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91�Թ� curriculum consultants Rennie Moon (Stanford, PhD 2009, International Comparative Education) and Se-Woong Koo (Stanford, PhD Candidate, Religious Studies) recently traveled to Vietnam, August 25 – September 1, 2010, in preparation for the development of a comprehensive curriculum unit, "Legacies of the Vietnam War," for high schools in the U.S. and independent schools abroad. The unit, to be published in 2011, will cover a range of topics, including lessons on post-war politics and economics, the Vietnamese diaspora, environmental legacies of the war, artistic representations of the war, veterans' issues, Vietnamese Amerasians, and post-war U.S-Vietnam relations.

While in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Koo and Dr. Moon visited non-profits working with Agent Orange victims and landmine survivors, museums and contemporary art spaces, international schools, foreign companies operating within Vietnam's special industrial zones, and Viet Kieu-owned shops and businesses. During these visits, Mr. Koo and Dr. Moon interviewed scholars, veterans, teachers, company managers, art curators, and non-profit activists to compile updated information, materials, resources, and ideas for student activities to take into consideration while developing the unit.

91�Թ� director, Gary Mukai, is certain that the new unit will add significantly to students' awareness and knowledge of the legacies of the Vietnam War.  He commented that the unit will specifically address the U.S. History Standard 2C, "The student understands the foreign and domestic consequences of U.S. involvement in Vietnam."

The Stanford Program on International and Cross-cultural Education (91�Թ�) honored two of the top students of the 2010 Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) at the RSP Japan Day event at Stanford University on August 16, 2010. The RSP, an online course on Japan and U.S.-Japan relations that is offered to high school juniors and seniors across the United States, recognized the students based on their coursework and exceptional research essays.

The event featured opening remarks by Gary Mukai, 91�Թ� Director; Acting Consul General Hideyuki Mitsuoka, Consul General of Japan in San Francisco; and Professor Emeritus Daniel Okimoto, Stanford University. The program was highlighted by presentations by student honorees Rachel Waltman and Jiyoon Lee, who wrote research essays on changing roles of women in the workplace in Japan, and media censorship following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Named in honor of former Ambassador to Japan Edwin O. Reischauer, a leading educator and noted scholar of Japanese history and culture, the RSP annually selects 25-30 exceptional high school juniors and seniors from throughout the United States to engage in intensive study of Japan. Through Internet-based lectures and discussions, the program provides students with a broad overview of Japanese history, literature, religion, art, politics, economics, education, and contemporary society, with a focus on the U.S.-Japan relationship. Prominent scholars affiliated with Stanford University, the University of Tokyo, the University of Hawaii, and other institutions provide lectures and engage students in online dialogue. The RSP received funding for the first three years of the program from the United States-Japan Foundation. Funding for the 2007 and 2008 RSP was provided by the Center for Global Partnership, the Japan Foundation.

The RSP will begin accepting applications for the 2011 program in September 2010. For more information about the RSP, visit or contact Naomi Funahashi, RSP coordinator, at nfunahashi@stanford.edu.

During a recent trip to Seoul, May 23–31, 2010, 91�Թ� Director Gary Mukai gave a guest lecture on "19th and Early 20th Century Asian Immigration to the United States" to Hanyang University students enrolled in "Introduction to Comparative Education," which is offered through the College of Education. Professor Rennie Moon (Stanford, PhD ‘09, International Comparative Education) is the instructor of the course. Mr. Mukai encouraged the students to think about similarities and differences between Asian immigrant experiences in the United States with immigrant experiences in contemporary South Korea. Mr. Mukai was especially impressed with the students' comprehension of English. He said, "South Korea should be proud to have students of the caliber of those whom I met in Professor Moon's class."

In addition to her professorship, Professor Moon serves as a curriculum consultant to 91�Թ�. She and others on the 91�Թ� staff (Joon Seok Hong, HyoJung Jang, Se-Woong Koo, and Rylan Sekiguchi) are developing a comprehensive curriculum unit, "Inter-Korean Relations: Rivalry, Reconciliation, and Reunification," for U.S. high school students. This curriculum unit is part three in a three-part Korea-focused series. Part one is titled "U.S.-South Korean Relations" and part two is titled "Uncovering North Korea." Shorenstein APARC and Korean Studies Program Director Professor , who serves as the primary advisor of the series, is confident that the three-part series will heighten American students' knowledge of and interest in Korea-related issues. He stated, "This series is the first of its kind for U.S. high schools. Educating young Americans about the Korean peninsula and U.S.-Korean relations is critical to the future of the United States." 

Mr. Mukai commented, "When I think about people making a difference in U.S.-Korean relations, I think of scholars like Professor Moon and Professor Shin who educate students on both sides of the Pacific about the critical importance of U.S.-Korean relations." Mr. Mukai hopes that some of Professor Moon's students will consider attending graduate school at 91�Թ�.