Handwriting surges among ‘keyboard generation’… even schools offer handwriting classes
On the morning of the 18th, a handwriting class was held at Jungdong High School in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, instead of a regular class. A calligraphy instructor told 31 first-graders to “write words in balanced chunks,” and they had five minutes to write the school song on an A4 sheet. The result was a series of concentrated but unreadable “worms”. They looked at each other’s writing and laughed, saying, “Even elementary school students can write better than this.”
On the 18th, first graders at Jungdong High School in Seoul took notes (above) and handwritten lyrics of the school song during a class on ‘Writing Correctly’. The handwriting is hard to read. The school started a Hangul writing class for first graders this year in response to a surge in students with poor handwriting. /Reporter Yoon Sang-jin
This year, the school started a Hangul writing class for 360 first graders. This is because the number of students who are not good at handwriting has increased dramatically as they get used to the ‘keyboard’ of digital devices. “Even in the digital age, writing is a means of expressing one’s personality and an important way to communicate,” said Lee Myung-hak, the school’s principal, adding, “It is necessary to teach them before they reach adulthood.” The school organized a writing contest in July and is considering a class for the entire school.
“Ten years ago, there were three or four good writers in a class, but now it’s hard to find one,” said Park Jung-hyun, a Korean language teacher at Mansubukjung in Incheon. During test periods, it’s not uncommon for teachers to “debate” which letter a student wrote. An English teacher at a high school in Seoul said, “There was a time when I was confused about which letter was which, so I took out the student’s answer sheet from the previous test and did a ‘handwriting check’.” In every exam, there are one after the other that are difficult to read.
A handwriting correction school in Gangnam, which I visited on the 17th, said it has about 30 percent more students than five years ago. On weekends, more than 50 people flock to the 10-pyeong school. “There are many inquiries from parents who want their children to practice their handwriting before entering middle school, where there are many performance evaluations,” said Yoo Yoo-young, 57, a representative of the school. The proportion of girls in the class was about one in 10 10 years ago, but now it is more than 30 percent. The old saying that “girls write better” is no longer true.
On the other hand, the number of adults interested in handwriting is increasing. “Five years ago, there weren’t many 2030s interested in calligraphy,” says Yoo Hyun-duk, president of the Korea Calligraphy Association, “but now we have two to three people a day taking classes먹튀검증. Adults who are preparing for national certifications or administrative and foreign affairs exams also head to the academy to correct their handwriting. “When I saw the handwriting on the answer sheets of the successful candidates, I thought, ‘My handwriting could be deducted,’ so I started going to the center three months ago,” said Ms. Lim, 50, who is preparing for a technician’s exam.
In China, research has also shown that the digital generation can read Chinese characters but struggle to write them. This is because they are used to typing on a “keyboard,” which is an alphabetized way of pronouncing Chinese, and when they try to write Chinese characters (simplified characters), they have trouble remembering them.
Experts say that handwriting can develop thinking skills better than using a keyboard. “Handwriting is not only more memorable, but also has the effect of fostering creativity and patience,” said Dr. Kim Kwang-joon, a professor of geriatrics at Severance Hospital.