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The children are pleased to share their own stories in a
classroom in Seoul on July 19.
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Fear compounded by hunger marks long weekend
Nine-year-old girl Eun-jae will not complain about her food any more. The elementary student experienced true hunger, isolated with her teachers and peers in a rural valley for three days. Due to the heavy rainfall, electricity was cut off and drinking water was unavailable. She realized that, under certain circumstances, she could endure without food even if she were hungry.
Thirty-seven students and six teachers from the Mt. Samgak Jaeminan School in Seoul went camping in Jinbu-myon, Pyeongchang-kun, Gangwon Province, on July 13 and were trapped there as all the roads washed out around them. Three days later, they were finally lifted to safety by helicopter.
After returning to normal life, in the morning on July 19, the kids were busy talking about how they endured for three days confined in Suhang valley. "It was so comfortable to come back home and lay on my bed after washing," said one student.
There were five or six students in each classroom, talking about how they boiled rainwater to drink and how they cooked potatoes which were found drifting in the muddy water. Others talked about how they had taken refuge at a house in a village near the valley.
To buy rice, they had to cross a valley made dangerous by a swollen river. They were only able to eat two small meals a day. At night, all they had for light were lanterns and candles. A few kids cried whenever darkness fell on the village, so the six teachers had to spend sleepless nights comforting their young charges. The children, trying to keep spirits up, divided three or four packs of cookies among them throughout the weekend. Back in Seoul, the first graders wrote letters to the old grandmother who owned the house where they took refuge. Even though all the village residents there were suffering from a food shortage, they brought children food such as noodles and vegetables. One teacher, Kim Won-jong, 40, said, "If not for the villagers’ help, it would have been very difficult for us to endure there. After we were rescued, the village reportedly received more rainfall. There is no way to make contact with them," he added, worried. After their children were returned to them, the students’ parents agreed to help with restoration work in Chinbu-myon sometime this summer. One parent, So Won-yong, 36, said, "My child has been well-behaved after experiencing hardship for three days. I am deeply grateful to the villagers for their kindness. I will lend a helping hand in their rehabilitation work."
