Introduction

Cultural Tradition of School Excursion and Collective Trauma of the Motor Vessel Sewol Accident

“…Today, hundreds of students can frequently be seen guided by teachers in old cities such as Kyoto, Narai, Gyeongju, or Tainan in the spring or sometimes in the autumn. At high school, excursions are generally allocated for second-year students (95.3%) because third-year students need to spend more time on studying for the entrance exam, according to a survey by the Japan School Tours Association [1]. Many people remember their school excursions as the most important school activities, along with school festivals.…”

“…Several anthropological studies have been carried out on the function of school trips as a social practice [1]. For a long time, it has been the first trip a child takes with other people outside the family, such as teachers and other students.…”

“…The school excursion is considered to be a very important aspect of school life. According to a previous study, a teacher has been reported as stating the following [1].…”

“…The second significant purpose, perceived by the teacher respondents, is ‘strengthening mutual relationships with teachers and other students (57.9%)’. Other aims such as ‘awareness of nature’s beauty’, ‘getting school memories’, ‘seeing local culture and lives’ or ‘studying geography, history, politics, economics directly’ are regarded as less important, at 45.4%, 45.2%, 39.1%, and 37.5%, respectively [1].…”

“…Similarly, school excursions in East Asia have been seen as the last continuum of socialization as a rite. In brief, the tradition of school excursions in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan has evolved as a branch of the phylogenetic tree of a broader cultural stem for the past 100 years [1]. The characteristics of school excursions are listed in Table 1 as follows.…”