Minjok: The Great Han?

Where is Minjok? 

Our minjok is in danger. The globalization and active exchange between nations are now breaching the walls of minjok that long stood deep inside our mind. The modernized society is not allowing our minjok to remain intact but challenge what we believed to be true and sacred. Yet, it is known as an abstract concept that covers vast range of race, ethnicity, and bloodline. 




The origin of the concept 'minjok' dates back to the Japanese colonial period. Surprisingly, it was emerged to resist from the Japanese who tried to spread the western concept of 'nation' and efface the existent bond originated from the blood ties. Nationalist historiographer such as Shin Chae-ho and Park Eun-sik conceptualized minjok as he interpreted the history as 'our' history saying that we share the common ancestry, 'Dangun'. This new ideology was emphasized many times by nationalists to enlighten people around them and urge them to participate in the independence movement. As one big organic entity, Koreans successfully adopted the history-based concept of minjok and reclaimed national sovereignty after  survival through the harsh colonial period.

Now the Koreans are divided into two completely different nation, North Korea, the secretive totalitarian state and South Korea, the democratic, post-industrial society. Minjok can no longer serve the role of national unification. However,whenever our national (South Korea) team claims top place in global sports event, we say that 'Ouri Minjok e jjang eda (Our Minjok is the best)', a rather contradicting expression. At these moment, and especially at the moment when our national anthem rings the globe, we feel by instinct, the ebullient pride that touches our heart. Minjok, although it started from mere instrumental purpose (instrumental nationalism), seemed to develop national identity for Koreans.

          Video of G20 Seoul Summit 

Then what kind of function did minjok serve in modernization and will serve in the near future? I believe that minjok in recent days is just a social structure, imaginary society built for construction of strong and peaceful nation in which its theoretical foundation was formed by the government sixty years ago. In other words, minjok was created by radical politician and government who wanted economically-strong nation to make it function as a tight rope that binds our spiritual ego as one. In this case, people were expected to work more efficiently with solidarity and the government was able to avoid the responsibility for sacrificing citizens to achieve economic development of the nation. With no fundamental industrial basis, the Park Jung-hee government lead Korea to stand up like phoenix from the ashes. Even confronted with the national financial crisis, IMF, we were not reluctant to donate our precious property(gold) to the nation. The driving force was the minjok spirit, spread by the broadcasting media and press and reinforced by education system. The above G20 summit video shows the government's current effort to bring our nation into one - the video has some contents, historical facts that are somehow exaggerated and other factors such as animation and background music puts emphasis on it. 

Until now, the extent of minjok had been left for individuals to define by their instinct. The foreigners, despite their possession of Korean citizenship, were frequently denied and neglected by our society. Even the second generation of Korean immigrants do not consider themselves as part of Korean society. These phenomenons show that the meaning of minjok had been reformulated over time and we in the transition period, must clarify what minjok means to us at this moment. 

The main role of minjok will suffer constant changes as both domestic and foreign stimuli start to tackle and impugn its established meaning. Thus, the process trying to define minjok itself would be meaningless but the process trying to adapt to the changed definition and also trying to change ourselves is meaningful. Clinging to the 'historic' meaning of minjok will only foster chaotic atmosphere among different communities. With the world becoming a melting pot of numerous cultures and civilizations, we must be aware of newly arranged 'minjok' that could give us the piece of guideline to stand on stronghold without being swept away by the powerful wave of orientalism. 

Cheer! Cheer! Cheer!

THE CHEERLEADER 

Four months. It's been more than four months since we came into KMLA. Back then, every moment was full of excitement and I was always ready to challenge new things that I've never experienced. I tried to take as many auditions for club activities as possible (Baseball, Soccer, Minjok Orchestra.. etc). And that's how I got to join this very special club, KANDLES! 

KANDLES is an official cheerleading club that was established in 2012. Its purpose is not clearly known but according to rumors, it was made by our principal's great wish to have a formal cheerleading club at our school. During our practice time, we usually practice powerful dance moves and sometimes, quite difficult stunt moves (such as handspring). Although we only have four hours of practice time per week, there is no doubt that every single hour that I invest on practicing is more than just valuable- we go through many harsh time but we learn how to become strong as a group and without any conflicts between members. 

