This 6-week online course will help you better understand North Korea and South Korea as two countries with a common past, divided only since 1945, and still stuck in the Cold War many years after the fall of the Soviet bloc.
Participants will read 50-60 pages of primary or secondary source materials each week and view the video lectures for that week. We will then have a 1-hour live Zoom video conference on Tuesdays 5:00-6:00 pm PST. Each week, participants are to post thoughts on the readings or video lectures to the discussion forum. You are also expected to watch and review a feature film from Korea and to visit and review a website that includes content on Korea. To earn credit for the course, you also need to produce a set of curriculum lessons for use with your own students. Click here to download the flyer.
Upon completion of the requirements, participants are eligible to purchase 3 continuing education units from the USC Rossier School of Education, receive a certificate of completion, and have access to online resources and materials. This program is sponsored by the USC U.S.-China Institute and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia.
| Week 1 | 10/15 | Introduction |
| Week 2 | 10/22 | 1945-1994 (Kim Il Sung Era) |
| Week 3 | 10/29 | 1994-2011 (Kim Jong Il Era) |
| Week 4 | 11/5 | 2011-Present (Kim Jong Un Era) |
| Week 5 | 11/12 | South Korea Today |
| Week 6 | 11/19 | Depictions of North Korea |
Instructor
Jennifer Jung-Kim, Lecturer, International Institute and Department of Asian Languages & Cultures, UCLA
How to Apply