Posted June 5th, 2009 by President Whitlock
We had a safe, uneventful return home, arriving at the Blanton House some 30 hours after getting up in our Daegu hotel room for the ride to the airport. Now, we are in a New York City hotel, on the second day of an alumni/development trip. Tonight we will be with more than 30 EKU alums and friends at a function in Manhattan.
Before we left Korea, we met for a few hours with EKU Professor Emeritus Dr. Tae-Hwan Kwak and Professor Yoon, representing another Korean university with which we are considering a partnership. Part of the conversation that I found particularly interesting was why her institution was attracted to EKU as a potential partner. She had researched us thoroughly, was impressed by what she had learned and thought our environment, including our relatively small town location, would be particularly nurturing for her institution’s students.
In the office for a few minutes before leaving for New York, I signed memoranda of agreement with a institution in Madagascar and another in Israel. Eastern Kentucky University’s global reach is extending and I am excited about the opportunities these developments will provide to our students and faculty. I talk a lot about student success being one of our three focal points and I hope no one thinks that is limited to retention and graduation rates. The real success of our students begins when they leave us to begin their professional lives. If we fail to provide them with the tools to deal with the global workplace and a world in which contact and interaction with individuals and organizations from different cultures is a certainty, they will not have the opportunity for success that we desire for them.
I intend to continue my efforts to make EKU a player on the higher education world stage.
Posted June 2nd, 2009 by President Whitlock
We had another good day in Korea today. On the way to the campus of Daegu Haany University, we stopped by Gyeonsan stadium. The university’s main campus is in Geonsan, while the medical college is in Daegu. Miss Kim, who took very good care of Joanne and me during our stay, agreed to pose with us for this photo.
When we got to the campus, the first order of business was the speech they had asked me to deliver. I spoke to a group of about 100 students and faculty on the subject “Globalization and the Stewardship of Place.” I had a prepared text (unusual for me) but could not resist going off script to describe the striking similarities in EKU and DHU. After the speech, we posed with the DHU students who will be coming to EKU later this month to participate in the EELI program. The sign above us gave me pause when we entered the lecture hall.
Following the speech we visited the English Department (where Dan Robinette teaches) and sat in on an English class. After lunch, we took off for the Gyeongjoo area about 55 kilometers east of Daegu near the coast. This was the center of the Silla Kingdom, a period of Korean history that began about 250 years b.c. and ended during the 8th century. This was one of three major kingdoms in Korea during that era. We visited two Buddhist temples (both certified by UNESCO in 1995 as among the world’s finest. Following that, we toured a park-like setting in Gyeongjoo that featured the burial mounds of Silla royalty, including a number of kings. These mounds were formed by soil being built up over a mound of rocks that covered a central wooden chamber in which the dead were placed with artifacts to help them in the afterlife. We were able to enter one of the tombs, but photographs were not permitted.
Here are two shots from the Seokgulam Grotto. The first is of a structure near the entrance that houses a huge bronze bell. The other is a photograph with many Korean school children in the foreground. The structure on the hillside houses a grotto with a magnificent statue of Buddha, carved from the local granite. I am sorry photos were not allowed in the structure.
From this temple, we went to an even more magnificent one called the Bulguksa Temple. Like the grotto, it dates back some 15 centuries. This is just one of dozens of photographs I took. Once again, no interior pictures were allowed.
As the afternoon wore down we came to the mound tombs of leaders of the Silla Kingdom.
We leave here in the morning and will be in Richmond Wedneday evening after about 26 hours of airplanes and airports. No rest for the weary, however, as we leave on Thurday for an alumni/development trip. This has been a very worthwhile trip, during which we have continued to build a new relationship (Rikkyo), and strengthened two established partnerships (University of Yamanashi and Daegu Haany University.) I am very glad we came, especially since it provided an opportunity for a visit to Korea for the first time by an EKU president. I come away with an even greater appreciation for the quality of the institutions with which we partner and for the one with which we want to partner. There are rich oppotunities both in Japan and Korea for Eastern students and faculty. We cannot let these opportunities pass without taking advantage of them.
Posted June 1st, 2009 by President Whitlock
Wow!
