot 4–6 hours per week to complete the lectures, discussions, readings, and assignments. Since this is a distance-learning course, however, students can structure most of the work around their individual schedules. Although intensive, this program equips participants with a rare degree of expertise about Korea that may have a significant impact on their choices of study and future careers. The SKSP is not a language course and is taught all in English. Students do not need to know the Korean language to participate in this course, and there are no student fees.

The 2014 Sejong Korean Scholars Program is currently accepting applications from all current high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors (Classes of 2014, 2015, and 2016) in the United States.  

For more information and to download the 2014 Sejong Korean Scholars Program application, please visit http://sejongscholars.org. All applications must be postmarked by the November 15, 2013 deadline.

Please contact Annie Lim, SKSP Instructor, at annielim@stanford.edu with questions or concerns.

Just two days after the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Korean Armistice Agreement, educators and students from both sides of the Pacific gathered at Stanford University to participate in the second annual Hana–Stanford Conference for Secondary School Teachers.  

Credit: Rod Searcey

In his opening comments, Consul General Dongman Han, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco, noted the anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement and thanked the teachers for their dedication to teaching about Korea and U.S.–Korean relations. Professor Gi-Wook Shin, Director, Shorenstein APARC, welcomed the 32 teachers from across the United States and from the Hana Academy Seoul. Professor Shin extended his gratitude to the Hana Financial Group for providing the primary support for this conference and expressed special appreciation to Dr. Hyeon Kee Bae, CEO of the Hana Institute of Finance, for his enthusiastic support and his presence. Gary Mukai, Director, SPICE, introduced the conference goal, which was to underscore the importance of integrating the study of Korea in U.S. schools.

Grace Kim, PhD candidate at U.C. Berkeley and Curriculum Writer, SPICE, served as the facilitator of the conference and introduced six distinguished scholars, including Professor Michael Robinson of Indiana University who spoke on “Fitting Korea into Its Regional, Global, and Contemporary Geo-Political Contexts.” Amanda Sutton from Valdosta, Georgia, reflected on Robinson’s lecture noting, “A great way to start off the conference by giving the audience a uniform basis of Korea’s history and geography. I learned a lot and it was an honor to have met him.” 

SPICE staff also demonstrated a number of SPICE’s Korea-focused curricular materials to help teachers easily bring Korea into their classrooms. The titles of the curriculum units that teachers received included “Divided Memories: Comparing History Textbooks,” “U.S.-South Korean Relations,” “Uncovering North Korea,” “Inter-Korean Relations: Rivalry, Reconciliation, and Reunification,” and “Dynamics of the Korean American Experience.” “I’ve used SPICE materials in the past, so I’m sure these will meet those high standards,” remarked Will Linser from Bellevue, Washington. “I have incorporated Korea in my past classes, but after this conference I have a greater understanding, so I will highlight South Korea in the district’s globalization unit. I am looking forward to using the materials.”

The teachers were also treated to a lecture and performance of P’ansori, Korean story singing, by Professor Chan E. Park, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, The Ohio State University, and a talk and performance by Da-seu-reum, a Samulnori Korean percussion group at the Hana Academy Seoul.

Credit:Rod Searcey	Credit:Rod Searcey

Presentations by high school students from both Korea and the United States proved to be among the highlights of the conference. Three American high school students of the Sejong Korean Scholars Program, a national online course on Korea that is funded by the Korea Foundation, gave presentations and were honored by their instructor, Annie Lim, SPICE. Also, Korean students from Yongsan International School of Seoul, North London Collegiate School Jeju, and the Hana Academy Seoul provided teachers with insight into Korean society and the lives of Korean high school students.

Media coverage of the conference appeared in the Korea Times (in Korean), Korea Daily (in Korean), and the Valdosta Daily, Georgia, which carried a story about the experiences of teacher attendees Amanda Sutton and Connie Wells. 

Because of the 60th anniversary, the conference had special symbolic meaning—especially when topics of the Korean War and U.S.–Korean relations were discussed. The teachers’ dedication to the teaching of U.S.–Korean relations to their students provides much hope and promise for greater understanding between the two countries. The conference planning committee hopes that the collegial relationships that formed during the formal and informal events of the conference will lend themselves to the creation of a community of learners amongst the teachers—a community that extends beyond the conference itself. 

