Right behind the house where I live is a Chongryon-affiliated middle and high school called Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School. I see the students every morning on my way to work, but I’d never actually talked to any of them or been inside the school. This time they were holding their culture festival, so I dropped by around lunchtime. Honestly, the Chongryon schools you see in movies like Pacchigi! and GO come across as a bit scary and strange, so I was a little worried, but seeing it in person, the atmosphere wasn’t nearly that bleak. It didn’t seem any worse than a Japanese school.
Today’s event
It didn’t feel like your ordinary high school festival. For one thing, the kids are different from ordinary Japanese high schoolers. These days a lot of Japanese high school kids have that delinquent vibe, but the students here are well-behaved. Maybe that’s because there are a lot of rules, though.
The sports field
It’s a grass field. The students were playing a rugby match. The boys are really well built. The girls’ chima jeogori uniforms are cute, too. Apart from the chima jeogori, it’s a completely ordinary Japanese school scene. The students mostly chat in Japanese, but interestingly, their names are all Korean.
The festival events are held in the auditorium.
Looks like attendance is mandatory for the students ^_^
There’s dancing too.
They were good.
And, as befits a school festival, there’s a light music club.
I listened for a bit and then left. They played well, but I was short on time.
In front of the auditorium
A banner hanging on the school
It’s a really strange feeling. Holding on to a Korean national identity while living in Japan can’t be easy at all, yet they seem to be managing it well.
Cute little mottos posted in front of a classroom
I guess student life is pretty much the same everywhere.
A gayageum player
She was practicing in the classroom hallway, and she was really good. When I was in Korea I never properly listened to the gayageum, but it makes a far more beautiful sound than Western string instruments like the harp or violin. I heard there’s a recital coming up, so I think I’ll go.
A friend said there were all sorts of hands-on events from the morning, but I got up at one and went, so there wasn’t much left. The food stalls had already closed… It was a short visit, but much more fun than I expected. If I get the chance next year, I’d like to join in properly.