That pretty well sums up our first day of visiting Daegy Haany University. What we have found here is an institution that is committed to serving its region, that has aspirations of national significance, is student centered, and as part of that student centeredness is intent on having a global and international focus. If that does not remind you of an institution that we know and love in Richmond, KY, then I will be very surprised.
The day was an overwhelming experience. The good people here have pulled out all the stops to make us feel welcome. You can tell when this sort of exercise is not sincere and the way we were welcomed and treated today cannot be “faked.” Here are two photos from the start of the day. One is Joanne and me with President Byun, the energetic 77 year old who is in his second stint as president of this institution of more than 7,000 students. The other is of our entire traveling party along with the leadership of the university. The sign is indicative of the reception that we received throughout the entire day.
One of the day’s highlights was a tour of the beautiful and modern campus (the institution is observing its 30th anniversary next year) by these two students, both named Lee. They have both been at EKU as students in the EELI program. One of the points made by President Byun was that he would like to see more student exchanges and some faculty exchanges. I could not agree more. The other picture is a view from their mountaintop campus, with construction cranes in the near foreground.
Lunch was a very traditional Korean meal. It was one-hundred percent vegetarian and in keeping with Daegu Haany’s focus on oriental medicine, every dish was explained to us in terms of its health benefits. It was good and good for you; tough combination to beat. Later in the afternoon, Joanne and I had oriental medicine physical exams. The process concluded with massages, aroma therapy and acupuncture. Here’s a photo of the meal and another closeup of me. If you look closely you can see the acupuncture needles — one in my temple and the other in my neck.
In the evening, before we went to a restaurant for a wonderful Korean meal of vegetables and grilled short ribs, we relaxed at a riverside “coffee shop.” For all the many friends of retired faculty member and dean Dr. Dan Robinette, I hope you will agree that this photo is the quintessential Dan.
Tomorrow will conclude our trip. I hope to fill you in with more information on what has been a productive trip beyond my hopes. A big part of the reason for the success on the Korean leg is due to our gracious handler, Miss Kim. I will include a photo of her tomorrow.
Posted May 31st, 2009 by President Whitlock
Our last full day in Japan was one I had looked forward to since our arrival. Okumura-sensei and Ono-san drove us from Kofu up the Hokuto City area for the day. Joanne and I wanted Beth and Rhonda to see the beautiful Yatsugatake area which Madison County is so fortunate to claim as a sister region. We also hoped they would meet some of our good friends there and see with us, for the first time, the new lodge at Seisen-ryo. We were not disappointed.
We were greeted at the lodge by Shirakura-shichou, mayor of Hokuto City, a person we have come to know, like, and respect over the past five or so years. He is a forward looking leader who secured for his city one of two major Japanese research centers for solar energy. I asked him how the project was progressing and he quickly snatched me away for a drive to see it, while Rhonda, Beth, and Joanne remained behind to shop and eat KEEP’s famous soft ice cream. I would get mine later. Below is a photograph of the solar energy site. The other photo is, from left, me trying to say something in Japanese; Masaki-san; a retired KEEP executive who asks me about Helen and Hanly Funderburk every time we come here; Mayor Shirakura; and Okumura-sensei.
On the way back to KEEP, we stopped at the Kitazawa glass museum (see last fall’s blog) and one of our most long-time friends, Koshimizu-san, stopped by to see us. He is a gregarious, fun-loving marathon runner, and gave me a T-shirt from this year’s Tokyo Marathon.
Back at KEEP, we got to see the new facility at last. Here are Hiro Yoshida-san and Joanne standing in front of the new building. The interior shots include one of Joanne with our friend Takeo Okemoto-san, a view of the coffee nook off the lobby, and the new onsen (hot spring bath). The photographs do not do the new place justice.
Back in Kofu that evening, we were hosted for dinner by the Kobayashi-santachi (The Kobayashi family). Joanne and I first met the father, Akira Kobayashi-san, about five years ago when he was the deputy mayor of Oizumi Village and a member of the Yatsugatake delegation to Kentucky. Later, the oldest daughter, Akimi, was an EELI and then EKU student for a year. Mrs. Kobayashi prepared a Japanese meal for us one evening at the home of Sharon Bailey, then a member of the EKU English faculty with whom Akimi roomed while at EKU. That evening, we also met Akimi’s sister, Sayaka, and brother, Kei. Below are Sayaka (left) and Akimi, and the whole dinner party. The only person missing was Kei, who is attending school in Tokyo.
