At first glance, James Joyce’s
“Eveline" might appear to be a story about a woman, Eveline, facing the conventional
yet significant conflict between the gender role and self-actualization. After
all, when Eveline first encountered Frank, the man she admired, while she was
enduring an arduous and uphill life full of her father’s irksome attitude and
the duty as the only lady in the family, it seemed legitimate for her to leave
her original life and start a new one as the wife of Frank. There was no doubt
that following Frank would have brought Eveline a complacent life with the high
reputation as the wife of a chief sailor, a stress-less daily life without any
conflict with her father, and the happiness and joy from the sincere love.
However, on the other hand, Eveline decides to forsake the new life after a
short but intensive interval of inner-conflict. Therefore, it is perhaps more
accurate to assume that "Eveline" successfully demonstrates the
subtle affection of Eveline towards her family. Eveline knew that her old life
would continue to be aggravating and disquieting, but she finally chose to
sacrifice her personal satisfactory life for the sake of her family. In this
sense, Eveline is a good paragon of the woman stuck in the traditional ‘guardian’
duty in the family, most of the times dropping out her personal success,
pursuit of happiness and self-satisfaction.
The Boarding House
At first glance, James Joyce's
"The Boarding House" depicts ‘marriage’ as a long lasting
obligational contract rather than the promise of forever love. After all, Mrs.
Mooney tactfully tries to make her daughter, Polly marry a man who is not the
genuine, only love, but rather a man who can provide her a more elegant life
with the higher status. However, on the other hand, Mr. Doran faces a chaotic
dilemma about the marriage with Polly. To this gentleman, the relationship with
Polly was just a temporary affair. Polly was definitely not the final
destination of this man’s heart. But even so, what bothers Mr. Doran was his
high status as the veteran wine merchant. He worries that breaking up with
Polly would wash away the fame and admiring reputation that he had earned for a
decade. Therefore, it is perhaps more accurate to assume that "The Boarding
House" demonstrates the marriage as the formation of calculated bonds. In
this sense, Mr. Doran is a good example of the man who forgets the original
value of ‘love’ and ‘marriage’ to maintain the realistic values such as the
reputation.
I don't exactly know what I should prioritize in this list. (In fact, that is kind of an excuse why I wrote this late compared to my class mates :) ) So... I will directly write about things that come up on my head, randomly.
1. Soccer, CGV
Watching actual games, visiting the stadium, just playing it, analyzing the tactics, participating as a referee, etc... All of these can make me happy very easily. I started playing soccer when I was 6 years old. Then, I never stopped playing it. No matter where I were, I found friends and a suitable place to play soccer. US for one year, India for about 10 days, and my 2 years of life in KMLA. In KMLA, I still remember bringing uniform and soccer shoes for the afternoon classes 5th period, in order to play soccer after 8th period right away. All though my GPA suffered in freshman year because of this failure of balancing activities and academy, my passion and madness for soccer is still a good memory and will be one when I think of KMLA even few decades later.
2. Captain of CGV
I put this in a different section because being a captain of CGV (KMLA varsity soccer club) was really special, meaningful for me, and it deserves an extra focus. When I became the captain of KMLA CGV, 17th wavers of CGV, the best team in the history of KMLA, were all retiring. Since 18th and 19th wavers of CGV were generally weaker than 17th wavers, I had a lot of concerns. Unfortunately, the concerns became the reality when CGV lost 1:2 against KSA. Experiencing the fatal lose, I considered what I could do to strengthen the team, and decided to bring 2 new changes into CGV. First was the weekly training session. Every Wednesday lunch, I led the team training session and focused on developing both individual basic skills and the team ability. Second was the analysis of tactics. I recruited one 19th waver very interested in the field of soccer tactics and asked him to analyze the current team ability. These changes, along with the great effort my team members put, eventually brought us to a delightful success. We accomplished the school's best result in the 2014 NHFU (National Highschool Football Union) competition, the second place.
