The ability to swim proficiently was also regarded by my primary and secondary school as being very important. My Secondary school also had a great swimming coach and we were pretty proficient at swimming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgFTfLp24qo

Some great memories for me here.

Does anyone know if in South Korea, the emphasis on Academic learning takes precedence over other skills such as swimminig, which may save your life one day?