Korean

Kindergarten through second-grade students in the Korean dual-language immersion program at Keppel Elementary School performed traditional Korean children’s stories Wednesday. Kindergartners sang about tadpoles, and first-graders starred in a play about two stepsisters, Kongjwee and Patjwee. Second-graders performed a Korean mask dance. Because students are learning a new alphabet, instruction is half in Korean and half in English. The Korean program is one of six languages in the Foreign Language Academy of Glendale.

The Glendale Unified School District will air a live call-in program next week completely in Korean. The "Issues in Education" show will air at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Charter Communications Channel 15. The show will focus on how schools are governed, enrollment and attendance policies, life on campus and parent involvement. The same topics have been addressed in two previously aired programs, one in Armenian and the second in Spanish. An English show will be broadcast Nov. 26. All four versions of the show will be repeated through December.

Gary Moskowitz A pilot program to offer Korean-language classes at Crescenta Valley High School has sparked so much interest that Glendale Unified board members intend to make the classes permanent. Board members this week said that a high amount of interest -- 66 students enrolled in two Korean-language classes at the school -- was sufficient to continue offering the classes. Any new class requires between 35 to 60 students to be considered for permanent status, officials said.

Gary Moskowitz It's not every day that Hoover High School's teachers and staff can enjoy a veritable spread of home-cooked Korean cuisine during their lunch break. Once a year, school employees get their chance to enjoy sushi rolls, noodles and vegetables, beef and vegetable dumplings, and white and fried rice prepared by members of Hoover's Korean parent group. Members of the group on Tuesday hosted an appreciation lunch for staff as their way of saying "thank you" for helping to educate their children.

Karen S. Kim SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- It was Friday night at the Won house, and all four family members were at home to participate in an event they've coined "family night." About once a month, the Korean family's members will take a break from their individual lives to share experiences with one another. The four will eat together, chat about their days, work through the problems they face, offer advice to one another and sometimes even put on shows for each other.

From a small, newly restored Foothill Boulevard storefront, the scent of Korean barbecue mixes with steam wafting above heated stone bowls stuffed with rice. The jovial chatter of local business people enjoying a lunchtime dose of tofu soup and sizzling barbecue filled this new La Crescenta eatery on a recent weekday afternoon. Tofu Village, a growing Southern California restaurant franchise, recently opened a branch at 3839 Foothill Blvd. Franchisee Sung An hopes to reach out to the area?

Ryan Carter As talks begin between the United States and North Korea over recent tensions between the countries, a local congressman hopes his recent trip to South Korea was a step closer to understanding the region. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Glendale, whose district has a large population of Koreans) returned last week from the trip. He was part of a congressional delegation that included Reps. Edward Royce (R-Fullerton), Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles)

Commission to present ‘Jewels’ The Glendale Commission on the Status of Women will present the annual “Jewels of Glendale” Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the Oakmont Country Club. Tickets are $50 and parking is complimentary. The 2008 “Woman of Courage” award will be presented. For information and reservations, call Lana Haddad at (818) 548-4844 or e-mail her a lhaddad@ci.glendale.ca.us.   Congregations come together on Easter Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church members will gather with the Korean congregation of Hansarang United Methodist Church and friends from Christ Armenian Church to dedicate a peace pole, which will have “May Peace Prevail on Earth” written in English, Korean, Armenian and Spanish at 11:30 a.m. Sunday at Crescenta Valley United Methodist Church, 2700 Montrose Ave., La Crescenta.

EDUCATION Amid forecasts of a wet winter and federal health advisories warning of a worse rash of the H1N1 influenza virus, the Glendale Unified School District has already purchased $12,000 worth of hand sanitizer in an effort to stop the spread of illness, administrators said. And federal health agencies issued warnings earlier this month that children aged 5 to 18 were at a higher risk of death from contracting swine flu, prompting school districts to step up their sterilization efforts.

I read with great interest Steve Hedrick in Community Commentary on Aug. 8. Transition into an already established population has always been difficult for immigrant groups. He was wise to relate his own Italian family's painful integration into American society. I know from history that my ancestors, the Irish, caused great social problems for America when they arrived by the tens of thousands in the mid-1800s. Many of us have seen the recent movie "Gangs of New York," which, though fictional, was based on real social conditions.

