Nine education professionals participated in the 13th annual Fall Fellowship in Korean Studies, conducted in Korea from October 11 through 22. The fellows included three textbook editors, one project coordinator for East Asia education, one curriculum developer and four professors of history, Asian culture and art. The group began its study tour at the Academy of Korean Studies in Seoul (a major supporter of the fellowship) and was accompanied by Yong Jin Choi, senior director of Korean studies at The Korea Society; Mark Peterson, professor of Korean studies at Brigham Young University; and Sharon Park, who led the group’s fellowship trip.

The fellows attended lectures on Korean art, economics and current affairs at the Academy and enjoyed local field trips to Myŏngdong Catholic Cathedral and Kyŏngbok Palace. After leaving Seoul, the group embarked on a six-day tour of major cultural and historical sites throughout the rest of the country, including first Ch'ŏngju and its Early Printing Museum. For the next two days, the participants were exposed to Buddhism in Korean society through an overnight stay at the Unmunsa convent outside Taegu. They helped the nuns with their annual red-pepper harvest, before continuing on to Haeinsa monastery, where they viewed the ancient wooden blocks used to print the Tripitaka Koreana, one of the oldest Buddhist texts in the world. A visit to Yangdong Folk Village, where residents live in the rural, agrarian manner of their ancestors, helped the participants understand the lasting influence Confucian values have had on Korean society. The fellows visited the National Museum of Korea, Sŏkkuram Grotto and Pulguksa in Kyŏngju. A tour of Hyundai's high-tech shipyard gave the participants a view of Korea's economic history and future. The fellowship concluded with the fellows returning to Seoul to visit the Leeum Museum and enjoying a performance at the Seoul Arts Center before returning to the U.S.