201202631 Lee, Eunyoung/ First draft of Chaper 5/ Narrative composition Tue 3-4

That's the way that mop flops

201202631 Lee, Eunyoung

 

"Can't you just right anything you want? I don't know what to say. My life has been too tuff"

It was the first sentence my grandma on my mother's side said to me when I asked her about her life. She was born in 1938 according to a family register but her real age might be about 80 years old. In earlier days, people didn't register their babies right away after birth because lots of them didn't survive. So, they wait until the babies become 2-3 years old and then put their name on family register. My grandma experienced both the period of Japanese occupation and Korean War.

"Grandma, do you remember the Japanese colonial era? Did Japanese bully you because you are Korean?"

"Um…… Korean became independent when I was second grade of elementary school. So, I don't remember things well because I was young at that time. I used to use Japanese and I was quite good at it, but now I can't remember well. I forgot everything. What I remember is that, the school distributed one shoes for each class and I got one. So I remember that. And…and… when it was the New Year's Day, I got one white bread one red... was it red..? It was mochi in Japanese. I got two breads, two. "

She was recalling her memory. She sounded so nostalgic. She also said how she cleaned school restroom and other tasks that she was asked to do for school. She was traveling back to her youth memory. Then suddenly her voice turned into blue.

"It was that year when my older brother passed away. I can't avoid telling this story when I have to say about my childhood. Korean War occurred when I was about to graduate elementary school. That summer of the year, I even couldn't eat meals well because I was so afraid of the bombs from the plane. I couldn't eat things well. I was so scared. I was too scared. That time my brother didn't go to army because he was a police. He just got married that time. At then, the soldiers from the north stayed in the mountain after the war was just over. During the night, the north soldiers went down mountain looking for foods. They came to village and often took foods or cows away. That day, my brother got the scramble order to go to the village because the soldiers came down the mountain again. And there he was killed by the north soldiers."

I didn't know what to reply after this story. I didn't know she had an older brother. I felt so sorry about her story. After the death of her brother, her father also passed away because he was so depressed and angry about the death of his son. Her brother was the only son of three generation. Her mom fortunately lived little longer than that.

"Grandma, I'm so sorry that I let you recall about the saddest memory."

"No no no, it's okay. It's a story that already happened. What can we do about it? It's okay."

After that, she married with grandpa when she was 23 years old and had 4 children. Her life was still very tuff after getting married with grandpa. She got married with him because he so loved her that he begged for a marriage. However, after marriage, he turned out to be very dissolute. He used to be a one of the wealthiest people in the village, but because of his wrong personality, he blew whole asset away. My grandma had to work a lot to take care of four kids.

Her life was too tuff to even mention. I felt that I have to thank for what I have. I'm so thankful to my grandma that she is still alive and heathy. I love you, my grandma.

 

Taek Min kim / Chapter 5 / Narrative Composition 11am

My grandfather and the Korean War

  

I made an interview with my grandfather because I wanted to know how he survived the Korean War. I was curious about the difference between history book I studied and the reality which my grandfather had experienced.

 

Face filled with wrinkles, he always welcomes me with a pleasant smile. My grandfather is about 5 and a half feet tall, slightly stooped with age. I haven't tried to talk about when he was at my age. However, when I had to seek an interviewee for my essay I thought about him; I came up with the idea of writing a paper of him in his twenties. Thinking about his twenties to make some questions for him to answer in the interview Korean War brought up to my mind. I supposed, since he was born in the 1930's, one of the most important incident in his twenties would be the 6-2-5 Upheaval. Finally I was getting the image of my Interview.

My grandfather takes residence in Duksan, Chungcheongbuk-do which takes hours to go by car and since I don't have a car I had to call him and have an interview on the phone. It was quite frustrating to call him and start asking about the war. Our talk started with greetings.

"Oh, grandson, It is so good to hear your voice after a long time!" my grandfather said with a glad voice. It was the reason I felt so awkward to call him for an interview. I hadn't made a call for him often and it was embarrassing for me to tell him that I called him for an interview.

"Well, actually grandpa, I need an interview about your experience during the Korean War, for my homework." I said with a carful voice. However, he was still welcoming my call with his bright voice.

"You don't need to get frustrated grandson, I'm glad that I could help your work."  

"Thank you, then I will start the questions, what was your first thought when you heard that a war broke out?"

"I was 16 when the war broke out. On the first day of the war our government told us that it is not a big deal and they were handling the problem so we don't have to worry about it. I first believed it because there often were some small engagements on the 38^th parallel that time." He continued. "Soon it turned out that it wasn't like what they first said, our army kept losing to the North Korean army and my family and I needed to evacuate from our home town."

"The evacuation from your home, I can't imagine how hard it was to flee from war, how was it like?"

"It was tragic my father carried piles of baggage on his back and my mother also carrying some stuffs from home had my youngest sister on her back. I carried some too and held my younger brothers hand while we were heading for my uncle's house in Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do. It was a long way evacuating because we only moved by walking, it took more because we were loaded with necessaries. We were starving we couldn't find much to eat. I still remember the feeling of starvation and the terrible pain on my foot and body by the long walk."

"I want to know more about your experience of starvation not only when you were evacuating but during the war, how was the food situation like?" I asked.