ONCE in a semester, we prepare for a national cheerleading contest. We compete with many other high school or middle school teams in Korea. This time, we're competing with thirteen different teams from all around Korea. ( Thirteen is relatively  a small number considering that its a national contest but people have quite pejorative view towards cheerleading in Korea...) Last year, our team took the second place and enjoyed the honor of the silver medal but this time, it will be more difficult as the number of teams have doubled. But still, it won't change our ardor towards cheerleading. We will strive to claim the honor of the 'shiny' medal and show others that KMLA is the best of the best!!

As a proud member of KANDLES, I will burn myself like candles until I graduate this school and contribute to the eternal happiness of KMLAeans!

KMLA LET'S GO!!! 

Homosexual Marriage: ODD?????

Homosexual Marriage in Korea

Abnormal !!! Peculiar !!! Eccentric !!! Pity !!! These are some of the words that will come to your mind when you hear a news about homosexual marriage. Recently, in Korea and France, the first official homosexual marriage was held. Internet and media showed great attention to this 'historic' moment. Also, during the last month (May, 2013) thirteen countries including Canada, France, Iceland, Spain, and Portugal enacted the law that enables homosexual marriage. Anyways the media focused on how gay couples felt after the marriage ceremony ended and considered them 'special'. 

True. It is true that gay or homosexual marriage is a special event; at least in the society we're currently living in. Throughout the history of mankind, conventional marriage was held for the purpose of reproduction of human species and thus, was held between different gender. No matter how diverse their sexuality is, people were just forced by this ridiculous custom that they were enforced to adhere. Even we ourselves believe that being a homosexual couple is being an inferior and is the most extreme road that mankind can choose to take. Often, in our society, we use the concept of 'gay' as a source of gag and consider it as a non-existential thing that is only worth when building close relationship with same gender. These type of phenomenon  is especially harsh in Korea where conventional values are taking big part in our everyday thinking and families pose great influence on each member. Unlike other developed nations, our nation hasn't yet established the cornerstone for accepting diversity in sexual identity. Why is that and what should we do?

          For few thousand years, Koreans have defined family as a state of perfect normality. That is to say, that the concept of Korean traditional families has been closely associated with the social norms prevalent in the society. To be specific, family members consisted of a female mom and sister, a male dad and brother, which was considered normal. There weren't any practices other types of marriages, including homosexual marriages, because no Korean could ever come up with such an awe-striking idea. Then the question arises, is the idea of traditional family only acceptable model for modern Korea? I do believe so.  

          Koreans consider family as one of the most crucial value in life due to the enormous amount of influence and function it has in its members. The elders of each family teach the younger about the moral criterion and standards they should consider in the society. In other words, families provide a guideline of how individuals should behave in that society. Specifically, fathers and mothers teach their children about the customs, like the obedience and reverence for the elderly which has been passed down since early generations. These purposes of families cannot be overlooked, for a family is a group of people who we meet since the moment we are out in this world. We are exposed to the firsthand influence of the family members and their influence lives on with us and to the next generation as well, since we teach our children about the ideas we have learned from our ancestors. 

          Gradual, new ideas are important to keep the progress in a society, yet extreme ideas provide harms. Family has been one of the milestones that provided a general consensus and social norms in the Korean society. Because Koreans had a similar mindset fundamentally, we were able to share similar perspectives about certain social phenomenon, and this, in this end, is what kept the social order and stability. When drastic changes collide with the prevalent social norms, chaos arises. This hinders the society from progressing forward. 

Homosexual marriages are, to be frank, extreme. Koreans have not yet encountered with such a belief. We may panic. We may also face psychological division within the citizens. It also can be inferred that these families are not willing to teach their adopted children about the values that former Koreans have strived for. They would, on the other hand, provide their descendants with somewhat radical ideas, asserting the justification of homosexual marriages. Korean society is already facing so many problems including generation gaps, huge income differences, and the North Koreans. If the function and definition of family were to be challenged, our society would have to deal with another rupture, which with no doubt would be a barrier for establishing compromise and harmony between each member within a society.

The definition of traditional family as the state of perfect normality would have to stand in modern Korea. Tradition is something passed down from the ancestors. The concept of traditional family, therefore, may change in the future if we gradually accept other customs. But for now, it would be wise for the Koreans to preserve what had been with us until we are able to accept the unfamiliar concept of homosexual family.

TOEFL #2: The 21st Century; THE ERA OF CHANGE

 The 21st century has begun. What changes do you think this new century will bring? Use examples and details in your answer.

