A Pioneer in Education
As Hulbert spends more time in Korea, he is becoming more attached to Korea and the Korean people. His work with his school has helped him a great deal in this regard. The school he was employed at was the first public school in Korea funded by the government. They taught a multitude of subjects there including geography and English, with more complex topics being introduced later on to challenge and stimulate their intellectual growth.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2017/05/113_66731.html
-A short history of English schools in Seoul.
This school was a great step in the right direction for the Korean people as it allowed people not from the ruling class to finally get an education. Hulbert and the other teachers that came with him recognized that their students were not all from the same backgrounds, but they did not discriminate between their students for that. All they cared about was their willingness to learn and how much they achieved in the classroom.
http://ancientkoreacivilization.weebly.com/social-classes.html
-Overview of Joseon Korea’s class system.
They encountered some opposition from the ruling class as many held anti-foreigner sentiments. This was because the faction friendly to foreigners was severely weakened after a failed coup in 1884. Hulbert and the others persevered trying to not be caught up in the petty court politics that plagued Korea at the time. Eventually they had to get involved because of threats to their school like reduced hours and budget problems. He fought back getting the original school hours back and getting more funds allowing them to take on more students.
http://www.theedutimes.com/ebse_ed/j_view-1.php?code=Junior_History_books§ion=view&page=1&number=58&lang=2&part=j
-A brief summary of the Gapsin Coup of 1884
-Gapsin Coup Painting
Hulbert fought for what he believed in just as many people do today. The governmental waste and bureaucratic red tape that plagued his school in the beginning was overcome from repeated and successful opposition to the anti-foreigner officials allowing the school to flourish. In the United States, South Korea, and many other countries around the world people are standing up to corruption and trying to make their countries as great as they possibly can. The South Koreans were able to oust a corrupt leader because of their repeated efforts, a little different from Hulbert's work trying to protect his school, but both are successful cases of opposition to a corrupt government.
-One of many protests against South Korea’s former president Park Geun-hye.
Many of Hulbert's letters that I worked with this week focused on his school and his fight against the corrupt officials. As he spends more time in Korea, he is becoming more attached and is slowly becoming a champion for the Korean people. This time he helped with public education, who knows what more he could do the longer he spends in Seoul.