I also tasted a bit about the responsibility of a 'leader.' As a freshman member of CGV, all I had to do was to keep up my pace only. However, somewhat burdensome responsibility of 'captain' stroke me in my second year. Getting injured was a type of sin to me since full-time performance of the captain was necessary for the team. I had to see the whole field, not just the part where I was playing. I had to make sure that no players from my team get too aggressive or feel nervous in the game. I had to make the decision to whether substitute that player. This kind of burden always existed whenever there was a captain mark on my left arm. Still, I am thankful that I was not overlapped by the pressure, but I rather enjoyed the burden of the team leader. I am sad I can't explain this exact feeling now I feel as the former captain, but I really loved this role.
3. Korea
I don't know why, but I have a very strong patriotism. Korea, to me, is very special, and I am always proud with the fact that I have a sole Korean citizenship even though I know US citizenship is quite helpful sometimes. One of my favorite movie is 'Ode to my father.' (I almost cried watching the development process of this country.) I believe in the special power of Korea that drove us to the independence, country foundation, and miraculous economic development. (This, I know that we have a lot to talk about.) Watching the 'Gold Collecting campaign' during the IMF crisis and success in sports like 2002 worldcup, my belief strengthened. However, my patriotism is quite different from one of the KMLA headmaster. (I heard he once lectured that because of patriotism, we should decrease the sad parts of our history in Korean history textbooks and emphasize the good parts of it.) I admit that Korea is far from perfectness in many aspects, like democracy, education system, freedom of press, and gender equality. I was tremendously disappointed watching the ship sewol incident. However, I believe that Korea can make another progress like it has done for past few decades. Also, I want to be a part of that change. My dream is not certain at this point, but one thing I am sure about is that I will contribute to the progress of Korean society.
4. The secret life of Walter Mitty
My favorite movie. I watched it with Hyung-bin, my best friend. This movie is not one of the fancy SF movies, but I really enjoyed the movie. It is about a normal employee of the 'Life' magazine breaking his everyday routine to complete his task. 'Life' magazine, having published for about 50 years, is going through financial crisis and now planning to publish its last magazine. For the last version of the magazine, a prominent photographer supported 'Life' with few photos, but the photo designated for the cover of the magazine was missing. Walter Mitty steps forward to an adventure to find this photographer and get the cover photo. The movie has good life lessons, and I loved the movie because Walter's life was similar to the one I was dreaming in the future, the life full without much boring routine but full of adventures and accomplishments. In addition, I really liked the beautiful sight of Greenland that came up in the movie. Ever since I watched this movie, I got a new dream. I want to visit Greenland someday.
5. People
I really love people. I like meeting diverse people, and I like to listen to their stories. So far throughout my life, I met great sister, parents, friends, teachers, seniors and juniors. I really appreciate this fact. Throughout my college life and and later on, I want to meet many new people, get along with them, and cooperate with them.
6. NKHR (North Korean Human Rights)
One of the fields that I am greatly interested in. I went to Princeton University few weeks ago to participate in a conference dealing with this topic. UN has taken many actions to challenge the problems, but I am not sure what kind of actual impact its COI report can have. I'll have to keep my eyes on to figure out how this goes on. Also, I am kind of sad nowadays to find out that people's animosity towards Kim Jung-Eun's regime is triggering indifference to NKHR issues. Although it is true that when one thinks of N.K., big Kim Jung-Eun with his army easily comes up to one's mind. However, we should shift our focus more to the NKHR issues.
7. Korea Reunification
I think one important mission of our generation is to relieve the tension in Korean peninsula and step forward towards the reunification process. I want to be an expert and devote my life on doing so. I know it is very hard not only because of Kim's military regime, but also the superpowers like US and China oppose the reunification and the big cultural, economical gap between South and North Korea. But I believe reunification should happen in our generation, before the gap between South and North gets immeasurable. To contribute to the process, I will study very hard, get a Phd. in International Relations and become a professor. There, I want to teach students, study harder and work as an expert in government to make policies.
