Anaheim Union High School District in California, U.S., will offer the course, "Korean American  Stories, Experience and Studies," from this fall. The course covers the history of Korean immigration to the U.S. The photo is of a Korean parade in Los Angeles in 1976. (National Archives of Korea)

By Jung Joo-ri

A course on the history of Korean Americans will be offered as a subject on a U.S. high school curriculum for the first time ever.

Anaheim Union High School District in California decided to offer the year-long course, "Korean American Stories, Experience and Studies," from the fall semester, Yonhap News reported on Feb. 22.

The course educates students about the history of Korean American immigration, their settlement, communities, main figures and relationships with other ethnicities.

It is offered online and is available for all the students in the Anaheim Union High School District.

Dr. Jeff Kim, an educator who set the content for the course, said it will allow students to understand the identity and history of Koreans in the U.S., and expressed the hope that the subject will spread to curricula nationwide.

The California State Board of Education approved a teaching plan on an ethnology subject, which included the history of Korean immigration, paving the way for the course on Korean American history.

The teaching plan covers various topics, such as the 1992 Los Angeles riots and racial discrimination; Korean independence activist Dosan Ahn Chang-ho (1878-1938) and the history of the Korean independence movement; main figures of the Korean community such as Kim Young Oak, the first Asian commander of a U.S. Army battalion and a decorated Korean War (1950-53) hero; and the accomplishments of K-pop. 

Dr. Jeff Kim, who prepared the course "Korean American Stories, Experience and Studies" for the Anaheim Union High School District curriculum. (Dr. Jeff Kim's Facebook)