Correspondent

After working as a history teacher for over seven years in Korea, I came to Vietnam in 2007 to teach at a Korean international school. At first, I had mixed feelings of anxiety and expectations. I spent busy days teaching Korean history and world history to Korean teenagers and children of multicultural families in the Korean international school operated in the frame of Korean educational courses according to Vietnam’s Doi Moi policy introduced in the early 1990s. Teaching students at various types of schools in Korea including special high school, ordinary academic high school, vocational high school, and alternative school, I felt that education should change actively and creatively according to the characteristics of each school and student.

Therefore, when I first arrived in Vietnam, I thought a lot about “how to reorganize the contents of the history of Korea and the world” for my teaching. In addition, I analyzed the curricula of the nearby Taiwanese school, Japanese school, Saigon South International School (SSIS), and British International school (BIS) that had cooperative relations with the Korean international school. I sorted out the merits of those schools and tried to reflect them to my history class. In particular, I paid attention to the Discovery Learning Method focusing on the concepts and terms and education of STEAM (convergence education of science, engineering, technology, arts, and mathematics initiated by Virginia Tech) and used them for my classes. Especially, from 2011 to 2013 when I was working as teaching director, I restructured the educational course of the public educational institution to be suitable for the era of globalization. At that time, my fellow teachers and I made much effort to reform the educational course for the following purposes: first, to respond to the rapidly changing era of globalization; second, to assist the children of multicultural families whose number is on the rise (as of 2014, the ratio of children of multicultural families in the Korean international school in Ho Chi Minh was about 50% in elementary school and about 30% in middle and high schools); third, to publicize Korean history and culture to the foreigners in Vietnam.

Due to the operation of academic affairs and teaching and learning within the frame of the Korean educational course (2007 Educational Course and 2009 New Educational Course), it was difficult for the children of multicultural families -- called “Korea-Vietnam Families” -- to follow the school education well; in fact, many of the children of Korea-Vietnam families mostly with Vietnamese mother and Korean father lacked the cultural identity of Korea. When I asked the students who were born in Vietnam and raised in Vietnamese culture, “What is your native country?” they answered “Vietnam” without hesitation. Though it was true that the students were Vietnamese citizens, it was a problem from the viewpoint of Korea that many of the children of multicultural families were ignorant about Korea, which can be considered their native country as well, or that they could not understand Korean culture. The principal of the school at that time and I as acting vice principal and teaching director believed that it could be a national issue in 10 or 20 years. We drastically reformed the educational course with such critical thinking. Instead of increasing the hours of the subject of national language, which is taught 4 to 5 hours a week, the Korean language was taught parallel to the class of national language. Despite some opposition, the previous class operation with mainly “composition,” “speech,” and grammar, reading of literary works, analysis of classical literature, etc. taught by teachers was changed to education on speaking (debating) and writing (essay). Besides, the subject “Understanding of the World” was newly introduced for the students to cultivate an international mindset, with “Vietnamese language” taught two hours a week for the proper understanding of the local society.

In addition to the teenagers attending the Korean international school, I paid attention to the youths of Korean heritage who went to the international schools of other countries located in Ho Chi Minh City. They were being taught based on the educational course and system of the US, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Singapore, etc., and most of them understood the history and culture of the nations concerned quite accurately. To my surprise, however, most of them knew Korean enough for basic communication only and lacked understanding and in-depth knowledge of Korean; neither did they know much about Korean culture and history. When they enter the university or get a job after graduating, whether they are “blessed people” owing to the economic growth of Korea and globalization or “international missing children” is decided. These students at foreign international schools were certainly good talent for the future development of Korea, and each one of them was also a private diplomat who publicized Korea to the students of the school concerned composed of many different races, ethnic groups, and nationalities. For eight years from 2007 to 2014, I taught history to students at a Korean language school every Saturday. I introduced Korean culture to them and helped them internalize Korean culture. For the last three years, I have worked as teaching director of the middle and high school courses of the Korean language school and personally developed and operated an educational course focusing on reading and understanding Korean literature.

I had one more thing to enjoy in my teaching career. Since 2007, I have been teaching Korean language to the local Vietnamese students at the University of Social Sciences & Humanities - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City. Instead of explaining boring conversation materials for the whole duration of my Korean language class, I taught them with interesting examples of Korean history and culture. The method was very effective for the students who, as a result, came to have a more positive thinking of Korea and Korean people and improve their ability to learn the Korean language. I have taught approximately 1,000 students at the university for the past 8 years. They were not only my students but also my friends. My first Korean language class always starts with singing the song “Arirang” together. Through Arirang, I was able to make the students feel the emotion of Koreans similar to that of Vietnamese and the history of Korea. From time to time in the middle of the class, I introduced China’s Northeast Asia Project (distortion of history), Dokdo Island, great Korean poems, clothing culture of Korea, Korean culinary culture, etc. to refine their Korean conversation. Can you think of a better way for the education of Korean language and PR of Korea than having foreigners experience Lunar New Year’s Day eating “Tteokguk(rice cake soup)” and Chuseok Holiday making and eating “Songpyeon(half-moon rice cake)”? I refuse to neglect meeting and communicating with Vietnamese university students while I am in Vietnam because my Vietnamese students -- who received favor from their Korean teacher, experienced Korean culture personally, and learned Korean language by hearing the historical and cultural stories of Korea -- will become the leaders of Vietnam in 10, 20, or 30 years.

