NOW

Cleaning time did not stop at sweeping. In many 1980s elementary schools, children pushed desks aside, crouched on wooden floors and polished them by hand with dry rags and solid wax.

SUPPLIES CAME FROM HOME

Families turned old towels or worn clothes into cleaning rags, and pupils carried them to school with small tins of wax.

A VERY PHYSICAL MEMORY

Museum records recall splinters from wooden floors and slips on freshly waxed surfaces.

IT FADED IN THE EARLY 1990s

The practice disappeared as concerns grew about the wax's effects on eyes and skin.

Sources & context

2026-09-18

museum.seoul.go.kr ↗