8. Sports Diplomacy
Probably Mr.Garrioch remembers what it is. Like I said in 2013 FRED competition, I believe that Sports can change the world. I have seen many incidents like one of Nelson Mandela, Didier Drogba, and Korean National Table-Tennis team, Also, I have many experience related to this topic. When I went to America, without knowing a single English word, the way I could get close to American friends was through playing soccer. When I went to India for volunteering as a member of FFT, the very first and hottest conversation topic, hobby for both us and them were soccer. (I mean mostly for boys.) I think that sports can be a good tool in making up good relationships between conflicting groups, also. (One North Korean Refugee also told me that Sports, Culture and Religion are three hub tools which South and North Korean people can get united) I haven't proven it yet, but I want to study more on this topic and someday use the secret power of sports to relieve tension and open up exchanges between South and North Korea.
9. President of the 18th Legislative Council
This activity is not supposed to come up on no.9. It deserves the first spot also. Serving as the legislative council president, I tried a lot of things, succeeded and failed many times and learned uncountable amount of things during every moment of the process. Asking the purpose of the existence of legislative council as a single branch of KMLA student council, I would answer that it exists to make KMLA a better place. It is so vague, isn't it? But in fact, vagueness is a true factor of the legislative council. Executive Council deals with the administration, quite similar to the typical student council. They hold, manage many school events. Judicial Council has a clear role to process the student court. However, the legislative council has comparatively small amount of clear tasks that it has to focus on. Rather, it makes new policies about EOP, look for ways to improve the status quo of recycling system, and fight against the wrongful policies school forces the students to follow. To be frank, I think what I have done for past 6 months is a lot weaker compared to what I have promised 6 months earlier. Legislative council has a lot of limits with the authoritative school board. Some people even criticize that the legislative council is useless because of this.
Still, I am partly satisfied and proud of myself that I endured most of the hard times quite well, tried my best, and ceaselessly thought about the school, the students, KMLA, and the role of the leader. Receiving constructive criticisms from the students and the teachers, sometimes, I really looked back what I lack as the 'leader.' I hope all these didactic lessons made me stronger and would help me reach my dream in the future.
10. FFT (For and From Them)
Some might blame that it is another type of 'volun-tourism,' but I thank God that I had the chance to be a member of this club. I met great new people, including the members of FFT and my Indian friends. I can confidently say that time in India was when I genuinely did my very best to help the Indian children. In my daily life, I regret a lot that I wasted time over and over not paying in academics, what I should have focused, but I have absolutely no regret for the time I spent in India. In addition, I am also very thankful that I got to broaden the scope of the world throughout this activity. I hope I can visit India again this year, but I think it won't be easy because of many other tasks.
11. My Dad
He had a big influence on me. I really think I have a lot of things to learn from him. He studied very hard in the past. He still reads a lot of books and thinks very carefully. He is also very devoted into his job. I remember two incidents when I learned life-long lessons. First is about my political stance. I was very radical when I was in elementary, middle school. I thought almost everything was problematic, and I went strongly against the government. Then, my father one day told me that one should not shift to easily to one side of the stance. He told me that it is not late for me to study more, listen carefully both opinions, and then choose which side to stand on. After I learned this lesson from my dad, I tried hard to listen to both sides, sometimes accept them, when making a decision or a stance. I think this characteristic of my dad is related to his vocation as a judge. I appreciate him a lot.
12. My sister
She is different from me, obviously. She was famous in the town from middle school years. She had never been to America and she wanted to apply for KMLA, but after she visited American boarding schools in a 10 days trip to US, She got captivated by those schools, suddenly applied to them and got into them. After that, she went to an American college also. She is now a senior in Princeton. I really thank my sister and my parents for never comparing me with my sister. They never did it in my life. (Still, I kind of felt that the standard for me was high because of my sister.) When I was young, I fought with my sister lots of times. However, she is my best friend now.
13. Lexington Experience
I went to Lexington for 10 months when I was in 5th grade. This was a big turning point in my life. I met many people from all kinds of race and ethnicity, and learned how to live together with them. Believe me, these friends were very kind, and because of them, my characteristic changed into a more outgoing, socialistic one.
