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South Korea Unit
Study
I am having a blast writing a column for the Old Schoolhouse
magazine called the International
Schoolhouse. In the article, I get the chance to share with you
about the landscape, the history and the culture of the highlighted
country, in this case South Korea. However, there is so much to
tell that simply overflows a 1500 word article that I have decided to
compile the remainder of the information as a unit study for you.
I have a heart for the country of South Korea.
My sister was born in Seoul and our family adopted her when she was
four years old. She has since visited her birth country and has
become a fabulous cook. She cooks a variety of food, but her
Korean dishes are to die for! I'll share a few below. My
father also spent quite a bit of time during his military career in
South Korea just after the Korean war. As children, we loved to
watch his old slide shows and see that handsome young man (could that
really be our dad?) who had many pictures taken of himself and the
darling Korean children at the orphanages
he visited during his free time.
If you do not subscribe to the Old Schoolhouse
magazine,
you can read a sample issue here -
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com. Or better yet, subscribe
here -
The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - and get the fall issue this
month with the Korea article that I have written, plus many, many more wonderful
articles of encouragement from other inspirational authors. It is their best issue yet. Oh,
and did I mention that you get 25 free gifts with your new subscription.
Okay, so now that you have read the article, it's
time to dive in for some hands-on learning to cement your student's
growing knowledge of this small but fascinating Asian country.
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Unit Study:
1.
READING SELECTIONS -
Let's start with some extra reading. Listed below are some great
books about Korea, or set in Korea, that will provide many
hours of enjoyable reading. The links below will take you to Amazon.com for more information, but you can find these at your local
library. Read for pleasure alone, or have your kids write a book
report on one of these selections.
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The first book above is a picture
book for the younger set and it is about Korean cooking and one very
popular Korean dish in particular known as Bibim Bap, or otherwise
known as mix-mix rice (recipe below, but read the book first).
The next two books are part of a series that are getting great reviews
and is about a girl in war-torn Korea during the Japanese occupation
of WWII. The last book is set during medieval times and is a
great fictional read as well. While you are at the library on
your next visit, don't forget to pick up some picture books as well.
South Korea in Pictures would be a good choice, but there are
probably several to choose from.
2.
HISTORY & TIMELINES - After more than 50 years of "cold war" between the divided
countries, North and South Korea are making some serious attempts at
reconciliation this past month. The Korean War may have appeared
to have ended in 1953, but a peace treaty was never signed and the two
lands have kept a total of over 2 million troops on their shared
border all of these years. Could we see a united Korea again
after all of these years? What caused the division in the first
place? Take a peek at the timeline of Korean history below to
find some answers to these plaguing questions.
Learn more about South Korea by compiling
historical facts and events from Korea's turbulent history and
adding them to your timeline. If you do not have a timeline on
the go, you can construct one by following these directions -
How to Make a Timeline Easily. Here
is a link to a wonderful resource for timeline entries about Korea -
http://www.gkn-la.net/master_timeline.htm.
3.
MAPWORK -
A unit study would not be
complete without taking a good look at the lay of the land.
Click here for both a labeled and unlabeled
map of Korea. Have your students mark some
of the major cities (Seoul is the capital of S. Korea and P'yongyang
the capital of N. Korea), the neighboring countries, and the seas to the
east and west, at the
least. For older students, have them use your teacher's map and
fill in the rest!
4.
RECIPES -
This is my favorite part - the
food from the land! And I love Korean cuisine! If you do the above activities on Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday, then take some time on either Thursday or Friday to whip up
some authentic Korean dishes in your kitchen.
In Korea, rice is served at every
meal. At breakfast it is sometimes served as gruel, especially for
elderly people and children. At other meals, steamed rice is
accompanied by soup, meat, fish, vegetables and, of course, kimchi
(recipe below). Rice is of such importance that meals are described as
consisting of rice and panch'an, a term that incorporates whatever
else is served with the rice.
Korea has an abundance of fish and other seafood, and
often the fish is combined in surprising ways with meat or poultry.
Like the Japanese, Koreans use seaweed, especially the dried laver
seaweed known as nori by the Japanese and kim by the Koreans. It is
used as a relish.
