Primary Sources w/DBQs • "The Old People and the New Government," by Komatsu Midori [PDF] [Asia for Educators]
In order to understand Japanese colonial rule in Korea, and the reactions of Koreans, it is useful to see the ways in which Japanese officials sought to justify the takeover to Koreans, to themselves, and to the rest of the world. The article excerpted here is a transcript of a talk given by an official of the Japanese foreign ministry, Komatsu Midori, to resident foreign members (mostly British and American) of Seoul’s Royal Asiatic Society shortly after annexation. Both history and civilization are called into service.

Primary Sources w/DBQs • Declaration of Independence (March 1, 1919) [PDF] [Asia for Educators]

Lesson Plan •The March First Movement [PDF] [Korea Society]
For grades 7-12. Learning objectives: 1) Understand how Japan's annexation and colonization of Korea influenced the growth of
Korean nationalism; 2) Identify the importance of Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points declaration and its effect on Korea; 3) Analyze the connection between the Korean Declaration of Independence of March 1, 1919 and Wilson's "doctrine of self-determination" policy; 4) Analyze photographs of the March First Movement; 5) Demonstrate an understanding of the March First Movement by writing a letter to President Wilson.

Lesson Plan • March First Independence Movement [PDF] [Korea Society]
For grades 10-12. "The purpose of this lesson is to examine the March 1, 1919 independence movement in Korea. Students will look at this event from a variety of perspectives and create a political poster that captures the emotions of the Koreans, who took a stand against their oppressors in hopes of gaining their independence. Students will also examine the aftermath of the March 1 Movement, within Korea and abroad."

Lesson Plan • Famous Koreans: Six Portraits: Yu Kwan-Sun (1904-1920) [Education About Asia, Association for Asian Studies]
Lesson plan designed "to provide an opportunity for students to learn about famous Koreans through readings and/or dramatizations." Brief overviews of the lives of six notable figures in Korea's history, including Yu Kwan-Sun (1904-1920), a student organizer in the March First Independence Movement. Each overview is imagined as a first-person narrative written by the historical figure.

Lesson Plan • Korea under Japanese Occupation [PDF] [Korea Society]
For grades 9-12. Learning objectives: 1) Understand the influence of geography on Korean history and culture; 2) Develop an appreciation of literature as a medium of learning history; 3) Interpret attitudes and behaviors of cultures and peoples in conflict; 4) Compare historical experiences of three small nations under occupation (Korea 1910-45, eighteenth-century
Poland, Biblical Israel).

Primary Sources w/DBQs • Japanese Colonialism in Korea: 1910-1945 (A Document-based Essay Exercise) [PDF] [Korea Society]
For grades 10-12. With a background reading and thirteen short primary-source documents.

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Primary Source w/DBQs • Manifesto of the Korean Communist Party in Shanghai (1921) [PDF] [Asia for Educators]

Lesson Plan • Famous Koreans: Six Portraits: Kim Il-Sung (1912-1994) [Education About Asia, Association for Asian Studies]
Lesson plan designed "to provide an opportunity for students to learn about famous Koreans through readings and/or dramatizations." Brief overviews of the lives of six notable figures in Korea's history, including Kim Il-Sung (1912-1994), the leader of North Korea from 1948 until his death. Each overview is imagined as a first-person narrative written by the historical figure.

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Primary Sources w/DBQs • Oral Histories of the Colonial Era [PDF] [Asia for Educators]

Primary Sources w/DBQs • Oral Histories of the "Comfort Women" [PDF] [Asia for Educators]

Lesson Plan • Coming of Age during the Japanese Occupation: Richard E. Kim's Lost Names: Scenes from a Korean Boyhood [PDF] [Korea Society]
For grades 9-12. Learning objectives: 1) Understand how the Japanese occupation of Korea affected the young narrator and his family and, by extension, all Koreans; 2) Identify with a young boy who comes of age during a particularly difficult time in his country's history; 3) Learn the importance of family ties and religious faith in building courage and fortitude.

• History as Literature, Literature as History: Lost Names, Scenes from a Korean Boyhood [Education About Asia, Association for Asian Studies]
"Lost Names is a useful, rare, and wonderful book for several reasons. The book’s title reflects the Japanese Pacific War policy of forcing Koreans to replace their own names with Japanese ones. Lost Names is the story, as recounted by a young boy, of one Korean family’s experience during the war years." Featuring an interview of the author, Richard E. Kim, as well as essays by a junior high, senior high school, and university instructor on how they have used Lost Names as a highly effective teaching tool.

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Lesson Plan • Famous Koreans: Six Portraits: Yu Kwan-Sun (1904-1920) [Education About Asia, Association for Asian Studies]
Lesson plan designed "to provide an opportunity for students to learn about famous Koreans through readings and/or dramatizations." Brief overviews of the lives of six notable figures in Korea's history, including Yu Kwan-Sun (1904-1920), a student organizer in the March First Independence Movement. Each overview is imagined as a first-person narrative written by the historical figure.

Primary Sources w/DBQs • Oral Histories of the "Comfort Women" [PDF] [Asia for Educators]

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