After months of discussion with my wife about whether to enroll our youngest in a public school or an international school, we finally decided to send him to public elementary school in Incheon Songdo. Sitting in the auditorium for the enrollment ceremony and parent orientation after so long brought back faint memories of attending my eldest and second son’s enrollment and graduation ceremonies. The enrollment ceremony began with the national anthem and a pledge of allegiance. The way they delivered messages to parents through fun animated stories, making them easy and sophisticated to understand, offered a glimpse into the current state of public education in South Korea.

​Truthfully, my distrust and concerns about public education weren’t directed at the excellent, experienced teachers. Rather, they stemmed from worries about the rigid, outdated formalities imposed by the national and city education offices, and the biased ideology of the superintendent. Starting from a place with completely different educational values, I feared they might instill in children, under the banner of ‘equality,’ concepts difficult for a Christian family to accept. However, after briefly attending the parent orientation and hearing the principal and vice principal speak, I sensed they were both individuals of outstanding character with extensive experience in education. Especially when the vice principal shared advice and precautions drawn from her experience with the parents, she felt like a caring grandmother next door. Meeting the homeroom teacher and receiving classroom and class guidance also left me with the impression that she would teach the children well and be very approachable.

​After finishing all the schedules and walking home, my wife tried to encourage our child about the importance of studying English by having a short conversation in English. But the child suddenly burst into tears, saying, “I don’t want to speak English in a childish way,” which surprised us a bit. Perhaps the desire to show off doing well at school had gotten ahead of itself. Seeing the child feel embarrassed speaking English in front of others, despite having grown up learning English at kindergarten and from older siblings, made me wonder if there was some psychological burden or insecurity there.

After discussing it with my wife, we decided to focus first on mastering their native language, Korean, and postpone the discussion about transferring to an international school. Additionally, the specific educational philosophies or gender-related topics I was concerned about seemed to be covered around 3rd or 4th grade. With the intention of raising our child with Christian values, teaching them our nation’s true history, and supporting a Bible-based educational system, I woke up at 5 a.m. again today and energetically started the day.