PHOTOS Absent for a reason

A student who joined Friday's no-school protest to demand “grown-ups” do more to counter climate change painted his face with earth. He was one of hundreds of students from around the country who gathered at Sejong-ro Park in front of the Korean foreign affairs ministry in Seoul's Jongno District and marched to the Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, a little over one kilometer north. Students in many countries joined in the global protest. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Chairs, desks and blackboards from school classrooms littered Sejong-ro Park. The scene displayed students' creative slogans in condemning the Korean government for not doing enough to fight climate change. The blackboard reads “Today's lesson is no-school climate protest” and “Student who didn't do homework is the Republic of Korea, the climate villain.” After the demonstration, the students collected the furniture and other props used in the protest. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Protesters included students from Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, who planned the demonstration, and from Seoul Foreign School in Seodaemun District. Their demonstration was part of a global movement inspired by Sweden's Greta Thunberg, who missed school every Friday to stage a one-person protest in front of the Swedish national assembly to demand more government efforts in dealing with climate change. Korean students also held no-school protests in March and May this year. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

A protester holds a sign with pictures of Greta Thunberg, left, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, top-right, and United States President Donald Trump. Thunberg gave an emotional speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York, Sept. 23. Thunberg, 16, told the audience of national representatives, “How dare you?” and criticized them for stealing her dream and childhood with empty words. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Protesters throw beanbags at baskets to crack them open, a popular outdoor game often played on Korean schools' sports days. Each basket contained posters reading “Stop Coal” and “Greenhouse Gas Emission Zero.” The demonstration used the theme of a sports day as a more creative method for as many students as possible to express their opinions. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Protesters march toward Cheong Wa Dae after the sports day-themed demonstration in front of the foreign ministry building. Students carry pickets that condemn the Korean government for responding poorly to the climate change issue. The government is rated “F” for countering the problem and “0” for “discerning the issue's significance; willingness to solve the issue; and reliability and practicality.” Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul