Joan Yoon/Narrative/Mon 34

A Special Friend I Met In Busan

 

Last summer, I went to Busan without my family for the first time. Under very strict parents, they accompanied me in every single trip except for school schedules. So, I've always longed for going backpacking by myself or with friends. Eventually, I asked my parents pathetically for going to Busan with my best friend. Since her hometown is in Busan, my parents let me in relief that I can stay in her house. Thrilled to be out of surveillance, my face was full of happiness. But soon, things didn't turn out as what I thought. We lacked plans and had no energies to walk around. However, all of a sudden, her hometown friend contacted her if she'll travel around by looking at her Facebook. Despite they weren't close; he drove to meet us. Seeing that we were both tired, he became our one day driver. He showed us every part of Busan by car, treated us a delicious meal and escorted us to my friend's home. At first, I was quite scared of him because he was way too gentle. However, as time passed, I figured out that he is a really nice guy and wants to make lots of friends. By his favor, it could be a memorable and comfortable travel. After that one day, he and I also became good friends.

Joan Yoon/Opinion/Mon 34

Soul in Seoul

 

Seoul is the best place to live according to my experiences. It's not that I've only lived in Seoul. Through my life, I've been living in various cities. First of all, I was born in Santa Barbara, California. Santa Barbara is American's dreamland because of its peaceful and serenity aspects. However, since I was young, nothing comes into my mind. Also, I think I can't stand that boredom. Few years later, my family moved to Toronto, Canada when I was in elementary school. Being in Toronto was like just visiting the multicultural museum and didn't have any lovely impact. Other than those areas, I've been to most of the states in America, provinces in Toronto, major cities in oriental regions and Sydney in Australia. Despite my numerous trips all over the world, I believe Seoul is the best city to live in. With money, Seoul is the magical place where your every wish can come true. With clean and comfortable public transportation, cars are no use. Also, with full of wireless fidelity, Korea deserves a high ranking IT technological field. What's more, people have no worries to be bored 24 hours a day. Downtown areas are always alive. Everything is ready to buy no matter of time or place. Furthermore, relaxing areas such as 청계천, parks and ancient palaces are there for you. Endless virtues about Seoul turn me into an ambassador. I'm proud of being a Seoulite.

Joan Yoon/Narrative/Mon 34

Joan Yoon/Opinion/Mon 34

dahyun yang/opinion paragraph/mon34

 

< Colombo, Best City Ever >

 

Have you ever been to Colombo? Colombo is the biggest city and capital of Sri Lanka. I have been there when I was 13 years old. When I first got there, hot and humid weather irritated me a lot. However, soon I became love this city. There are several reasons. First of all, the cost of living is low. Almost all the restaurants were very cheap and delicious even though they were on the main street. There were also many kinds of tropical fruits and vegetables at competitive prices. It goes without saying that the transportation like bus or taxi was convenient and cheap. And second, there are many popular attractions. Buddhist temples are everywhere and also ancient ruins are well preserved. There are National Museum at the low price of 300 Rupi and beach with palm trees is good to take some rest. Lastly, even though Sri Lanka is still a underdeveloped country, people have good manners and warm human affection. When crossing the street, pedestrian takes priority even without traffic lights. And whenever I went to a marketplace, even though it was hard to communicate with sellers, they throw in a few more with a smile. Also taxi drivers were all very kind and active. Since I was stranger there, people taught me the way kindly.

I know that many people still think that Sri Lanka is still too underdeveloped country and that the Colombo is not a good city to live in. However, if I have a chance to choose the city where I live in, I would certainly choose Colombo. And therefore I recommend people to visit Colombo for these reasons.

Kyeong-eun Lee / Narrative / Mon34

<A Trip to Taiwan>   A year ago, I took a travel with my sister. Even though we went abroad seperately a few times, it was first time to go travel only with my sister. We decided to go to East Asia and then chose which counturies to go. There were several choices but we decided to go to Taiwan because it seemed unique -- and it revealed true. Taiwan was hot and humid but very interesting. First, it has lots of street foods. We could easily had some delicious food with cheap prices. Second, it has tremendous museum, National Palace Museum, in which most of Chinese historical remains are exhibited. My sister and I visited the museum and surprised at the numberless amounts of remains. Third, it has Night Market, where the foreigners as well as the natives love to visit. The Sirin Market, especially, was famous for various kinds of foods and active atmosphere. Above are the things my sister and I cannot forget. Taiwan worth visiting.

Park, Hee-june / Narrative Paragraph / Mon 34

I was walking down the street to go to the market. It was Sunday so there are few people in streets. Checking the smart phone and listening music, I was waiting the traffic sign. Suddenly, something hit my leg strongly. After I was hit, for seconds, I didn't have any idea because I had been not on earth. It was a motorcycle, he had been on starting delivery service. When I came back down to earth, I felt little pain on my left leg, but it was not serious thing. So I was ready to say "That's okay" and waited him to apologize to me. But he didn't! He just looked at me up and down and gathered his brows. Then he said very bluntly "Are you hurt?" I was embarrassed because of his attitude. Although I was unscathed, I was hit! He had a mistake, that's obvious. While I didn't say anything in surprise, he went away. 

Park, Hee-june / Opinion Paragraphe / Mon 34

I have a dog named Geumdung. We met last year in a friend's house. Because she's dog had had many pups, she wanted to give one me. Once we saw each other, I got the strong feeling, so I took him to my home. At first time, it was tough because I had never raised a dog and my mother didn't like animal. But he was smart, so he trained easily. Soon, my mother became loving him. Sometimes when I feel depressed, he stays with me and comforts me. There are some people who say pets are useless and money for them is waste. But that's not true. Even though they can't talk, they have emotions and their own thoughts. They can share the feelings with us. Also, sometimes we can learn from them. For examples, raising pets make people more responsible, patience, and altruistic. Pets are not just animals, they are real friends and companions of human.

