Humanities Moments

How Korean fan dancing helped me connect with my adopted son

Contributed by Anonymous
Korean Fan Dance
As a middle-aged American Caucasian woman with an adopted son from South Korea, I had a longing to understand my son’s heritage and feel more connected to him. I decided to immerse myself in the local Korean community by enrolling in a class to learn traditional Korean fan dance. Through this class, I not only learned different types of Korean dance but also the Korean culture, history, music, wardrobe and language. Within a few months of taking the class and many hours of practice, I was invited to perform with the “Imperial Jewel” Korean fan dance group at my city’s annual International Festival in front of 30,000 people. This experience touched me in a profound way and has brought me closer to my Korean son. This is my Humanities Moment.

Title

How Korean fan dancing helped me connect with my adopted son

Subject

This was a humanities moment because learning the dance of another culture transformed my perspective and my life.

Description

As a middle-aged American Caucasian woman with an adopted son from South Korea, I had a longing to understand my son’s heritage and feel more connected to him. I decided to immerse myself in the local Korean community by enrolling in a class to learn traditional Korean fan dance. Through this class, I not only learned different types of Korean dance but also the Korean culture, history, music, wardrobe and language. Within a few months of taking the class and many hours of practice, I was invited to perform with the “Imperial Jewel” Korean fan dance group at my city’s annual International Festival in front of 30,000 people. This experience touched me in a profound way and has brought me closer to my Korean son. This is my Humanities Moment.

Source

The "Imperial Jewel" Korean fan dance

Date

2011-2013

Contributor

Anonymous

Identifier

korean-fan-dancing

Location