Yesterday we received the sample ballot for the April 2 Glendale Municipal Election. Is our household the only one puzzled by ballot being in English and Armenian exclusively? First, let's make clear that in our opinion one should understand the language of the land before voting. One has to be a citizen to vote, and to become a citizen, one needs to pass an English comprehension exam. If one cannot understand the candidates' positions and the issues discussed in English, the language of the land, where is the informed vote?

Twenty-two students from Goseong, South Korea, visited Glendale and La Crescenta this week. The students stayed with local families, attending Toll, Roosevelt and Rosemont middle schools. On Friday, the three middle schools held assemblies for the visiting students to showcase their dance and martial arts skills. Alex Woo of the Crescenta Valley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition helped organize the weeklong stay. He was inspired by the five Rosemont students and five Wilson students who went to Goseong, South Korea, last April and stayed with local families there.

They do things “Filipino-style” at Holy Family Catholic Church. They call Mary by her Filipino name - Our Lady of Perpetual Help - and have a Filipino choir. Seventy percent of the parish's population is Filipino. And it's growing every year, just as it is throughout Glendale. In the past two decades, the city's Filipino population has grown 66% to 13,328, according to recently released 2010 U.S. Census data. Filipino Americans now make up about 7% of Glendale's population, outpacing Koreans, who were once the third-largest minority group in a city of about 192,000.

Reporting from Seoul - In a canine experiment in better policing, the LAPD recently spent months training a pair of South Korean-bred Jindo puppies as possible new street enforcement partners. But the Jindos are in the doghouse as a replacement for more traditional European bloodlines, such as German shepherds or Belgian Malinois. The loyal but excitable Jindos, officials said, just didn't take to the exacting work of crowd control, weapons detection and drug sniffing.

A 49-year-old Glendale man is expected to appear in court today on suspicion of stealing the personal information, including Social Security numbers, of more than 90 Korean-Americans, police said. Dong Ho Han, who is being held in lieu of $4.6-million bail, was arrested early Wednesday on suspicion of identity theft, possessing a forged driver's license or identification card and possessing pills without a prescription, according to Glendale police reports. “There is no indication of what he was going to do with them,” Financial Crimes Sgt. Harley Wing said.

For the second year in a row, TV celebrity Mario Lopez is slated to be a celebrity guest at Unity Fest, an international street fair aimed at promoting Glendale's cultural diversity. The 10th annual Unity Fest will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday on Brand Boulevard between Wilson and California avenues. Zizette Mullins, Glendale's community relations coordinator, said event-goers can expect even more diverse food than last year, larger crowds and more games for children.

Burbank officials have extended a deadline for applications from artists for a commission celebrating 50 years of being a "sister city" with Incheon, South Korea. Incheon Mayor Young-Gil Song proposed that the two cities exchange sculptures of art and cultural delegations to commemorate the anniversary. Burbank officials have been seeking credentialed artists in the greater Southern California region to create the city's art piece according to the theme "friendship. " City officials have not listed a budget for the project, but have said projects of a similar scale range from $40,000 to $60,000.

Mark Keppel Elementary School students will soon be able to check out books written in Korean from the school library. The school is building and stocking a Korean-language reading room, the latest step in growing its dual-language Korean program. "It is very important to have resources, and for the parents to be able to read to their child," said Vickie Atikian Aviles, assistant director of intercultural education for Glendale Unified. The new reading room is being funded by $11,600 in donations from the Young Nak Outreach and Transformation Foundation and the Los Angeles Korean Consulate General, officials said.

Glendale officials on Thursday welcomed a delegation of elected officials from South Korea, including a candidate in the country's upcoming presidential election. The presidential candidate, Moon-Soo Kim, governor of Gyeonggi Province, joined officials from the city of Gimpo, Glendale's newest sister city, for the trip. The City Council approved adding Gimpo to the sister city program this week. Sister City Committee members recommended the addition of Gimpo, a city with plans to become an entertainment capital in Korea.