Park, Hee-june / Teacher / Mon 34

I've met many teachers since I was a toddler. Some of them are real teacher in school, but some are not. They are my friends, my family, and famous people like mother Theresa. For me, teacher means someone who teaches me new and important things, or values. So the best teacher of my life is one of them, my mother. She has taught me all important thing for live a right life, for examples, how to live with humanity and love, and how distinguish good person and bad person. Of them, it is responsibility that she always emphasized. She always values it. She said "If you once take something in your hands, whether you want it or not you have to take the responsibility until end." When she said these words, her eyes shone with her belief. Until now, she always says that, and I try to follow it. Also, I learned how to cook, sew, and do makeup etc, and I'll learn many things in future. Learning by mother is tough because she is my mother, she has expectation to me. Sometimes, I feel depressed and worried about fail. But I know that's because she loves me so much, and she teaches me with love. Therefore, even though sometimes it's hard, I'll never give up and keep learning. So this is the reason why she is the best teacher of my life. Because she makes me keep studying!

Park, Hee-june / How to choose a special gift / Mon 34

For giving a special gift, first, we have to consider the age and sex of receiver. Also, you have to check receiver's taste and what he/she wants. And then, depends your situation, choose one. Second whatever the gift is, you have to write a letter or even small message for receiver with true heart. It is more effective making him/her be touched. Finally, you need luck to catch an appropriate time to give it. You have two choices, make timing yourself or carry it all the time. But, remember this, whatever the gift is, if there is your true heart and emotions, it will become a special present.

Park, Hee-june / Process Paragraph / Mon34

I can cook only Kimchijjigae. The process is very simple but the taste of it is really good. First we need base stew that made by anchovies and a kelp. In the pot, put the water about 2/3 of it and anchovies and a kelp, and then boil it. If they are boiled well, put out the fire and scoop anchovies and a kelp. Now let's go to the second step. Take out Kimchi, pork, onions, green onions, tofu and some ingredients you want to put in. And then, put them all in the pot except tofu. Boil it about 15 minutes, let the jjigae simmer. When it simmered, put the tofu on the top and boil it again with low heat for 5 minutes. Now we are in final step. Let's eat it! Can you feel the smell?

김한별 Han Byol Kim/Narrative Paragraph/Mon 11a.m.

 Every person goes on a trip at least once in his or her lifetime. I went to several trips as well. Among those trips the most memorable trip that was valuable was a trip that I went when I was fifteen years old. I went to the Middle East. It was quite an extraordinary place for a fifteen-year-old girl. When I first went there I was surprised by everything I saw, heard and ate. Specifically I went to Israel and Palestine region. In there I saw a scenery, building, streets, weather and people that were very distinct from the country I have lived for my whole life. The Middle East had a dry and hot temperature. The sun was very bright so in order to protect my skin I used a lot of sun cream. The buildings were also very different from Korea's. For example, the buildings in Palestine were not very tall and had many churches. Appearance of people was also distinct too. I have only seen Asians so it was quite an incredible experience. Also in there I heard many different languages. I heard English, Arabic and Hebrew. It was a first time that I actually heard foreign languages apart from English. At first I was very puzzled because I could not understand a single word. However, as time passed by I got used to it. It was a unique experience in my life because I was exposed to many languages. In addition, I tasted so many delicious foods in there. I cannot exactly recall the names of the food but what I liked the most was a fried chicken. You may think this is not a very distinct food. However, the fried chicken I ate there was a whole new world of a fried chicken. Ever since I came back to Korea, I never tasted such chicken. I remember all the moments I spent in the Middle East. It is a special memory from my childhood that I cannot for the rest of my life.

김한별 Han Byol Kim/Opinion paragraph/ mon11a.m.

 

I believe it is a good idea to live with relatives. For many reasons, creating a big family with relatives will be a happy life. First of all, my family does not have many family members. There are my father, mother, my younger sister and I in my family. It is just four of us. Also, including me, we are not a talkative people. So when all of us are together we barely speak. Our home is rather a quite place. However, I have relatives who are really funny and outgoing. It would be very loud but fun household if I can stay with them. In addition, I can earn many tangible things by living with my relatives. This is because all my relatives are very generous. They love giving many things. For example, I have an uncle-in-law. Whenever I met him, he bought me candies and cookies that I love. My mother did not gave me many sweeties because she worried about my teeth so I really liked him for giving me sweet cookies. Now because I am a grown-up, he gives me pocket money instead of sweeties. He gives me a lot of it. So I am very pleased whenever he gives me pocket money because I know he will give me much. If I live with such relatives I think I can benefit from them very much. It will be such a happy family if I can live with my relatives!

Kyoungmin Kim/narrative paragraph/mon34

Volunteering work in Vietnam 

 Last winter vacation, I had a chance to participate in a medical volunteering program to Vietnam. The volunteering group consisted some doctors and some students like me, to help the doctors treat the people there. We started to work from the second day we arrived at Vietnam. That day, we went to a village which was a rural and undeveloped area. As our bus went through the forest-like roads, the leaves and branches of the big tropical trees scratched the windows. When we arrived at our destination, many people were already there, waiting for our medical service. We carried stuffs out of the bus and started to set up the working place. Then we devided into four goups: reception, vital checking, ushering, and the parmacy. I was in the ushering team. We made the people sit and wait in line, and then took them to the doctor in turns. After the doctor has finished consulting the patient, we lead them to ultrasound checking area, or to the parmacy. We would say "Xin dun dai" which means "Follow me, please." When I ushered one old lady, she said something is Vietnamese. I couldn't understand what she was saying, but I felt glad as she held my hand and patted. Some of the patient were seriously ill. Some limped their steps, some couldn't even stand still by themselves. I felt sorry for all. After the service of the day was over, officials of the village shook hands firmly with every participants. I was happy by the feeling that I was helpful. The volunteering work made me an unforgettable memory and I realized once again how happy I am.