"The starvation, it is very tragic. I am glad that my son and you didn't experience that agony. Peoples swarmed to safe places and Daegu was also filled with starving peoples. Some people even died from the starvation. We maintained life with poor and little food. We even ate what we called pig's gruel which is made with food wastes from the US Army camps. It was very filthy but we had to live. We had to filter out trashes like cigarette butt and other trashes in it and boil it with some potatoes in the house."

Ji Eun Bok / Chapter 5 Interview First Draft / Tuesday 11am

201401496 Ji Eun Bok

 

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           He sat nervously on the sofa as I looked over my list of questions and set the recorder application on the mobile phone for the interview. His initial reaction to my oral history assignment was rather funny. When I told him that I chose him as my interviewee, he seemed slightly embarrassed. He didn't know what I would interview him about, and the word "interview" must have burdened him. Despite his worries, he turned out to be the best interviewee.

           My dad was born in Cheonyang, Chungcheongnam-do Province, South Korea. It was an underdeveloped area and the majority of the population were farmers. My grandfather was a farmer too, and my dad had to always help him out in the field after school. As a kid, my dad was interested in electronics. My dad studied hard to try and achieve his goal. Although growing up in the farming area meant less time to study, he always made time to study with his classmates even after class. Later, he got into an electronic technical high school. He studied electronics there and went through practical training.

           "When I turned 17, my mother passed away. This was a big change, and I had to find other means to help support the family. I decided to get a job rather than to go to university and continue my studies." My dad had always wanted go to university, but circumstances changed and he was not left with much choice. At the end of his second year in high school, several companies had open recruitment and my dad applied for one company. Fortunately, he got accepted and he began his working career immediately after he graduated from high school.

           The company was located in Suwon, so he had to leave his family, his hometown and move to Suwon. He got a small apartment and began living on his own. He said this was one of his most difficult times in his life.

           "There was no one there to look after me. I was by myself, and I had to do everything for myself. My health got worse as I didn't eat properly. I was in a slump." He said this was the one and only time he wanted to quit working. There were hard times, but as the saying, time healed everything and he soon got back on the recovery track.

           "What was your main motivation? What kept you going?" I asked my dad.

           "I had a sense of responsibility. Responsibility for my wife and my daughters, responsibility for the society and responsibility for my colleagues. Everyone had to work hard for each other," he replied in a firm manner. I felt the strength in his words, and I realized this was what really kept him going all these years. He has worked in one and just one company his entire life for over 30 years. I always felt bad seeing him work so many hours in the office every day, and I was very touched by his response.

           Of the 30 or so years of working, my dad has had experience working overseas. I wanted to know what opinions he had about this. I asked him how this experience has influenced his life.

           "Personally, it was a great opportunity for me to become equipped with a global mind, dealing with foreign buyers and industries from all over the world. I learned to cooperate with them and I gained confidence. I could be thrown in any kind of situation dealing with foreigners, and I had nothing to be scared of anymore."

           He also mentioned the effect it had on his family. "I was happy to provide my three daughters with a special experience, studying in international schools and learning English." What he said is very true indeed. I am always grateful for this fact, and I consider myself very lucky.

           Prior to this interview, I thought I knew my dad very well. However, there were so many things I didn't know, and it was a very meaningful time getting to understand him better. As a final question, I asked him about his plans and goals for the future.

           My dad is looking for a second job after his retirement. He has seen his senior colleagues leave the company and switch to other jobs, and he has many thoughts about the future as well. He says he is thinking of continuing in the same field, electronics. He has thought about starting a new business, but he believes this may be too risky. Regardless of what he chooses to do in the future, I am sure that he will succeed.

           "The three traits I consider the most important are your abilities in that field, your attitude and health. One's abilities are of the utmost importance because that is what should follow when you are willing to do something. One's attitude is another important aspect, as cooperation is very important. You should be able to form healthy relationships with your coworkers by treating them appropriately. Lastly, all of this is impossible if your body cannot handle it. You cannot exhibit full strength if you don't have the energy." This is why my dad loves sports and works hard to keep in shape. With these last words, he went off to play tennis with his friends.

Jang Won Woo/chapter 5 interview first draft/Narrative composition Tue 11am

Respond, 1980s

Highly developing economy, political oppressions from the junta and movements toward democracy – They are the symbolic words describing 1980s in Korea. However, I do not know well about the everyday life of common people. I wondered the life of people at that time. So, I asked it of a contemporary person. He was my father.

 "Compared to now, all the elements were undeveloped at that time." He said. He described me the life of 1980s in Korea. "In 1980s, many people lived in the poor housing environment. There are so many apartments here, but, at that time, I could not see the apartments at all. In Daegu, there are just a few apartments. Most people lived in small houses which had slate roof or western style houses which were made of red bricks. Before you were born, we lived in the western style house with many other families." He told me that even many people at that time used briquettes for heating the room. I became more curious.

"What about foods? I was told fast food franchises were introduced in 1980s in Korea. When did you eat fast food first? How was it?"

"Oh, you are right. They were introduced in 1980s. I cannot forget the moment when I faced them first time. When I was teenager, about 15 or 16 years old, I went Myeongdong, Seoul with my family. I saw KFC at the trip. At that time, meats were very expensive; so many people could not buy and eat frequently as people are doing now. Fried chicken is the most common food now, but we did not have opportunities to eat it commonly. I cannot forget the moment I bit it first time. The crispy chicken made me very happy. Even flesh in fried batter was so tender." He was immersed in his happy memories.