14. My mom
I have small arguments with her almost everyday. It is true that we do fight a lot. One reason is because I resemble her the most regarding personality and outlook. I really feel comfortable with my mom that I can talk about anything to her.
15. Math
I do not like math. After I went to America for 11 months, math became my weakness. In KMLA, math was my weak subject, also. But I'm not sure whether I'm not good at math or I think I am not good and I don't try my best. In fact, I always regret that I haven't put my best effort into the math and then think that it is not my field. I hope to give a big try this semester.
16. Moneyball
My favorite book and movie. It's about a poor MLB team making good plans, buy underrated players that they need and winning 20 games in a row, which is an all time MLB record. I like story like this where a weak team makes a miracle and wins the game. That's what makes sports so appealing.
17. Diary
One of my weakness is that I am not planned that much. I sometimes miss things therefore. To improve this, I buy a fancy diary usually in November, but I don't fully use it. Hope I get better with it.
18; Science
One of my deepest regret is that I didn't study science that deeply. The only science course I took is one semester of SAT Chem. and another semester of AP Chem. I want to study science (especially Physics) in college.
19. Guitar, Piano and Viola
Listening to my roommate Jiwon playing guitar, I began to think that I really want to learn guitar one day. I think it will be after graduating KMLA. I envy students who are capable of playing instruments. It seems like a good way to relieve stresses. I learned piano only for few weeks, and then gave up. Also, I used to learned viola for few months when I was in America because my mom told me to learn it. I again gave it up easily. But I regret my choice nowadays. I should have listened to my mom at least for this. :(
20. Enemies
I really hate making enemies. Almost everyone tells me that this is impossible, but I just want to be a good friend for most of the people around me. I don't want to have a bad relationship with someone around me. Because of this, I prefer to talk to someone, apologize first and make the relationship better rather than leaving that friend forever.
21. Extrovert, Talking more than thinking
I think I am an extrovert kid. I like meeting many people. But I have a concern somewhat related to this personality nowadays. I think I have put too much effort on making friends than enhancing my academic competitiveness. Furthermore, I think I talk more than I think. I want to have more depth, quality in my knowledge, presentation and discussion than just the quantity.
22. Foot smell
I confess that last year I was teased for nasty foot odor from my friends like Juice.(He confessed yesterday that he sometimes overreacted.) I would take my soccer life as an excuse but even myself was curious sometimes about the reason of the foot smell. I bought more shoes, cleaned them more often than most of the students but the smell came up early compared to the other friends. This is just a random idea but one day, I even thought of writing an essay about continuous foot smell, connecting it with the busy running life of mine in KMLA.
23. One last thing about soccer
I am sorry but one last thing about soccer. I like playing soccer because I can play it together with the friends who aren't good at it. Let me explain it deeply. I am considered good at soccer in KMLA. So therefore, I really like to play soccer with friends who are beginners, and help them be a part of the fun game. I really enjoy seeing them develop and I like to make a good pass to them so that they can also score. This just popped up in my mind. Sorry for too many soccer, soccer and soccer.
24. Perfect girl of mine (DO it)
About the appearance, I won't make many comments since it relies mostly on my instinct to decide whether I like her or not. (Still, I kind of prefer natural, pure beauty.) About the personality, it would be great if that woman is the one who understands me well. I also hope that she is the person whom I can learn much things from her. ( I hope I have that sense that I am developing myself, when being with her.) I would hate to meet a woman desperately since I am getting old, and just marry her. I want to marry someone who share good memories and share things with me. I want to marry someone who I can love forever. (Like Mr.Moon and Mr. Kim, the Korean teacher, do)
I think I am going to regret having written this when reviewing in the class.
25. KMLA experience
I really like KMLA regardless of all the hardships and obstacles it gave to me. I am pretty sure that I will be the first one to cry when I graduate. I came to this school, unprepared, and therefore went through the hard times. My mom asked me multiple times, to transfer to a boarding school in US or take an year off in KMLA. But I confidently told her that I would withstand anything in this school and go through it. I don't know whether my such decision was the best one when considering the college admission, but I never regret it since I learned a lot.