Before the beginning of 21^st century, people anticipated many revolutionary changes to happen in the next century. Starting from flying cars to 3D screens, technological development proceeding with significant speed was believed to bring things that were once considered as dreams into reality. However, people’s great failure to acknowledge the importance of rising environmental issues had led to gradual deterioration of nature and created potential possibilities of complete destruction of this planet. 21^st century is not only an era of technology but also a period of drastic environmental change that will elicit permanent alternation to every corner of this world. 

One of the noticeable changes that environmental changes could bring would be the shift in the main industry. During the last few decades, as mobile devices and personal laptops became more prevalent, IT industry has taken the big part of economic growth and technological development. However, with the exponential growth of world population and dissemination of electric devices, the world will soon encounter energy crisis and most industries including IT will wither. Consequently, energy-related industries will develop with astonishing speed and the rest of 21^st century will be the period that eagerly applies alternative energy sources to every community and establish an eco-friendly society.

Cultural change is also one of the biggest differences that could be induced by environmental degeneration. Recent effects of global warming and frequent natural disasters have destroyed homelands of numerous people. Countries like Tuvalu are sinking and desertification of vast size of lands in Asia and Africa is also accelerating. As a result, people will actively immigrate to other countries in search for favorable accommodation and eventually they will assimilate into different cultures and this process will take crucial role in building a peaceful multicultural society. Thus, cultural exchange between nations will go beyond the extent of cultural fusion and reach the level of cultural unification that could bring various ‘minjok’ into ‘one’ without any collision.

Most importantly, educational system is likely to suffer changes along with the environmental change. Since the mid-20^th century, the conventional education that emphasized subjects such as math, language, and science and enforced students to take mandatory courses slowly changed in a way that students could find their interest by their own. This new system was applied to almost every school by beginning of 21^st century in some developed nations. However, as survival will rise as one of the crucial topic of this century, students will no more be asked to study subjects they wish to study but inevitably invest more time on learning fields that can contribute to improving basic lives of people as companies will start to put more investments for its development.

There is absolutely no doubt that environmental change will bring considerable effect to the overall system that human civilization had established for the last centuries. Not to mention the big shifts in industry, culture, and education but it will also bring modifications in countless different areas. Every species that exists in this planet including humans have close relationship with the nature. Therefore we should possess the responsibility for future generations and strive to change our society through sustainable developments. 

Nacirema: The Unknown Civilization?

          It has been quite a long time since humans started to study culture of others. Through expeditions, journeys, and unexpected adventures, they got chances to encounter countless cultures unknown to most of the world. However, as the protagonist of most expeditions were from western countries, it was inevitable for them to be interpreted according to fundamental values and beliefs that westerners, the outsiders had. At the time, they usually considered their culture as meaningless and inferior. Between the era of the 19th century and 20th century, western societies had undergone extreme changes and as thoughts based on individualism prevailed through their societies, people began to accept the existence of other 'civilizations' and admit their difference. 

          The article of 'Body Ritual among the Nacirema' written by an eminent anthropologist Miner in 1956 also delineates the culture created by the people of Nacirema and suggests the readers to  understand them in their perspective. At least, this is the first impression most people receive when they first encounter this piece of writing. 

As one of the 'ordinary readers', I didn't have the special ability to see that 'Nacirema' was backward spelling of 'American'. During the in-class writing, I insisted that humans, as they call themselves by the name of 'logical' creatures, should admit the logic that every civilization and culture that exists on this planet is created by humans and thus, not a single comparison could be made between them. However, after I realize that the author's intention and his sarcastic tone, the feeling of anger and malaise descended upon my mind. It was a total shame of me that I focused more on understanding the simple features of Nacirema culture rather than looking deep into the author's intention for writing. I was absolutely tricked by the author's academic style of writing and his usage of sophisticated vocabularies.  

THREE QUESTIONS. Spending some time thinking about the article, three questions that came across my head: 

            1. Why would the author use wordplay to describe Americans?

            2. Why did Miner put focus on the body ritual when there are other interesting parts of a particular culture?

            3. Is this piece of writing truly about suggesting cultural relativism? 


          Although I haven't got chances to discuss about these crucial points in my in-class essay, observing America outside the America-centrism perspective feels quite strange to all of us. The author makes strong criticism on the fact that people watch other cultures with a lens favored to America without noticing it. Also in the text, he mentions that he looked 'from our high places of safety in the developed civilization'. By using this contradictory statement, he implicitly emphasizes that Nacirema culture does not possess one of the most advanced or respectable traits. 