"What about hamburger?" I asked.

"I ate it first, when I was about 20 years old." He ate the hamburger in Mcdonald. After he watched the baseball game, he ate it with his friends. "It was so comfortable for it and even delicious!" He said, at that time, it did not have many kinds of hamburger as it has now. However, as he has become older, he does not like it very much when he was young.

"How were public transportations? Were they very different from now?" I asked. He affirmatively answered my question: Absolutely different. "The first difference between today is there was no subway at all. Bus served as the only transportation people could take." It was just a part of his answer. He described his experience in the bus. "Taking the bus made me exhausted when I went to school. Almost every day, I had to struggle with many students and people who were trying to take the bus. Although I secured the bus, it was too dense in the bus. After I took off the bus, especially in summer, I was drenched with my sweat. I really hated that moment." Also, he told me that there was clippie in the bus. The clippie got the ticket from passengers and noticed a driver that it was time to arrive.

 

When I finished my interview, the interviewee smiled with his reminiscences. Before I interview him, I was a little bit worried that he is an introvert person. However, when I asked the questions about his youth, he enthusiastically answered my questions. His answers gave me the descriptions in 1980s in Korea. I can understand the time deeper than I just was provided the explanations from textbooks. 

Hee Sun Kim / Chapter 5 First Draft / Narrative composition / Tuesday 3,4

The real 1988

Whenever I visit my grandmother's house every holiday, I can see the old house that my dad had lived his childhood years. It is a traditional house that can be seen at Korean folk villages. Looking around the house, I wondered about the life of my dad in that house. That's why I chose to interview him.

 

My dad was born in November 11, 1962. He had spent his entire childhood years in Ganghwa Island. The place he grew up was countryside far from the city, so he had lots of interesting experiences that I cannot imagine since I have lived in the city for my entire life.

 

The first thing I wanted to ask was how he overcame the near-death experiences in his childhood.

"Oh, I will tell you the worst," He replied retrospectively. His face hardened as he tried to remember one of the worst memories in his life.

It happened when he was at the age of seven. At such a young age, he caught the measles. At that time, most people were poor and struggled to make ends meet. Therefore it was just a luxury for them to visit hospitals or have medicine when they were sick. He said it was so common for newborns or young children to die at their early age. So my grandparents, who are of course my dad's parents, thought he should overcome the disease himself without any treatment. In fact, measles is not a serious disease. It can be cured with some simple treatments. However, my dad had to struggle himself without a help, so the disease got worse as time passed. He said he was down for almost a month. He suffered from high fever. "I started hallucinating as the disease got worse." He said with low voice. His face still hardened, he frowned as he tried to recall the exact scene of hallucination. "I saw worms…..thousands of them were coming down from the wall." The horrible description scared me stiff. "Oh my god. Did they seem real?" I asked. " I was too young and sick to distinguish what was real. They came out from everywhere, even from the soup my mother gave me." He added that his tongue went black from high fever. It was so shocking. My grandfather thought my dad wouldn't be able to stand it anymore, so he ran for 5 hours in the rain to get to the city and found medicine since there was no traffic other than one's feet. It was the last hope for him. My grandfather injected it himself to my dad. My dad said it felt like something had cleared his brain. Gradually the hallucination disappeared and he could overcome the disease thanks to the medicine. When I asked how he felt when he was sick in bed, he replied "I was too young, so I thought everyone was like this. I thought it was the way of life. I just admitted it."

 

"Okay then, what was the happiest experience?" I quickly turned to the next question. I was too shocked by his first story, so I wanted to hear something joyful and happy. He replied without hesitation that the time he raised his own family was the best period in his life. As soon as he came to maturity, he moved to Seoul all alone. He was lonely and went through hard times far away from his hometown without anyone's help. But he met my mom and after a few difficulties, he finally got his own house and gave birth to me and my brother. He felt responsible for his own family and thought he had found the meaning of life. He got a place to go after work, and his wife and adorable babies greeted him as he got home. "I think it was like the climax of my life." He said with a smile on his face. 

 

I love watching the famous tv drama, 응답하라 1988. It shows how people at that time lived with details. Watching the drama, I thought people at that time seemed so happy even though they didn't have smart phones or something to play with. They seemed to have nothing to worry about. However, what my dad told me about the days of 1980s was very different from the drama. He said the drama seems unrealistic to him. He was starved and always exposed to dangerous situations. Thanks to this interview, I could clearly see what is real.

Kim Tatiana/ Chapter 5 essay. First draft/ Narrative Composition Tue 3 4

An Experience of Kazakh Exchange Student in South Korea


The very first time I met Zarina was in 'Korean language for
foreigners' class last year. She is a very smart person with accurate
manner of speech. And since she is from Kazakhstan we were talking in
Russian a lot and, as a result, it took us a short time to get closer
to each other. But then Zarina returned to her homeland and after some
time she went to Korea again. Now it's her second time here. That's
why I thought it's my chance to interview her and hear about exchange
student's life from the first face.

I started from standard questions to give some background
information about the interviewee. Zarina is 20 years old female who
was born in Temirtau city in Kazakhstan. She is majoring in Korean
culture and philology department in Kazakh National University named
after Al – Farabi. Currently she is an exchange student in South Korea
for this semester.

