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North Korea and the Cultural Fair
"By the way, what do you think about the things that happened in North Korea these days?" wrote sixteen-year-old Evangeline from her school in Xi'an, China this summer. It was just after the North Koreans had conducted a very public missile test, and she had been emailing a "pen pal" in South Korea who was very upset by it.
The fact that an American educator was emailing a Chinese high school student who was in contact with a South Korean "e-friend" with all of us having a dialogue about a North Korean missile test is quite remarkable to anyone who remembers a time when there was no such thing as email.
I was reminded of her question by two recent events, one on the world stage and one at MPA. The world event was, of course, Monday's announcement of an apparent nuclear test by North Korea. The MPA event was the incredibly successful Cultural Fair at school last Friday evening.
Actually, I thought of it while looking at a photograph (digital, of course) I had taken during the Cultural Fair. Three young women in costume, preparing to perform for a large crowd in the Kreischer Gym, wait by the door as a man passes by. Here it is:
Performers at the MPA Cultural Fair
It was the mystery of it that got me thinking. On assignment to capture as many images of the fair as possible, I was clicking and moving on. Days later, as I looked at the image, I wanted to know more. Who are they? What are they thinking? What do the costumes mean? What is the significance of the dance they will perform? How do they feel being here as part of this Cultural Fair?
They were here as welcomed guests, invited by MPA students to come and share a bit of their culture - to become a little bit less of a mysery to us. And I thought, as I looked at these three interesting and different faces, that this simple act of coming to know each other across cultural boundaries, of reaching out for deeper understandings is critical to our shared future.
What will that shared future look like? How will our young people, those responsible for shaping that shared future, reach out to other peoples while still holding on to all that is good in our culture?
The good news is that our students at MPA are equal partners in driving this annual act of reaching out. The Cultural Fair is the product of hard work and dedication by students. It's a hallmark of the Cultural Fair - students working hard, rising to the challenge to make something happen that is beautiful, and important, and a learning experience - a stretch - like living in another culture.
And I'll bet that the three young women in the photo above are much less of a mystery to our student organizers than they continue to be to me. (Note to self: talk to the subjects in your photographs, learn something about them to enrich the work and make a fuller connection!)
The concept of communicating instantaneously to someone on the other side of the world may be hard to comprehend for those of us over a certain age, but less and less so for our young people, who are making connections across town and across the world with increasing ease. We need those cross-town and cross-global connections to be strong, open and positive now and in the future. We're counting on it!
So I'll post this and fire off a note to Evangeline. Perhaps she has something new to tell me about her friend in Korea.
See below for the response to Evangeline's initial question. To read the full exchange with Evangeline from this summer, click here. To see a picture of her, turn to the February page of the MPA 2006-2007 calendar, or click here.
"...If you are asking me what I think, I would have to say that I worry about what North Korea is doing. Perhaps the missile testing is just a tactic to send some kind of message to neighboring countries and the US. I am afraid that the leaders of North Korea have closed themselves off from the rest of the world and do not necessarily see things as clearly as they should. Sometimes, ignorance can create a sense of fear.
"On this subject, I think it is very good what is happening in your country now. There seems to be a real effort to reach out to the rest of the world and to try and work together. This is a very good thing, in my opinion. I am not sure that you are aware of why I came to your school, but our group was in China to meet and hire teachers who will come to our schools to teach the Chinese language to our students. Our trip was sponsored by a Chinese organization working for your government.
"So your government wants to help our people learn your language so we can communicate with each other better. And when people can communicate better, they way you and I are right now, we can learn to understand and appreciate each other more easily. Then, perhaps, instead of sending messages with missile tests, we send them with emails. Or better still, in face to face meetings. Just like that nice talk we had at your school.
I hope to see you there again some day, or you here!"
2051 Larpenteur Ave E
St. Paul, MN 55109
651.777.2555
info@moundsparkacademy.org
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