SOUTH KOREA: Students and teachers learn survival techniques at a military boot camp

Record ID: 345839

  • Title: SOUTH KOREA: Students and teachers learn survival techniques at a military boot camp
  • Date: 28th January 2006
  • Summary: (L!2) KIMPO, SOUTH KOREA (RECENT) (REUTERS) TRAINEES ROLLING ON GROUND AT SPECIAL FORCES' TRAINING CAMP 73-YEAR-OLD, KIM HAN-TAE, DOING PUSH-UPS (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 73-YEAR-OLD KIM HAN-TAE SAYING: "The headmaster and the teachers must set a good example to provide true education. That is why we are here together. This is my third time." KIM HAN-TAE DOING PUSH-UPS AND STR
  • Embargoed: 12th February 2006 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA4DUY8Q5URZDQST5CX0NI8G4K5
  • Story Text: Learning to survive is never easy. Braving the winter cold, more than 100 South Korean students and civilians attended a three-day military camp that started on Monday (January 17). The heavy-duty exercises comprised of freefalls on ropes and having to endure a gas attack in a room. The camp, near Seoul, is usually used to train special forces in South Korea.
    From the beginning, the trainees struggle with the exercises while adjusting to their new routine. Seventy-three-year-old Kim Han-tae, who attended the exercise for the third time, wobbles as he lifts himself up for one more push-up. Yet Kim, who is the headmaster of Sungji High School, tries his best to set a good example for his students. "The headmaster and the teachers must set a good example to provide true education. That is why we are here together. This is my third time," says Kim, who attended the camp with 50 pupils from his school. But at the next obstacle - a simulated parachute jump - his resolve was put to the test. One look down saw the teacher hesitate several times before jumping off the tower.
    For 13-year-old Kim Min-seon, the exercises were challenging but worth the experience. "When I came here, it was difficult but fun," she says. But the real challenge comes when Kim prepares to enter the gas chamber. Once inside, the trainees have to get their gas masks on as quickly as possible. After several minutes, students spilled outside to recover in the fresh air. "It is really strong," said one student. "I didn't feel anything and I thought I was going to die," said another. "That is all I felt and I couldn't think of anything," she says.
    By the last day, the toughened up trainees found the exercises a little more bearable.
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  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains identifiable children: users must ensure that they comply with local laws and regulations governing the publishing of this material.
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