Obviously, the first question was about the reason she came
here. She confessed that actually she planned to come to Korea and
study here as a regular student, but under some circumstances she
decided to enter the university in Almaty, the capital of Kazakhstan.
But she is just in love with this country. She likes its culture and
language, and she made a lot of friends here whom she doesn't want to
leave.

"Were there any difficulties during preparation for a flight?"
- I asked Zarina. She let out a sigh and answered sadly: "Yes, there
were. Mostly financially because usually an exchange student supposed
to get support from the university he is studying in, but my education
and dormitory fees are paid by Korea. And nobody provides a
scholarship, so I have to find money for living expenses by myself.
The other difficulty was with documents - it took me a long time to
prepare them all. But the most difficult part is about my university
grading system."

She paused, took a deep breath and continued: "Right now I'm
required to listen to 6 lessons for my major. But since I'm in South
Korea right now three of them I have to take here and the other three
will be given as distance-learning courses. And after I come back to
my homeland I will have to take a few exams." She also expressed her
discontent about such a horrible system. "I'm pretty sure that
exchange students from other countries don't have so much pressure.
They are usually required just to take Korean language courses and
that's it."

Then we decided not to pay attention on that depressing topic
and go to the next question. I asked her about the very first
expression right after she went out from the plane. With a big smile
on the face and with happy and cheerful voice Zarina said that she was
really, really happy just because she finally was in Korea. That's it.
look at me for a few seconds and ask me to go on.

I asked her to tell what is the main difference between Korean
and Kazakh people. She was staring thoughtfully somewhere for a while
and then said that it is about a life speed. Because of the crazy
competition Koreans always busy and do everything really fast. In
Kazakhstan there is no such big competition, so everybody relaxed and
don't rush. After Zarina finished she hesitantly looked at me as if
she was not sure is it a good answer or not. I just was thinking if I
should ask her a little bit more about this question, but since I
wanted to get as much information as I can I decided to go to next
question.

The next question is challenging. "What would make Kazakhs
react normally, but make Koreans look askance at you?" – I asked her
with a small excitement because I was really curious what answer the
interviewee would give. She was in real deep thoughts for two or three
minutes. And then she replied for the confidence: "A flash mob. I know
it because I used to participate in the Korean flash mob that what's
called 'Free Hugs'. Kazakh people would react normally – just go and
hug you. But Koreans were a little bit freaked out and asked lots of
silly questions and they couldn't make up their mind whether to hug a
person or not." To be honest, it was such an exceptional answer for
me, so I only mentioned that I would like to participate in this flash
mob, too. And without any further discussion we moved on.

The question was if Koreans are neat people. Zarina's eyes
glistened, I knew this glance: she has a lot to say since she used to
live in the dormitory with one Korean roommate last year. Zarina
narrowed her lids and said that Koreans are doing well with their
personal hygiene, but when it comes to room cleaning... She stopped,
and after a few seconds of silence, she indignantly asked a rhetorical
question about why Koreans are so careless about the mess around them.
I understandingly smirked and reminded her that I know exactly how she
feels. She smirked too.

Then it was time for another challenging question. This
question is my favorite one. I asked here slowly: "In what way Korean
people amaze you?" She sneered ironically and said softly: "I'm not
sure how I should answer this question because people tend to memorize
the negative things first.". I noticed that the word 'amaze' can be
interpreted in a bad way. Right after this she got some ideas for a
respond. First of all, she told she was slightly shocked how easily
Koreans think about the plastic surgery. And also about the fact that
some parents consider the operation as a present. Secondly, she
pointed out that some people turn into hypocrites, probably due to
crazy rhythm of life and a huge pressure from the society.

To switch our mood on something positive, I asked her if we can
learn something from Koreans. But she didn't reply. Then I suddenly
ask her: "It means nothing?" she surprised a lot and we just started
laughing, so ridiculous the situation was. "There are a few. The sense
of purpose. Koreans are really determined and do everything to reach
their goal. And their ability to separate personal life and work," –
she answered quite seriously.

Finally, I asked Zarina to give some advices to students who
wants to come to Korea. She answered without any hesitation: "There's
no need to sit in the library for the whole days. It will be more
productive if you make Korean friends and hang out with them. It will
be more interesting to learn language and culture this way. I'm not
telling that you to forget about studying, but don't spend too much
time for it. But, please, don't idealize South Korea. The majority of
people create some ideals about Koreans and about the country itself
because of Korean Wave. And then these people come to Korea they
become frustrated and angry. But it's only their own fault. It's true
that Korea is a good place to live, but it's just not ideal."

SeongYeon Cho / Chapter 5 Interview / Narrative composition / Tuesday 3,4

Life I would never know

Saturday night, sitting in my grandpa's house, warm atmosphere were around. It was my grandpa's 9th birthday. After having dinner, I started to ask questions about his past. Before the serious questions, I asked him about his childhood. I said "Grandpa, can you tell me about your parents?". He didn't say instantly. He said "Well, I'm old now, so I can't really remember. My father's name is JaeCheon Cho, but I cannot figure out my mother's name. My parents had lived very harsh life. They had to face many incidents during their life". I was quite surprised. I knew that he could not remember all the things vividly. But how can he forget his mother's name? I reckon that reflects life. I only lived 20 years but there are many things I forgot. Someday, I may not remember my parent's name. I understood him. So possible.

