Synopsis
Education is a process of learning and acquiring skills for the upcoming life. Wisdom and knowledge are two important aspects of education and they are acquired by the education process and the experiences of life. When the education is blended with the real life experiences of life, the process of learning becomes very effective and interactive. The Asian American Studies have such practical sessions to impart the knowledge to their students. The aim of these sessions is to make the students familiar with the culture of the region and also impart them some real-time experiences by making them the part and parcel of the culture. One such event was organized on April 14th, 2013. The event was named as K-Night 2013 K-Night 2013, and its motive was to showcase the attributes of the Korean Culture with full glamor and gaiety.
Thesis
It is to be borne in mind that education can be made interesting if some events of cultural activities are made the part of the learning process. The significance of such events is that they arouse the interest level of the students and grant them an opportunity to know more about the cultural background of a particular region. Such events are necessary as they incline the students towards rational thinking and more importantly, they are able to relate the practicality of their theoretical studies.
Feature
It was the Korean Student Association that organized the event named K-Night 2013 on the April 13th, 2013. The venue for this event was Club Senior Ball Room, WSU and the timings fixed for the event was between 4p.m. to 7p.m. WSU club was established about 20 years ago, and they focus on spreading the Korean culture by making their students understand about it. This event was organized to help the students and the families of Pullman learn about the Korean culture.
K-Night 2013 event was a colorful experience of many performances which intended to portray the present and past experiences of the Korean culture. The number of participants in the event was about 40. The event started with the warm welcome to the guests of honor and the spectators. As the part of the introductory session, a brief outline was given about the proceedings of the event. It was a blend of warm greetings and the wave of curiosity aroused by introducing the brief history of the Korean culture and its association with the performances of the day.
Sequence of Events
As the purpose of this event was to showcase the culture of Korea, the first performance of the event was fan dance. The fan dance is a traditional form of dance in Japan and the purpose of this dance is to bestow good wishes and cheerfulness. The curriculum of the grade V students has the fan dance in its context. So, as the part of welcome message this was a very pleasing performance with many artistic approaches attached to it. Whenever a culture of a particular region is presented in front of a group of people, it is important that it related to the history of the place. Thus, the event proceeded with a ceremonial dance form known as Knife dancing. Owing its history many years back, this dancing form represented the prowess of warriors in the battle field and their talent of throwing, twirling, and catching artistically.
The evening would have been incomplete if the different flavors of music were not added in the show. Music is regarded as the soul of life and different forms of music bring different emotions and feelings to an individual. With the very innovatory introduction to the concept of music, the event moved on with the musical performance with Korean string instrument. Music brings solace to heart and this was rightly reflected in one of the memorable performance of a female artist who played Gayageum. To bring in another flavor of the percussion, music was made the part of the evening. It suddenly drifted the audiences from the world of solace and peace to the world of drumming noises. The audiences were thrilled and excited with such kind of diversion. These events very beautifully related to themes of cultural background as the part of students curriculum.
Being the student of the Asian Pacific American studies, my experience on this particular event was amazing and unforgettable. The performances in the show were organized very systematically and had different sections. The different sections of art, history i.e. warfare, music and its traditionalism were very attractive to keep the audiences in the event hooked. While interacting with some of my fellow friends and gathering their experiences of the show, I analyzed that the event met the expectations of its audiences. Thus, it was able to impart the practicality to the theoretical studies. The very idea of explaining the various concepts of culture were wisely represented and delivered.
Conclusion
The success of every event depends on the feedback of the spectators. If the efforts put into a particular performance are accomplished and appreciated by the viewers, the real purpose of the event is fulfilled. The above event was an experience of one such appreciable effort done by the representatives of the Korean Association. It is wisely said that we learn more by seeing rather than hearing. Such thought was aimed while preparing to teach about Korean culture and it met the expectations of both the organizers as well as the viewers.
Works Cited
- Chan, Sucheng. Asian Americans: An Interpretive History. Twayne Publishers. 1991. Print.
- Timothy Fong, The Contemporary Asian American Experience: Beyond the Model Minority, Third Edition, Pearson-Prentice Hall. 2007. Print.
