2024 Korea Research Trip

Applications are due January 19th, 2024. Notifications will be made by the end of February 2024.

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Date

The 2024 South Korean research trip will take place from June 23rd-July 3rd (tentative – dates may change slightly). Fellows should use June 22nd as a travel day.

Cost

Fellows are required to pay a $300.00 deposit by March 1st, which will be refunded once a fellow has completed their requirements to the foundation. Fellows are also responsible for paying half of their total airfare (domestic and international) by April 15th. Participants will purchase their airline and half of the cost will be reimbursed at the end of the travel in July.

Trip

Although this fellowship is listed as a trip, the commitment is more than just travel to Korea. Fellows complete four cycles to fulfill their requirements to the foundation.

The pre-trip cycle focuses on preparing fellows for their trip by building content about Korea while at the same time building knowledge of the foundation. In this cycle, fellows will enroll in an online class in which they will have assigned readings about Korean history and culture, participate on class discussion boards, and attend webinars pertaining to themes covered in the readings. At the same time the fellows will participate in completing a task for the foundation. In the past, those tasks have included transcribing interviews, conducting interviews with Korean War veterans, and field-testing educational material.

The second cycle is the trip cycle which will last from June 23rd-July 3rd. The trip will include daily excursions that require fellows to dig deeper into the complexity of the history, culture, and development of the Korean peninsula, and specifically South Korea. This includes travel to important sites of the Korean War such as the Demilitarized Zone, historic sites such as Geyongbokgung Palace, and unique experiences such as staying at a Buddhist temple. Each excursion is intentional and looks to build on fellows’ knowledge and understanding of Korea with the purpose of impacting education.

The third cycle, or post-trip cycle, is focused on fellows sharing what they have learned. In this cycle, fellows are required to do two tasks that highlight how their experience will impact their educational practice. The first will have fellows provide proof of a presentation about their travel experience to a district, state, or regional organization. The second task will have fellows develop a lesson plan that focuses on Korean culture and/or history. A template will be provided by the foundation for this exercise. The presentation and lesson plan are both due by 12/31/24.

The fourth cycle of the trip is the eternal phase. After completion of the lesson plan, participants will become members of the Korean Fellows Alumni Association. This community group will receive newsletter and e-mail updates from the foundation with information on teaching Korean history and culture. Furthermore, alumni fellows will be added into the Korean Fellow Alumni Association Facebook page in order to stay connected and share ideas with other fellows.

Any participant who does not complete the required tasks will be considered to be unsuccessful and will not be considered a foundation fellow. Unsuccessful participants will forfeit their $300 deposit and will be invoiced for an additional $300 to help defray any loss to the foundation.

About World Digital Education Foundation

The advent of digital technology challenges conventional ways of educating students and creates unlimited opportunities deliver digital educational materials. In this transition from the analogue era to the digital era, the World History Digital Education Foundation will lead at the K-12 level in the study of global history by:

  • Creating innovative digital resources in world history education such as story maps, multi-media curriculums, interactive websites, and virtual reality experiences.
  • Developing one-to-one technology capability programs for high needs schools lacking the financial capacity for digital educational technology and equipment.
  • Training social studies teachers in the use of technology and engaging them to write new curriculums and lesson plans.
  • Developing a collaborative online community of educators who will share best practices in social studies education.
  • Educating students on the use of digital resources for research and learning

About the Korea Foundation

The Korea Foundation was established in 1991 to promote awareness and understanding of Korea and to enhance goodwill and friendship among the international community through its cultural, academic and intellectual exchange activities and programs. Some of its major works include: providing support for Korean studies overseas, organizing/supporting international forums, assisting research institutions/think tanks around the world in their research, conferences and publications, and establishing Korean galleries in museums abroad. Currently, the foundation has two branch offices in the United States: the Washington D.C. Office and the L.A. Office, which opened in 2005. Both offices serve as liaisons to the main headquarter in Korea and overseas and manage the foundation’s projects and programs in North/ South America and the Caribbean Islands.

POSCO

Named as “the most competitive steelmaker for 13 consecutive years” by World Steel Dynamics (WSD), POSCO has maintained incomparable competitiveness based on excellent productivity and high value-added products for over 50 years.

Trip Director

Bobbie Downs Research Trip Director

Foundation Leadership

Dr. Jongwoo Han President, World History Digital Education Foundation

Joseph Karb Executive Director, World History Digital Education Foundation

If you have any questions, please contact: Bobbie Downs at bdowns@worldhistoryde.org.

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