          As this article was released in 1956, I believe that Miner was exhorting people at the time not to follow everything of America despite the fact that America held an unchallenged political hegemony. Also I viewed his purpose of introducing the body ritual as an emphasis of individualism which made people's lives primarily dependent on economy (money). In other words, the article not only attacks people's general view towards certain cultures but I realized that it also discusses the seriousness of materialism and lookism which caught the mind of most Americans at the period. Considering that people were still classified and divided based on their wealth in the society, I learned that 'the democratic government and society' that American citizens were shouting and demanding for didn't cause any revolutionary changes but was a mere name that justified the values of people in high status. 

          The experience of reading Nacirema article and receiving chances to observe Miner's valuable thoughts broke the lens of prejudice that I wore for 16 years. Also I feel very thankful for the author who made me realize the potential danger of pursuing materialism and lookism. However, having read implied meanings of the article, I find our lives somehow ironic. Even as we are writing this essay, we are writing to achieve satisfying grades so that we can truly achieve a life as a magnate. Aren't we? 

Review: George Orwell's 'Why I Write '

George Orwell is well-known for writing novels with strong political purpose. 'The animal farm' and '1984' is especially known for its criticism against the communism. However, in his work 'Why I Write', he insists that readers should also make efforts to focus on the artistic view that is hidden inside his novels. 

Now here is his work 'Why I Write'. In this piece of writing, there are quite diverse genres although it only comprises 5-6 pages. 

Based on the genre of this writing and the writing style that he used, we can find out that his main ideas perfectly fit into his style of writing and genres that he used. 

           In 'Why I Write', George Orwell portrays the life of himself as a writer and several motives  that writers use to start writing; sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose. He uses the genre of autobiography, explanative essay,and poem to elaborate his process of effort to become a creative writer and suggests appropriate attitude that writers should possess. 

           In the beginning, Orwell insists that every readers should be aware of the writer's overall life and how he had developed his style of writing over time. He believed that one cannot make precise interpretation of others' writing if they are not cognizant of their background. As a famed writer of his time, he states that 'I give all my background information because I do not think one can assess a writer's motives without knowing something of his early development'. This statement shows his firm dislike towards people's tendency to construe his writing based on the time setting that he lived in which was chaotic. Also he mentions that writings should not directly expose political issues or concerns but rather implicitly criticize the 'uncomfortable' facts that the society has during the era. In other words, he emphasizes that all writings (or prose) should make a focus on turning a piece of writing to an art by making an 'acceptable' balance  between political and aesthetic views. 

          First of all, autobiographical components are found in the beginning. Orwell mostly writes about the difficulties and dilemmas that he encountered in his early days and juxtapose them in chronological order. He states that 'I wrote bad and usually unfinished nature poems in the Georgian style' and 'my writing became more and more a mere description of what I was doing and the things I saw.' In this way, he is reflected as a 'humble' and 'mature' writer which adds a conviction to what he explains throughout his writing.

          In addition, the fact that four motives why writers write were explained in the form of explainative essay makes his writing more reliable. After he gives his information about his literary ambitions and many attempts to become a skillful writer, readers may conclude that his life could be full of failures. However, by utilizing the genre of explanative essays, he recovers his faith from the readers by sounding like an expert writer and begins his explanation about his second main idea. In other words, this type of genre does not always give out simple information to readers but also it convinces readers to believe in writer's thoughts.

           The poem that appears in the middle of this writing portrays the dilemma that he encountered during his 'dark age'. Through  this genre, he succeeds in expressing the significance of adding aesthetic sense to piece of writing to prevent certain purposes to be exposed on the surface. The succinct languages of poems usually symbolize particular subject that the author tries to express. In this writing, expressions such as 'I am the worm' or 'my enemies' demonstrates how certain ideas can be described without using 'purple passages' and his ability to write with artistic view. 

          Not only the genres, but also his writing style performs a role pertinent to the main ideas. Orwell attempts to insert his emotion into his writing to illustrate his aesthetic enthusiasm by using quite noticeable expressions such as 'I was outraging my true nature' and 'writing with astonishing speed'. Through this process, he might have been trying to escape from people's inclination to approach to his work only in political aspects. Usage of quotes, similes, and metaphors such as 'Good prose is like a windowpane.' and the lines from 'Paradise Lost' also accentuates that he has the ability to write with an artistic sense. 