Sunday morning we were away from the hotel at 6:30 to catch the bus to Narita. There to see us off were Kiyomi and Noriko Ueya-sensei, Keiku Okumura-sensei, Michiko Ono-san, and Hiro Morioka-san, a former EELI student. A four-hour ride put us at Tokyo’s Narita Airport. Two flights and 10 hours later we touched down in Daegu, South Korea, home of Daegu Haany University. A delegation led by Dean Park and Ms. Kim quickly, efficiently and extremely politely saw us to our hotel. Tomorrow and Tuesday are very tightly scheduled days that promise to be interesting and productive. We have not seen South Korea by daylight yet. So, we are excited about tomorrow.
Posted May 29th, 2009 by President Whitlock
What a pleasure today was. In my blog last fall, I reflected on the many good friends Joanne and I have made in Japan. Today was spent with two of the very best – Kiyomi and Noriko Ueya, whom we have known since he spent a year teaching at EKU in 1994-95. Ironically, we have come to know them better in our visits to Yamanashi Prefecture than we did when they were in Richmond.
Kiyomi greatly enjoyed his time at EKU and, quite frankly, I think he would like to return for another year after he retires from the University of Yamanashi later this year. It would be a wonderful benefit to our students and faculty for this distinguished scholar to return to our campus. If he has a serious interest, I would encourage his potential colleagues at EKU to consider him.
His students love him and he takes great pride in their accomplishments. That showed today in the wonderful relationship we saw displayed between him and one of his students, Taro, who accompanied us. Taro has been at EKU in the EELI program and if he gets his TOEFL score up a little, he would truly like to be an EKU student.
The Ueyas took their EKU visitors on a tour of some attractions around Mount Fuji. The glorious lady herself was hidden in the clouds, but that did not dampen our spirits or enjoyment. We first went to the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. Kubota-san was a creator of beautiful tie-dyed kimonos done in the tsujigahana method, a 16th century technique he “rediscovered.” We could not take pictures of his remarkable work, but you might get a peek at www.itchiku-tsujigahana.co.jp. You would have to see it to believe it. His art has been the subject of several traveling shows in America, including at the Smithsonian.
We were able to get this shot of our traveling party after enjoying tea at the museum.
Our next stop was at the Iyashi no sato Nenba, a recreation of a Japanese thatched roof village near lake Saiko, one of five beautiful lakes that surround the base of Mt. Fuji. Joanne and I had been there before, but enjoyed this visit just as much as the first. Nariko Ueya was our gracious guide.
But the highlight of the day was a visit to the Ueyas’ mountain cabin near Lake Saito. There, on this drizzly afternoon, we enjoyed the company of one another and ate until we could eat no more of the wonderful tempura prepared by Noriko-san.
Here Beth, Joanne and Noriko enjoy a light moment at the Ueyas’ mountain hideaway.
Student and teacher – Taro and Ueya-sensei – displayed a relationship I have seen between students and faculty at EKU during my entire experience there. Note Kiyomi’s EKU jacket, a proud possession since 1994-95.
Tomorrow, we head to Hokuto City and KEEP (the Kiyosata Educational Experiment Project). There we will have a chance to visit with other good friends, notably Masashi Shirakura-shichou, Mayor of the City, Hiro Yoshida-san one of the senior staff at KEEP and the liaison between Hokuto City and Madison County for our sister region arrangement, and Laura Fragoso, a former Brian Kane Fellow at KEEP from California, of whom Joanne and I have become quite fond.
Day after tomorrow, we head to Daegu, South Korea, through Seoul, to visit with our partners at Daegu Haany University. There, I will have an opportunity to make my presentation on “Globalization and Stewardship of Place” to a group of DHU students. Joanne and I are very much looking forward to our first trip to Korea, despite the tensions in that part of the world. Dr. Dan Robinette, a retired EKU dean, who is teaching at DHU, will meet us at the airport Sunday. He tells us our Korean hosts are looking forward to the visit as much as we are. We cannot wait to see them.
