BFS Upper School teacher Mark Buenzle spent two weeks this summer in South Korea attending lectures on Korean culture, art and history at Yonsei University and visiting historic sites in the region. This Korean Studies Workshop for American Educators, a program for secondary school teachers, was sponsored by the Korea Foundation.
"Every year they take groups of 52 history teachers for two weeks to attend lectures by faculty from Yonsei University and also guided tours of historic sites," said Mark, who teaches Art History, Psychology, 2D Art, and IB Art. He said the quality of the lectures was excellent, and his goal in attending was to become better informed about Korean culture and art, as well as the Korean War in order to serve as a resource to BFS students and other faculty.
One of the guided tours was to the DMZ, the 2km wide demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, under armed UN escort. "It's still considered an active war zone. The North Koreans had just shot someone the day before who was walking on the beach at the border, so it was rather tense," Mark said. Ironically this strip of wild land is one of the best bird sanctuaries on the planet, he explained, because there's been no human incursion for over 50 years. Their guide pointed out the massive concrete slabs built over the roads, wired to be exploded and collapsed to block the roadways if the North Koreans ever invade. The rivers were strung with barbed wire. "The military also took us to the JSA," Mark said, the Joint Security Area overseen by both UN and North Korean soldiers. The JSA gained worldwide infamy in 1976 when a skirmish over a tree trimming resulted in North Korean soldiers axe murdering two US officers, escalating East-West tensions.
The group also visited Gyeongju, an ancient city of temples and palaces in southern South Korea, and they visited a Buddhist temple in Seoul before sunrise. "The monk was so happy to see us he had tea with us and gave us prayer beads," Mark said. "The ceiling was covered in lanterns, so there was a red-orange glow before sunrise which was beautiful."
There were also plenty of lighter moments during his stay. They visited a high school, and although not in session at the time some of the students gave the teachers a tour. "Their school day runs from 7am to 11pm," he said, "and the students have toothbrushes in the classroom because they're there so much."
His most enjoyable experience was seeing a major league baseball game. "Baseball is huge there. It's very popular." The main draw was the Dunsan Bears, a pro team based in Seoul. "The game was much more exuberant than here," he said. "There were cheerleaders, a lot more cheering in the stands, and instead of hot dog vendors they sold dried octopus as a snack."
This summer Mark also attended an IB teacher training workshop in Lake Tahoe and relaxed on the Jersey Shore. He lives in Westchester.