26. Good Friends
I really feel comfortable with many friends, but out of them, I enjoy spending time with Hyung-bin and Will. Hyung-bin, I met him in the freshman class of KMLA. He is so funny. I really like the fact that I get to laugh tirelessly when speaking with him. I sometimes assume that he is in fact genius and very creative. I think his creativity, when developed well, might enable him to get the noble prize. Will, he is also very funny, comfortable and enjoyable together. I appreciate their existence, they understand me the best. I want to go on a trip with them after graduating KMLA.
27. Confusion
Nowadays, I have a lot of confusion about my future and career. It really stresses me out numerous times. So I envy some students who have clear strength and thus, clear future path also.
28. Christian
I am a Christian since my birth, mostly influenced by my parents who are also Christians. I go to church in KMLA with friends like Daniel and Jongseo. One thing I notice coming back from the church late in Sunday is the beauty of KMLA dormitory. This tall building shines alone on the hill and I get very sentimental every time I see it. I am not the most faithful Christian, but I like going to church. It is a good stress relieving time for me.
29. Nexen Heroes
I am also a big baseball fan, and Nexen is the team that I support in KBO League. I got to know them ever since they showed up on a variety show on TV. I looked up more about this team after the program, and I found out that Nexen was the poorest team in the league. To maintain the team it was selling star players to other rich teams like Samsung and LG. I became a fan since I felt pitiful about the team. But the team improved year by year and went up to the finals last year. I was very happy with my team's progress. :)
30. Travel
I want to visit many places later in my life. Not only the famous places and the landmarks of the city, but places like Greenland also. In addition, I want to visit many countryside places with beautiful natural sights in Korea, too.
Anton Checkov's short story, 'The Student,' is full of mystery
throughout the whole story line. The setting, atmosphere, and characters are
all only briefly explained in the story, conveying the enigmatic mood of the
story. I admit that it was not easy for me or I did not feel the need to
thoroughly understand every parts of the symbolism, deeper meanings the story
conveyed. However, I would like to imply that based on my knowledge of the 'realism,'
the short story 'the student' most realistically shows a mental process of a
normal student in any country, any field of study.
The story starts with describing a student in a mood of
gloominess, misery without much reason. He walks a road which suddenly
turns cold, dark, and windy. This may seem like a random process without enough
explanation, but after reading the story three times, I felt that this was in
fact the most accurate description of a student's mind which is indescribable,
fluctuating most of the times. Misery, pessimism comes without forecast into a
student's mind, which always faces numerous inner conflicts. For Ivan, a
student in a clerical academy, it may have been about his philosophy and
religion. Then, Ivan talks about Peter in front of two widows. Witnessing the
eventual change of Peter, from a betrayer to the most successful discipline of
Jesus, and the rapid emotional change of widows listening to the story of
Peter, Ivan himself realizes that human beings can easily transit their emotion
from remorse, betrayal to hopefulness, and joy. This is also another accurate
depiction of common students, endlessly swimming in remorse and finally but
rapidly acknowledging hope.
Realism, by the definition, is the attempt
to represent subject matter truthfully, without artificiality and avoiding artistic conventions, implausible,
exotic and supernatural elements. It is true that Checkov's short story 'the
student' did not depict a student's daily life in the most details. However,
Checkov most realistically showed the most common, but important mental process
of a teenager.
I wanted to inform many people who are watching my blog about the 'Minjok Festival.' In Korean schools, like other foreign schools, they always have a school festival. In KMLA, there is a school festival called the 'Minjok Festival.' Many clubs such as the band clubs and dance groups have a concert in this festival. Also, we sell different kinds of foods like Sausages, icecreams, and 'Tuk-boki.'
BUT.... Out of all these events, the one that I am eagerly looking for is 'Yu-jang.' One person from each class dress like woman, decorate like woman, and dance in front of all the students in KMLA. They are actually pretty beautiful! Like the students below!
