With the efforts of parents, an official Korean class started at Palos Verdes High and Peninsula High School in Palos Verdes Unified School District for 2015 - 2016 school year. Compared to the four high schools in Torrance that have been offering Korean language courses for about 20 years, Palos Verdes and Peninsula High will be starting their Korean 1 class for the first time.

According to the parent representative Connie Baek, the Korean Parent Advisory Group has been meeting since January 2015 to push through offering Korean 1 as a foreign language. Mrs. Baek found out during the school PTA meetings that even though various language courses such as Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, and Latin were offered as electives, Korean was excluded. This motivated and pushed her to start Korean class.

Professor Lee from Cal State University LA and some colleagues petitioned for an official Korean class to Palos Verdes Unified School District in 2012, yet there was no progress. The Korean Parent Advisory Group collected more than 300 letters of support in four days and was able to submit them to the Board of Education on February 2015.

It is not easy to starting a Korean class at the schools where the majority of student population is Caucasian. Korean parents, however, were able to make impossible happen. They raised over ＄30,000 for donation and showed the vast potential and possibility of Korean American communities. Currently there is Korean 1 being offered at both schools. Peninsula High School has Ms. Choi teaching over 60 students and Palos Verdes High School has Ms. Kim teaching about 30 students. Through hands on activities such as KBBQ, calligraphy, making Korean pancakes, the Korean classes are introducing Korean culture in other culture festivals. Starting this school year, Korean 2 & 3 will be offered additionally. Korean programs in Palos Verdes Unified School District will continue to provide opportunities for field trips to local restaurants, theaters, and cultural centers as well as activities such as cooking, singing, and dancing. The students who are taking Korean class can apply and receive Biliteracy Certificate and many scholarships.


<Jiho Kahng, Palos Verdes High Schooll 10th Grade>