 

Park Tae Jun / Narrative paragraph / Mon34

Never follow a stranger

 

     Seven years ago, the school's choir group that I belonged to was invited to join the choir concert held in Havana, Cuba. Before departure, my friend asked me to buy "Cohiba", famous brand of Cuban cigar, for him, so when my group visited a traditional market in Havana, I started to look for the cohiba cigar. Since I was too concentrated to search for the present, I didn't realize that I was apart from the group. Then someone approached to me asking if I wanted to buy the cigars and he offered relatively cheap price. As I said yes, he asked me to follow. Without a doubt, I started to follow him and ended up being in a small room outside of the market. All of sudden, I was worried about being kidnapping and frightened. The man told me not to get nervous and would sell the cigar at fifty dollars. Although the price was higher than what I heard in the market, being scared of the situation, I immediately paid the money and ran out with the cigar; later I found out the cigar was fake. From the experience, I promised myself never ever again follow a stranger, especially abroad, who approaches to me with very tempting words.

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Song Eun Ko / Narrative paragraph / Mon 34

 

<Special 7days with my Sister>

 

Last summer vacation, I tripped to Cebu island in the Philippines with my younger sister. I was very excited because it was a first trip only with her and the Philippines provided the best place to do several water sports such as scuba diving, snorkeling and parasailing. As soon as we arrived at the airport in Cebu, we felt hot and humid atmosphere. It eased me because it is a certain evidence that we arrived at paradise of water safely and in fact, I felt a sort of responsibility to take good care of her as an elder. Next day, we woke up early and go to the beach to enjoy various aquatic sports. We enjoyed parasailing, riding a boat in rain, snorkeling and so on. Among these, scuba diving is the most memorable experience for us. First we wear black and heavy scuba diving equipment. After short exercise, we dived into the sea and fed to fish. We held hands each other and swam every here and there in the sea. It was very peaceful and silent moment. We also laughed at each other's face with a big goggle and countless bubbles were created from our mouths. We drank lots of salty water unexpectedly. After wonderful and beautiful travel in the sea, we came out of the sea and it was rainy. We had a severe cold because we got rained on without umbrellas. We had to rest in bed for several days. However, because there were lots of exciting water sports and especially I could enjoy everything with my sister for 7 days, it was a nice and unforgettable trip.

Park, Ji Eon / narrative paragraph / mon11am

<Unforgettable Trip>

       There is a trip I took to Japan 4 years ago. At that time, I was really depressed because I failed to enter the university I wanted to go. So I had to study 1 more year. So before I start studying again, my parents let me take a trip for refreshing my mind to move on. I decided to go to Japan for 20 days alone. It was not the package tour. I made decision to go backpacking through entire Japan. So I began the trip from Fukuoka. This city is located on the southernmost of the Japan. I stayed there for 3 days and took the night train to go to the Osaka. It was my first time to ride in the night train. It was an amazing moment. After I arrived at Osaka, I visited several famous places such as Osaka Castle, Universal Studio. Traveling alone, I was a little but bored but I enjoyed this boredom because I can think about myself and my future. Then, I got on the  Shinkansen which is the express train to Tokyo. Visiting Tokyo University, I met a few students at there. Though I couldn't speak Japanese, we could communicate each other by English. I like meeting new people around the world. So it was really precious moment for me. We exchanged e-mail address and promised to keep in touch each other. At night, I went to the club in Shibuya. I hang out with people at there drinking and talking. It was really fun. Finishing the tour in Tokyo, I went to Sapporo, my final city. There were heavy snow! I couldn't forget the snow festival at there. Also at there, I met another Korean visitor. So we took the trip together. Afte this trip, I could relieve my stress and focus on my study. I traveled lots of country, but this trip is still the most unforgettable moment for me. 

Kyoungmin,Kim/ changes in educational system/ mon34

How I see our educational system 

 

      President Obama has once praised Korea's educational system. He mentioned about the amount of the school hours and Koreans' great interest in education. It is clear that Korean students study more than students of any other country, but I don't think that means our educational system is on the right track. I'd like to see some changes in our educational system and one of them is the competitive atmosphere in education. All Koreans think of is to get high grades at school and have success. That is the typical form of getting successful here: to get a high score, to go to a higher level university, to get a good job. Of course competive mind makes improvement, but it becomes a problem when it's all one could think of and all parents want from their child. When I was at high school, one of our students killed herself after the mock exam. We don't know the specific reason of her death, but we could assume that it might have been because of the pressure of the exam. Also, one of the students from KAIST committed suicide by his stress caused by the scholarship problem cut by grade. He might have not gotten out of the box when his head was full of grading and competition. Some say that it was totally his fault being weak, but that is the student made from our society. We tend to think of only getting better grades than others. Few think about themselves, or what they would really like to learn. Korean students study even on weekends, but they are actually forced by the society. They don't have time to think about other things than studying. Parents and teachers tell them studying will find their way. Would getting good grades make success eventually? I doubt it if studying was forced by competitive atmosphere and prevailed over finding one's meaning in life. 

Da-hyun Yang/ narrative paragraph / mon 34

                                < Frightening Experience >

                                                                         Da hyun yang

 

Last year I went to Busan with my friend, Ji-eun. We took a train at 7 in the morning, and arrived at about 10. At there, we met another friend who went to Busan university and we were very excited because we hadn't saw each other for a long time. So we went to a beach named Haeundae. We splashed in the water for a long time and then we ate many delicious foods like sashimi and boiled rice served in soup which are famous in Busan. After the sun went down, we decided to go to a bar with karaoke system. We found a famous bar at the main street and finally went there. We drank and sang frantically for about two hours. But then my friend Ji-eun wanted to go out and took a rest. I was sad that we had to cut it short, but she was pale and looked sick. So we went to a 24hour café and took some rest. Even though we went there to take some rest, but we talked for a long time until the sun rises. So Je-eun and I went to the train station to go back to Seoul. In the train, I was looking at the internet news with my smart phone. I was so shocked because there was an article that the bar which we were to play caught the fire. Article says there were six injured person and two were died. It was so shock that we hadn't talked anything until we arrived. After that affair, we did not go to a bar for a long time. It was just as well that we leaved the bar and sorry for the accident. Therefore, it was most memorable and frightening story that happened to me during the trip.   

