Fine dust worsens students' physical fitness

A citizen reads a sign saying the Seoul Metropolitan Government has closed down its open-air ice skating rink due to fine dust pollution, Jan. 19. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Perennial heavy fine dust blanketing most of the country is raising concerns among parents and teachers as air pollution is increasingly preventing outdoor physical education classes at school that may further sap the already notorious poor health of students.

Korea has been grappling with worsening air quality as clouds of fine dust, thought to originate in the western deserts of China and from domestic smog, cover the sky with a yellow haze. Fine dust is known to cause various respiratory problems.

Considering its negative effects on health, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education (SMOE) and other local education offices have banned outdoor physical education when fine dust advisories are issued.

“Whenever the fine dust concentration level is high, the schools my two children go to stop their outdoor physical education classes,” said Park Hyun-wook, a father of elementary school students aged eight and 10.

“Due to the absence of outdoor activity, I am very concerned about that their physical fitness which is poor compared with their physiques.”

According to the Gyeonggi Province Office of Education, the ratio of students rated poorly in physical fitness increased from 12.3 percent to 13 percent in just one year from 2016 to 2017. The obesity rate among fifth and sixth grade elementary school students is also rising ― from 9.8 percent in 2014 to 11.2 percent in 2016.

Lee Hye-ran, a middle schoolteacher in Gyeonggju, North Gyeongsang Province, also expressed concerns over the possible health problems.

"Although my school has a gymnasium, allowing students to do physical activities inside, many schools do not have such a facility. So, when there are high levels of fine dust, children at these schools just watch visual materials or study theory," she said.

In South Gyeongsang Province, nearly half of the province's 1,663 elementary, middle, high and special-education schools lack indoor gyms; as do 700 out of 2,335 schools in Gyeonggi Province. In 2017, the SMOE announced a plan to build gyms in all schools in the capital by 2020.

Although indoor physical education is emerging as an alternative, teachers say gyms also come with health problems.

"Gyms are not well-ventilated, so students taking classes there are exposed to poor air quality," Lee said.

According to Rep. Jo Seoung-lae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, 14 of 57 Seoul-based school gyms under construction, were found last October not to have ventilation systems.

However, some parents say worsening physical fitness is better than exposure to heavy fine dust and more serious health threats.

Fine dust particles not only trigger respiratory problems such as bronchial and asthmatic diseases, but also increase the chance of cerebrovascular diseases, according to the Korean Medical Association.

"Although it is sad that children do not have the opportunity to go outside and exercise, it is much better than having a fine dust-related disease," said Kang, a mother of two elementary school students.