I hope that my Vietnamese students and Korean students will carry out communication and exchanges. The duty of the older generation including myself is to create a stage for such communication and identify accurately the universal and unique characteristics of each other for easier mutual understanding. Whenever I went to the University of Social Sciences & Humanities - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City for my Korean language class, I brought with me several Korean middle and high school students in a cab to provide the students of the two countries with the opportunity to communicate with each other. Some students follow me out of simple curiosity and others do so because they need a certificate for voluntary services; anyway, they were able to begin exchanges, establish mutual trust, and make a good memory of the fruitful exchange and cooperation in their lives. Sometimes they laugh out loud, and sometimes they shed tears at the end of the class feeling sad because they had to say goodbye. They talk their hearts out in face-to-face conversations, get to know each other, and laugh and shed tears together. Don’t you think this is true diplomacy? Isn’t it the true “cultural exchange”?

As a teacher in the Korean international school, I have consistently tried to publicize the issues of Dokdo Island and China’s Northeast Asia Project in the local Vietnamese society. I thought doing so was the duty and mission of a history teacher, but it was actually not very easy. So far, I have held events such as Dokdo Flash Mob Event of the Youths in Ho Chi Minh (YouTube), intramural exhibition of Dokdo, street display of photos of Dokdo, and exhibition of traditional Korean culture and Dokdo in festivals in Vietnamese universities. Fortunately, many students from elementary to high school actively participated in the events, but it was not easy for high school students due to the university entrance exam and their parents’ opposition. As there was no separate budget allocated for the events, the budgets of the Department of Social Studies of the school and the student club were always exceeded, so it was often a burden to me. Thankfully, our school was designated as “ Dokdo Protector School” by the Korea Ministry of Education based on the activities of the students, and we were able to conduct a large-scale Dokdo event with the support of the Dokdo Protection Department of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. The Korean press widely publicized our activities. As a result of all such efforts, I was awarded a special prize in 2011 by the chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Northeast Asian History Foundation under the Ministry of Education. Publicizing the critical issues in Korean history such as Dokdo Island and China’s Northeast Asia Project, I talked about the similar hardship in history to the local people in Vietnam, emphasized the cultural homogeneity and relationship with China in history to the Chinese people in Vietnam, and discussed with Japanese youths focusing on the future of Korea and Japan. For the same purpose of fostering historical consciousness and publicizing the history of Korea, I was able to have more achievements by rearranging the contents and making different approaches appropriately for different people and situations.

Lastly, let me talk about the political and diplomatic efforts made by Korea in Vietnam, which have not achieved satisfactory results.

We can grasp the characteristics, strategies of the government, and response to the globalization of Korea, China, Japan, and Russia in East Asia by observing the use of their culture and history for economic purposes.

In the case of Japan, the government makes a rough sketch for the active PR of Japanese culture to the Vietnamese people through the marketing of companies. For example, the websites of Japanese diplomatic institutions not only highlight the controversial historical issues but also provide detailed explanation of traditional Japanese culture so that foreigners can easily find information about the Japanese culture and the state of development of modern Japan. Furthermore, the Japanese government does not spare investment in establishing friendship between Vietnam and Japan through various programs including ODA, which is performed for Vietnam. Japanese companies are concentrating on selling cultural products by holding various cultural festivals while maintaining their unique traditional customs and management philosophies.

It seems that there is little resistance to Japanese culture in Vietnam despite the criticism of the Japanese government in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries due to Abenomics and past problems, probably because of the efforts of the Japanese government and macroscopic approach of Japanese companies. The Chinese government is now working hard in Southeast Asian countries to create a favorable atmosphere for the issues of territorial waters, establishment of AIIB, confrontation with the US, etc. In addition to large-scale direct investments, the Chinese government is making efforts to improve the national status of China using more than one million overseas Chinese who began to settle in the region from the early 19th century. Not only the people from mainland China but also those who migrated from Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc. have big feasts on seasonal holidays such as Lunar New Year’s Day or Chuseok Holiday and national holidays like Labor Day with the support of the Chinese government and the private sector. Naturally, the influence of China is being expanded, and the image of “China” is positioned as a friend and a rich country among the Vietnamese people. The Southeast Asian region is very important as the gateway to the new sea route and the hinterland of the New Silk Road in the “One Belt One Road” policy pursued by President Xi Jinping. In the case of Russia, the Russian government is reinforcing exchanges and cooperation with Vietnam in the areas of natural resources and tourism, quietly emphasizing the past relationship of traditional socialist alliance between the two nations in order to realize the successful return to Asia and the policy of a strong Russia. Russia thinks that Vietnam is located in a strategic point for the expansion of the national power of Russia to the Southeast Asian region.