Oh You Jeong/Narrative Paragraph/mon34

Rush! Rushmore        To me, Mount Rushmore is not a beautiful, famous monument. Rushmore is the place my family literally had to 'rush'. Why did we have to rush instead of taking a good look at the one of the famous sculptures in America? It was because of the white sprinkles coming from the sky, 'snow'. Ten years ago, my family traveled in America for 2months. We went to San Francisco, Colorado, New Mexico and other places too. We were having the perfect trip ever. My dad rented the car and we felt like we could go anywhere in America. We didn't stop. We kept driving and moved to one place to another. We saw a bunch of famous monuments and always took a picture of them, except for one, Mount Rushmore. Going to Mount Rushmore that day had probably been the worst choice my dad has ever made. We arrived at South Dakota and headed straight to Mount Rushmore. The weather was really cold but it didn't seem like a big deal at the moment. However, when we were going up to see the Mont Rushmore, it started to snow, a lot. We thought about going back, but my dad insisted not to. Finally, we stepped right in front of the sculpture with the camera, but it was snowing so hard that we couldn't see anything even with our bare eyes. It was a failure. We got disappointed and turned back to found out we were the only people who came to see Rushmore on a badly snowy day. There was no one who could help us in case of an emergency. That's when my dad said, "guys, lets rush!".

Park Tae Jun / Are pets good companions? / Mon34

My family's new member: happy

 

     My family has lived with a dog, whose name is happy, for 13years. Although there are pros and cons of having dogs at home, they are definitely good companions for human beings. First, dogs bark when strangers snick into the house which prevents thief to come in and steal property. In the past, many Koreans had a dog in their garden to protect their house from thief. Even now, even though not in the garden, dogs bark when someone, except for their family, comes into the house especially when the house is empty. For people, dogs are like protectors of the house. Also, from my experience, dogs make people delighted and happy. Before my family adopted a dog, we only had a little conversation and smiles. However, after adopting the dog, we all started to pay attention to even small details about the dog and finally began talking with each other. 13 years have passed since my family adopted the dog and he definitely is a member of the family. Dogs, like other pets, can become a family member.

 

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Youna Lee/ Narrative Paragraph/ Mon 34

Dizzy moment in America

 

Seven years ago, my whole family went a package trip to America. We firstly looked around Hawaii for two days, then we went to California and San francisco. California was really vast and beautiful. However, surrounded by such a wonderful scenery, our whole family faced embarrassing moment. My father had all of the traveling expenses in his trouser pocket, but suddenly it's all gone! Moreover at that time we were in the moving bus. We were so surprised and shocked that we didn't know what to do for a while. But soon we recovered our consciousness and rummaged all around the bus. My father, mother, sister, me and even though my little brother who was only 4years old, searched every nook and cranny. But finally, we couldn't find it. We were very depressed and had no idea how we should do. After the bus stopped we got off a bus and ate a big hamburger for lunch. When all of our family were just eating that without any words, a tour guide came to us and said a bus driver found some of our money while cleaning the bus! It was not the all money that we had, but my family gave a sigh of relief. At that night, we went to a clothing shop because at there, blue jeans were much cheaper than Korea and we were so happy and excited to find some of our money back. When browsing around the store, I found something unbelievable. My father's pants were folded in the end, and I could see the bunch of paper money was stuck out! It was really strange and odd. But anyway our family were happy that we found all of our money. Until now I don't know why the money was there. It is the most unforgettable, and embarrassing moment in my life.

NamHye Kim/Narrative paragraph / Mon34

Hardship in my childhood           Can you remember a special memory from your childhood? Maybe it will behard to remeber it, because we forget many of them. But, some memories are so strong that we can't forget up them. I can still remember my trip to Thailand with my father and grandmother. At that time I was 11 years old, and I was so young when I look back then. I think I remember that experience, because I remember it as so tough trip. It was a package tour with about 40 people, and 2 guide for sightseeing. As I mentioned earlier, I was with my father, and grandmother. This is becuase my older sister was a highschool student, so my mother stayed with her at home. So, although I'm a young girl, I went trip without care of mother. At first it was all good, because I could experience many wonderful attractions. Like riding on a elephant, unfamiliar Thai foods, a gay show, night markets and many unforgettable experiences. But as time goes on, we all became tired and sensitive to each others.Maybe this is because the weather was so hot . In addition to that, the schedule of trip was so tight and intensive that we couldn't sleep enough and rest. We had to sleep at Bus while moving to another place. So, we 3 started to arguing each other. I just cried and missed my mother very much. Niether father and grandmother can't take care of me better than my mother. There's nobody I can depend on, and who soothed me. Finally , We 3 ended our trip safely and came back to our home. After that when I think back about my previous trips I can never forget trip to Thailand. Because it was very tough and lonely trip.

Ji Eun Lee/ Speical holiday/ Mon 11am.

2012 Children's Day This Children's Day, I had a special trip with my family. We especially celebrated the holiday this year because of my younger sister. She is 12 years old who still wanted to play on the Children's day. My parents were looking for a quiet place, because they wanted to avoid crowded places such as an amusement park. Therefore, we planned to go to Gangchon, a riverside village located near Chuncheon. We took a train where I played with my sister by taking pictures and listening to music. After 2 hours, we finally arrived in the destination, and there were already lots of college students who came for M.T. My father led us to the mountain and we took a rest during halfway. It was about 2 pm with little hot but blow gently. We ate lunch which my mother had prepared in early morning. Also we played games and took a nap. My father and I later hiked up to see a waterfall. Even though it was small with lots of trees along, the water falling sound was cool enough to feel fresh. After for about 4 hours, my family and I came back to the station to go home. Even though there was neither fancy restaurant nor thrilling ride, we had a valuable time to share our family love. It was a great chance to get away from busy life and just enjoy peace in nature. Most of all, I was happy to see my younger sister who was satisfied with this Children's holiday.

Jean Park/ narrative paragraph/ Mon34

<Accidental Meeting During My Trip> Jean Park      About five years ago, I went backpacking to Japan with my family for summer holidays. Even though I have been to several countries before, it was my first backpacking, so I was very excited to leave. When I arrived at Gimpo airport to take an airplane, there were unexpected guests waiting for me. It was 'TVXQ', the most popular boy singer group at that time and there were bunch of fans trying to see them leaving. These days, I'm not really interested in them, however, I was a huge fan of them in the past, so I just got delighted to see TVXQ. I couldn't believe that they're actually taking same airplane with me and I could see them in a close distance without any bodyguards or managers' interruption. I even felt some kind of pride that I'm the special person who got to stay together with TVXQ for at least four hours. The seats were different though I took enough photos and videos and also got autographs. Well, because of such an accidental meeting from the beginning of the trip, my enjoyment and satisfaction of backpacking got doubled. As I mentioned before, I lost interests on them at present, but definitely the meeting with TVXQ at the airport made very precious memories for me. I will probably never forget that moment and always be remembered.

