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USCB Fulbright-Hays Participants Return from South Korea Ready to Educate 

A year ago, many of the 14 members of USCB’s South Korean Fulbright-Hays group couldn’t speak a word of Korean, and some would have been hard-pressed to name three popular Korean foods or find the port city of Busan on a map. 

After spending four weeks in South Korea this summer, the USCB faculty members, students, South Carolina and Georgia high school teachers, and their UC Berkeley scholar escort can’t stop talking about their time there.

They drop Korean words into their descriptions of the seafood markets, diplomatic visits, automotive tours and language classes that filled their days in Seoul and Busan. And they gush about the hospitality and technological wonders they experienced and the friendly people they met.

This is exactly how Dr. Juanita Babet Villena-Alvarez, the group’s leader and USCB’s Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Director of International Programs, envisioned the South Korean and Asian Literacy Education (SKALE) grant project would unfold. 

“We are creating local ambassadors for Korean culture, to welcome the Korean families who are moving here as our new neighbors, and to prepare our communities to be more open and understanding of this diverse culture,” Villena-Alvarez said. 

The Korean Wave Near USCB

USCB first got the idea for the SKALE project shortly after Hyundai Motor Group announced plans to open an electric vehicle plant at a mega site about 37 miles from the university's campus in Bluffton. Other Korean companies that supply components for Hyundai vehicles, including HL Mando, quickly followed suit.

The first vehicles in the largest economic development project in Georgia history are scheduled to roll out late this year. To staff these new businesses, numerous Koreans are moving to an area that hasn’t historically been home to many Asians. SKALE was conceived to help the local population welcome them and navigate the cultural, demographic, economic, and social changes that lie ahead.  

Villena-Alvarez and USCB's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) developed a short course to certify honorary "Korean Cultural Ambassadors," and more than 200 local residents have attended the seminar about aspects of  Korean culture and the new Korean industrial presence near the border of South Carolina and Georgia.

USCB also applied for a competitive Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) grant to fund an in-depth educational experience in South Korea for faculty, USCB students and K-12 educators in summer 2024. The university’s global education efforts got a huge boost when the U.S. Department of Education decided to fund USCB’s project to spread knowledge of Korean culture to the South Carolina Lowcountry and Georgia’s Coastal Empire. 
 
A media announcement and application to join SKALE went out in Fall 2023. From the applicant pool, a committee chose four USCB faculty members and USCB’s communications director, two USCB  education students, and six high school educators from both states to travel to South Korea for SKALE’s four-week exploration of Korea’s history, culture, economy and educational system. Dr. Villena-Alvarez and subject area expert Dr. Greg Choy of UC Berkeley's Department of Ethnic Studies, would lead the team.  

“I was beyond excited when I found out I was chosen,” said Dr. Elizabeth Clarke, a special education teacher at Richmond Hill High School near Savannah, Ga. “My school has new Korean students now and I want to be able to communicate with them and help them adjust.” 

Preparing for Travel

SKALE participants met regularly throughout Spring 2024 to prepare for their trip and learn about different aspects of Korean culture. Each participant was responsible for developing and presenting to the group a lesson about an aspect of Korea. The SKALE team also started learning Korean by using the app Duolingo. They were required to log the time they spent on these language lessons. 
  
Finally, the big day arrived: the SKALE group flew from the Savannah airport to Seoul on June 23.  

On the Ground in Seoul and Busan

The group's month in Korea was packed with educational activities. Some highlights included: 
 
•  Hyundai Motor Studio: The group learned about the company's vision and how its vehicles are manufactured from Vice President Jin Cha and Sean Carson, Global PR Strategy & Planning Sr. Manager. 
 
• Chosun Ilbo Media Company: Ken Woosuk Choi, editor at The Chosun Daily newspaper and founding member of The Asian Leadership Conference, took the group behind the scenes at Korea’s largest media company. 
 
• HL Mando’s Innovation Center: Senior Director Hankyu Choi and JiYoung Min took the SKALE team behind the scenes in the company’s research and development division.  HL Mando is one of the largest global suppliers of automotive parts- supplying BMW, General Motors, Ford, Rivian, Hyundai, Kia and many others. They have 2 locations in Georgia.  
 
• Ewha Women’s University: The SKALE team took intensive Korean language lessons. They attended classes four hours per day for 3 weeks.  
 
• Sungdong High School: Dr. Rakhun Kim guided the group in a comparative tour of the school’s classrooms, technology, educational methods and more. 
 
• U.S. Embassy Seoul Public Diplomacy House: SKALE got a briefing by Embassy staff about American diplomatic priorities in Korea.  
 
• Two-time Pulitizer-prize winning photojournalist Hyungwon "HK" Kang: He presented his work to SKALE about U.S. politics and unique look at Korea’s rich history made us eager to read his latest book, Visual History of Korea.

While in Seoul and Busan, SKALE team members developed lesson plans in their subject areas about aspects of Korean history and culture. They will share these lessons with their students and other teachers in South Carolina, Georgia and beyond. They also pursued individual research interests. Dr. Kyle Messick, USCB Assistant Professor of Psychology, explored the Korean heavy metal scene and Beth Schleiger, art teacher at May River High School, conducted interviews with Korean ceramics artists, among others.

The SKALE team also had time to take in some traditional tourism sites in Korea. They enjoyed: 
 
• Strolling beside the Hangang River, where Korean families picnic, enjoy live music, ride bikes and swim in a water park. 
• Attending an LG Twins baseball game 
• Visting the DMZ and Korean War Memorial 
• Visiting Icheon Village outside Seoul, home to traditional Korean ceramic artists 
• Eating Myeongdong street food  
• Visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace, NamSan Tower, Haedong Yonggungsa Coastal Temple and the mountain Geumsunsa Temple 
• Practicing the local favorite of singing karaoke 
• Attending concerts by several Korean heavy metal bands (USCB’s Dr. Kyle Messick, whose research topics include global heavy metal culture) 
• Taking a scenic beach train in Busan 
 

Impact of the Trip

Still glowing from their transformational experiences in South Korea, the participants are back home now and focusing their teaching practices to foster intercultural understanding and collaboration in their communities.   

“I cannot emphasize enough how the scope of this experience has invigorated me as an educator and ultimately a lifelong learner. I look forward to sharing it with as many people as I can,” Schleiger said. 

Amber Crews, a school counselor at Richmond Hill High School in Georgia, also was deeply moved by her experiences in Korea.

"Your insights into the local culture, history and traditions lended immense value to our experience," she wrote in an email to Villena-Alvarez after the group's return. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this incredible adventure."

Join USCB's Korean Conference Oct. 25 on HHI

SKALE participants are looking foward to USCB's upcoming Korean Cultural Studies Conference, scheduled for October 25 at the university's Hilton Head Island campus. They will present at the conference in addition to these special guest speakers:

• Bruce Kim, Chief Executive Officer, HL Mando USA
• Dr. Byeonggu Kang, Minister Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Korea 
• Ji-yae Huh, Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Atlanta 
• Hyungwon Kang, Pulitizer-prize winning photojournalist, Author of “Visual History of Korea”

Register now

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- USCB -

cw / 8-12-2024