The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Kim Da-mi, Jeon So-nee team up for coming-of-age film 'Soulmate'

  • 3

    Park Hyung-sik to play crown prince in tvN series 'Our Blooming Youth'

  • 5

    Discussions on raising age for free subway rides gain momentum

  • 7

    Too many emergency text alerts? Gov't to halt daily COVID-19 notifications

  • 9

    First lady expands presence in domestic politics

  • 11

    'Ant-Man 3' promises bigger, better action with same family dynamic: cast

  • 13

    Apple Pay can be launched in Korea: financial regulator

  • 15

    FSC OKs Apple Pay to be available in Korea

  • 17

    Yoon's office to press charges over report on fortune teller

  • 19

    Families of Itaewon crowd stampede victims clash with police over installation of memorial altar

  • 2

    Teens feel peer pressure to buy luxury goods endorsed by K-pop stars

  • 4

    Itaewon tragedy's bereaved families harassed by far-right protesters

  • 6

    SM to introduce multi-production system to increase business capabilities

  • 8

    Plan to construct new memorial center for ex-president faces backlash

  • 10

    Ex-justice minister gets 2-year prison term for academic irregularities surrounding family

  • 12

    Seoul to discuss reforming free transportation benefits for seniors

  • 14

    Able C&C sale attracts dozens of potential buyers

  • 16

    Naver to roll out conversational AI service

  • 18

    Naver 2022 net profit down 96% on one-off factor

  • 20

    SEMICON Korea defies chip industry downturn

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Yun Byung-se
  • Kim Won-soo
  • Ahn Ho-young
  • Kim Sang-woo
  • Lee Kyung-hwa
  • Mitch Shin
  • Peter S. Kim
  • Daniel Shin
  • Jeon Su-mi
  • Jang Daul
  • Song Kyung-jin
  • Park Jung-won
  • Cho Hee-kyoung
  • Park Chong-hoon
  • Kim Sung-woo
  • Donald Kirk
  • John Burton
  • Robert D. Atkinson
  • Mark Peterson
  • Eugene Lee
  • Rushan Ziatdinov
  • Lee Jong-eun
  • Chyung Eun-ju and Joel Cho
  • Bernhard J. Seliger
  • Imran Khalid
  • Troy Stangarone
  • Jason Lim
  • Casey Lartigue, Jr.
  • Bernard Rowan
  • Steven L. Shields
  • Deauwand Myers
  • John J. Metzler
  • Andrew Hammond
  • Sandip Kumar Mishra
Sun, February 5, 2023 | 10:52
Mark Peterson
English sijo
Posted : 2018-12-03 17:38
Updated : 2018-12-03 17:38
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link

By Mark Peterson

I have a proposal.

In recent weeks, I have documented the birth of sijo in English in America. And I've contrasted the rise of sijo in English with the death of sijo in Korean. Today, I am proposing a way to revive sijo in Korean.

I think the reason sijo is taught as a dead art form in Korea is because of the college entrance exam, the all-important exam students take their senior year in high school. Because the exam can only test for knowledge of old poems, and cannot include a poem the student might write, the only thing taught is the old poems, the classics.

The common criticism of education is "teach to the exam" lets exams control what is taught. Can the student write a sijo? No! It's a waste of time ― one must study for the exam. And thus, the creativity of writing one's own poem is forsaken in order to teach what someone else did, creatively, 500 years ago.

Don't misunderstand me. I think the Korean education system is one of the best in the world. All the evaluations say so ― it's ranked No.1, or No.2, or in the top five ― depending on which survey you are looking at. And it's true from my own experience. I've taught Korean yuhaksaeng (overseas students) in my classes in America every year, and they are always among the top students in the class.

But the one criticism that the Korean public makes of the education system is that it does not foster creativity. And the most damning evidence cited is often that a Korean scholar has yet to win a Nobel Prize. Kim Dae-jung got the Peace Prize, but the scholarly prizes in economics, physics, medicine, literature, etc., have eluded the Koreans.

