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Now Launching: 15 Stories and Poems from Today's Korea

Posted on February 09, 2022

New York, NY—WWB Campus, the education program of Words Without Borders, announced today the launch of a timely online collection of contemporary Korean stories, poems, and graphic literature, along with multimedia educational resources. At a time when book bans in schools and anti-Asian rhetoric are at a high (the SPLC reported a 150% increase over 2020), this collection makes it possible for students and educators to access diverse new voices from anywhere, for free.

The WWB Campus Korean collection, combined with the site's other collections of Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian literature, ensures that US students can freely access diverse voices and stories. For Asian American students, specifically, such stories provide vital affirmation and connection.

“UN studies have emphasized how important it is for students to be able to understand each other across cultures,” said WWB Campus Editor & Curriculum Designer Nadia Kalman. “And literature can support this kind of learning much more powerfully, more deeply, than factual information alone. As an Asian American student told us last year, 'I want to learn about where I come from and I want others to learn about it too.’”

Offerings in the collection range from illustrated oral history (“Grass”) to science fiction (“Genesis”) to coming-of-age stories and poems (“Ascending Scales,” “Earning My Keep”). Educators can find an array of Common Core Standards-aligned teaching ideas, discussion questions, and other supports, and rich multimedia resources and suggestions for further reading encourage students to keep exploring.

Words Without Borders received support for this collection from the Literature Translation Institute of Korea (LTI Korea), a South Korean public institution dedicated to sharing Korean literature and culture with the world. More information on LTI Korea programs can be found at www.ltikorea.org.kr/en/.

For more information about how to use WWB Campus resources, contact WWB Campus Editor & Curriculum Designer Nadia Kalman at [email protected]. Educators can also sign up for the WWB Campus newsletter to stay up to date on new literature and upcoming events, like the popular #LunchGlobally educators workshop series.

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