Korean Delegation Visits PVHS
From the cool ocean breeze to the vast view of the ocean, privilege is something Sea Kings can easily take for granted. The school hosts great teachers who spend their time to help their students understand thoroughly the material, clubs that fit every student’s needs or preferences, and sports teams that compete in statewide championships. Due to the growth the continuous success of its students, Palos Verdes High School was recognized globally for the first time.
On October 27th, the delegation from South Korea’s Education Department visited Palos Verdes High School. As one of top three schools chosen by the education system in the Republic of Korea, PV High was able to represent every high school in the United States of America. The delegates had evaluated every school’s education system and the extracurricular that are provided in each school nine months prior to the visit, ending PV High as their top school to visit. As the delegates from South Korea arrived to PV High with their highest respect towards the school’s Principal Advisory Council, Principal Dr. Charles Park, and Korean teacher, Esther Kim, the delegates were introduced by a tour of the school and a time to ask the leaders of PV High, what it’s like to be a Sea King. Although a language barrier was present throughout the introductions, the delegates applauded the accomplishments and achievements of the advisory council along with Dr. Park. Eager to learn more about our school, many delegates were interested in the daily life of a student at PVHS, the difficulty of the curriculum, along with the school spirit of our school.
“The delegates were really impressed at our school. They were attentive very asked lots of questions, complemented what we were doing here at PV high, and seemed genuinely interested in how PV high worked as a school, as a community, and as a family,” said Brandon Nash.
Delegates took photos and notes as they listened about campus life from the students. As they were shown from class to class, the delegates were shocked to see the accomplishment of the students throughout their high school career in programs, such as Live From 205, Open Orchards Productions, and the Triton Yearbook. Showing the gardens planted by students of the AP Environmental Science class, Dr. Park was applauded by the delegates who could not believe the opportunities students had at PV High.
“It was great to see how the students and the education at Palos Verdes High School could compete globally,” Dr. Park said. “I felt most proud when my advisory council really represented our school in the best way possible. Being the first time to be internationally recognized but definitely not the last, PV High held the greatest honor to represent the education system in the US to the delegates of countries with a better-ranked education system than the US. To have the delegates come to our school is one of my proudest moments of being the principal at Palos Verdes High School. It really makes us hash tag ’world class’,” said Dr. Park.
Time was not in the hands of the delegates after the tour, for they had to catch a flight back to South Korea. Questions about the schedule and daily life of a student attending PV High were asked from the delegates as each student of the Principal’s Advisory Council answered them one by one. After the questions, a meet-and-greet between the students and the representatives of South Korea was held in the college and career center. In the midst of the conversations, the delegates and the members of the principal’s advisory council began talking more in-depth about their experience at PV High.
Along with the students, Kim had started a conversation with one of delegates and was surprised to find out that she was talking to the new principal of the high school she had attended to before. “It was a great shock to me, seeing how small the world really is. It was great to find out that the high school that attended was still a high school,” said Kim, “What surprised me even more was to have the school that I teach at be so distinguished to get international recognition from my home country,” stated Kim.
As the meeting came to an end and with the help of a translator, the leader of the delegation, Park Sung, had one last statement to tell to the students of the advisory council. “In this whole tour, I’ve never seen a high school so proud of their school with such spirit. I was amazed to see how energetic your principal is, and how eager he is for the future of his students. I am so jealous of you all. If I started my life all over again, I would love to be a Sea King and cheer on my football team as they win championship titles.”
Leaving Dr. Park and the students with great gratitude, the delegates left PV High knowing that they had just visited a world-class school.