Anyway, then I asked him about historical memories. I asked him if he remembers Japanese colonial period. He said "I was young. I actually when to army three times. First was in Japanese colonial period. When the Independence happened, I was in Pyongyang". He told me that he was training in pyongyang as a part of Japanese army. Japan was in war with China in Manchuria. Japanese planned to send him to Manchuria. But the indepandance day came suddenly. He said "We were ready for the war actually. They ordered to pack personal things. But the day, we gathered to the center of the facility. Battalion commander said that you can chose whether you would go to Manchuria to fight or to go home". Then he said "Everyone, of course, said to go home". The day, he described, everybody screamed in the street. And they burned every Japanese temple.

He went to Pyongyang station, waiting for the train to go home. But the train, heading to seoul, were full of people. Departing from Manchuria, there were tons of Japanese people, who had to go home as well. So he waited whole day, and finally went to home.

But, shortly after, he went to army again for his duty. He spent another 5 years. During that period, Korean war had broken out.

LEE YAE LIM / Chapter 5 Final draft / Narrative Composition 11am

<Why people regard highschool friend closer than university friend?>

 In Korea, most of people believe that high school friend is much closer than university friend. I do not agree with this argument though. However, one of my best friends, Kim ji-hye strongly agrees with it. So I want to interview her why she thinks that way.

 

 We met in a cafeteria near Hankuk University Of Foreign Studies. I bought her a hot latte and started an interview. "Is there any difference between high school friend and university friend?" I asked her. "Sure! There are huge differences between those two!" She nodded with her large eyes opened. I want to hear more specific things from her so I waited for a while. She told me that first difference thing is physical distance. "High school friend usually go to same school because they all live near the school. So it is easier to meet them since distance between my home and their home is quiet close." After heard her words, I nodded and agreed soon. "Then, can you tell me a specific story about physical distance regarding university friend?" She followed an answer with a smile. She A year ago, she broke up with my boy friend. At that time, she really wanted to be comforted by her friend. She called her university friend named Su-hyeon and asked her to meet. However, they couldn't meet because of the physical distance. Su-hyeon's home takes 2 hours from Ji-hye's.  "I just found out that physical distance is a quiet important factor in keeping friendship then." She finalized her answer with smile.

 

 However, I want to know another reason. So I asked her to tell a bit more about any other reasons. "Hmm… I think amount of time that consumed together is quiet important reason too." She said. "In high school, you usually spend over 14 hours together every day. Moreover, you can consume more time with your friend after school. You know, studying in academy or playing game at an internet cafe. I think those time made deep relationship between me and my high school friend." I understood her argument after hearing those two reasons.

 

 "Then, can you tell me about your best high school friend?" I asked her. She agreed while sipping her latte. "Her name is Min-jee. She has lived beside my house since I was 16. Surprisingly, she and I became class mate for 3 years straightly. You know, it's really hard to happen! She and I saw each other more often than our parents for 3 years! Can you believe this? I knew all about her Ex-boyfriend. And she did too. So there are so many things to chat with her until now. I think she can be the last reason to support my opinion" She took her last sip of latte and got up since she needed to take a class. There was an empty latte cup on the table after she left, and I can imagine her best friend's figure there.

 

Ari Min / Chapter 5 / Narrative Composition 11am

The Forgotten Pebble

"Either a mother and daughter know each other very well or they are strangers," is a quote from the novel Please Look after Mom by Kyung-sook Shin. I feel sympathy on this quote because it seems to reflect our relationship. Currently, I am in the opposite side of the earth from my parents. My parents are in Guatemala which is located in Latin Amercia. They went to Guatemala on 1991 because of my dad's business. For that reason it is hard to call her frequently and when I call her is when I need something or to tell her something that happened to me. Looking back to all these years, my mom only listened to my stories but I had not had a chance to listen about my mom's life.

I called her through Skype at 11 p.m. when it was 8 a.m. there in Guatemala. I started my interview asking, "Mom could you talk about your childhood?" She responded that she did not come from a wealthy family but the neighborhood she lived in was lively and cozy. The neighbors were amiable and everyone overcame difficulties together as a family. "When I was young we enjoyed to play kusulchigi outside." I interrupted her by asking, "What is that?" She explained that it was a game where you put a pebble inside a circle and hit it so it goes outside the circle. Then I realized that she was talking about the marble game that I used to play when I was young as well. My mom continued, "The time we spent playing went by so fast and it was only after my mom called me for dinner I had realized it was dark."

"What was your dream?" I asked my mom for the first time. Looking me with limpid eyes she said, "My dream was to be an announcer. People often told me I had a lovely voice." She laughed. "In high school I was part of the broadcast team and at work narrated the video introducing our company. I still read books out loud and practice pronunciation. If I have an opportunity to study I would like to go in this path."  Listening to my mother talking about her dream made me feel guilty. I had no idea she wanted to be an announcer and I felt worse that I didn't know much about my mom despite knowing her for over 20 years.

 As her family was not economically stable, she was forced to work after graduating high school. Even though she wanted to keep on studying, on that moment, she had other priorities. Her father was sick during this period so she had to help with medical expenses. "Every morning when I headed to work, I saw college students from my age in the streets going to their universities. I would watch them in jealousy," my mom said. However despite of it all, my mom tried to at the bright side. She felt proud of herself every time she received her salary, which was used as supplement living expenses. As others took their time on studying for their own good, she used her time to be a support to the family.