Compared to such strategies of China, Japan, and Russia for the PR of their nation and culture in Vietnam, Korea has some merits and demerits. The biggest merit of Korea is that Korea and Vietnam have high cultural homogeneity from the viewpoint of comparative cultural history. Both countries established a sense of sovereignty and nation, having been invaded by China repeatedly; they also share Confucianism, Chinese character, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism culture, etc. it is true that the latest Hallyu, or Korean Wave, is also making Korea a country of yearning and example for the Vietnamese people. As a developing country that needs quick economic growth, Vietnam is trying to adopt the 5-year economic plan of Korea and the Saemaeul Movement, too. As a result, about 130,000 Koreans are currently living in Vietnam, with Korean companies in Vietnam accounting for approximately 60% of the total exports of Vietnam. Note, however, that the activities of Korea in Vietnam are not as macroscopic as those of China in terms of contents, and the strategy of Korea is not as good as that of Japan, which creates economic synergy effect by capitalizing on Japanese culture through the joint effort of the government and the private sector. Korea does not have a macroscopic, comprehensive approaching strategy. The system of cooperation between the Korean government and civilians is still insufficient. Diplomacy is too formal and restricted to public areas. The Hallyu culture tends toward profit-making and lacks investment in the localization and development of cultural contents, making approach only with Western rationalism and ignoring the cultural characteristics and historical awareness of Vietnamese people. What I find lamentable is that Korea is not reaping as much economic effects as China, Japan, and Russia despite the huge spending and effort in comparison to its GDP. In fact, Korea is an important trading partner of Vietnam. Moreover, the textile, steel, machinery, and new materials industries of Vietnam depend heavily on Korean companies. The problem is that the grant-type aid of the Korean government and investments of Korean companies in cultural projects and infrastructure do not have significant effects. The reason for the lack of respect for the huge investment is the understanding of culture. It seems that both Korean government and civilian sector do not make effort for respect, consideration, cultural understanding, communication, etc. when working in Vietnam. It means that Koreans basically think that Vietnam is a poor socialist country or/and an inferior society, which makes it difficult to have a sincere relationship with the Vietnamese people and increase exchanges. Though it is not revealed at ordinary times, the Korean government and citizens incur massive social expenses if serious issues occur such as the murder of a Vietnamese woman who migrated to Korea by marriage, prejudice on migrant workers, exploitation of wages, and low wages and trade conflicts.

As examined so far, Vietnam and Southeast Asia are very important to Korea as partners in economic cooperation and exchanges. As a result of “event” projects between the governments or approaches with economic logics mainly by large Korean companies, however, Korea is perceived by many Vietnamese people as “a slightly richer country but poorer than Japan or China.” Such phenomenon can be found in countries other than Vietnam.

There is a saying, “Make haste slowly.” While it is important to enhance the national image of Korea, develop Hallyu to publicize Korean culture, and pursue economic profits, I think what is most important is promoting private exchanges. We have to create a culture that inspires sympathy and communication between Korea and Vietnam and between Korea and world citizens. The Korean government has to provide foreigners with more open and respectful services, and the civilian sector will have to respect the tradition, culture, history, and unique characteristics of Vietnam. It is important for the Korean government and Koreans to improve international sense by themselves. Some may say it is a “cliché” or is inefficient. Still, what is really important is the “courtesy” and “trust” between countries and civilian sectors.

With such critical thinking, I have taught Korean students to have correct view of the nation and the state, pride in Korean society, and critical thinking ability through history education in the Korean international school and educated Vietnamese students at the University of Social Sciences & Humanities - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City on Korean language and introduced traditional Korean culture to them for the past nine years.

I think the children of multicultural families were able to establish their identity, taking pride in being Koreans, thanks to the effort of the teachers and volunteer students who contributed to enhancing the national status of Korea and publicizing Korean culture to the world more effectively. I believe that publicizing Korea to the Vietnamese people is a “sustainable investment” and the “creation of happiness for world citizens.”

Therefore, I continue to do my voluntary services in Ho Chi Minh and teach Korean language and culture at the University of Social Sciences & Humanities - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City every Fridays . I strongly believe that the students and I are working as an important part of private diplomacy, and our efforts will lay the groundwork for the great development of Korean culture and promotion of Korea throughout the world in the future.