LONGMEADOW – A Longmeadow High School (LHS) teacher spent two weeks in South Korea this summer through the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA) teacher tour and is bringing her experiences back to the classroom this fall.

Lori Snyder is a ninth, 11th and 12th grade teacher at LHS, and has been working there for 21 years.  Snyder teaches World History Honors, American History and Asian Studies.

“My students are very interested in Korean culture and there are students of Korean heritage at LHS who are members of East Asia Club which I advise.  With all the negative coverage of North Korea in our mainstream media, I felt it was important to present the positive economic and political success of South Korea to my students,” Snyder said of her decision to apply for the South Korean study tour.

Snyder applied for the program out of the East Asia Studies Center at Indiana University.  The study tour was co-sponsored by the NCTA and had financial assistance from the Freeman Foundation.

“South Korea has expanding economic and cultural influence globally; think Samsung, LG, Kia, Hyundai and soft power such as Korean Drama and K-pop,” Snyder said. “The purpose was to provide teachers with an in-depth exposure to both traditional and contemporary elements of South Korea.”

During her stay in South Korea, Snyder visited The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where she went underground into tunnel three and see how the North Koreans had created it to move 30,000 soldiers into South Korea within an hour.

“I visited the Joint Security Area Camp Bonifas and we were able to see the actual border and room where you can stand next to a South Korean soldier that technically is in North Korea,” Snyder shared.

Additionally, she visited palaces, temples, tombs, visited the National Assembly in Seoul, had a question and answer session with a female congresswoman, went to Seoul National University which is a top three University in South Korea.

“We visited a rehearsal of the 11 Project which involves South Korean musicians working together with North Korean defectors using music,” Snyder said. “We were able to hear a father and 13-year-old son talk about their experience escaping North Korea and adjusting to their new lives in Seoul.”

The 16 teachers who participated in the program had the opportunity to participate in an overnight temple stay at Heinsa Temple, dress in temple clothes, eat vegan meals in silence and learn how to mediate while walking and sitting.

“At 3 a.m. we were woken up to listen to the monks drum and then participated in 108 prostrations to the Buddah.  It was intense, but extremely interesting,” Snyder said of the Temple experience.

Back from South Korea and gearing up for the new school year, Snyder is ready to share everything she’s learned and her experiences with her students.

“I’m amazed by all that I’ve learned and I’m looking forward to teaching an in depth unit on Korea in Asian studies this fall and sharing my experiences with both my colleagues, students and club members,” she said.