AROUND THE WORLD IN 30 DAYS; YOUTH PROGRAM OFFERS SAMPLER OF CULTURES.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

Chomping on rice snacks and sipping ginseng tea from a paper cup, 9-year-old Christine Dempster got her first taste of Korean food Monday during a youth program at the Arts Council Cultural Center.

``They taste a lot like shrimp french fries,'' said Christine, referring to the elongated rice chips imported from Korea.

Dempster was among the 80 elementary school children enrolled in a four-week summer youth program that takes children on a cultural tour of a different part of the world each week.

Last week, students traveled down under to the continent of Australia and in the coming weeks will venture into the culture and daily life of the Netherlands and Kenya.

``I hope the kids come away with a feeling that all around the world, children are playing games and singing songs,'' program director Loredana Carson said, ``so geography is not just a map and countries are more than a name.''

Sponsored by the Thousand Oaks branch of the American Association of University Women, the summer program is in its 21st year.

``My kids couldn't wait to start this summer,'' said Sandra Katz, a Westlake Village resident whose 7- and 9-year-old children also attended the program last year. ``It's hands-on learning, and they are immersed in culture.''

Student groups rotate through rooms at the Cultural Center, experimenting with arts and crafts, music and dance, cooking and games, and drama and storytelling.

Helping to kick off Korea Week activities, 17-year-old Philip Choi, a recent immigrant, answered the students' questions about daily life in Korea and shared some of his own memories about growing up in Seoul.

``Cho eun ah chim eep mee dah,'' Choi said in his native tongue after Amanda Dorsey, 9, asked which language Koreans spoke. ``Good morning.''

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