          With components of autobiography, explanative essay, and poem combined, Orwell's depiction of the struggle to merge the artistic purpose and political purpose into one and emphasizing the importance of being conscious of author's background makes a suggestion to both readers and writers about the most effective and appropriate ways of reading and writing. The usage of similes and metaphors and other literary tools also support these two main ideas. George Orwell, although he is misunderstood as a writer who strongly creates work based solely on his political beliefs, his absolute intelligence and skill in writing shown in this piece of writing safely brings the readers to his ultimate 'destination'. 

Book Review: Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre.

You might have heard of this name at school or at academies.Yes. Jane Eyre is one of the most eminent classic novels that is loved by many people around the world until now. Its well-crafted structure, mysterious happenings, and abnormal personality of the protagonist (Jane Eyre) catches readers' mind at once and of course, I am no exception to that.

Just like other typical Victorian novels, Bronte (author)  describes the difficult life of Jane Eyre which luck and love wins at the end. However, unlike other novels, it is written in a feminine perspective in which other authors refused to write with. Thus it received high credits for being written in a fresh view of females.  

Review

       


        In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte portrays the clash between social restrictions and the desire for freedom in the nineteenth century. At the time, women were considered inferior and were denied by many rights that men had. Jane Eyre, the protagonist of the novel, is however, in the position where she stands off to fight such prejudice. In her youth, she is an insolent and rebellious little orphan who always strives to stand against the authoritative power of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. Although she is heavily punished and chastised by making such trials, she does not easily give up her 'mission'. Throughout her life in Lowood and Thornfield, she accepts a challenging life in order to show her desperate wish to be a passive participant of the society.





         As this novel is written in feminine perspective, it clearly shows the internal emotions of the female character towards happenings occurring in the society. During the 19th century England, people were extremely strict about making decorous behaviors and their custom implicitly coerced people to be genteel and hide their true emotions. Thus, most people, especially those in high social status, maintained superficial relationship with each other and were never able to live a life according to their will. However, Jane is a character that ardently challenges the custom and acts against its social expectations. Sometimes, authoritative characters such as Mrs. Reed and Mr. Broklehurst, suppresses Jane for being too frank about her emotions. Nonetheless she makes successful approach to people like Ms. Temple and Mr. Rochester and is evaluated 'diligent' and 'lovely'. Thus, by making a heroine character, Jane, Bronte accentuates the  fact that the custom which English were proud of actually circumscribed their lives. 

           Usage of numerous symbolic elements and parallel situations that pervade throughout the novel adds an extra emphasis on the theme. Whenever Jane suffers from conflicts by her position as a women, they are solved in a blink of an eye as if a supernatural force is exerted. Such structure of the novel is not a simple component of a novel but expressing the author's strong wish to escape from the state of subservience and obedience. Likewise, Bronte's vivid narrative towards women's role and ideal attitude of people when they build relationship with others give a definitive message to people not only in the past, but also present.... 

"I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives."                 -Jane Austen- 

The Road Goes Ever On and ON

THE ROAD GOES EVER ON AND ON~~~

          For the past 2 months, we, the 18th wavers have made numerous efforts to assimilate into a society called 'KMLA'. Sometimes the 'missions' that we encountered seemed so harsh that we fell into abysmal disgrace. Some of us even failed to achieve certain expectations and goals that we set in the beginning of our 'journey'. However, that was not the most important thing happened to us. The most important thing was that every time we faced such moments, we consoled each other and saw our missions ahead in an optimistic view. 

          Before we entered this school (KMLA), people around us always considered us as intelligent students. Not only our friends, but also our teachers and relatives. It was indeed very uncommon to hear someone say that we are not talented at studying. But as we commenced our lives as KMLA student, things have changed without any doubts. No one recognizes us as an 'extremely talented' student (except for the few who always receive good scores) and even some of the teachers are heavily criticizing us for not making efforts to improve our academic skills. In other words, our existence became much more powerless than our 'heydays' when we were considered as geniuses. 

          Well, for me, having undergone through this shocking experience, I feel abashed for meaninglessly spending time during my middle school years. I wonder why I denied all the opportunities that were given to me. Maybe it was because I fell into deep mannerism after I knew that I was one of the most clever students among the students. But no more can I hold on to those ridiculous thoughts. Things are absolutely different now. The wall of pride inside my mind is already breached and now, I feel a great need for learning how to cooperate with my friends. 