The Hana–Stanford Conference for Secondary School Teachers will be offered again in the summers of 2014, 2015, and 2016 and is sponsored by Shorenstein APARC and SPICE with a generous gift from the Hana Financial Group. Applications for the 2014 conference will become available on the SPICE website in November 2013. 

In a message to an audience comprised of Japanese Consulate representatives, Stanford faculty and staff, and Bay Area community members, Executive Director Minami Tsubouchi noted that Tokyo-based BEYOND Tomorrow was established to support the young victims who, despite facing great adversity from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, did not lose hope and continue to embrace a dream to give back to society in the future. Tsubouchi was followed by two small-group presentations by 12 high school and college student delegates from BEYOND Tomorrow.

One of the delegates, Masahide Chiba, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, spoke about losing his mother and grandmother yet expressed his dreams for helping to rebuild Ofunato and other cities in the Tohoku region of Japan. Chiba is one of two students who are featured in a documentary, After the Darkness, being produced by Naomi Funahashi, Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) Manager and Instructor, SPICE, and award-winning filmmaker, Risa Morimoto, Edgewood Pictures, of New York City.

Dr. Michael H. Armacost, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, noted, “Programs such as BEYOND Tomorrow are invaluable to Japan’s post-3/11 recovery. They provide a platform for both future generation leaders to develop a deeper understanding of U.S.–Japan relations on a grassroots level. The students’ stories sharing their grief and their hope were truly inspiring.”

This trans-Pacific gathering took place at SPICE’s annual Japan Day, which this year was scheduled to coincide with the delegates’ trip to the United States. During Japan Day, SPICE also recognized top high school scholars of the RSP, an online course on Japan. The BEYOND Tomorrow delegates mingled with other attendees, including RSP honorees David Chao and Kaylyn Cheape, RSP alumni, and distinguished RSP advisory committee members Ambassador Michael Armacost (Shorenstein Distinguished Fellow, Shorenstein APARC); Professor Emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto and Professor Phillip Lipscy, both of Stanford; and Professor Emeritus Nisuke Ando, Doshisha University and Kyoto University. Ando made the trip from Kyoto to Stanford for Japan Day.

Following the event, RSP and Stanford alumnus, Sekhar Paladugu, guided the delegates on a campus tour. Reflecting on the day, Gary Mukai, SPICE Director, commented, “The RSP and BEYOND Tomorrow both share the objective of cultivating future leaders. It has long been Naomi’s and my hope to bring youth together from both sides of the Pacific with hopes that an international community of students will be formed amongst them. Today was one of the highlights of my 25 years at Stanford University.”

Photo credit: Tomoyuki Sowa

After their stay in the Bay Area, the delegates flew to New York to give additional presentations and simply to experience life on the East Coast. There they attended a barbeque in Sleepy Hollow with David Janes, Director of Foundation Grants and Assistant to the President, United States-Japan Foundation, one of the supporting organizations of BEYOND Tomorrow and the original funding organization of the RSP. It was a chance to provide an opportunity for the students to interact with a diverse group of Americans and Japanese in a relaxed atmosphere and to see a historic part of the Hudson River Valley. Janes commented, “I was deeply inspired by the courage of the students to share their stories with us and moved by their embrace of life despite the tragedies they have each experienced.”

The Center for Global Partnership, the Japan Foundation, is the current primary funding organization of the RSP.

David Chao

The Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) honored three of the top students of the 2013 Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) and celebrated the tenth anniversary of the RSP at a Japan Day event at Stanford University on August 9, 2013. The three 2013 RSP Japan Day honorees—David Chao, Kaylyn Cheape, and Brittany Schulte—offered research presentations on a variety of Japan-related topics. The event also included inspiring presentations by 12 Japanese high school and college students from BEYOND Tomorrow, a nonprofit organization for students from the Tohoku region of Japan who are overcoming the adversities of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Japan Day featured welcoming comments by Gary Mukai, SPICE Director, and opening remarks on youth and the future of Japan and U.S.–Japan relations by Acting Consul General Nobuhiro Watanabe, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco. Acting Consul General Watanabe noted, “I am impressed by the students’ keen insight on Japan and Japan–U.S. relations. They are the ones to shoulder this relationship in the coming years and months, and we are very much looking forward to the day when these students will engage in furthering our two countries’ strong ties.”