NamHye Kim/Best city / Mon34

Where do you think is a good city to live in? There are many cities that are famous for it's beautifulness, comfortableness, and other benefits. In fact, according to one research  from ICA international, Singapore was ranked at the best city to live in. There will be many opinions about this question. In my opinion, Busan is a good place to live in. First, Busan  is a cohesive community. This means that people who live in Busan act, and think together very strongly. So when I see people who now live in Busan or have lived at Busan , I can feel strong bonds between them. So I think this is very powerful feature which Busan only have. Also, in Busan there are many famous sights where we can feel unique mood of it's city. When I was 16 I went to Busan with my family. There I went Haewoondae which is a very famous beach . There were many young people who were swimming, floating tubes and got a tan(suntan). There I can feel the young, energetic force. So it was a good experience for me. Actually I have never lived in Busan, so I don't know what it is like to live in there. But my father's hometown is Busan. So he talks about there often. He says that Busan is a place where it's own unique feature stands out. Also, he has pride and love at his hometown. Finally, I think this loyalty towards thier own hometown make people living in Busan more happy.  Living in Busan will be a special experience for us. How about living in Busan?

YoungHoon Kim / Something Happened on a Trip / Mon 11a.m.

Dingo, Unexpected Passerby

201100652 YoungHoon Kim

 

           After taking a big test, Korean SAT, I went on a trip to Australia to refresh myself. It took about one month, and I had one accident that I can't forget. On the seventh day of my travel, I went to Fraser Island which is known for beautiful landscape and beach. I was excited since I boarded onto the ship heading for the island. After landing, I met my travel group and tour guide. The tour guide gave some instructions and there was one thing that he emphasized the most. It was about the animal named Dingo which is very aggressive. He warned us that dingos can appear anywhere, anytime so we need to pay careful attention when staying in Fraser Island. He also mentioned that one little girl was killed by dingo few months ago. At that time, I didn't take it seriously. Since it was Christmas Eve, I went to the bar and drank some cocktail with two women who were my travel mates. The bar was near the beach so we went out there. We talked a lot with looking at the beach and stars. Suddenly, something was coming toward us but we couldn't see it because it was dark at night. Then, one of us said that it was dingo! We were so frightened and didn't know what to do. One woman and I ran away without looking back because we were so afraid. On the other hand, another woman was doing the thing that the tour guide said what to do when meeting dingos. She raised her hands to show that she is much taller than dingos and stepped back staring at the eyes to show that she is not afraid. With her prompt and calm action, we were not attacked by dingos. I was embarrassed that I didn't do anything but to runaway. After the accident, we felt lucky and went into the hotel for a rest. The accident was intense that I still remember vividly. It taught me two lessons. Listen to the instructions well and be calm when being in dangerous situation. I try to keep this in mind whenever I go to unfamiliar places.

NaYeon Kwon/ Happening on a trip/ Mon34

Unforgettable Memory at the Airport

 

Last year, I went to Hong Kong with my family. Unfortunately, as it was right after mid-term exam, I was very tired and was struggling with cold sores. Not only my lips but my whole face got swollen and I looked awful. Though I knew it would be fine after some rest, I was worried what I should do if I have problem passing through immigration. When I look back from now, I think the examiner meaninglessly asked me what happened to my face. However, as I had been worrying about it, I thought I should not tell them I have a virus. I don't know why but fatuously I said 'My boyfriend hit me'. I was going to say 'He's Chris Brown' right after that. Pop star Chris Brown hitting Rihanna was one of the hottest issues at that time and people made jokes about it all the time. I was just attempting a joke. However, the examiner took it too seriously before even I had a chance to say "he's Chris Brown'. It almost took an hour to explain about cold sores and convince them I was joking. Until then, I never make immoderate jokes at the airport.  

Wonpil Lee/ Narrative/ Mon 11 a.m.

Magic Moment

Suppose you are a band member and play in the rock club tonight, which will you want to play either in front of 200 people or in front of 2? Yes, you would probably like to play in front of many audience. I have once played in front of 2 audience in the rock club, Free Bird, located in the area of Hongik University when I was 21 years old. My position was vocal and rhythm guitar. At that time my team had played every Wednesday evening on the stage in that club. One day, one of my team members was late, so we had to play last turn. It was 10:50 p.m. when we were on stage. Huh, Wednesday 11! There are only two people. We disappointed, but simultaneously felt grateful for the 2. After the sound check, I said to the 2, "Now, we, the band members, are more than you, the audience, but your value is much more than twenty thousand's. And most of all, you all are female. If there is one beautiful female, we're gonna play our whole repertory with all our soul and might. Okay, let's go crazy!" Then we played until midnight. Finally, band members and 2 girls are all in sweat. After the night the 2 girls became friends and came to our concert together every Wednesday. The concert is the most fantastic memory in my life. When I am faced with a difficulty, I always think of this concert and say to myself, "You can change any hard situation to one of the memorable moments. Don't give up!"

HakyungChin/Opinion Paragraph/MON11

Truly Embarrassing

 

           When I was in 4^th grade, I went to an English institute. We practiced everyday conversations in class. One day, our tutor asked us to have a conversation about planning a study club. There were about 4 students in my group. We talked about having a study club at my house on a Saturday afternoon. I thought it was for real. So I told my mom that I was having a study club meeting in our house and that we should prepare some snack. So my mom made tuna sandwiches and juice. We waited and waited but nobody came. So I called one of the students and found out that planning a study club was just for practicing conversations. I was so embarrassed and since that day, everyone in class laughed about it. Now I can laugh about it too. But to the twelve-year-old girl, it was a big shame.

