Centennial for Chinese school
Published: 12 Oct. 2009, 21:42
The Chinese International School Seoul celebrates its 100th anniversary on Oct. 5 in Myeong-dong. Over 800 people attended the event, including prominent members of the Chinese community in Seoul. By Kim Mi-ju
The events were part of a celebration for the Chinese International School Seoul, which turns 100 this year.
Over 800 people attended the centennial, held Oct. 5, including politicians, government officials, and members of the Chinese community in Korea. Also in attendance were several of the school’s alumni, most of whom were born and raised here, and many of whom said they were impressed with the progress the school has made over the years.
Pang Ching-o, who came to see a guzheng (Chinese harp) performance by her 5th grade daughter, Pae Chae-won, said she was amazed that a foreign school was still standing after 100 years considering very few Korean schools have managed to survive that long.
“I went to the same school as my daughter and I hope it will last another hundred years and more,” Pang said.
The school was built in 1909 by Chinese immigrants with the goal of fostering the Chinese community in Korea through education and cultural activities. It was built with funds from members of the Chinese community, many of whom were restaurant owners, to help future generations retain their culture.
Qin Si-yi, the CISS principal, said the school aims to educate global citizens who can contribute to strengthening ties between Korea and China. He also spoke about the improvements to the school’s English language program, but emphasized that the inclusion of English language will not diminish Chinese language education, he said.
“In the past, sending children to Chinese school meant giving up learning English, but we will change that by offering classes taught in Chinese in the morning and classes taught in English in the afternoon.”
Woo Hye-ling, an art teacher at the school for the past nine years, said the event not only has special meaning for school alumni, but also for the Chinese community in Korea as a whole.
“We have gone through some tough times here as immigrants and the 100th anniversary event contains the tears and laughter of the generations of Chinese who have attended this school,” Woo said. “I graduated from the school and I’m part of the fourth generation of Chinese in Korea. We are doing very well here but living away from our country hasn’t been easy for us and sometimes it is difficult to remember our identity.”
Woo’s ancestors settled here after the conflicts between the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Party intensified in mainland China. She was born and raised in Seoul and is now married to a Korean national.
“I cheer for the Korean team every World Cup season and I feel that I am part of Korea,” Woo said. “But the Korean government is not making enough efforts to support us. Chinese people have contributed a lot to Korea and raised its foreign reserves. Its policy on Chinese people living here has advanced in the last 100 years, but there is still a long way to go.”
By Kim Mi-ju [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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