My mom had to end the call because she had to work. Before hanging up she told me, "Enjoy your time as a student, as it will be the happiest moment of your life. Now go sleep." After the interview I found a newfound motivation to study for not only myself, but also for my mom. 

Hyewon Chang / A Little House near the Small School / Narrative Composition / Tue 11am

           When I visit my grandparents' house, first thing I see is cars filling up all the available spaces in the village. They are living in a satellite city named Gwacheon and the exact county where their home located is a hot spot for the retired senior citizens. Therefore, whenever I go there on Korean holidays in my parent's car, we had a hard time finding spaces for parking. Usually villagers there do not have to visit to other families but can just wait for the others to come. However this time, I went there by subway so I didn't experienced a traffic jam. Because my grandfather was in a dove park, where lots of pigeons inhabit, I met him there and slowly walked back to the house where my grandmother was waiting for us.

           Grandparent's house were white and clean. Since my grandfather worked as an elementary school teacher for his whole life, his wife had lots of occasions to meet children's parents. Maybe it's the reason why the house is always remaining so clean. With cups of tea, grandfather first started to talk about the watercolor painting he recently started. He told me that when he was at school, he didn't have enough time for painting. "Our house was just round the corner of the school. Some students came inside the garden and played with our dog. Have your mother told you about 'Bodi'?" When I answered no, he said about the story. "The dog was 'Baduggi(it means black and white dotted dog in Korean.), but your mother was not able to pronounce it properly.'" He told me that he was not able to eat good foods like nowadays, but sometimes he gave some chicken breasts when the day was hot and everyone is having chicken soup.

           My grandfather said that it is hard to talk about some historic events since he forgot most part of it. Other reason is that he was doing his job in the southern region of Korea so he did not experienced much of the battle. However, he said that still, there are some stories that I would feel interesting. "Have you watched a mouse? Not white ones used in lab, but the real ones. Rats." I answered after some time. "I think I caught a glimpse of him in my middle school., but no." He soon told another story about my mother. When she was young, she was fond of cute, little creatures. Mostly it was about Bodi, her dog, but one day, she found light pink colored, little bit white furred creatures. About five of them were sleeping inside the warehouse and she thought it was really cute. She gave them some whole milk powder with hot water and raised them. When my grandfather went into the storage, he found out that my mother was raising rats, so he through them out. Later, he bring cat into the house, but he said that my mother didn't like that quite much.

 

           While he was talking, he mostly talked about his second daughter, my mother. I thought the interview went quite private, not historical. However, it was good to know about my mother's new episodes when she was young.

Nayeon Kim / A student dreams of introducing Korea to the world / Narrative Composition / Tue 11am

As Hallyu is sweeping the world, it is easy to assume that Korean soap operas and idol singers are the only active means to introduce Korean culture to foreigners. However, there is an ambitious student who believes otherwise.

 

Kim Seul-ah, a training intern for Korean National Commission for UNESCO, believes that she can introduce Korean culture by studying Korea as itself. She is currently working in the department that publishes Korea Journal, a quarterly journal for domestic and foreign scholars in the field of Korean Studies.

 

"The field of Korean Studies is an interdisciplinary study that covers extensive areas from Korean history, language, economics, to even trivial subjects as pop culture and folklore," Kim said in an interview with the Argus. "A scholar with a focus on the areas that concerns Korea can publish his paper on Korea Journal."

 

Major part of Kim's daily duty as a training intern is to edit and revise the papers and book reviews to be published in the journal.

 

"One of the book reviews that left a lasting impression on my mind was about Korean folk religion. The author believed that Korean 'Gut,' or an exorcism by a Sherman, acted as a means to express criticism toward politics," Kim said. "Even though I lived in Korea ever since I was born, there are many fascinating traditional cultures in Korea that I have never heard of. I believe in the power of culture that can attract foreigners to be interested in Korean culture."

 

However, Kim was not always interested in the field of Korean Studies. "I always aspired to work as a member of UNESCO, but I was more interested in researching and introducing cultural heritage to foreigners. However, after I started working in this department, I realized that I can contribute to introducing Korea to the world by studying what Korea is by itself."

 

Many foreign scholars research in the field of Korean Studies. The country with the largest number of scholars is the United States with 209 scholars, with Canada and Hawaii following the lead. Korean Studies is prominent in South East Asian countries, as numerous Korean companies have stretched their businesses to the region. Yet, there are some points that need to be fixed.

 

"Korean Studies is not yet established into a certain category. There are many universities that deals with Korean Studies, but the definition and the fields are different in every place," Kim said. "For example, European scholars consider Korean Studies to be a subcategory of the study of bigger countries like Chinese Studies or Japanese Studies. In South East Asia, they teach practical Korean language skills for the students to get a job in Korean companies. The need to integrate and define the field of Korean studies has become pressing these days."

 

However, Kim is concerned that the works UNESCO is conducting are not appreciated by the general population in Korea. A group of educators gathered to found the UNESCO in the beginning, and the major goal of UNESCO is still education.