Beef is the most popular meat in Korea. Beef is
not usually cooked in one big piece. It is very thinly sliced and cut
into bite-size pieces; sometimes the slices are beaten out for extra
thinness. The beef is then kneaded well with a marinade and left for
2-4 hours so that it is tenderized and flavored. While Korean charcoal
grill or broil such meals as bulgogi or bulgalbi, everyday cooking
includes boiling, steaming,
stir
frying and deep or shallow
frying.
The seven basic flavors of Korean food are garlic,
ginger, black pepper, spring onions, soy sauce, sesame oil and toasted
sesame seeds. Yum!
Here are a few of our favorite dishes.
Don't forget the big pot of steamed rice. Enjoy!
Kim Chi (spicy pickled cabbage)
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Ingredients : |
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1
1/2
cup
1/2
teaspoon
5
2
cloves
5 cm
3
teaspoons
1
tablespoon
2
1/2 cups |
Large Chinese cabbage
Sea
salt
Cayenne pepper
Spring onions, finely chopped
Garlic, finely chopped
Fresh ginger, grated
Chopped fresh chili
Caster sugar
Cold
water |
Method :
-
Cut the cabbage in
half, then into large bite-sized pieces.
-
Place a layer of
cabbage in a large bowl and sprinkle with a little salt.
Continue with layers of cabbage and salt, finishing with a salt
layer.
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Cover with a dinner
plate that will fit as snugly as possible over the top of the
cabbage.
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Weigh down the plate
with cans or a small brick and leave the bowl in a cool place
for 5 days.
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Remove the weights
and plate, pour off any liquid, then rinse the
cabbage
well under cold running water.
-
Squeeze out any
excess water and combine the cabbage with the
cayenne
pepper, spring onion,
garlic, ginger, chili and sugar.
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Mix well to combine
before spooning the cabbage into a large sterilized jar.
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Pour the water over
the top and seal with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 3 to
4 days before eating.
Note : Kim Chi is an accompaniment eaten with
Korean main meals and with steamed rice. For an authentic flavor,
use 3 tablespoons of chili. Bottled chopped chili can be used
instead of fresh chili. |
Bulgogi (grilled marinated steak)
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Ingredients : |
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2
tablespoons
1
tablespoons
4
tablespoons
1
bunch (about 8)
1(about 2 inch)
6
cloves
2
tablespoons
5
tablespoons
2 lb
/ 1 kg |
Dark
soy sauce
Light soy sauce
Sugar
Scallions, white and tender green parts only, coarsely chopped
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Garlic, minced
Cooking rice wine
Sesame oil
flank steak,
sliced as thin as possible
Cooking oil |
Method :
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Mix all the
ingredients thoroughly except the sliced beef.
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Add the beef and
marinade for about 1 hour.
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Heat some cooking
oil in a large frying pan.
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Put the sliced beef
in a few at a time and sear on both sides for about 1 minute per
side.
Note : This is a festive national dish of Korea.
A good choice for New Year. Often cooked at the table on small
grills and diners seated around it. Kim Chi (above) often
accompanies it. |
Japchae (transparent noodles with vegetables)
| Ingredients: |
1 pack transparent noodle (dangmyun), |
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(soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained) |
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1 medium onion, thin sliced |
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1/2 carrot, thin julienne |
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1 bunch spinach, blanched, cut into 3 inches |
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10 oz thin slice beef |
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5 green onions, cut in a bias |
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7 shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, thin sliced |
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oil to saute |
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salt and pepper |
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2 tbsp sesame seeds |
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| Beef marinade: 1 tbsp
soy sauce, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, |
| 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp
sesame seeds |
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| Shiitake marinade:
1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp sesame oil |
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| Noodle seasoning: 1
and 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp
vegetable oil |
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In a non stick pan, add oil and saute vegetables.
All ingredients have to be cooked separately.
To use the same pan, start with light color vegetable.
An ideal order will be onion - green onions - carrot - shiitake
mushrooms - beef.
The vegetables don't have to get any color, just need to be
softened.
Saute and move to a big bowl to cool a little bit.
Put a non-stick wok or large pan on a medium heat.
Add dang myon seasoning, pour in dang myon.
Bring to a boil, stir occasionally for a few minutes until dang
myon absorbs water.
In about 10-15 minutes they start to stick together.
From this point, stir constantly until the noodle gets soft and
translucent.
Take off from the heat, let cool for a while.
