Graduation ceremonies brace for change

High school seniors carry their teacher in a palanquin during a graduation ceremony in Hyeong Seok High School in Jeungpyeong Country, North
Chungcheong Province, Feb 12. / Yonhap

Evolving from violence-marred events to festivals

By Park Jin-hai, Kwon Ji-youn, Yoon Sung-won

For as long as anyone can remember, high school graduation scenes were more about saying good-bye to the grueling years of college exam preparations and the confinement of school walls than about the commencement of a new life.

Most, if not all, ceremonies for years have been marred by a spate of incidents that has drawn criticism from the public ― from egg throwing and burning textbooks to tearing each others' school uniforms, taking pictures and sharing them on-line.

So much so that the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced last year that they would conduct crackdowns on the aberrant behavior of high school seniors on graduation day, including "naked celebrations," and penalize the offenders.

Some of the schools even had policemen guarding school yard entrances as a preventative measure.

This year, things look different ― in a positive way. Instead of ceremonies that resemble rituals held to robotically confer diplomas, graduation ceremonies have started to take on the form of festivals, much like the ones held in spring or fall.

For instance, of the 210 middle and high schools located in North Chungcheong Province, more than half have prepared festival-like graduation ceremonies for their students.

Senior students fly balloons up into the sky at Ga-On High School in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, on their graduation day, Feb 13. / Yonhap

More like festivals

Icheon Yangjeong Girls' High School prepared their graduation ceremony to resemble a film festival.

On graduation day, a red carpet was rolled out and seniors who were about to leave the school walked in like movie stars. Then the film that they had worked on together with teachers was screened, showing various aspects of their school life.

A film titled "The Way to University," which spanned the three years of school life, and another film, "School Escape," which captured clips of students dodging afterschool classes, were selected to grace the opening, while edited clips of teachers taken by surprise were chosen as the best films.

Most clips were humorous parodies and had the students laughing the entire time. But, when a teacher's warm message that read "I pray for you to become shining stars as you go out into the world" came up on the screen, some of the students shed tears.

Haewha Girls' High School in Daegu celebrated its graduation with a festival in which clubs and organizations showed off the skills they had developed and polished throughout the school year.

Bands and orchestras played, choirs sang and dancers performed for the rest of the school body.

Daeseong Elementary School had their teachers put together a recital for them.
Teachers would perform whatever instrument they could play, including the saxophone and ocarina.

Other graduation ceremonies resembled recreational festivals in which students were able to enjoy games and take part in singing contests and quizzes.

Some schools held events in which teachers, students and parents could share their thoughts and memories with each other. They read letters they had written prior to their graduation ceremony, and bowed to each other with respect.

One school in Gimpo made sure their graduation was held on a Saturday, so that parents could take part in one of the most special days of their children's lives.
Other students dressed in hanbok, or traditional Korean costumes, and thanked their parents and teachers for the education they have received.

Parades took place to congratulate the seniors, and nowhere in sight were students throwing eggs and flour at each other or ripping each other's uniforms.

Kim Ji-won, 19, participated in her high school graduation ceremony last week where a festive party was organized by sophomores and teachers. She said it was great because the ceremony was more meaningful.

"When I was graduating from middle school, I was passively dragged here and there by my parents and relatives to say short goodbyes and take pictures. I didn't have enough time to spend my last moments at the school with my teachers and classmates," Kim said.

"After the ceremony I remember thinking it should have been more meaningful than just receiving a piece of paper. I really should have had more time to share precious memories with my peers. This year, I had that opportunity," she added.

At the party, students and teachers prepared food and beverages at the school gym, which was the venue of the ceremony.

Instead of a stiff atmosphere in which the principal one-sided and long speeches in front of indifferent graduates and their families, everyone at the ceremony could converse with each other more comfortably, according to Kim.

"Though my family and relatives also visited the commencement ceremony, I remained for a while longer at the party with my friends," Kim added. "I really appreciate the teachers and juniors for what they did. It was a party that I will never forget."

Park Eun-seon, the mother of a student who graduated from middle school two weeks ago, said the changing culture at graduation ceremonies is also beneficial for parents.

"At first, I was a little nervous, having remembered something I saw on the news years ago, in which graduates displayed violence, ganging up on and beating other students.

"But I felt relieved when I got a message from the school saying it would open a festival-like event in which students proactively take part instead of engaging in violent behavior," she said.

She also mentioned the security measures by police.

"There were two police officers standing near the front gate of the school to prevent unexpected incidents that could have happened during the ceremony," she said. "Though it turned out that they were not needed at all this time, parents like me felt much safer."

At Jeju National University Middle School, police officers visited the school to congratulate the students on their graduation and to make sure the students understood why the nation wanted its students to enjoy a wholesome and violence-free graduation.

The police marching band performed for the students who reciprocated with mini concerts of their own.

"After the schools were confronted with the news of a series of disgraceful incidents that happened during graduation ceremonies in the past years, they voluntarily made continuous efforts to come up with ideas to establish a more graduate-friendly culture at commencement ceremonies," an official at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education said.

"Many of them have succeeded in transforming their ceremonies into ones that can present an unforgettable memory at school, instead of being a boring and overly stiff event," he added. "The form of event differs by school but most of them focus on bringing parents and graduates together and encouraging their active participation."