Oh You Jeong/Best city/mon34

Best City Ever        Where do you live right now? Are you satisfied with your city? Is it the city you want to live in for the rest of your life? Most people would say no to these questions. It's because most people live in their cities not because they love them, but because they have certain kinds of purposes such as business, or schools. The best city should be the one that a person would want to live for the rest of his or her life. When someone asks me these questions, I definitely choose Jeju island. My father's family live in Jeju island, so I visit there often and I always find Jeju island attractive. First of all, I like the weather. It's warm and relaxing. Also, the environment is exotic.It makes me feel like being in a different country. Second, Jeju island has terrific natural beauty. The island has both mountain and ocean. You can go hiking today and swimming tomorrow. Lastly, it's comforting. Big cities like Seoul or Busan are always noisy and there are too many people. However, Jeju island has less population which is perfect for people who want to live in a quiet, relaxing city. Therefore, Jeju island is the best city people could live for a long, long time.

Hakyung Chin/Opinion Paragraph/ MON 11AM

Innovation in Education

 

           Koreans are enthusiastic for education. You can see educational institutions all over the city and private education is one of the major industries in Korea. However there are a lot of problems in Korea's education and changes should be made. First of all, the government should make policies to lessen private education expenses. People spend too much money on private education and that harms their livelihoods. Another thing I think that should be corrected is that the fact that there are too many universities in Korea that don't work properly. Entering a university is so important in Korea that people go to universities that cannot provide good faculty and education. Those universities should be abolished or improved. The third problem is teaching and learning by rote. Students study hard just to get good notes and easily forget what they studied. Teachers also emphasize the importance of getting good notes and entering top class universities rather than emphasizing the importance of learning by itself. These are some problems of education in Korea and I think they should be corrected.

Song Eun Ko / Best age of getting married / Mon34

 

What do you think is the best age of getting married?

When will you get married? Most of you in this class are in your twenties and you may think you are not old enough to wear a wedding ring. Of course, there is not fixed age of getting married. However, I think that there is an ideal age of wedding. It is between early and mid-thirties. The reason is that people who are in this age are well-prepared 'superficially' and 'internally'.

Korea has a sort of steps that many people follow. People graduates from school, get a job, and get married in order in their late twenties or early thirties. Actually, the period of getting a job and earning money is 'superficial' preparatory stage for wedding. If people got married upon graduation or they didn't take a job to earn money, they would be in trouble. For instance, they are lack of money to buy a house. If they had a baby, they would be going to end up making this problem worse. The age of getting married also related to one's responsibility for his or her wedding. It is 'internal' preparatory stage. After wedding, they have to raise their own family and make a living by themselves, even if they do not want to do these things. However, some young couples tend to be lack of responsibility and cannot afford to raise not only themselves but also other families. It leads to destroying the stability of their marital life. I think many people can be well-prepared 'superficially' and 'internally' in their early and mid thirties and they can start a better life with someone.

Youna Lee/ best city/ Mon34

Cheongju, peaceful but vigorous city in Korea

     Last summer vacation, I went to Cheongju with my family. Since my father was living there because of his business, we went there to meet him as well as to look around Cheongju. When I had to come back to Seoul, I was really sad to leave there so early. Cheongju was an awesome city! First of all, it has really clean natural environment and beautiful scenery. Mountain Uam surrounds the city with its greenness and coziness, and river musim adds more to the beauty. Also, I went to the Cheongju tree lined street, and it was absolutely great. Hundreds of Plane trees radiate refreshing energy and power of life. It was just amazing! It is not surprising that this street is best known as the site of the movie Late Autumn 's last scene. Secondly, it has good accessibility to other cities. Since it is located in the middle of the country, it does not take many hours to go to the other provinces. Many people are commute to Seoul and it only takes about one hour and a half. If you take the train or bus, the commute time will be more reduced. Finally, it has good educational conditions. I don't think lots of private schools and famous teachers only make good educational environment. Various cultural festivals, historical remains, museums and nature is also great teachers for children. Cheongju has all of those! It biennially holds Cheongju International Craft Biennale, and this year it also holds Cheongju jikji festival as Cheongju is a jome of jikj which is the first metal type worldwide. Above these, there are a bunch of historic things and places such as Cheongnamdae, jikji museum, and heungdeok temple. They will be affect children's education in positive way greatly. Therefore, I strongly recommend you to go to Cheongju and feel how great place it is to live!

Ji Eun Lee/ Best age to get married/ Mon 11am

When Is The Perfect Time To Get Married? I am 21 years old, still young to think about marriage seriously. But I sometimes imagine when I would like to get married and how it would be like. At first I wanted to get married when I was younger, because I had a dream of living happily with my lover as soon as possible. However as time passed, I have changed my mind for few reasons. In my opinion, it is ideal to get married between 28~30 years old. First, those ages are when I become mature enough to get responsible for my marriage. Getting married requires lots of conditions in reality. You have to consider from stabilization of livelihood to trust between you and your spouse. For instance, my parents got married upon university graduation. They had a difficult time because they didn't have enough money since they were just graduates. Therefore my mother always told me not to hurry for getting married. It is the perfect time when I am ready to support my own family. Therefore you need to take time and prepare for your marriage through consideration. Next, I want to focus on achieving my own goals and having various experiences in 20s. In fact it is true that you will get some limitation after getting married. For example, especially women have to set aside their career and spend time on family including house work and baby care. In order not to regret later, I want to do everything I want such as traveling and learning in 20s. After I become satisfied with full of joy, then I will focus on my marriage. On the other hand, no one knows when I will actually get married in the future. It can be earlier or later than what I expect. But the one thing for sure is that I want to get married when I am confident in my decision. Therefore, between 28~30 years old is the best age to get married and start new life.