       Mid term is now over, yet other exams lay upon our doorstep. This time, we all know that most of the students will strive to pull themselves up to the top. Competition. It is an inevitable thing. BUT if we cannot avoid it, we should enjoy the process. 

World End Coming True? 3Cs: Corruption, Contamination, Climate Change

Film Review: The Age of Stupid.

World end. Apocalypse. It has been a quite long time since people began to expose their concern about negative impacts of drastic climate change in multimedia. Eminent films such as ‘The Day after Tomorrow’ and ‘2012’ delineate how our lives would become if we ignore the potential danger of global warming that we, humans are creating every day. Ice melting in Alps with increasing speed, strike of hurricane Katrina, and complete destruction of Nigeria’s ecosystem and its society by multinational oil companies; Franny Armstrong’s film of ‘the age of stupid’ portrays the seriousness of dearth of natural resources and resultant climate change with an acute view.  

Until now, people have blamed avarice of normal citizens in developed nations from producing innumerous wastes.  They say we are cruel, ignorant, and do not recognize the true value of ‘mother nature’. However, are the abject poverty of third world communities and extreme sufferings of their people repercussions of our everyday behaviors? The answer to that would be ‘no’. The documentary comprises six stories of individuals whose life is directly or indirectly bonded with natural resources. Conspiracy of government, natural disasters, and environmental problems; the film discusses these three issues through six different scenes.

Above all, it expresses its criticism towards introspective governments of developed nations, the main control hub of these chaotic and incessant wars happening around the world. America, a country with the highest expenditure of natural resources is described as a 'corrupted' nation whose government manipulates truth behind military actions especially those related to Iraq War. Hundred billion dollars spent every year and millions of refugees are small part of results of America’s ‘little effort’ to achieve world peace. America seems to bear the burden of maintaining world peace by using its powerful and incomparably advanced military system. However, the ultimate purpose of America’s assault is completely revealed by film’s narrator’s specific explanation about complicity of the governors who secretly possessed desire to overtake ascendancy in oil industry. Hence its scornful view effectively censures the governors and affluent enterprises that are reluctant to reveal their collusion.

 The episodes of Nigeria and hurricane Katrina shows people whose livings have been devastated by either natural disasters such as flood and hurricane, or contamination by human activities. Steady increase in consumption of energy and natural resources which led to unimaginable amount of emission of greenhouse gases made detrimental impacts to environment and ecosystem. Although most affects were ironically concentrated on poor nations, industrialized nations still receive considerable damage by changed climates. In addition, the fact that film showed lively moments of such consequences in both developed countries and developing countries accentuates the fact that climate change is not ‘their’ problem but one that WE encounter.   

At the end of the film, optimistic view of people living in extremely ‘civilized’ society about ameliorating the current environmental issues is introduced when Piers Guy founders to persuade people to build wind mill in their town. Most of them had a consensus that constructing wind mill will ruin the view and thus disagreed with his proposal. Also despite the fact that majority of people were conscious of great need for construction of fundamental structures for renewable energy, their selfishness blindfold them as it is shown in this NIMBY(Not-in-my-backyard) phenomenon. In other words, the film suggests that  people’s general 'narcissistic' view of environment is a goal that is yet far away from our present state.

We could have saved ourselves’. The documentary commences and ends with this short ‘regret’. Day by day, without being noticed, our planet ‘earth’ is losing light of its ineffable beauty of nature. To make a definitive change to reduce the negative impact of climate change and stop the process of global warming, we must thoroughly react and stand up to the reprehensible decisions of governments and people in high social classes. Ignorance to these issues will only exacerbate the situation and yield difficulties that later generations cannot bear. Our generation has the duties to respond to the postponed responsibilities of early generations and contribute to the construction of eco-friendly and ‘veracious’ society. In other words, we must be the ‘protagonist’ not the ‘audience’ of our history!

Contact Jea Hyun Kim at bfjh522@naver.com

Personal Narrative speech: Life in foreign land.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen.

 

Every day, we encounter different people and environment and strive to adjust ourselves into it without any difficulties. Is overcoming certain barriers in our lives an easy process? At least for me it wasn't and it was my fourth grade year that I began to understand that.

