Students Watch Korean History Unfold

It’s a deal, 65 years in the making. North and South Korea have agreed to sign a peace treaty at the end of the year to formally end the Korean War.

Meanwhile, some students at Hopkins High School are watching the historical events unfold in their advanced placement world history class. Teacher Maggie Temple has taught for 24 years. She says high school kids these days didn’t live through the Cold War and have no idea about censorship and communist countries.

“When I say things like, well, ‘the Chinese government can block YouTube, and they’ll say what?’  They can’t even wrap their head around how that could be a thing,”  she said.

Temple can give students first-hand experience. She actually spent a month in South Korea. She also got the chance to travel to the demilitarized zone. That’s the border that divides the Korean peninsula. She went there just three days after a nuclear test.

“We got in and we stood in the demilitarized zone and we had to be very careful where we walked because there were still landmines that had been left after the Korean War,” Temple explained. “I have some concerns about Kim Jong-Un, who in some ways is even more restrictive than his father was.”

However, Temple is hopeful peace will prevail in the region.

Hopkins High School