Students enjoying life in Gunpo
Courtesy photoMoses Lake High School student Kevin McMains, left, enjoys the mud at the 11th annual Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach.
Grant County youth to return July 31
GUNPO, KOREA - So far, Grant County students have been covered in mud, learned to cook and met the mayor in Gunpo, Korea.
Moses Lake High School students Spencer Plate, Kevin McMains, Cody Hansen, Tawni Semanko, Courtney Vasquez, Iesha Ford, Marshall Goodrich, and Jocelynne Armstrong, and Royal High School students Sarah DaSilva and Kally Carter just finished week one of a two-week trip to Korea.
Students made the trip to visit Grant County's sister city through the Grant County Economic and Cultural Exchange program.
One of the first activities was attending the 11th annual Boryeong Mud Festival at Daecheon Beach, when the students were painted with mud.
Administrative Coordinator Carol Green said the event was an opportunity for students to bond.
"They really enjoyed it," Green said.
Students visited the city council in Gunpo and presented the mayor with a gift from Grant County - a print, and a book of art from a Grant County artist.
Green said the mayor smiled as he flipped through the book because he recalled the places from his visit to Grant County.
"It was just kind of a neat thing that he remembered and had good feelings about," she said.
In addition to participating in a mud festival and meeting city officials, students spent time at Gunpo City Youth Center.
Paired with Korean students and with guidance from a chef, the students also learned to make a rice cake dish and bulgogi.
"(Bulgogi is) a very traditional Korean way they season meat," Green said.
Students also experienced something unexpected, when they traveled to the demilitarized zone bordering North Korea. Green said their tour group saw the North Koreans giving a tour.
"We were told, don't look at them, don't point at them, don't talk to them," Green said.
Typically, when North Korea is giving a tour, soldiers from the Republic of Korea are not outside. When the Republic of Korea is giving a tour, soldiers from North Korea are not outside.
"This time, both sets of guards were out, standing next to each other," she said.
Students return from Korea July 30. Starting Aug. 7, Grant County students will show Korean students around Grant County.
Green is documenting the trip online at http://gcece.blosgspot.com.