Korean School NewsCelebrating Korean Day

“All the news that fits”

Vol. 2Num. 3

WelcomeGreetings from Principal of Korean school, Dr. Han. Page 2

SamulnoriKorean School Students played Samulnori at SUNY Oswego. Page 3

EventsFull list of ongoing Korean School Events. Page 4

Dedicated to enrich the lives of Korean- American youths by Michael Horn

The Korean School was founded in 1995. Current principal Jongwoo Han was among the

founding members. The school set out to give Korean children a place to learn the Korean language. In addition, they learn the history and culture of their homeland–this all is used to give Koreans an identity even though they aren’t in Korea.

“Having a strong identity and clear identity in a melting pot is very important for them to get along with others, said Principal Han.”

The school has classes for students four years old and up. The students are mostly Korean children who have been sent by their parents to learn their home nation’s heritage. A teacher at CNYKS noted that it’s easier to learn the language as a child, which is why there aren’t many teens.

Koreans in CNYAccording to Principal Han, there are about

1,500 South Koreans living in the Central New York area. Han thinks the Koreans are well integrated into the American culture, and he has a few ideas why. Principal Han says, “most of the Korean immigrants they

maintain a very high level of education; they have good characters, working diligently, and that’s part of our Korean culture.”

Han believes Koreans blending into the fabric of American life starts with a good education, which he says is just one of the reasons CNYKS exits.

The third Korean School Day

On September 18, 2010, with the First Baptist Church of Syracuse and the River of Joy Korean Church, we celebrated the third Korean School Day and the Choo Seok Holiday (Korean Thanksgiving Day) with many parents, friends, and community members of Syracuse.

Over 150 parents, grandparents, students,

A performance of Korean drum-ming at SUMore than 400 people attended a perfor-mance of Korean drumming at Syracuse University’s Goldstein Auditorium in the Schine Student Center on August 1st. SU’s Korean Drum Club and children from the Central New York Korean School per-

formed a variety of Korean drum instru-ments.

SU students played a role model for Korean StudentsFor about a year, SU students have been teaching drumming to Korean children adopted by American families. Now, the

children will be performing with the SU students. Members of the American Family Korean Network will also participate in the event.

A free lesson on how to cook “Bi-Bim-BapSoon Kim, a teacher at the CNY Korean

News In Brief

Continued on back page

2 Korean School News December 2010

News In BriefSchool offered a free lesson on how to cook “Bi-Bim-Bap,’’ a medley of vegeta-bles, red peppers, ground beef and rice on August 27th. More than 100 par-ticipants joined the class and enjoyed making and eating “Bi-Bim-Bop. It’s one of the major Korean dishes and good for healthy diet.

Huge Success on the CNY Ko-rean School’s annual year-end partyThe CNY Korean School hosted its annual year-end party from 10 a.m. to noon on December 1st. Members of the First Baptist Church and the River of Joy Baptist Church participated in the event as well. The school has invited Korean War Veterans and members of the American Family Korean Network to participate in the celebration.

Pre-class offered taste of CNY Korean schoolNew prep class offers adoptees taste of traditional Korean School and men-torship opportunity with the Syracuse University Korean American Student Association. Registration begins on July 21st. For more information, visit CNY Korean school website at http://www.cnyks.org.

Fall 2010 Class will be end on December 10. Let’s get the ball rolling. Welcome back to school. School offers Jin-

Dal-Lae Class (4-11 year olds), Tae-Keuk Class (12-18 year olds), and Han-Ma-Eum Class (adults) for local American community, especially with the American Family Korean Network (AFKN). Please share this information with many of your friends and help school build meaningful relationship with the community.

The school will change its school day and hours to Sunday from 2:30 to 5:30 due to the request from families including AFKN. For them, Saturday morning is occupied with extracurricular activities such as soccer games, martial arts, and so on. The school is ready to accommodate increasing registrations of students from AFKN with several months of surveys and other necessary preparations in changing the school day and hours.

I’ve wanted to continue with the classes just as a way of learning the language. I want to help all students in Korean school maintain their connection to their culture of birth. In addition, I believe young Korean-American need to know their mother tongue, their history, their cultural background, so that they can have identification as Korean nation. Remember that having strong identity and clear identity in a melting pot is very important for you to get along with others.

Each Sunday before Korean school begins, the students and teachers will gather and eat together from the spring semester. Food is also part of Korean Day, which the school hosts every year and opens itself up to the community.

