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Day 3: Korean Song Performances
Around The World in 5 Days
– 2nd International Cultural Campaign (International Week) 2019
Globalisation is on the rise and countries’ cultures being shared with one another isn’t shocking news nowadays. In an
effort to introduce students to vibrant cultures from various countries, the Japanese Language Society, Korean Language
Club and French Club came together to hold our school’s second International Cultural Campaign, with the first one
being held in 2017. Students had lots of fun getting a taste of different customs and cultures from Japan, Korea and France
from 22 to 26 July 2019. Let’s take a look at what was held during the recess periods of this gloriously eventful week!
Whole Week: Cultural Exhibition
What better way to show students a glimpse into the many cultures around the world
than an exhibition? All three language clubs cooperated to put together an exhibition of
the vibrant Japanese, Korean and French cultures at Block A Lobby. Students could learn
about traditional Japanese festivals and activities, the interesting traits of Korean culture
and the staggering differences between North and South Korea, as well as French foods
and customs. This exhibition showed off some high effort pieces, like a 2D paper replica
of a Japanese temple and a spinnable wheel at the French exhibit. Students enjoyed
looking through the exhibits that piqued their interest, and hopefully learnt something
new out of it, too.
Days 1 & 2: International Food Bazaar
Food is a great medium to showcase a country’s culture. That’s why the three
language clubs held a food bazaar during the two recess periods on the 22nd
and 23rd of July.
The Japanese Language Society sold salads with Kewpie dressing, tamago
(Japanese omelette) and various reasonably-priced sushi (Japanese dish of
rice served with fish). One could find kimchi (Korean fermented vegetables),
mandu (Korean fried dumplings) and chocolate chip cookies at the Korean
Language Club stalls. Meanwhile, sweet but somewhat pricey macarons
(French meringue based confection), tarts and cakes could be seen at the
French Club booth.
The reception was tremendously groundbreaking, as hordes of people lined
up just to get a taste of the delicious food. The Korean stall’s reception was so
positive that they ran out of food to sell during the second recess on the 23rd.
The hot and piping mandu, sweet and crumbly cakes, and fresh sushi proved
to be mouth-wateringly irresistible.
4 5
Speaking of Korea, who could forget about KWave? That’s right, on the 24th of
July, the students in our school performed several popular Korean songs during
both recesses at the basketball court and Block A lobby. Once the recess bell rang,
students ran over to get the front spots to enjoy the performances. The audience’s
responses were overwhelming.
During the first recess, the first to perform was a band called ‘DoReMi Dream
Band’. It is a band formed by enthusiastic and talented students from our school.
They are popular and have been invited to perform in various school events. They
started the performances with a duet, followed by a solo and a group performance.
They sang songs like ‘Beautiful Goodbye’ by the famous boy group member, EXO’s
Chen, ‘Downpour’ by the girl group, IOI, ‘You’re my everything’ by Korea’s Ballad
Queen, Gummy and many others. The songs they sang were mostly ballads. The
performance was unforgettable as the performers’ vocals were overpowering. They
brought out their emotions in the songs and touched the audience’s hearts with their melodic voices.
During the second recess, a group of students of different ages performed in a group, showing us that music
can bring everybody together. They performed various pop songs like ‘Loser’ by Big Bang, ‘Dinosaur’ by Akmu,
‘Untitled’ by GD and many more. The performance also got overwhelming responses from the audiences as they
clapped and sang along to the music.
Both performances were truly wonderful and well-received, since the students willingly used their precious recess
time to watch the performance. The performers were also satisfied with the outcome, the audience’s responses
serving as proof that their efforts had paid off.
Day 4: Korean & Japanese Outfit Trying
What’s an intercultural exchange without a fashion show? On this day, students
stepped into the shoes of the foreign—literally. Under the lead of experienced
club members, kimonos and hanboks were fitted onto the students’ bodies,
allowing them to experience the taste of foreign traditions, despite remaining in
one place and time altogether.
Laughter rang throughout the hallways as the teenagers accepted the past and
the present as one in the form of clothing. Outstanding colours were portrayed
in the lobby, the floor veiled with man-made silk and plastic decors. “Okay, let’s
be honest, I’ve never tried these on, and I honestly didn’t expect to trip,” a student
chirped as she collected herself from the ground after a fall, clenching the hem of
her golden kimono as other students assisted her. “The school needs more events
like these.”