Elementary Students from Korea Share Fairy Tales with Argentinian Partners

Can you recall your favorite children’s story? Fairy tales and folk tales are told from generation to generation and have become deep-rooted into our childhood experiences. Although they vary, each tale includes an important message. Throughout the semester, Korean elementary schoolers analyzed famous fairy tales from their culture. On Friday, December 3rd, IVECA hosted a vibrant Live Class that combined five different schools, four of which included Korean elementary schools. All students from Korea, as well as their Argentinian partners, joined the Live Class individually from home. With the support of their teachers, students were prepared and incredibly excited to present their stories!

Argentinian students began the presentations with summaries of famous tales in their culture. The audience learned about Dulce de Leche, a mix of condensed milk and sugar. Legend says this staple dessert was created by accident! The sweet sauce caught the attention of a Cheongryang Elementary student who noted, “the most interesting part about Le Dulce de Leche is how tasty it looks!” Furthermore, Yangji students compared the story “La Urraca” (The Magpie) from Argentina to their presentation of “Red Fan, Blue Fan.” Both stories taught the same lesson to readers - do not be greedy! Lastly, after the reading of “Heungbu and Nolbu” by Cheongryang Elementary, the class made sure to note the Korean traditional clothing worn by the main characters called Hanbok.

The unification of multiple Korean schools created a special opportunity for students. This unique situation allowed Korean students to not only gain knowledge from foreign partners but also learn more about their own culture from different perspectives. Although shy, students were seen supporting one another with a thumbs up or hearts. To wrap up a successful Live Class, farewell letters were exchanged. Korean students exclaimed to their partners, “We are so happy to share this beautiful world with you!”

#IVECA#InterculturalCompentence#LiveClass#GlobalCitizenship#GlobalEducation#21stCenturyEducation

Students from China and Korea address SDG through music and art

As everyone knows, music is one of the most important elements of human culture. This week, on November 29, music brought students from Zhenjiang Vocational College, China, and Incheon Performing Art High School, South Korea, together. During the Live Class, students shared their passion for dancing and music while discussing Music and Humanity in the two countries. Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, both schools managed to participate directly from their classrooms, which facilitated great interactions between all students.

Throughout the semester, students worked on diverse activities, devoted to music and art and their connection to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The purpose of the Live Class was to share the results of semester-long efforts, learn about partner country’s music as well as develop new attitudes towards the role of art for humanity. Chinese students presented the development of rap in China and introduced a famous Chinese rapper, Jackson Wang. According to their research, his music not only promotes common values such as love, hope, and peace but also is calling against cultural division between East and West. Additionally, they performed a dance on one of J.Wang’s songs. Korean students shared their reflections on the famous song “Heal the World'' by Michael Jackson. Students explained that the main theme of the song was covering many of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, in the reflection part, they mainly focused on SDG #16 “Peace, justice and strong institutions”.

After the presentations, students discussed similarities and differences of both artists’ music, its’ role, and main messages. Students concluded that although Jackson Wang and Michael Jackson might have different audiences, both artists’ music is addressing important goals for humanity in a fun and memorable way. Also, they noted that both artists are calling attention to global issues and aim to make this world a better place.

During the Performance time at the end of the Live Class, students got a chance to show their talents and sang songs in Korean and Chinese. Since both schools’ students joined from their classrooms, they could exchange immediate reactions and show their impressions altogether. Such direct online contact between students from two classrooms raised their interest in their partner’s culture and language.

Overall, students were encouraged to view the role of art in cultures from different perspectives. Live Class activities helped students to realize how art connects the world, how similar are its goals and means. While listening to partner school’s presentations, students learned how to express their behavior and attitude towards foreign artists correctly in a foreign language. As the principal from Zhenjiang Vocational College noted in his closing remarks, this Live Class was “a breakthrough in form and content”. Indeed, students explored a new side and purpose of art in a memorable way and at the same time gained new intercultural knowledge about each other.

#IVECA #21CenturyEducation #GlobalEducation #InterculturalCommunicativeCompetence #GlobalCitizenship #SDG #LiveClass #MulticulturalEducation #IEGI #ArtClass #ArtsForHumanity

Argentina and Korea plan and discuss special events for a positive impact on their communities

Over the last two weeks, various high schools in Daejeon, Korea partnered with a High School in Pampa, Argentina to participate in a series of Live Classes about special events in their communities. Students discussed current events in their countries and planned new events to benefit their communities.

Throughout the semester, in the IVECA Virtual Classrooms, students had a chance to share with their partners existing events, festivals, and other activities that are important for their culture and society. However, during the Live Class students got the opportunity to dive deeper into their own communities and plan upcoming events that take into consideration the current situation in their country such as Covid-19 restrictions. Students were very creative in coming up with their own events and festivals, which would benefit their community.

Students from Korea shared their ideas and thoughts about different festivals, devoted to diverse topics on K-pop, Korean Culture, Movies, and others. Additionally, students highlighted ways to protect the environment and care for disabled members of society. Students from Argentina shared their culture by presenting different festivals and events in their country. Additionally, Argentinian students explained how each event impacts society.

Students got a chance to learn more about their partner country’s culture and traditions as well as to discover their own history and culture. As one of the students from Choongnam Girls High School shared in their presentation: “I did a lot of research on Daejeon [city in Korea] to plan the festival, and thanks to this, I felt closer to Daejeon”. Exploring their own culture, getting closer to their own society helps students to develop an important part of intercultural competence - self-awareness. Only after knowing their own community from the inside did students learn how to compare similarities and differences between community events in two countries in appreciation of cultural diversity

IVECA Team is very excited about the rest of the Live Classes to assist in students’ journey to explore themselves as well as other cultures through IVECA activities.

#IVECA#LiveClass#internationalvirtualschooling#interculturalcompetence#21stCenturyEducation#GlobalCitizenship#21stcenturyskills