Maybe, it is said, Korea needs to foster creativity more in the education system, and not rely on a "cookie-cutter" result ― that is, where everyone takes the same test and everyone is supposed to come out the same. And system, it is said, stifles creativity and individual expression.

The solution:

Hold a sijo contest ― as is done in America ― to reward creative students. I think the contest can be held at each high school, and the judges can evaluate the students' poems without names attached so it will be objective ― as objective as the college entrance exam itself. And points can be given for the top 10 sijo writers, which will count toward the college entrance exam.

This would, in effect, put the students' sijo on the exam! In the current system, the only sijo that can appear on the exam are the famous ones, the masterpieces. And the student can only study those masterworks. There is no incentive to write a new one because there is no way to test for it. But if students can be rewarded for their own creative work, it is virtually the same as putting their own sijo on the exam ― and they get points for it.

Korea overemphasizes the exam process and the objective measure of testing because of the great emphasis Korea places on education and because of corrupt practices in the past, where wealthy or influential people could get their students admitted to universities regardless of ability. So, over the years Korea has created a bribe-proof, influence-proof, corruption-proof system. But to allow points for creative learning that are determined in an objective way will not in any way diminish the objectivity and the standards of the college entrance exam.

And if it works for a sijo contest, then Korea could reward creative efforts with other poems, and with similar contests for other poems. And points could be given toward the college entrance exam for winning the high school science fair. And one of the most creative of activities that has connections to multiple fields is music; the winner of a high school piano competition, or violin competition should have points applicable to college admissions.

The anonymity of the student and the absolute objectivity of the competition can easily be maintained by having "double-blind" competitions ― the judges do not know the names of the students, and the students do not know the names of the judges. Judges can easily be recruited from other schools, asked to serve as ad hoc committees that would vary in composition from year to year.

This proposal will open the door to a whole new approach to learning in Korea. A more creative learning experience, and a step away from the cookie-cutter rote memorization system that stifles, rather than encourages, creativity.

And it can all start with using sijo as the test case.


Mark Peterson (markpeterson@byu.edu) is professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University in Utah.


 
Top 10 Stories
1Teens feel peer pressure to buy luxury goods endorsed by K-pop stars Teens feel peer pressure to buy luxury goods endorsed by K-pop stars
2Itaewon tragedy's bereaved families harassed by far-right protesters Itaewon tragedy's bereaved families harassed by far-right protesters
3Discussions on raising age for free subway rides gain momentum Discussions on raising age for free subway rides gain momentum
4Too many emergency text alerts? Gov't to halt daily COVID-19 notifications Too many emergency text alerts? Gov't to halt daily COVID-19 notifications
5Plan to construct new memorial center for ex-president faces backlash Plan to construct new memorial center for ex-president faces backlash
6First lady expands presence in domestic politics First lady expands presence in domestic politics
7Able C&C sale attracts dozens of potential buyers Able C&C sale attracts dozens of potential buyers
8FSC OKs Apple Pay to be available in Korea FSC OKs Apple Pay to be available in Korea
9Naver to roll out conversational AI service Naver to roll out conversational AI service
10SEMICON Korea defies chip industry downturn SEMICON Korea defies chip industry downturn
Top 5 Entertainment News
1Kim Da-mi, Jeon So-nee team up for coming-of-age film 'Soulmate' Kim Da-mi, Jeon So-nee team up for coming-of-age film 'Soulmate'
2Park Hyung-sik to play crown prince in tvN series 'Our Blooming Youth' Park Hyung-sik to play crown prince in tvN series 'Our Blooming Youth'
3'Ant-Man 3' promises bigger, better action with same family dynamic: cast 'Ant-Man 3' promises bigger, better action with same family dynamic: cast
4[INTERVIEW] Disney+ 'Big Bet' director on portraying greed and desire INTERVIEWDisney+ 'Big Bet' director on portraying greed and desire
5TXT, Le Sserafim top Oricon album and singles chart TXT, Le Sserafim top Oricon album and singles chart
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group