Asia for Educators

09/20/2026

Great opportunity for a wider audience to explore traditional Japanese poetic forms!

09/18/2026

What’s happening in North Korea these days? While not front page news recently, students still need be aware of its capabilities given its close ties with Russia now. Tune into “Behind the Headlines: North Korea," a FREE webinar for K-12 educators Wednesday, September 30, 7:30-9:30pm (ET) offered by NCTA / East Asian Resource Center University Washington. Professor Albert Park, Claremont McKenna College, will bring us up to date. Also, the Korea Society is hosting a FREE webinar “On the Ground in North Korea: Aid and Engagement in the DPRK,” about humanitarian efforts there on Tuesday, October 6, 6:00pm (ET).

National Consortium for Teaching about Asia

09/14/2026

Teachers and students are asking: What does it mean to write now that we have AI. Check out these lesson plans for impactful ways to answer.

In this three-part lesson, we invite students to explore why we write and discuss why it still matters amid the rise of artificial intelligence.

09/14/2026

Wonderful collections of primary sources including on the Ainu and 19th century encounters with Japan

**Webinar - Introduction to the Japanese Collection**
Japanese collection specialists in the Asian Division invite you to attend an online, interactive webinar introducing the division's Japanese collection, as well as Japan-related materials across the Library of Congress more broadly.

Date & time: Thurs., Sept. 17, 3:00pm to 4:00pm EDT
Register online at: https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/8417888923012/WN_HOD-ZU24QdycQWm7_WVTKA

Participants will learn about relevant print materials, digital collections, e-resources, and services available to both on-site and remote users. Topics will include rare books, newspapers on microfilm, maps, woodblock prints, films, and a wide range of pre-1946 materials, including publications from governmental institutions and the South Manchuria Railway Company. Following the presentation, collection librarians will be available to answer audience questions.

09/13/2026

Think you know better than “King of the Hill” what wabi-sabi is? Come find out at the FREE asynchronous short course for K-12 educators on “Art of Perfect Imperfection: Exploring Wabi-Sabi” offered by NCTA / University of Indiana Bloomington September 27 to October 24 and receive a FREE copy of "Hokusai's Method" by Kyoko Wada and Ryoko Matsuba.

National Consortium for Teaching about Asia

09/12/2026

WOW! Great opportunity for our high schoolers to work on a read-world problem, and do so with peers in China.

U.S.–China Co-Lab on Climate Solutions SPICE U.S.–China Co-Lab on Climate Solutions Accepting Applications APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN for Spring 2025.U.S. APPLICANTSApply here: https://spicestanford.smapply.io/prog/china_scholars_program_uschina_colab_on_climate_solutionsDeadline:  November 8, 2024F...

09/10/2026

Another reason our students need to know more about China.

China only just missed the income cutoff to become a high-income country this year.

In July every year, the World Bank sorts countries into income groups based on their per capita gross national income (GNI) in the previous year.

In this year’s update, China was very close to entering the high-income group: its GNI per person was $14,230; just short of the World Bank’s high-income threshold of $14,375.

The chart puts this in perspective. The bars show GNI per person for countries with at least 25 million people, ordered from poorest to richest.

Beyond income, China is already comparable to high-income countries in many dimensions. Its spending on research and development as a share of GDP, for example, is higher than in many European countries. It’s also a global leader in several technology fields, including clean energy and artificial intelligence.

But in other ways, China is closer to middle-income countries. Its productivity, measured by GDP per hour worked, for example, remains much lower than in high-income countries.

(written by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina)

09/08/2026

Our Fall Discussion series on Religion and Thought in East Asia starts TONIGHT 9/15 with Confucianism is not a Religion. We hope you will join us on Tuesday evenings for free sessions on East Asian history for teachers!

09/08/2026

WOW! Curated content and $100 completion allowance on an important topic

Learn more about all of our Fall 2026 courses at https://www.colorado.edu/ptea/