Naomi Funahashi, the RSP Manager and Instructor, gave an overview of the RSP to the Japan Day audience of over 50 people. Named in honor of former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer, a leading educator and noted scholar of Japanese history and culture, the RSP is an online course on Japan and U.S.–Japan relations that is offered annually to 25–30 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors across the United States.

David Chao (junior, The Thacher School; Ojai, CA), Kaylyn Cheape (senior, Leilehua High School; Wahiawa, HI) and Brittany Schulte (junior, Pinewood School; Los Altos, CA) were recognized for their coursework and exceptional research essays. They presented their research which focused on the following topics, respectively: the role of mass media in shaping public opinion in China and Japan, the dual crises of Japan’s aging population and shifting priorities of the Japanese healthcare system, and how the uniquely Japanese concern with mastery and perfection has played a role in guiding Japan’s economic success.

Kaylyn Cheape	Brittany Schulte

SPICE was honored to also welcome four RSP alumni to the Japan Day event: Joey Burnett (RSP 2006), Sekhar Paladugu (RSP 2007), Amy Ishiguro (RSP 2011), and Aryo Sorayya (RSP 2012). Their presence offered a reminder of the significant and lasting impact of the RSP on its students.

Commemorating a decade of developing future leaders, the RSP presents a creative and innovative approach to teaching high school students about Japan and U.S–Japan relations. The program provides American students with unique opportunities to interact with diplomats and top scholars affiliated with Stanford University, the University of Tokyo, the University of Hawaii, and other institutions through online lectures and discussions, and introduces both American and Japanese perspectives on many historical and contemporary issues. The RSP honorees, the RSP alumni, and the visiting students from Japan enjoyed several opportunities throughout the day to engage in meaningful exchanges about their respective countries and the U.S.–Japan relationship. Both the RSP and BEYOND Tomorrow aim to cultivate future leaders, and Japan Day afforded a unique opportunity for dialog and possible collaboration between American and Japanese youth. Importantly, SPICE also presented a plaque to Professor Emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto, Stanford University, in honor of his support of the RSP since before its inception in 2003.

The distinguished RSP advisory committee members (Professor Emeritus Nisuke Ando, Doshisha University; Ambassador Michael H. Armacost, Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center, Stanford University; Professor Phillip Lipscy, Stanford University, Professor Emeritus Daniel I. Okimoto, Stanford University) were all in attendance.

The RSP is currently funded by a generous three-year grant from the Center for Global Partnership, the Japan Foundation, and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

The RSP will be accepting applications for the 2014 program in September and October 2013. For more information about the RSP, visit www.reischauerscholars.org or contact Naomi Funahashi RSP Manager and Instructor, at nfunahashi@stanford.edu.

The Sejong Korean Scholars Program (SKSP) is an online course for high school students sponsored by the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE) and the Korean Studies Program at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. Annually, around 25 exceptional high school students from throughout the United States are selected to engage in an intensive study of Korea.

Celebrating its inaugural year in 2013, SKSP provides students with a broad overview of Korean history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics, and contemporary society, with a special focus on the U.S.–Korean relationship. Ambassadors, top scholars, and experts throughout the United States provide online lectures and engage students in live discussion sessions. Students also complete readings and weekly assignments, with the coursework culminating in an independent research project. Final research projects are printed in journal format. Students who successfully complete the course will earn Stanford Continuing Studies Program (CSP) credit and a Certificate of Completion from SPICE, Stanford University.

Selected students participated in 8–9 "virtual classes" via the Internet with the course commencing in February 2013. From 2014, two courses will be offered per year. Students should expect to allot 3–6 hours per week to complete the lectures, discussions, readings, and assignments. Since this is a distance-learning course, however, students can structure most of the work around their individual schedules. Although intensive, this program will equip participants with a rare degree of expertise about Korea that may have a significant impact on their choice of study and future career. Students do not need to know the Korean language to participate in this course, and there are no student fees.

Sejong Korean Scholars Program Award Event

This year, 3 students will be honored for their exceptional performance in the SKSP program. The finalists were chosen based on their final research papers, which were reviewed by a committee, and their overall participation and performance in the course. 

SKSP Finalists:

Madeleine Han, Dougherty Valley High School, CA

Katie Lee, Choate Rosemary Hall, CT

Andrew Pester, Lawrence Free State High School, KS

The finalists will be presenting their final research papers during the Hana-Stanford Conference on Korea for Secondary School Teachers on July 31st.