By You Soo-sun
A Korean and a French school are rolling out new programs to strengthen ties among their students, with their first sports exchange event slated for Friday.
Seocho High School and the French School of Seoul both located in Seocho-gu in southern Seoul, will hold their first official sports exchange, Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Also, a French lesson will be provided by a French Embassy employee, and ongoing lessons will be offered for two hours each week until December.
The two have actively collaborated to promote interaction among their students, these two events being among the many cultural exchange programs the schools have hosted in the past few years. “Being located near Seorae Village, a French village where a huge French population resides, we wanted our students to develop a global mindset,” said Lee Jae-hyo, Seocho High School vice principal, explaining the purpose of the two schools’ activities.
Lee also explained that although the sports competition is a new event, the schools have had many smaller events of its kind. In May last year, they held a joint Olympiad where students competed in basketball, football and track events, as well as Petanque, a traditional French game played in the southern region with hollow steel balls and a small wooden one. This year’s event is different in that it is larger and more formal.
The exchange has been mutually beneficial, especially in the language department. Just a few years ago, for example, French was not offered as a second language in Seocho High School, explained Kim Jong-cheol, who is a French teacher there. In addition to the language, Korean students have also been active in learning about French culture, arts and geography.
He said their ties have also led to tangible achievements. Seocho High School students won first place in a nationwide French quiz contest “Francophonie” for high school students and second place at the 2017 nationwide competition on French culture.
“Many students live in the same village, and prior to these exchanges they weren’t making use of the resources out there. Now, they are able to learn languages from each other and also interact, thereby bringing peace to the community as a whole,” Kim said.