March In March
My high school has a distinct historical value. My school, 'Jeong-myung Girls' High School', played an important role in the March 1st Independence Movement of Korea. Many students carried on the movement in defiance of Japanese coercion and got killed during fighting for the country. Therefore, my high school has held an annual ceremony to celebrate these events and commemorate the independence. Every year the students reenacted that heroic day with marching and playing a performance.
At first, the school handed out Hanbok, the tradition Korean clothes to all students to recreate the valuable movement. The clothes were made of old hemp so that it looks like it came from the past. We washed and ironed it out at home. Then my friends and I drew Korea flag with crayons together. The next day, we wore that old Hanbok, picked up the clumsy hand-made flags, and headed to the school.
The street march started from the school and the first destination was Yudal Mountain which is a representation of the town. We walked along the side of the road crying aloud "Hurrah! Independence of Korea!" and holding our hands up high. Some of the students sang a marching song of the movement and clapped their hands. After we reach the Yudal Mountain and went round it, we changed the path and headed to central railroad station. When we arrived at the station, we're all exhausted and embarrassed about what we wore. The school wanted people to participate somehow in this celebration, so that all students gathered in front of the station for another big event.
For the last part of the event, all students sat in front of the station. Then the Drama Club members in my school performed a musical about the March 1st movement. In the scene, our ancestors prepared the national flags and motivated people to fight for the country just like us the day before. When the time had come, crowds of people spilled out on the streets with flags in their hands and shouted for the independence of Korea. Unfortunately, most of the fighters were massacred. From this moment, my friends and I forgot tiredness and cried soundlessly. But in the final act, Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule. At the moment, the people at the station sang a song of freedom with us and applauded the performers.
Every spring, students in Jeong-myung Girls' High School prepared traditional dress and the nation's flag for reenacting this valuable historical event. It was not easy for 17 year-old girls to walk around the town for 5 hours. During the parade, we were so tired that everyone complained the concept seems an outdated view. However, in the end of the ceremony, we saw a lot of Koreans including ourselves sharing sorrow, joy, and love as one people. I had a privilege to witness patriotism glowing in our ancestors' breast was still in us that day.
Background information and thesis statement are well summarized in the intro part. Each of the body paragraph has its relevant topic sentence and supporting details. Your vivid description about the marching and performance was easy to follow. Plus, your deep impression about the school's annual ceremony also left me a pleasant aftertaste. Thanks for sharing with us :-)
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My high school in Mokpo, 'Jeong-myung Girls' High School' has a distinct historical value. My school played an important role in the March 1st Independence Movement of Korea. Many students carried on the movement in defiance of Japanese coercion and killed during fighting for the country. The school pledged not to visit the Yasukuni war shrine of worship and decided to close down for a while. It reopened after Korea achieved independence in 1945. Also, the Declaration of Independence written at the time was discovered in the old school building. Therefore, my high school has held an annual ceremony to celebrate all of these events and commemorate the independence, which is that students reenacted that heroic day, the March 1st, 1919.
To recreate the valuable movement, there were several things to prepare. At first, students should learn historical facts and the spirit of the movement a day before the ceremony. When teacher showed a great documentary about the independence of Korea, we wrote down our thoughts and feelings after watching it. Secondly, the school handed out Hanbok, the tradition Korean clothes to all students. Then we wash and iron out it at home with all our heart and wore it to school the next day. Thirdly, my friends and I drew Korea flag with crayons and attached it to a stick in the morning of that day. After all of these preparations, the whole school was finally ready to march through the town.
The street march started from the school and the first destination was Yudal Mountain which represents Mokpo. We walked along the side of the road crying aloud "Hurrah! Independence of Korea!" and holding our hands up high. Some of the students sang a marching song of the movement and clapped their hands. The site of more than 300 students doing this parade was quite solemn and touching. After we reach the Yudal Mountain and went round it, we changed the path and headed to central railroad station, the Mokpo Station, because the most people were there. The school wanted people to participate somehow in this celebration, so that all students gathered in front of the station for another big event.
When we sat in a big circle, the Drama Club members in my school entered in and performed a musical about the March 1st movement. At the Act 1, they showed the quiet night before the rise. In the scene, our ancestors seemed just like us. They prepared the national flag and motivated people to fight for the country. Then, they waited in fear and anticipation until the time had come. In act 2, crowds of people spilled out on the streets with flags in their hands. They shouted for the independence of Korea and resisted against Japanese imperialism. Unfortunately, most of the fighters were killed and the Korean Peninsula was plunged into darkness. Many people at the station cried soundlessly in this scene. But finally, Korea was liberated from Japanese colonial rule and all performers, even the dead ones came out and sang a song for freedom. At the moment, the people surrounded us sang a song with us and applauded the performers.
Every spring, students in Jeong-myung Girls' High School prepared traditional dress and the nation's flan for reenacting this valuable historical event. They can experience the dark period of Korea and ancestors' sacrifices. It was not easy for 17 year-old girls to walk around the town for 5 hours. During the parade, my friends and I were exhausted and tired. We even complained that the concept seems an outdated view. However, in the end of the ceremony, we paid tribute to the spirit of those patriots who gave up their lives for our country. I'm so proud of this tradition of my high school, and also believe that it is important to remember and be grateful of our history to all of us.
Gayoung Kim | March In March (final draft)
ReplyDeleteMy high school has a distinct historical value. My school, ‘Jeong-myung Girls’ High School’, played an important role in the March 1st Independence Movement of Korea. Many students carried on the movement in defiance of Japanese coercion and got killed during fighting for the country. To celebrate these events and commemorate the independence, my high school has held an annual ceremony. Every year the students reenacted that heroic day with preparing costumes, marching through the town, and playing a musical performance.
At first, the school handed out Hanbok, the tradition Korean clothes to all students to recreate the valuable movement exactly. The clothes were made of old hemp so that it looks like it came from the past. We washed and ironed it out at home. After preparing costumes, my friends and I drew Korea flags with crayons together. Then, we attached into sticks to make those be waved well in the air. Then the next day, we wore that old Hanbok, picked up the clumsy hand-made flags, and headed to the school.
The street march which was started from the school yard was carried right over to a small mountain in the town. Students walked along the side of the road crying aloud “Hurrah! Independence to Korea!” and holding hands up high. Also we sang a famous marching song of the movement and clapped their hands. Voices gathered in one were sonorous and powerful. After going around the mountain, we changed the path and headed to central railroad station. Because the station was crowded, most of us were exhausted and embarrassed about what we wore at the time. Yet, we had to wait for a last main event, the musical performance.
At last, the Drama Club members started to play a musical about the March 1st movement. In the very first scene, we could see our ancestors wearing shabby clothes and drawing the national flags just like us the day before. They were trembling with fear, but their sparkling black eyes were full of ardor. When the time had come, they spilled out on the streets and shouted for the independence of Korea. Unfortunately, Japanese army cruelly shot them dead and their bloody eyes came to be closed. From this moment, everybody watching the show forgot tiredness and cried soundlessly. In the final act, a little girl came out and pronounced the Declaration of Independence out loud. The words resonated in the air and deeply touched our heart.
Every spring, students in Jeong-myung Girls’ High School prepared traditional dress and the nation’s flag for reenacting the valuable history. It was not easy for 17 year-old girls to walk around whole town crying aloud. During the parade, we were so tired that everyone complained the concept seems an outdated view. However, at the end of the ceremony, we realized that we didn’t earn this country and freedom for granted. Seeing all the sacrifices and dedications our ancestors made, it was a great honor for us to remember and praise the heroes.