AFTER COVID

14th April, 2021 by Brian K. (G11)

COVID-19 vaccinations will influence the policies of schools in the GEC (Global Education Center), and these schools will resume the events that have been canceled due to the grave danger of the pandemic, such as field trips, homecoming parties, and senior prom.

Currently, the COVID-19 crisis has been broken out for more than a year. It is hard to believe for all the people around the world, but we have been dealing with this disease longer than any plagues that we have experienced for past decades. Due to COVID-19, students at KISJ (Korea International School Jeju) also experienced regulated school life and most of their events have been canceled. However, according to KCDC (Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the initiation of vaccinations in Korea has already begun, and vaccinations for all citizens will be done within this year.

Students are having great disadvantages these days because it is impossible to enjoy school activities. Especially for current senior students, this is a great tragedy for them because they can not enjoy their one and only high school prom party. Hyunbin K., who is currently a senior student in KISJ, said “literally all seniors were disappointed the first time when we heard that we will not have any school activities and parties, like a homecoming party and senior prom.” As Hyunbin said, this 2020-2021 academic year was a tough and disappointing academic year for most of our students. However, as vaccination in Korea is in progress, students expect to take off their face masks and get back to continuing those school activities. However, there is some good news for the students. According to an article from JoongAng Ilbo, written by reporter Jeong and his 7 peer reporters, the COVID-19 vaccinations in Korea already started in March for workers in the medical field first, and they will be expanded to ordinary people gradually.

The contagious virus affects heavily not only the everyday life of students but also the special events students expect. Field trips are one of the most important school events that many students wish to go to. Due to the impact of COVID-19, all school-wide field trips have been canceled to prevent the spread of the ongoing pandemic among students in KISJ. Moreover, it is a fact that many students have been disappointed that they could not have an opportunity to enjoy those field trips. Kevin N., who is a junior in KISJ, said “our generation is such a poor generation. When we were in middle school and grade 9 or 10, I and my friends always expected to have junior field trips when we saw our upperclassmen going on field trips. But we lost our opportunity. It is a great tragedy for current junior students.” However, school faculty expect to resume school field trips next academic year. Mr. Chuck Kang, who is the High School Boarding Advisor in KISJ, said “we keep communicating with our upper administration. At this moment, I can’t guarantee anything to you guys, but I expect that we will begin our school and dorm activities during the next academic year if the vaccinations in Korea go smoothly.”

Though vaccination has been initiated in South Korea, it is fact that still, many people worry about the ongoing pandemic. Furthermore, reports about side effects of vaccines such as AstraZeneca (manufactured by AstraZeneca plc) and Janssen (manufactured by Janssen Pharmaceuticals). These reports about side effects make people feel anxious and disbelieve in the vaccination. However, it is paramount at this point to follow the government instructions and wait for our turn. At the recent cabinet meeting, President Moon mentioned that South Korea is almost in the last crucial moment for this pandemic, and he expects that people can come back to their daily life within the fourth quarter of this year. He also said, “I understand this is a very hard time for everyone, but please stay calm, waiting for vaccination, and follow the COVID-19 protocols.” Even though we all have a hard time because of the devastating pandemic, however, it is important as ever to keep calm and follow the protocols until the vaccination ends. Hopefully, students can have opportunities to enjoy school events when the vaccination progress is over.