I hope to see many those who used to attend but could not make the school and those who never did before, due to the schedule conflicts.

Best wishes,

Principal’sMessage

Korean School NewsA monthly newsletter of the

Ficticious CommunityEditor: JongWoo HanDesign: Woomi ShimPhotography: Woomi ShimPrinting: Super Print

YourLettersKorean School benefit AFKN family members

I began to participate in the adult class spring 2008. I’m not Korean, but I have another reason for attending. My husband and I adopted a little boy from South Korea, and we started taking classes in preparation for the trip. I am continued taking the classes to learn about the language and culture her son was born into.I’ve wanted to continue with the classes just as a way of learning the language. I want to help him maintain his connection to his culture of birth. As a member of the American Family Korean Network (AFKN), I feel very lucky to have Korean School nearby. They also have classes about Korean cultures including Korean folk art, cook-ing classes, and Samulnori class. When my son is ready to go to school, I’ll make him attend this school so that he can have some connection with his original roots. I strong-ly recommend the Korean School to the families of AFKN. - Jennifer Reid, Clay

Preparation class needed for upcoming Korean Efficiency test

I think the Korean school helps the American-born children connect with their Kore-an-born parents in many ways. It’s important to know their mother languages even through they’re living in the U.S. That’s kind of their nationality. It’s really important to understand their family and understand their parents. To test my ability to use Korean, I’m planning to take 29th Korean efficiency test in May. I tried to study by myself with materials provided by test agency, but it’s been so hard. I believe it’ll be helpful if the Korean school offer the preparation class for Korean Efficiency test. -Lauren Lee Baldwinsville

3 Korean School News December 2010

“It all depends on hard work and creativity... and some good friends”

Samulnori, the sound of harmonyKorean School students

played at SUNY Oswego Woomi Shim

Chun-gi-in and students in Korean School played “Samulnori” at the Global

Awareness Conference at SUNY Oswego in August. A SamulNori show comprises four parts, beginning with binari, or “prayer song,” which was tradition-ally performed to mark the beginning of a stay in a village. Next up are two drum recitals of rhythms indigenous to different parts of the country. And to end, the joyous, rousing pangut dance, in which the drummers, donning hats with long ribbons and feathers, leap round the stage and swing their heads in time to the drumbeats, leaving spi-raling silk trails in their wake.In the three decades since it was formed, SamulNori has played far beyond Korea’s borders, drawing rave reviews from the likes of The New York Times and The Boston Globe. In July, the group performed at “Rhythm Sticks,” a drum and percussion festival in London, where, according to the Segye Ilbo, Kim “grabbed the hearts

of conservative British spectators and helped spread the excellence of tradi-tional Korean culture.”Samul nori has its roots in nong-ak (literally “farmers’ music”), a Korean folk genre comprising music, acrobat-ics, folk dance, and rituals, which was traditionally performed in rice farming villages in order to ensure and to cele-brate good harvests. Each of the four instruments represents a different weather condition: the jang-gu represents rain, the kkwaenggwari thunder, the jing the sounds of the wind, and the buk clouds. Samul nori has gained interna-tional popularity, with many samul nori bands and camps worldwide. Since the 1980s in South Korea, there has been a marked increase in the amount of fusion music, combining sam-ul nori and Western instruments.[citation needed] Samul nori is also extensively used in the Kore-an musical Nanta.Korean students offer cultural lessons to CNY’s Korean children. Ten years ago, the Korean Student Association at Syracuse University formed a men-toring program for Korean children adopted by American families. The program has been on and off for

during the last decade.Last year, it was revived and is going really strong. For American parents who adopt Korean children, the mento-ring program is just one more oppor-tunity to connect their kids to their cultural roots. The Korean students carpool to Lunar New Year celebrations and other events organized by the Korean School of Central New York and the American Family Korean Network. The organize

events on campus for the children and their families. The students also help out at the Korean School, which is relocating from East Genesee Street in Syracuse to the First Baptist Church of Syracuse.The network supports the

program because it gives their kids role models, especially as they become

teen-agers, Kathy said. Kathy and John Woodruff signed up their two

children, Alex, 8 and Celia, 6, for the pro-gram in September. Kathy is co-president of the American Family Korean Network.

Chun-gi-in and studentsin Korean School Played“Samulnori at the GolbalAwareness Conference atSUNY Oswego in August