No Prep Plans: Ancient Korea —End of the Joseon Dynasty (1897)

No Prep Plans: Ancient Korea — Government, Trade & Society
End of the Joseon Dynasty (1897)
Research + Group Project (Newspaper Front Page)
Grades 6–10
Bring one of the most dramatic turning points in Korean history to life with this engaging research and group project! In this lesson, students investigate the collapse of the 500-year-old Joseon Dynasty, the rise of the Korean Empire under King Gojong, and the enormous political and foreign pressures that transformed Korea at the end of the 19th century.

Working collaboratively, students create a “Korea at a Turning Point” Newspaper Front Page reporting on the events surrounding the Gabo Reforms, the Donghak uprising, modernization efforts, foreign intervention, and the birth of the Korean Empire in 1897.

This lesson is part of the Ancient Korea: Government, Trade & Society series — a collection of engaging research and group projects designed to help students explore the political systems, economies, diplomacy, social structures, and historical developments of Ancient Korea.

What’s Included
✔ Teacher Directions page with timed lesson flow (40–60 minutes)
✔ Student Research + Planning Pages (Color + Black & White Versions)
✔ Newspaper Front Page activity
✔ Research and inquiry prompts
✔ Reflection and discussion questions
✔ Extension and enrichment ideas

Students Will Explore
- The decline of the Joseon Dynasty
- The Donghak Peasant Uprising of 1894
- The Gabo Reforms
- The end of the yangban class system
- The abolition of the nobi slave system
- King Gojong and the Korean Empire
- Foreign influence from China, Japan, and Russia
- The Russo-Japanese War
- Korea’s annexation by Japan in 1910
- How modern Korea remembers this turning point today

Perfect For
- Ancient Korea units
- East Asian history lessons
- World history and social studies
- Historical journalism activities
- PBL classrooms
- Collaborative learning activities
- Sub plans
- Middle school humanities and ELA crossover lessons

Why Teachers Love This Resource
⭐ Ready-to-use and low prep
⭐ Combines history, literacy, and creative thinking
⭐ Encourages collaboration and inquiry
⭐ Promotes historical perspective-taking
⭐ Flexible for individual, partner, or group work
⭐ Includes both color and black-and-white student pages
⭐ Easy for substitute teachers to facilitate

Suggested Classroom Uses
- One-day collaborative lesson
- Ancient Korea unit extension
- Historical newspaper writing activity
- Mini PBL launch activity
- Current-events-to-history comparison lesson
- Literacy and history crossover activity
- Alternative assessment activity

Teacher Flexibility & Research Note
Teachers should feel free to adapt this resource and use research materials that best fit their classroom needs, student reading levels, and established curriculum. The websites and resources included in this lesson are intended as starting points for student inquiry and further research, not as a required or exhaustive list of sources.

This resource helps students explore how Korea struggled to modernize, defend its independence, and transition into a new era during one of the most important turning points in Korean history while building research, collaboration, literacy, and historical analysis skills.