 

After finishing my third grade year in my hometown Mokdong, my mother announced that I will be away from my home to stay in America for a year. At first, it indeed sounded like delightful news but as an aborigine of Seoul, I was afraid to step outside and take ‘adventure’ to an unfamiliar place. By the end of winter vacation, I flew to Boston with my uncle and cousins. During the flight, memories of precious moments with my dear friends and families soaked my mind. But at the same time, I was apprehensive about speaking a language that I've never spoke in my 10-year life. Boston just seemed to be a city burning in flame of unknown culture and languages.

 

A flickering light from the airplane's ceiling signaled the arrival. As I took my first step inside the airport, I was absolutely astonished. It was neither the size nor the interior of the airport that amazed me but it was the people and their civil manner. Although I was immature to understand what they were saying, I knew by sense that they were respectful to one another. Every scene that caught me was so different from the images of my country that seldom appeared in my head.

On the next day, without having sufficient amount of sleep, I was almost forced to commence my first school life in Bartlett. My uncle introduced me to some of the teachers who seemed affable but I was yet too nervous to approach and speak to them. Then the bell rang, indicating that the first period had begun. I hurried to the classroom. At the moment when I abruptly opened the door to enter the room, a cluster of sharp eyes descended upon me. I stood in front of the class with my eyes blinking, unable to find a clear focus. My new classmates started asking innumerous questions and I was in a state of great panic.

During the first week, I felt like being a main character in horror movie where people speak to others in arcane languages. Everyone was so natural in speaking English and their words and sentences which crossed over my head brought a total chaos to me. Different language, different culture, different appearance; it almost seemed impossible to find a common ground with my new friends until I sighted them reading one of my favorite books ‘Hobbit’ and playing Pokemon cards.

Step by step, I carefully broached the subject that my new friends would be interested in. I used lunch time and recess time to share common interest with them and enjoyed the attention I got from them. I ardently reread ‘The Hobbit’ at home to remember the interesting parts and invested some of my savings to buy Pokemon cards. Also every night, I spent more than an hour pondering about what to speak of and searched for sophisticated expressions and vocabs to become a fluent English speaker. My endless effort to be part of a ‘different’ society didn’t show noticeable outcome in the beginning. However, as the time elapsed I began to realize that everyone was no more reluctant to share conversation with me unlike the beginning of the semester.

 

Looking back at my situation, I feel abashed for being such a nerd who meticulously observed each one of his classmates and even prepared for trivial daily conversation topics. But there was something really special about this process. Students in America have relatively extensive and diverse interests. This makes every one of them have unique characteristics. My experience of trying to assimilate into their society not only gave me abilities to mingle with new people but it also gave me the chance to be exposed to much diversity which was the ultimate power to overcome language and other barriers.

 

America, as we call it by the name of ‘land of opportunity’, I found the ‘key’ to go beyond the barriers to reach my ultimate goal. 

Personal Narrative: My first volunteer work

                        Sitting on a bus, I stare absentmindedly at the dim sunlight from the horizon. The sunlight seemed to brighten the world, but looking around I find gloomy dark forests still shadowed by the glimmering mountain peaks. The driver in charge of taking us to the hospital in Gyunggi Province made a sudden stop to wake us. Fading sound of ambulance siren signaled yet another busy and lively day at the hospital.

                           It was my first day of volunteering at the Yangju hospital. As I took my first step towards the entrance, the pungent smell that penetrated through my nostrils seemed to greet me. Although there were quite a lot of volunteers, they were reluctant to take care of the patient I met, who was suffering from chronic mental disease. He had the ability to walk properly with his two feet, grab things with two hands and every parts of his body seemed to be no different from ‘ordinary’ men except for his unnatural way of speaking and behaviors.

                           I was given an entire week to stay aside the patient. He was an inquisitive young man and on the first day, it seemed like I was harassed by him with innumerous questions, especially about the ‘outer world’ where he cannot reach despite his ebullient desire. Every day, he cajoled to take a walk along the mountain located near the building and I was almost forced to be a part of his ‘adventure’. He wandered through forests and mountains and zealously looked for odd-shaped stones and kept them as if they were his precious properties. After trying to catch up with his enthusiastic movements, I was enervated by the end of the day but the exceeding feeling of satisfaction fulfilled my mind.

                          The image of the mentally challenged patient overlaps the shadowed forest. Both of them were isolated and neglected by the majority just because they have difference with the others. Living in the hospital, I was given an opportunity to watch people anguishing from serious illness. Although minority of them seemed vapid all the time most of the patients carried smile on their face and tranquil happiness slowly soaked my mind.

