“High Five” is a typical greeting for youth, especially new millennial kids. More than likely, this is not what you would expect from a group of administrators, faculty and staff of a school. However, there is always the exception. Every Wednesday, the leaders of Donghae Sahmyook Middle and High School greet their students in this way as they walk onto the school campus. This was shared with the Evaluation Committee of the Northern Asia-Pacific Division Commission on Accreditation (NSDCA)/ the Adventist Accrediting Association of the Seventh-day Adventist Schools, Colleges and Universities (AAA) when they visited the school from May 25 to 27, 2014, for their regular accreditation visit.
Donghae Middle School was ranked 27th among 117 middle schools in the Gangwon Province and 3rd among schools within Donghae City. Therefore, in spite of the fact that neighboring schools have seen a decrease of students, Donghae Sahmyook Middle and High School enjoyed a small increase in enrollment. Furthermore, the entire middle school section has been chosen as a “SMART” experimental school. All students and teachers have been using Samsung smart tablets as a tool for their education since 2012.
The new principal, Kim ChoonGeun, who was appointed as the 22nd principal of the school in March 2014 adopted the motto (which is also an emphasis of the government): “A School with Happiness, and Students with Vision.”
Hankook Sahmyook High School was also visited by the NSDCA/AAA Accrediting Committee from May 28 to 30, 2014. This school has the highest percentage of Seventh-day Adventists (95.6% of 620 students) attending the school than any other Adventist schools in South Korea and in the entire NSD territories.
The current principal, Shin DongKyun, became the principal on March 1, 2013. His vision is to provide an education that seeks to nurture both students’ dreams and aptitudes at the same time. His hope is that Hankook Sahmyook High School will be a school that has a good reputation for developing in students a strong faith in God, having great integrity and at the same time being recognized for its high academic achievement. Students will be polite, visionary and have balanced competency. Teachers will be committed to their calling, passionate in teaching, and love the school and their students. As a whole, the school will have an ethos that will be refreshing and functional to all who come within its walls, a school that will be known for its faith and love in God as well as its creative competiveness.
Indeed, with such dreams, Adventist education led by these educational teams will have its spiritual mandate fulfilled.
News article by Dr. Chek Yat Phoon