 

"Many people have heard of UNESCO as the name appears constantly in listing the World Cultural Heritage and World Natural Heritage, but they do not know what UNESCO exactly does. Sometimes people confuse UNESCO with UNICEF. People call us to find out where their donations are used, but there are times when their names are not on the list because they donated to UNICEF, not to us." She said.

 

After the term as training intern is over, she is planning to study in Britain. She will pursue the path of English Literature and politics there and widen her perspective on interpreting another culture in order to understand our own better.

KIM HAJUN/Chapter 4 Final draft/Narrative composition tuesday 3.4

The place where I cannot go again

 

Sometimes I miss a G.P in DMZ. There is very good air, animals, many trees and no high building. In there I worn a helmet and uniform. And I was holding K2 rifle. About 10 person are armed to the teeth were climbing mountain, looked like tired, but their faces lined with tension. After continuously walking, they arrived at the place. During opening the big steel door, we raised our guard against any possible attack. This place is similar with fort. There were just trees around the place. It is underground bunker and enclosed by walls. On the lookout, armed person stood guard duty at the ceasefire line. In underground barrack, there were about 20 person. No TV, just girl group's song flowed from audio. Up ground through stair, I can look North Korean people.

"Hey!!!!!" I shouted

"Why!!!!" North people answered.

Because we could always use live ammunition, when I got live ammunition my body was trembling. But over time, no one didn't care for that situation.

One day I felt the bunker was shaking and heard a bomb explode. All people dashed out of bunker. I thought war occur. All people took gun. Terror showed on the people's face. In DMZ, A fire was raging in the forests near. To check the reason of fire, we must move to fire in DMZ. All team including myself didn't talk. When we moved to fire, there was carcasses of wild boar. The wild boar was hit by landmine. By then our team breathed a sigh of relief.

Because security, I cannot tell about detailed location. Obvious, this place is very dangerous. On these day, Korean Army was attacked by North Korean Army. In D.M.Z, every time we could be attacked, but when I was there, I didn't care about what enemy can attack anytime. After I watched latest news about mine attack, I thought I could be to lose my leg.

There were many reasons why I miss G.P. Especially south-Korea and north-Korea's young people have to point the gun to each other. In G.P. not using equipment, we can look the north-Korea army. Usually South-Korea army's average age is in their twenty, North-Korea army also is similar. Whether I don't know what they have not enough to eat, entirely north-Korea army is small, thin and their walking speed was very slow. I can't forget the north-Korea soldier aimed at me with gun. This place is very dangerous but because north-Korea is same Korean race, sometime if unification of two Korea does, I will go to G.P. again.

 

JeeEun Kim/Chapter 5 Interview/Narrative Composition/Tuesday 34

Beth

While Korea's government is trying to raise Korea's birth rate with television programs that shows how important family is and how the celebrities are raising their kids. Through these variety shows, more and more citizens of Korea are having a positive instinct of giving birth and raising child. Last year in 2014, it was shown that Taiwan was ranked number one in the world for having the lowest birth rate.

             Beth Williamson, a missionary in Taiwan, who opened an orphanage in 2004 says, "This is a tragic society. In Taiwan, nobody wants to give birth anymore. Throughout these ten years I've been working, we've had numerous of babies just put right in front of our orphanage door. Without a note, without anything, the parent just leaves them." As soon as they bring the baby in, they do a health check. "Every single of on the babies are precious, and it breaks my heart when the parents can't see how precious their child is," says Williamson.

             In a society where the cost of living is high, having kids are an unwelcome burden and has become an accepted idea; surely, taboo in many cultures. "We are getting more and more babies every year, and the adoption process is getting harder and harder," says one of the Taiwanese workers. "Before I came here to work, I had no plans on getting married or having children. It wasn't because of the economic reasons; I just preferred to have more freedom and less burden" the worker added on.

             This doesn't seem surprising at all in Taiwan anymore. The workers parents also respected her decision. But now that she works in the orphanage, the children completely transformed her mind.

             "The Taiwan government is trying to find a solution to raise awareness but nothing seems to be changing If the island continues on this track, the population would experience a future labor shortage, and the next generation of children would have a significant difficulty covering the health costs of their aging parents" say Williamson.

             When asked if she ever regretted stepping into this field and become a mom of many child, she smiled and said, "At first when I started it, I started off with five kids. I didn't know where to start, how to start, or even what to do. It was so difficult and hard, yes, I regretted. But I prayed and prayed and prayed to God to give me strength. And till now, it's still not easy, but I don't regret because each of these kids so adorable and lovable."

LEE YAE LIM/Chapter 4 Final draft-revised/Narrative composition tuesday 3.4

<My second house filled with the happiest moment>

 

 I never forget the moment when I first came into my new home which is located in Australia, not in Korea. A year ago, I decided to study at the abroad for a short period since I felt that the need to meet many foreigners and raise my independency.  So I flew about 8 hours and finally arrived at the home-stay where I had to stay during my visit. It was a house whose owner is Mike, an Italian, and Sue, a Vietnam. And they have 3 children named Kiarra, Erica and little Kevin. Their house was located at the Roseville and it is a quiet rich village. Roses were bloomed everywhere around Mark's happy house.