Japan is an enemy(?) that the Korean minjok would always unite against.
Once I was having a
conversation with my friend about the friendly soccer match between South Korea
and Japan. I asked him about his expectation about the result of the match. We
both knew that Korean national team was evaluated weak compared to Japan, but
he said, "Come on! There is no option other than beating them. It's Japan.
My grandma once said that we should win against Japan in every aspect, even the
rock-scissor-paper." This statement was a kind of a joke, but it also
partially showed the nature of Koreans. Since we share a common history under
Japanese colonization and we are taught from a very young age about this, we
hate Japan. Also, my friend's grandmother tried to implement an antagonism into
my friend with her horrible experience.
This
is an example of how Koreans usually form an entity to come together and share
their pride as the same 'Minjok.' Taking a deep look at this phenomenon, I
found some crucial questions that have to be answered in order to define and
analyze the ‘Minjok' phenomenon. What historical background enforced Koreans to
feel this entity as the same 'Minjok?' How did the term 'Minjok' speed up or
down Korea's progress and industrialization? What kind of change is this
paradigm going through when a sudden change of 21st century's globalization is occurring?
I will take a deep look back on the development of this paradigm, current
changes that it is facing, and the future result it will cause through numerous
examples and explanations.
All people with Korean ancestry apparently share this person's blood. So we're all family.
First, studying the origin and development
of the term ‘Minjok’ through different eras will give us an important clue to
understand it. The history of this term all begins from emphasizing the
importance of 'Dan-il Minjok.' 'Dan-il Minjok’ refers to the idea that Korean
people all share the same ancestor, 'Dangun,' and no matter where we are or
what country we belong to, the fact that we share the same blood does not
change. Therefore, Koreans belong to a very large family, and somehow, every
single one of us is a relative of another. Koreans have educated this idea of 'Dan-il
Minjok' to their children through many millennia. The long story of 'Minjok'
all begins here: sharing the same
origin.
We are also proud about our
history. The so-called “five millennia of history” of the Korean peninsula
gives us the pride in having preserved our nation, our 'minjok' without having
been contaminated by external forces, along the history of Gojoseon, Shilla,
Goryeo, and Joseon dynasties. We remained a 'Dan-il Minjok,' despite the disputes
from inside and invasions from outside the Korean peninsula. This history gave
Korean people a strong sense of unity, and every time this country faced a new
obstacle, we are confident that we can go through this again since our
ancestors have also done it. In school, we are educated to believe that every
single one of us should work with best effort in being loyal, protecting, and working
to develop our nation since this nation's success was achieved through the
Minjok’s mutual sacrifices. From the first process defining the term 'minjok,'
we can sight out the fact that this term is mostly related to the same origin
and blood of Korean people, rather than citizenships.
Korea cannot go further if it discriminates foreigners as not a member of our minjok.
However,
can we really say that the loyalty towards nation, sense of unity, sacrifice
towards nation, and every selfless aspect of 'minjok,' were all caused from the
pure soul of Korean people? I would say no to this question, since I witnessed numerous
attempts from the Korean government to promote this kind of feeling to their
citizens. Granting Korean citizenship to a baby deflects the government
implication to promote the phenomenon 'minjok' in Korean society. Currently,
Korean citizenship is granted to a baby if either of his parents are Korean. On
the other hand, foreign babies born in Korea would not be granted Korean
citizenship. What can we conclude from these two policies? If you have the
blood of Korean, you get to vote, and you are a Korean. However, if you don't
have it, it is hard for one to become a Korean no matter whether he is born in
Korea or not. These imply that 'Minjok' is about blood and heritage, more than just
geographical area. 'Minjok' supercedes geographical boundaries. Even if you’re
across the Pacific, if you have the blood, you’re connected to the Korean Minjok. Conversely, even if you’re
living within the territory of Korea, if you don’t have the Korean root, you’re
not considered as a member of the Korean Minjok.
