A new children’s book available from a UNESCO division presents a collection of 27 prominent folktales from 11 East Asian countries.

The book, “Telling Tales from Southeast Asia and Korea: Teacher’s Guide,” can boast of being the first of its kind.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s Asia-Pacific Center of Education for International Understanding hopes to help teachers instill in their students a sense of mutual respect for the rich cultures of the region.

Through the folktales, UNESCO aims to highlight the similarities the countries share while explaining the differences between the various cultures within the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states and South Korea.

Additionally, each story includes “cultural notes” and a glossary to facilitate understanding of local cultural traditions and terms that are used in the stories.

Another source of reference, especially for educators and researchers, is the “Situation Analysis” report.

Upon collecting the stories, APCEIU and its partners conducted research with folktale experts of the region on the use of folktales in primary school curricula and analyzed how those stories were used in order to understand one’s own and others cultures.

A digital copy of the two publications can be downloaded at the APCEIU website or contact the Research and Development Team at rnd@unescoapceiu.org or (02) 774-3981.

For more information and to download a copy visit www.unescoapceiu.org and click on the icon which is on the right side of APCEIU’s main page.