[Opinion] Amazing Elementary School Students

Drowning accidents are uninvited guests of summertime. This year has been no exception, with drowning accidents occurring frequently to people dabbling in the water. A drowning accident does not end as a tragedy of a single individual. Sometimes the father, who jumped into the water to save his son, drowns and both father and son end up dying, or in some cases, people who tried to save unknown people are losing their lives. This week alone, a 40-year-old father saved his 10-year son but died exhausted in Pohang, and in Yangyang, a 20-something young man who jumped in the sea became missing while attempting to save a child. It is heartbreaking that some of these tragedies could have been prevented had the victims been calmer.

Vacationers who plan to go near the water should learn from Chung Hee-jae, 10, who was found four days ago after being lost in Mt. Jiri, in order to prevent accidents. Chung wandered the mountain for nearly 41 hours, but overcame his situation by being very calm. When it rained, Chung recalled the words of his father, “It is dangerous to fall asleep when you’re wet because your body temperature drops drastically,” and spent the night awake under some rocks. With such a degree of calmness, people would be less likely to drown or lose their lives when trying to save someone from drowning.

Elementary school student Lee, 12, who made the police cry and laugh is also an amazing child. On the afternoon of August 3, the police would probably be smiling after it obtained information that Lee Hak-man had logged on to the Internet. I wonder what their faces looked like when they found out - after searching two apartment complexes in Donam-dong for the entire night using 400 members of the police mobile task force and 20 members of special operations – that it was an elementary school child who logged on by using Lee’s resident registration number. Would they have a bitter smile for their frustration or would they blame the information age that allowed a child to deride the police?

Both Chung and Lee are no ordinary children. However, their actions ended up in two different results. Chung made his parents proud and even taught a lesson to grown-ups. Through this experience, Chung will grow more mature both physically and mentally. On the other hand, the adults who were stunned by Lee’s actions should teach him that using other people’s registration number is wrong. I hope that the number of children like Chung will grow.

Editorialist Bhang Hyung-nam, hnbhang@donga.com