Having defined what 'Minjok' is,
and showed its relationships to our history, now it is time to think about the
contemporary meanings of it. In 21st century, globalization has been the trend
spread on the whole world. Many countries have been experiencing diverse
culture exchanges; even countries like Germany, Japan and Italy that symbolized
ultra-nationalism are facing changes towards a globalized society. In these
series of changes, what path is our idea of 'Minjok' heading? Did Korean people
also face a change under the name of globalization? Professor Shin ki-wook says
Korean still have their 'Minjok' in their heart by mentioning in his paper that
"Koreans initiated and pursued globalization with a clear nationalistic
agenda from the outset. Samuel Kim said Koreans cannot purse nationalism and
globalization at the same time. I personally think that ethnic identity was even
intensified in reaction to the globalization process. However, how can I say that identity is even intensified through the paradigm 'Minjok,' even though
looking around us, we see people wearing Nikes everywhere, spending months to
learn English and Chinese?
Every Korean is required to learn English,
sometimes even beyond Korean, to survive in this ‘globalized’ society
Under the name “Taehan Minguk”, the Korean Minjok becomes
one.
The 2002 World cup fervor is a good
example. In this miraculous moment, our 'Minjok' came together from all around
the world. I was surprised by the fact that the film of Korean national team's
match in world cup is also very popular in North Korea. We shouted out
"Taehan minguk,” and "Uri nun hana." Korean 'Minjok' showed its
sense of unity again in this world cup whether or not Korean government again
had this intention. Kim Dae-Jung, the formal president of Korea called this world
cup as "Korea's
happiest day since Dangun." As this shows, we still consider our
bloodlines very important, and stress the fact that we are 'Koreans.' We are
proud of what Korea has. We are excited to all the games that Korean national
team participates, and we are happy about the outputs of Samsung.
It must be noted that this
phenomenon of 'Minjok' has become a double-edged sword in the current Korean
society. It has both potential advantages and disadvantages. On the positive
side of it, we can draw a parallel line to Jews in America. Like them,
connecting with each other, helping each other just because they share the same
ethnicity can also be applied to Korean 'Minjok.' Korean ethnicity becomes a
springboard for success by bonding over similar backgrounds. LA, Beijing, NY
all has Korea Towns, and Koreans greet each other anywhere when they hear
Korean.
Koreans are seen everywhere, forming cliques and
helping each other out – just because they’re the same Minjok
On the other side, this can
easily mean Koreans being ostracized from the rest of the global society. Many
Koreans overseas connect with Koreans only. This often leads to Koreans failing
to adapt well to the fast-changing global society, which could slow Korea's
development in different industries. Discrimination towards foreigners and
children from multicultural families including half-Korean would become a very
serious issue. Due to the aging population, labor force in Korea depends on the
foreign workers. Also, globalized society causes different kinds of exchanges
between Korea and the outer world, and Korea has incentives to persuade foreign
talented people to visit or even immigrate into Korea. In these circumstances,
if Koreans only focus on 'Minjok,' arguing the same bloodlines, Korean society
will degrade its productivity in many different industries. In one sentence,
Korea will not be able to upgrade its image into a developed country.
Koreans group too well with other Koreans that they often end up losing their opportunity to group with others.
Looking at the Minjok term at a
national level, the 'minjok' propaganda has worked well in motivating the
people to cooperate "as one” in the past, during the take-off period. The
period of 1960-90s required individual sacrifice, and Koreans worked very hard
and contributed to the success of Korean short industrialization. Many nurses
and miners were sent to Germany to earn money. Getting through this kind of hard
period required some external force to unite Korean people into one, and the
propaganda 'Minjok' served its goal. Miners, nurses, construction workers
worked as hard as they can because they believed their sacrifices would help
their Minjok prosper and make their sons and daughters live in a better
condition.
These people voluntarily flew to Germany to help our Minjokprosper.
