''Americans remain awfully ignorant about Korea and also ignorant about Korean-Americans (although) Korean-Americans have been in the States for well over 100 years,'' Shultz said Friday during an interview with The Korea Times. ''And even younger generations of Korean-Americans don't know much about their ancestors' country.'' So he hopes that his new educational Web site (www.arirangeducation.com) can help those who have tried to find interactive and in-depth materials for the study of Korea and Korean-Americans.
RPCV Edward J. Shultz creates Web Site to teach About Korean-American Experience
Web Site Teaches About Korean-American Experience
Korea Times
Hankook Ilbo, Korea
August 30, 3005
The year of 2003 marked the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States, but it is still true that little about Korea and Korean-Americans is known and taught.
Edward J. Shultz, professor at the University of Hawaii, believes that it resulted from the lack of information on Korea.
''Americans remain awfully ignorant about Korea and also ignorant about Korean-Americans (although) Korean-Americans have been in the States for well over 100 years,'' Shultz said Friday during an interview with The Korea Times. ''And even younger generations of Korean-Americans don't know much about their ancestors' country.'' So he hopes that his new educational Web site (www.arirangeducation.com) can help those who have tried to find interactive and in-depth materials for the study of Korea and Korean-Americans.
The creation of the Web site shares the main purpose of the 2003 documentary films about Korean-Americans, which were produced as part of the project to commemorate the centennial of Korean immigration to America and shown through PBS. Shultz was also a core member for the production of the documentaries.
''The main purpose of the documentaries was to make Korea and Korean-Americans much better known across the America and also help Korean-Americans understand who they are and where they are fit in the American society,'' Shultz said.
The Web site hopefully can fully function as a method to teach people about Korean-Americans in a personal and slow way at secondary schools and universities, he added.
The Web site consists of four main sections _ early immigration, resistance to oppression, the new immigration and building multi-cultural America _ and each section asks a question for people to consider the history and the concept of Korean-Americans.
Lesson plans in the site can be of a good use for teachers, and the site's supplementary DVD will also offer in-depth interviews with nine people talking on various issues from various viewpoints, which will be a good source for further discussion, Shultz said.
But he said, despite the lack of good books and materials on Korea, what he sees as a good factor to introduce Korean culture to outside world is ''hallyu,'' or Korean Wave, which is especially true in Hawaii.
''Ironically, 'hallyu' helped raise the visibility of Korea. In Hawaii Korean dramas are very popular, and they even helped increase the enrollment in Korean language classes, not just for Korean-Americans but also other people,'' he said.
Shultz also pointed out that there is also a big influential difference between Korean-American societies in Hawaii and in the United States.
''In the mainland, Korean-Americans don't have quite an influence on the society but in Hawaii, Korean-Americans do. Although only 3 percent of Hawaiian people are Korean-Americans, they have become the main stream in their society and they are part of everyday life,'' he said.
To give an example, he mentioned that Korean-Americans work actively in various fields in the society in Hawaii in such roles as mayors, legislators and school supervisors.
But he believes that the difference resulted from the fact that Koreans started to immigrate to Hawaii decades earlier than they did to the mainland. ''In many respects, it projects the vision of what Korean-Americans in the States will be like in 50 years,'' the professor said.
Shultz first came to Korea as a member of non-governmental organization Peace Corp in 1966, but he recalled the fact that so little about Korea was known stimulated his interest and led him to discover the beauty of the nation. And now he is staying in Seoul to teach students at Sogang University for a year where he gained his doctoral degree.
