South Korean pupils discuss attitudes towards North Korea following its controversial long-range rocket launch.
12-14 year old pupils at the Korea International School in Seoul have been listening to BBC World News for Children and sharing their views on the news online.
It wasn't just North Korea which sparked debate amongst young people in Seoul. Other stories which generated discussion included the Obama family dog and protests in Thailand.
Social Studies teacher, Fady Tabbara, set up the discussion site to encourage his pupils to think about world events.
Read extracts from the school discussion site below.
When Rachelle suggested the world’s attitude to North Korea was racist, the debate heated up. Most of her classmates disagreed strongly and explored the implications of the threat of a nuclear bomb in North Korea.
“I think that people should stop being scared about the missile and rockets in North Korea…. I think it is being a racist… people shouldn’t judge people on what they do because of who they are.” Rachelle
“I respectfully disagree with Rachelle. I cannot agree with North Korea because the North Korean leader used all the money of North Korea to develop nuclear bombs. That’s the main reason why North Korea is poor.” Matthew
“We are scared of the missile from North Korea because…. Everyone is scared of war, and everyone is scared of missiles.” Fionachu
“We are not being racist for there is a good reason to not trust the North Koreans.” Jwoh
“They made a nuclear bomb, and they now made missiles that was plan to hit near America. “Nuclear Bomb + long distance missile = ?” It is clear that they are prepare for something dangerous.” Sean
“I agree with Matthew. Why would people not trust North Korea? It’s because they had broken promises and they went against other countries… there’s a reason why North Korea should always be watched and made suspicious of. You don’t know what they’ll do next! They’ll just do anything unexpectedly!” Iris
Teacher Fady Tabbara got everyone talking: “I wonder why the President’s family getting a dog is world news,” he asked, “ What’s the big deal with getting a dog?”
“I think it is a stupid thing for the US President to take care of the dog. I think Obama should work all that time while he is taking care of the dog.” Sukwon
“He should focus more on the US’s and the world’s problems, not on getting a new puppy for his daughters.” Andi
“The dog is lucky to have the US president living with him, but I sort of feel sorry for President Obama. President Obama now has to take care of a dog and the United States.” Rachelle
“I do not get why President Obama having dog came out in the news. It is a very unimportant event.” Sean
“The US President probably won’t take care of the dog. In my opinion, he’d hire someone to take care of the dog. Seriously, he’s the president of the United States! He barely has time to breathe!” Iris
Thai Red Shirt protests also proved controversial. The demonstrations ended when two protesters were shot and killed. Some of the children were shocked by their deaths, but others argued that the demonstrators gave up too easily:
“I don’t get why the protesters have given up. If they were going to give up like this they shouldn’t have started in the first place…. Personally, I think protesting like the way these people did (violence, damaging etc…) will have a greater impact on the government.” Vicky
“Personally I think that the protesters were far too violent.” Matthew
“I think it was very good for the red-shirts to give up… I disagree because violence will cause harm and chaos to society.” Justin
“If they wanted to protest and give up after two people die, why did they even want to start? If they’re scared of death, they should have thought what kind of sacrifice will happen during the protest.” Will
How did they do that?
Middle School Pupils aged 12-14 at the Korea International School in Seoul listen to BBC World News for Children bulletins streamed on the school website via feeds and then exchange views on the news online.
“My students have been able to become more aware of the world around them,” comments teacher Fady Tabbara.
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BBC World News for Children is a 4 minute audio bulletin of international news aimed at 7-14 year olds. It can be downloaded from World Class where the scripts are also available. The bulletin is also podcast.
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