In the 21st century, however, the
paradigm for Minjok has shifted. This can be seen in the changed version of
2007 'pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag.' It demonstrates not an
unconditional sacrifice, but a proud affirmation of allegiance to the free and
just Koran society. To conclude, spirit of Minjok still remains in the 21st century,
but its practical implication has been modified, relevant to the trends of the
21st century. 'Minjok' means rights and privileges more than obligation and
burden. This change of the meta narrative of 'Minjok' is happening, and it is
necessary for Korea's success in 21st century.
This is how Korean pledge of allegiance changed over time. 1)This is the original version of pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag. 나는자랑스런태극기앞에조국의통일과번영을위하여정의와진실로서충성을다할것을다짐합니다.
"I pledge in
front of the proud Korean flag to be loyal for the nation's prosperity and
unification with justice and honesty."
-2)This is the 2nd version of pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag, which has changed in 1974.
나는자랑스런태극기앞에조국과민족의무궁한영광을위하여몸과마음을바쳐충성을다할것을굳게다짐합니다.
"I pledge in front of the proud Korean flag to be loyal
for the nation and minjok's unstopping glory, by sacrificing all my body and
heart."
3) This is the 3rd version of pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag, which has changed in 2007.
나는자랑스러운태극기앞에자유롭고정의로운대한민국의무궁한영광을위하여충성을다할것을굳게다짐합니다.
"I pledge in front of the proud Korean flag to be loyal
for free and just nation's unstopping glory.
The pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag.
Still, the paradigm Minjok has a
lot of way to go. Multi-cultural families in Korea are still living up with
discrimination, with almost no support from the neighbors. Since we have not
considered foreigners as a member of our 'Minjok,' we treated them differently.
This is a harm to not only foreigners but also to the Korean society as a whole.
If we do not fix this problem, Korea will be a closed society, isolated from
the international society. We should acknowledge that now we should think 'Minjok'
in a broader way. It is more than just blood which is something we cannot
change. We should put an emphasis on culture and language, properties of Korean
minjok-ness that can be learned through experience. We should put these factors
as the primary ones in our Minjok. We should learn to appreciate those who
appreciate the Korean 'Minjok.'
Embracing foreigners is more than a choice; it's a necessity.
Even though it is not heading the
most ideal destination, KMLA initially had the purpose to make a mixture
between Korean identity and globalized Korea. This was an experimental try
which surprised many people including professor Shin Ki-Wook. However, KMLA
also could not keep the perfect balance between two values. Korea is also
currently a mixture of “Korea in the globe, the globe in Korea”. In some sense,
the civilization itself has been globalized or westernized more than ever, but
many Koreans still keep pride in their history, language and culture. Keeping a
delicate balance, toning down the exclusivity of Minjok, and bringing out the
connectivity of minjok through shared culture, language, perception as Koreans
will help Korea prosper as a globalized nation with a grounded identity
appropriate for the 21st century.
Korea 2013: How Korea developed and where it should head in the future
Last saturday, KMLA held a big contest. It was FRED, and a lot of students participated in this speech contest. However, this year's speech contest was very different from past several years since Mr.Garrioch and the English department allowed participants to use powerpoint and prezi, to successfully deliver message. Therefore, this year's speech was overall more dynamic, and enthusiastic. Like it is shown in the competition's schedule, many freshmen along with the juniors and seniors came up with different topics, and delivered their message to KMLA family. Students from Daechon middle school visited our school, watching KMLA students' presentations. Also, there were ice creams provided to the audience, because it was blazing hot on that day.
My topic was about sports, not only because I am a great fan of soccer, but also, there was an important message that I wanted to show to KMLA family. I proved how sports can change the world, and showed the ultimate power of it. I showed two incidents, one of Didier Drogba, a famous soccer player ending his country's civil war through soccer, and the other about Nelson Mandela, first Black president in South Africa that united whites and blacks in his country through Rugby. Even though I made some mistakes, many students were interested to it, and I also got the BEST PRESENTATION AWARD~~!!!!
Schedule of FRED talk
This was a good chance for me to improve my English skill, and I was happy about the fact that I could honestly talk about my belif, and many people listened carefully to what I talked about.