                    Back at home, I was again busy with finishing delayed tasks and schedules. The memory of the patient floats back at the sight of a picture of gloomy-looking forest from biology textbook. Maybe not many had recognized yet, but the mentally challenged patient had talents in art and creating sculptures with ‘odd-shaped stones’. Certain change in people’s attitude toward appreciating and accepting diversity does not occur in a blink of an eye. Nevertheless I patiently wait with great desire and always strive my best to process its steps.

Toefl Essay Prompt 1

Essay Prompt #1

Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples

For the past several centuries, Korea had encountered countless hardships and afflictions. For the most of the time, they lived in such harmony and peace but sometimes incessant assaults from foreign intruders made our ancestor’s living unimaginably harsh. Through these periods, our nation had formed its unique customs which enabled our minjok to significantly adapt to the environment. One of the most attractive customs is sharing close emotional feelings and interest with neighborhoods which scarcely exists in the modern society where every individual are regarded as rivals or competitors.

                  ‘Pummati(품앗이)’ is a custom in which our ancestors in certain community helped each other whenever they had lot of works to be done. Korea, as a country that had agriculture as a fundamental basis for its economy, needed significant amount of helping hands to successfully harvest every crops on its field. Due to this demand, our early generations had developed ‘Pummati’, an efficient and practical means to increase their food supplies. During farming seasons, neighbors would allocate their work and take turns to implement farm work such as planting rice(모내기) despite some had comparatively more works to do than others. This means that ‘Pummati’ was not just a method to bring rising tide of prosperity to peasant’s economy but a custom that was based on individual’s trust and compassion. Thus, Pummati eventually engendered active interaction and strong emotional bond between neighbors and enabled our nation to unite as one whenever foreign nations made abortive efforts to overtake our country.

                  Our forefathers not only shared interest through working together under the glaring sun. “Pungmulnori (풍물놀이)”, a play proceeded by an orchestra comprised of Korea’s traditional musical instruments, provided people the opportunities to enjoy music together at same place. Neighbors who gathered to watch the show would usually share our traditional cuisines or snacks and thus develop fraternal relationship. Also the fact that performance was descended from our predecessors and never undergone changes made people in certain communities feel the sense of kinship. Whenever people felt enervated, they would use the given time to relieve themselves to hum the rhythm presented during the Pungmulnori performance together. Although Pungmulnori was not the only event that strengthened the bond between neighbors, it is a custom that clearly shows how our ancestors enjoyed time with amiable neighbors and expresses the true spirit of sharing mind.

                  In both customs, ‘Pummati’ and ‘Pungmulnori’, our ancestors have implicitly emphasized the importance of maintaining and building relationship with neighbors and furthermore the essence of being affable to people around you. Technological development and modifications in family unit have debased the ‘community spirit’. Bound by the prevalent biases of our society, we are often deceived by our first impressions to see others superficial appearances rather than the actual truth that usually lies beneath the surface. Although approaching to estranged neighbors might be a considerable pressure to people around the world, it is imperative to adopt these Korean customs to normal life for it will ultimately bring a lively and peaceful society. 

Introduction: Hello Everyone~~

Hello Everyone ~

My name is Jea Hyun(Steven) Kim and I'm from ROK(Republic of Korea).
I was born in Seoul and I live in Gangnam. ( Yes, it's Gangnam from Psy's Gangnam Style). I have spent my entire middle school years in Gangnam but I spent most of my childhood in Mokdong (which is also in Seoul).



Currently, I'm attending KMLA (Korean Minjok Leadership Academy), one of the best high schools in Korea! And here is the picture of my school.

Unlike other famous schools in Korea, our school is located in the countryside. Despite the fact that our school has quite low accessibility, it is full of students armed with significant intelligence. Also as it is shown in the picture above, most of our school buildings are built in traditional Korean style, (It is because of our school's ultimate purpose is to raise leaders with global servant leadership with clear identity as proud Korean.) 

In the future, I wish to become a bio medical engineer who can develop innovative technology that can save millions of people around the world. After all, as one of the leaders of our society, what could be more important than helping other people? In order to perform this duty, I'm making efforts to build up my knowledge and vision.  Although I haven't decided my dream university, I have a strong desire to attend university in America. 

I'm really interested in improving my writing skills although my essays are not that significent. I hope I can truly revolutionize my writing during this semester!!