If needed cut the length.
Mix with vegetables, sesame seeds, salt and pepper to taste. |
Bibim Bap (Mix-Mix Rice)
| Ingredients:
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3 cups
rice, a handful of soy bean sprouts |
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4 dried
shiitake mushrooms, 1 zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick |
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1/2 cup go
sa ri (packaged fernbrake in water) |
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1/2 cup mu
(Korean radish), julienne |
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4 oz beef,
thinly sliced, 1/4 cup carrot, julienne, 1/2 onion, sliced |
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4 tbsp
gochujang (Korean chili paste), 4 eggs |
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sesame oil,
vegetable oil for sautéing |
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soy bean sprouts seasoning: 1
tbsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp gochugaru (Korean chili powder) |
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1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp
sesame seeds, a pinch of sugar |
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shiitake mushrooms seasoning: 1/2
tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1/4 tsp sugar |
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zucchini seasoning: 1 tsp sugar,
1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 cup
water |
| |
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fernbrake seasoning: 2 tbsp
vegetable oil, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp soy sauce |
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1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sesame
seeds |
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radish seasoning: 1 tsp sugar, 1
tsp salt, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 cup
water |
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beef seasoning: 1 tsp soy sauce,
1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/4 tsp minced garlic |
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pinch of pepper |
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Wash rice until the water comes out clean.
Add 3.5 cups of water, cook rice in a rice cooker.
Or cook in a pot on a high heat until the water is absorbed.
Reduce heat to very low, cover with a lid, cook for another
15-20 minutes.
Turn the heat off, leave for 10-15 minutes with a lid on.
Marinate beef with seasonings.
Soy bean sprouts -
Wash and add to a pot, pour 1/2 cup water and a pinch of salt,
cover the lid.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cook for 5-7 minutes.
Don't peek it, if they smell like cooked beans, they're done.
Pour into a colander, let cool for a while.
Add seasonings, mix.
Shiitake mushrooms -
Dried ones need to be reconstituted, add warm water, leave
until softened.
Wash, squeeze out water, slice thinly.
Add to a pan with seasonings, saute briefly.
Zucchini -
Add in a pan with seasonings (see above) on a high heat with a lid.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cook for 2-3 minutes.
Open the lid, let cool.
Fernbrake -
Drain the water, add oil to a pan, saute with seasonings (see
above).
Add sesame seeds at the last minute.
Let cool.
Radish -
Add in a pan with seasonings (see above) on a high heat with a lid.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cook for 4-5 minutes.
Open the lid, let cool.
Onion -
Saute with some salt.
Carrot -
Saute with some salt.
Saute beef on a high heat.
To assemble the bowl -
Put rice on the bottom, arrange vegetables around.
Add egg yolk (or sunny side up, or just fried) on top.
Serve with go chu jang
(Korean chili paste) and sesame oil. |
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Tips: You can use any vegetables such as
spinach, bean sprouts, or mushrooms (oyster, enoki).
Blanch mushrooms, squeeze, add some sesame oil, salt and
sesame seeds. |
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5. CRAFTS -
Korean Han-Ji: Dak
Paper Doll Craft
Crafts in Korea are not like crafts in America. These are works
of art and a "craft" might takes months instead of minutes or hours.
Take a look at this link and see what I mean:
http://www.topics-mag.com/internatl/customs/korea-han-ji.htm
Perhaps you will be inspired to make some easier and less intensive
paper dolls - American style - and put on a puppet show. All you
need is paper (or even easier - coloring books), colored pencils (or pens), popsicle sticks, glue, some
creativity and you are on your way.
And remember to have fun!
Warm Regards,
Terri Johnson
Knowledge Quest, Inc.
www.kqpublishing.net - try our maps free!
www.kqpublishing.net - we are looking for authors for our new book
www.homeschoolblogger.com/knowledgequest - see what we're up to.
www.kqbusiness.com - our business helping your business to
succeed!
Terri Johnson is the creator of Knowledge Quest maps and timelines.
Her mission for the company is to help make the teaching and learning
of history and geography enjoyable for both teacher and students. She
has created and published over 20 map and timeline products. Her
Blackline Maps of World History have been widely recommended in
the education community. Terri resides in Oregon with her husband Todd and their
five
children whom she teaches at home.
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