Every spring and fall each school in Korea stops classes for one day to bring all their students together for a fun day of sports. The initial warm-ups threw me a little- all 1000 students at my school lined up in neat orderly rows with their teacher at the lead and did choreographed stretching and warm up exercises. They looked like perfect tiny little soldiers lined up and following a routine led by a booming recorded voice with music playing in the background. It's difficult to explain, but it seemed a little like the videos of old socialist propaganda camps- maybe because of the music they were playing. The rest of the day was just like any normal kids sports event. They don't do any team sports or games, but each class comes together to compete in various different relays and races against the other classes in their grade. And of course, they have plenty of time to hang out with their friends between races. The kids really get into it; cheering on their friends and classmates. Parents, grandparents, and younger siblings sometimes come along to watch and cheer as well. One of the classes this time even made their own cheering rattles out of old water bottles and pebbles. It was a lot of fun and a nice change of pace from regular classes.
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