Gwangju Education Training Institute Holds Job Training on 'Learning History and Speaking Through Culture'

Photo of a moment of silent tribute at Haedongsa, a memorial shrine for the patriot Ahn Jung-geun. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Cho Hyung-joo] The Gwangju Education Training Institute will hold a professional training course titled ‘Learning History and Speaking Through Culture 2021’ for kindergarten, elementary, and secondary school teachers until the 20th of next month.

According to the Gwangju Education Training Institute on the 26th, this professional training was planned with the goal of solidifying teachers’ correct anti-Japanese historical perspective to enhance history education and to deepen understanding of the history and culture of the Namdo region. The training will be conducted in a field trip format over four sessions: the 1st on the 26th, the 2nd on the 28th, the 3rd on November 6th, and the 4th on November 20th.

During the 1st and 3rd sessions, under the theme of Facing the Sites of Jangheung’s Anti-Japanese History, participants will visit anti-Japanese commemorative sites around Jangheung such as ▲Haedongsa, the memorial shrine for patriot Ahn Jung-geun ▲Jangheung Donghak Peasant Revolution Memorial Hall ▲Seokdaedeul, the last battleground of the Donghak Peasant Army ▲and the Kim Gu Residence Memorial Hall, reflecting on the anti-Japanese history and the footsteps of the Donghak Peasant Movement.

For the 2nd and 4th sessions, themed A Time Travel to Modern Times in Gunsan, participants will tour ▲Gunsan Modern History Museum ▲Dongguksa Temple ▲and the Former Japanese Farmer’s Warehouse, examining the establishment and transformation of modern Gunsan and Japan’s financial invasion.

A teacher who participated in the 1st session said, “On this historically significant day of October 26, 1909, when patriot Ahn Jung-geun assassinated Ito Hirobumi, visiting Haedongsa, Ahn Jung-geun’s memorial shrine, allowed me to deeply engrave the historical meaning of the gunshots that echoed at Harbin Station in my heart,” adding, “This field training was a meaningful time to cultivate historical awareness while visiting anti-Japanese commemorative sites around Jangheung.”

Yang Suk-ja, director of the Gwangju Education Training Institute, said, “Although field training was difficult due to COVID-19, we conducted the training while strictly adhering to quarantine rules,” and added, “We will continue to expand field training so that teachers can deeply acquire the root culture of Namdo and cultivate historical awareness.”