Disappearing School Building

KANG Angyoung

It was at the athletic meeting three years ago that I set foot in the school building of Kitano high School for the first time. When I entered it, taken by my uncle who is a graduate from our school, I was surprised that the passage was very dark. But I became fond of the school building soon because I like old things. Then I decided to take an entrance examination of this school.

Two years have passed since I was adomitted to this school. I became more and more fond of it. So I have been taking many pictures of it since September in 1997. But I often feel it is not enough to leave a memory of this building even if I spend many spools of film. Now I am in a hurry because I will graduate in a year.

Then what part of the school on earth attracts me ? Is it an inclined passage? Or is it a white ceiling from which a piece of something white often drops? No, I don't think that it comes from these partial things. It seems to me that it embraces me gently and makes me feel well. I can't express my feeling well, but it is an atomosphere of the school building that makes me feel well, I dare to say. The atmosphere makes my heart and body warm even if it is winter. (Actually I don't wear a jacket during the winter.) And the tradition makes me proud. Although many people say that a tradition is bothersome to them, I don't think so. A disagreeable tradition is a bad one to us, but this school has a good one. I can strongly feel the fact that many seniors studied hard in the warmer of this school building. I think that it makes me study much harder. I also think that environments affects our basic characters.

I have a lot of memories connected with this school building. For example, in winter it is very cold in the building. So I can't play the piano at the hall since my fingers don't move because of coldness. On the contrary in summer it is very hot here. Classroom facing the south without an air-conditioner is just like a sauna. The floor boards have many holes by a lot of students. Doors and the windows of the classroom are heavy and solidly. Though the building has many damages, I am very fond of it. I suppose the old school building like this is rare.

In about three years, this old school building will disappear. Since I have spent here for two years, it is very sad for me that my old school building will disappear. I want to hand down this school building to my juniors. But that is impossible. I can't go against the stream. Even if the school building changes into a new one, I don't want to erase the Kitano's old and good tradition forever. I hope that the tradition will remain until the earth disappears.