In Korea there is national holiday just for children. Just as there is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in the United States, Korea has a day just to celebrate children.
Held on May 5, Children’s Day is a national holiday when students don’t go to school and parents don’t go to work. It is similar to Christmas because children get presents and even free entry into all amusement parks.
Though students at Monte Vista Elementary School didn’t receive some of the perhaps more coveted benefits of the Korean holiday, a special program was held to celebrate the youngsters.
The Los Angeles Korean Education Center sponsored an assembly that included performances by the Kim Eung Hwa Korean Dance Company. They performed a fan dance and hour-glass drum (janggo) dance.
Kindergarten students in the Korean Dual Language Program sang two songs, “Rhythm Instrument Song” and “Round and Round.”

The program helped to enforce a quote by Korean children’s writer Bang Jeong Hwan: “Children are the heroes of tomorrow. May they grow to be gentle, vigorous, and wise.”
Contributed by
Rosabel Park

  Mone Vist, Rosabel Park, Youth May 12