Jean Park/ best city/ Mon34

<I Love New York> Jean Park      New York, one of the major cities in the world is the best place where I'd like to live in. Even though I have never been to New York before, this city was always my dream place to visit and live once in my life. There are several reasons why I chose New York as the best city but the main three reasons are: fancy lives, Broadway and its notedness. First of all, New York is very famous for fancy and splendid lives. Many city residents are usually sick and tired of crazy living in the city and seek for quiet and peaceful areas like countryside where it has mountains and lakes. However, I'm satisfied with city life, I like being busy and noisy sounds that I can only hear in the cities. I believe New York can provide me an ideal city life that I always dreamed. Moreover, I personally enjoy musicals, plays, shows and the Broadway in New York is just the perfect place to relish those performances. It's true that Korea's entertainment and culture markets have developed a lot and still growing, though, still it cannot be compared with Broadway in its scales. If I have a chance to live in New York, I would appreciate every popular and impressive shows as many as I can. Finally, the notedness of New York makes me want to go there. Broadway, Wall street, Times square, and so many things are famous that it makes me really curious about the life in New York. I know that the way it's shown and actually living is different but I'd rather choose to regret after living certain period in New York. These are just my personal opinions and I'm sure there are also people who dislikes New York. Although, New York will always be remembered as my best and dream city.

Best job fo me/ NaYeon Kwon/ Mon34

The Best Job For Me

 

                         Since I was young, I wanted to become a salaried worker. I just thought that job was cool and interesting. However, as I grew older, I noticed that choosing a job was a serious business. I had to think about what I like and also what I am good at. Then, I realized that I was not a salaried worker type person. So I changed my mind and dreamed of becoming a teacher which I believe is the best job for me. First, I feel satisfied and proud when I teach others and help them to learn something. Once, I worked as a teaching assistant in an English institute near my house. At first, I just applied for some pocket money, but after, I soon felt proud and satisfied when the students asked me questions after class and got help with their grades. I realized that this field might be the right choice when choosing a job in the future. Moreover, I prefer easy and comfortable working atmosphere. In companies, especially in Korea, there is some kind of wall among workers and their boss. For me, I feel oppressed in such an environment and cannot do my work. However, in institutes, as they spend much time with students and younger teaching assistants, they have much younger mind and do not assume a haughty attitude. This is also why I specifically think institute teacher fits me well, not school teachers. I think I am lucky as I found what kind of job fits me well in a comparatively young age. To become a good educator, I will work hard and focus on visualizing my dream from now.

Kyeong-eun Lee / Educational System / Mon34

<Change The Educational System>     In Korea, the educational system has become a great factor of social instability; Korea is the absolutly education-oriented society, in which people gain their keys to success depending on the level of their education. I think it has resulted from the abnormal system of education. From 5 to 19, the students under the usual educational routes have to compete to get the admission from the universities. Blinded competition, I think, is the main reason of twisted system. Then let's see how to solve the problems. First, we have to advice the kids do what they want. It sounds irresponsible, but think. Not all of the students can be the members of the top universities – but what about the others who who had not been involved on the lists? Did they fail? No. Our society is sustained by who didn't get university education and they are essential in our society. In other words, they need to raise their values in their fields and become the experts. So the system need to add the vocational education and let the students freely choose what they think they can do. Second, we need to relieve the competition. All the problems arise from the fact that the numbers of university admissions are limited; but lots of people want it. To relieve this competition, what should we do? I don't think I can suppose a breakingthrough solution, but I'd like to suggest one system. In France, the highschool students take the university enterance exam – baccalaureat – and in this exam, the students get no grades, and then, they get just pass or fail. Through this system, France has made the leveled universities. But this system is too radical to apply to Korea. So, I think grading system will help – from 1st to 5th grade. I think it will relieve the stress of competition. Anyhow, the educational system is the first thing we need to fix and improve.

Wonpil Lee/ Opinion/ Mon 11 a.m.

The Slow Pace of Fast Change

The slower students are taught, the more creative they become. In Korean educational system, young students(8-19) are struggling to chase the extremely fast schedule of their school. There are too many subjects that students have to cover, and each of the subjects has a large amount of contents. In this circumstance it is impossible that students improve their creativity which is obtained from deep thought and positive activities in order to make their own way to understand the contents. At German language class, my major, the vocabularies that I had to memorize in short period in order to take the exam are forgot after a few days, but the vocabularies and grammars that were taught by good native professors with active ways that stimulate five senses remain in my memory for a long time. From the experience I got very important hints how to speak and write German language as well as how to memorize vocabularies. That means I found my own way to study that language. The slow education gives students enough time to deeply think of what they study, and deep thought causes creativity. If we want creative future workers, then first, we should have the slow pace of educational system.

YoungHoon Kim / Best City / Mon 11 a.m.

Singapore, Best to Live

201100652 YoungHoon Kim

           In my opinion, Singapore is the best city to live in because it has clean environment, good education, and high level of public security. First, I went to Singapore when I was 11 years old with my family. I was shocked that I can't have chewing gum. As a matter of fact, it is illegal to import gum in Singapore. Because of this law, you cannot see any black mark made of hardened gum on the streets. I still remember the city with clean and organized environment. Second, my best friend went to school in Singapore and said that all the students in his school were elites and he had a hard time competing with them. Also, I heard that Singapore has one of the highest ranked universities in the world and it's very difficult to get in. Last, it is safe to stay Singapore. When traveling around Singapore, we didn't meet any thieves or pickpockets. There were many police officers in the streets and tourist attractions. Also, Singapore is famous for almost zero crime rate. For these reasons, I believe Singapore is the perfect place to live in.

김한별Han Byol Kim/Unforgettable teachers/mon11am

We meet a lot of teachers in our life. We can meet them in schools or may be in academies. However, not all the teachers are good. Some are good and some are bad. Among all the teachers I had in my life, I had one teacher I really liked. I liked the teacher for various reasons. First of all, the teacher taught us well. He was an English subject teacher and taught us using many games. I remember playing a bingo game. It was a simple game but I could learn many words more easily that I did not know. The other reason that I liked him was he was a helpful person. He helped me to learn other things as well. He was my high school teacher and I counseled with him whenever I had difficulties in my school life. 

