"친구들 보러 가요"…긴장 반 설렘 반 초등 1∼2학년 등교<br /><br />High school seniors returned to class last week and as part of the nation's phased reopening of schools, roughly 2-point-4 million younger students in South Korea went back to school today - some for the very first time in their lives.<br />But, more than five-hundred school nationwide had to postpone their start date once again due to new COVID-19 cases in their communities.<br />Our Kim Dami has more on<br />Korea's youngest grade school students got to meet their new classmates on Wednesday.<br />It was exciting for them, of course, but because the virus is still out there, back-to-school required more preparation than ever.<br />"I have this face mask necklace but my mom kept telling to be careful so that it doesn't get caught in my bag. I told her to stop telling me that because I do have it on."<br />"I was told to come to school so I came, and I was welcomed by my teachers and friends. It's very different from class online."<br />These first graders are among some 2-point-4 million students going back to class, including kindergarteners, third-year middle school students and second-year high school students.<br />The school day has been shortened, so after lunch at their desks, they were dismissed.<br />"But some kids weren't able to come to school at all. More than 560 schools nationwide had to delay their opening because there were new infections confirmed in their communities."<br />An unexpected twist, but the education ministry says classes had to resume eventually.<br />"Online classes cannot provide students with the kind of education they get from their teachers in person."<br />To prevent even the smallest chance of infection, parents can still choose to homeschool their kids.<br />"It's important to educate our kids but we are focusing more on creating a safe environment for them."<br />And in urban areas like Seoul, schools rotate attendence so they have only two-thirds of their students on site at one time.<br />Kim Dami, Arirang News.<br />
