A Field Day Like No Other (well unless you're in Korea!)

A couple of weeks ago my school had its annual Field Day. Field Day in Korean middle schools is amazing, beats American middle school field days any day. Each homeroom class dresses up in ridiculous costumes and all classes can watch the individual sports events as they happen. Students and teachers make signs and cheers which they use to encourage their teammates. Below are some examples of the various dress.

Apparently the Supermen/girls were a bunch of Clark Kents and Linda Langs, b/c they didn't want their identity known, hence covering up their faces.


I ran into this group of boys as they were preparing to go outside. Their entire class dressed up in matching pajamas. Girls in pink and boys in blue. They too did not want their identities revealed.


This is one of my favorite second grade boys (equivalent 8th grade in the USA). He belonged to the pajama team, but halfway through he shed his pajamas and traded them for poop that he could wear on his head.



The class I was cheering for was class #9. They all wore bunny ears and painted bunny noses and whiskers on their faces. They attacked my face too. This is me and their homeroom teacher, one of my favorite English teachers at the school.

Does this student's shirt say, "Gaudi Picasso Mania?" Why, yes it does!!!!!!!


Some of my boys are quite large, which I didn't realize until I saw this picture of us together. Yikes!!!

So the various activities that students competed in included (but were not limited to): tug of war, relay races, three legged races (though a crazy version), soccer, jump rope, and something called a "boat race." Below you can see the giant classes of 35 students compete in tug of war. They are smart and give the students gloves to use. Sometimes it amazes me just how practical Koreans can be.


I did my part by yelling at class #9, to get them to pull harder. By now I am quite good at yelling at students. Though I was yelling in English, so they probably didn't understand me. However they won first place out 11 classes, so I'd like to thing I did something to help with that.


Now earlier I mentioned something called a "boat race." If you are anything like me, you are probably wondering, what the heck is a "boat race?" Well it's a class relay race that involves 4 students at a time, but their legs are tied to one other. One of the third grade classes dressed up in full animal suits, so it boggles my mind how they managed to play sports all day like that, let alone finish the "boat race." Needless to say, it was quite the experience, this Korean middle school Field Day.