Da-hyun Yang/ teacher / Mon3.4

      

                                          < Strict Teacher >

 

               There were many teachers I met in my life. From school teachers to tutors, of course, they were all very different. Among them, the most memorable teacher is my English tutor. She taught me English for about six years during my grade and middle school years. At that time, I had a rival who always tried to beat me with the score. He was also a student of my tutor. And whenever I did not finish homework, my tutor always compared me to my rival. She kept saying like "This week's winner of the test is jae-gun (name of my rival)" or "I heard that jae-gun went to bed at 2a.m. When did you go to sleep? You did not even finish your homework perfectly!" These had been a serious blow to my ego. Looking back on it now, however, that was a bit effective way to me since I worked frantically hard not to be scolded. On the other hand, my tutor was generous with the compliments. When I got a perfect score on the exam, she lavished praise on me. Moreover, she bought me many delicious things like waffles or ice cream. I would be worse at English if there were no help of my tutor. I still keep in contact with her, and sometime we have some dinner together. While eating, we laugh a lot, delighted at the memory. For the reason that I studied really hard during my adolescent since my tutor, she is the most memorable teacher ever.

Kyoungmin,Kim/ Teachers/ mon34

Teachers who make us DO

 

      What kind of teacher is a good teacher? I say a teacher who motivates students is a good teacher. So whether one teacher is good or bad can be judged differently by every individuals. When I think of my best teacher, I think of my highschool art teacher. He used to talk about stories of his early art school days. One of the stories I remember is the one when he was devoted to his art works. He used to stay in his house and never went out during the painting. He even ordered food to his house so he could eat home and save time. And because he didn't want to be bothered by the delievery man, he payed the total amount of his ordering in advance.  He said those days lasted for at least more than a month if I remember right. I was impressed about his passion in art and I felt like being crazy in art like him. One day in art class, art teacher asked the students to paint a self-portrait. I decided to devote myself into the painting. Every lunchtime, I went to the art classroom and continued my painting. I did my best on every brush, and every mixing of the oil paints. I didn't feel hungry though I never have skipped meal like that. I enjoyed being in the classroom alone, and doing what I like. Looking back those days, I regard them precious because now I know that being into something isn't a usual thing to do. And those days were possible thanks to my art teacher. He showed us the passion he had, and that made me practice passion.

Oh You Jeong/Unforgettable Teacher/mon34

<The Trusted Teacher>        We meet a lot of teachers in our life. Some teachers stay in student's memories forever as the best teacher or the worst teacher. The teacher who will stay in my head forever is my homeroom teacher in highschool 3rd grade. He was a Korean teacher and his teaching methods were stunning. His class was the only class that we could actually laugh while studying. Usually, most classes were boring but his class made us become passionate about studying Korean. We still don't know how we did it, but, at first my classroom had the lowest test grade among 6 classes, however, after 3 months, my classroom had the highest test grade. I still remember my teacher opening the front door and say, "We made the miracle guys! All of the teachers are stunned right now!!". The reason why we made such a great improvement was that we trusted him. He used to tell us,"Don't be so stressed about test results, your grades will naturally go up". Since then, we studied with trust, trust that we will make it. On the SAT day, even though I was so nervous that my hands were shaking hard and heart was beating so fast, faster than ever, I still believed that I would never fail. Luckily, with that trust, I had fine results. The day after the exam, we came to school and there were some students who actually had the highest grade and of course the opposite too. Some students in other class blamed their teacher about their poor results, however no one in my class blamed our teacher about anything. We still trust his words, that we will make it. I'm glad he was my teacher.

Jean Park/ Unforgettable Teachers/ Mon34

<My Best and Unforgettable Teacher> Jean Park      We meet a lot of teachers in our life. I also met about 30 teachers in my life and some are remembered as a good teacher while some are stayed in my memory as a mean teacher. Though, in this writing, I'd like to talk about one teacher whom I can never forget. When I was in the first year of high school, my homeclass teacher was just very new kind of teacher that I have never met before. I thought he was like a role model of a teacher who devotes all his life into teaching students. He came to school early in the morning, about 7pm and went back to his home at 10pm everyday. If I remember back, I think he wasn't really talented at teaching, his main subject was ethics, since his lecturing skill was a bit boring. However, he helped us a lot to learn other important lessons as well as preparing all of the documents and informations related to university entrance exams. In addition, even though he looked very chic and unfriendly, he actually had a great sense of humor and made student laugh whenever we got stressed from studying. I believe he has a full of passion in teaching students and I could feel that he's really hoping his students to live a successful lives. I am so glad and thankful to meet such a respectful teacher in my life and I would remember him forever.

Youna Lee/ Teachers/ Mon 34

The most unforgettable teacher until now

 

We meet a lot of teachers in our life. Some are good and some are bad. Among these numerous teachers, there is a teacher who I can't forget forever. She was my homeroom teacher when I was in elementary school 5^th grade. At that time, I had difficulty adapting to new friends and environment. Also I had to attend too many private learning academies even though I was a very little child.. I felt like everything is suppressing me. However, she came to me first and she was like a big light shine on me. She always talked to me first and I had a lot of conversation with her. I told her about my problem and she encourages me with warming words.. Once, I had to stay away from school because I was really sick. It was the hardest time for me since I felt like nobody cares me. I sent her e-mail and told her about my trouble. I can never forget her replying mail. She said that 'Cheer up, you are not alone. I'm on your side and all of the classmates are worried about you today! I love you.' She was my running power in that year and I am really glad that I met her, and she was my teacher.

Kyeong-eun Lee / Professor / Mon34

<A Professor I Won't Forget>     We meet a lot of teachers in our life. After entering the university, and majoring in economics, I also have met many professors, and among them, C.J.Kim made me interested in my major. His major field is financial economics, so he usually teaches math-related subjects. I took his economics mathematics class right after entering the university. His class was TOUGH, really. His tuition materials were all based on English textbooks, so we have to understand all of the class in English; and he gave us hundreds of homeworks including reports about classical economists like A. Smith or J.M. Keynes -- to let his students know on what basis economics in founded. But, how toughness it is for the freshmen! But after the hard trainings, oneday I found myself solving difficult economic math problems and I realized that it was thanks to professor Kim who strictly let us to study. Besides hte mathematics class, I have taken his classes like financial economics or intermediate microeconomics at least a year, and thanks to him, I have become improved in math-based subjects. It was lucky for me to meet him in my first year in the university.