up with the kinds of troubles they had in 1963.
Pak believed that this could happen, that
Korea could once again reach for the stars
and achieve its dreams if only it would follow
the flow of the river, remembering the past, but
moving forward as a unified nation under one
standard of hope and commitment all the way
out to the ocean of the future.TOPICS FOR
FURTHER
STUDY The Korean people were not permitted to use
their own language for official or literary
purposes during the Japanese occupation.
In the United States, both Native Americans
and Hispanics have been forbidden to speak
their own languages at school. In teams,
research this prohibition to discover when,
where, and why the suppression of native
language occurred in the United States. If
you have Native American or Hispanic
friends or family, interview someone with
knowledge of this language discrimination.
Report your findings to the rest of the class
and then discuss the motivations and conse-
quences of such language prohibitions.
If you are bilingual or studying another lan-
guage, try translating a simple poem from one
language to another. If you do not know a
second language, partner with someone who
does and assist that person with the trans-
lation. What difficulties do you encounter?
Is the translation still poetic, or does it lose
its meter and rhythm? Are there some words
that do not translate well? Share your experi-
ence with other students and the teacher. As a
class, discuss whether you think it is possible
to gain a true appreciation and understanding
of a translated poem or if the poet’s skill and
message are lost in the process.
August 15, 1945, marked liberation for
Korea from Japan because that is the day
that the Japanese emperor announced his
country’s surrendered to the Allied forces.
Other dates in August were monumental as
well. On August 6, the Americans dropped
an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, and
on August 9 the Americans dropped another
atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, while theSoviets invaded the Japanese colony of
Manchuria. On August 28, the occupation of
Japan by Allied forces began with General
Douglas MacArthur as Supreme Commander.
Divide the class into groups that will research
and give an audio/visual report of the conse-
quences of the actions on these dates in August
1945.
Korean poetry is traditionally about nature,
and Pak used nature a lot for his themes and
images. Individually or in pairs, prepare a
pictorial description of Korea showing the
beauty of its countryside. Pictures from the
1988 Seoul Summer Olympics would also be
acceptable. The pictures can be presented on
a computer or on a poster. Photos from
travel brochures or magazines will cover
only South Korea since North Korea is a
closed country; however, news magazines
will have some pictures from North Korea
if contrast is desired.
Pak joined the nationalists after World War
II, but communist sympathies led to the split
between North and South Korean and the
Korean War (1950–1953) in which many
Americans and United Nations forces lost
their lives. For a one or two-day project,
break the class into quick fact-gathering
groups, one group for each decade of Korean
history since 1950, then come together to
create an overall outline of this history. For
discussion, consider the following questions:
What differences do you see between the
two countries, politically, economically, and
socially through the years? Why does the
Demilitarized Zone still exist? What is and
has been the relationship of North Korea
with the rest of the world?River of August