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.