 

"Here it is! This is your room. You will live here during your visit in Australia." Sue said. I opened my eyes with expectation. And surprisingly, my room is beyond my anticipation. Bars of sunlight slanted down from the tall narrow windows so that I felt so warm and cozy. In the right side of the room, there is a wood bed with white fluffy beddings which looked so comfortable. And the desk that has the same wood color as the bed is located just beside the bed. It was really tidy so I felt like I could concentrate very well when I sat on the chair with it.

 

Sue was such a good cook. She started to cook around every 6'o clock. I could realize the dinner time when a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. When the meal was prepared, Sue always knock my door 3 times and ask me if she can come in. as I opened the door, she told me to have a dinner with warm smile on her face. All of families including me enjoyed dinner together with small talks. We always talk about our grateful things of the day. Everybody hears me when I spoke, and of course, vice versa.

 

After dinner, three little children ran into my room and climbed up on my cozy bed. I taught them origami and they loved it. They called me 'origami teacher', and I called them as 'my little student'. Those three cute angel threw their head back and guffawed when they succeeded making origami. However, their happy time couldn't last for a long time since they need to go to bed. They left my room around 8'o clock every day. After they left, there always remained a sound of children's happy laughing and a delicious smell of Sue's cook in my cozy room which is unforgettable.

 

LEE YAE LIM/Chapter 4 Final draft/Narrative composition tuesday 3.4

<My second house filled with a happiest moment>

 

 I never forget the moment when I first came into my new home which is located in Australia, not in Korea. A year ago, I decided to study at the abroad for a short period since I felt that the need to meet many foreigners and raise my independency.  So I flew about 8 hours and finally arrived at the home-stay where I had to stay during my visit. It was a house whose owner is Mike, an Italian, and Sue, a Vietnam. And they have 3 children named Kiarra, Erica and little Kevin. Their house was located at the Roseville and it is a quiet rich village. Roses were bloomed everywhere around Mark's happy house.

 

"Here it is! This is your room. You will live here during your visit in Australia." Sue said. I opened my eyes with expectation. And surprisingly, my room is beyond my anticipation. Bars of sunlight slanted down from the tall narrow windows so that I felt so warm and cozy. In the right side of the room, there is a wood bed with white fluffy beddings which looked so comfortable. And the desk that has the same wood color as the bed is located just beside the bed. It was really tidy so I felt like I could concentrate very well when I sat on the chair with it.

 

Sue was such a good cook. She started to cook around every 6'o clock. I could realize the dinner time when a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. When the meal was prepared, Sue always knock my door 3 times and ask me if she can come in. as I opened the door, she told me to have a dinner with warm smile on her face. All of families including me enjoyed dinner together with small talks. We always talk about our grateful things of the day. Everybody hears me when I spoke, and of course, vice versa.

 

After dinner, three little children ran into my room and climbed up on my cozy bed. I taught them origami and they loved it. They called me 'origami teacher', and I called them as 'my little student'. Those three cute angel threw their head back and guffawed when they succeeded making origami. However, their happy time couldn't last for a long time since they need to go to bed. They left my room around 8'o clock every day. After they left, there always remained a sound of children's happy laughing and a delicious smell of Sue's cook in my cozy room which is unforgettable.

 

Kye-yong Lee / Chapter 4 Final Draft / Narrative Composition / Tuesday 11am

In This Green Place

Do you believe destiny? Unlike the past, now I have become strongly convinced of the concept of destiny, of being destined to meet someone. Looking back on the moment, I still feel like it has not sunk in yet. Still, I cannot believe how this incredibly wonderful thing has happened to me. I did not believe the concept of destiny was a truth, until I met this particular woman. We were meant to meet at that place long ago. We are destined to be together, and fated to love each other. I met her quite fortuitously in an unexpected place, a place far away from my homeland, very nearly on the opposite side of the Earth. I can remember the day I arrived there. As I am sitting in the van with all of my belongings, we pull up through the front gate and I get out to look at the campus around me.

It is a brightly shiny and sunny day, with such a clearly deep azure sky. The rustic and verdant nature-friendly campus is completely bathed in the dazzlingly brilliant daylight in Vermont. I find my room and unpack, and leave to explore the campus. Imbued with the blue sky, I merrily head to the school cafeteria building. On my way, I enjoy smelling the fragrant floral aroma on the soft breeze. On each side, thick and towering maple trees are looking down at me shaking their arms as if saying hello to me. A happy and agile squirrel is running about on the grass next to me, skittering up trees and down again.

I see over by the neighboring building a very tall and lanky, bare-chested man skateboarding by the front door. He is wearing a white MLB cap backwards and black loose-fitting shorts, concentrating on his skateboard tricks. Behind him there is a man wearing an olive-green cowboy hat and bottle-green easy-fitting pants playing a djembe, while a hippie style woman is playing guitar next to him. The exhilarating sounds resonate into the sky all throughout the campus. Meanwhile, some groups of students are playing lacrosse on my right in the grass. I can hear their ragged, heavy breathing sounds so vividly that I feel as if they are playing the game right next to me.

Now, I am reaching the main front door of the cafeteria. I smell freshly baked bread and a sweetened nutty smell. I open the pure white door and walk inside. I meet the other Korean student at the school who is also there with me on exchange, and she tells me there is to be a special dinner for international students. Anxiously we search the building for the place where this special dinner is to be. We go downstairs, and walk down the hall to our right. A portion of the hallway heads down to security and the cafeteria offices. Another portion goes to several empty meeting rooms. We find another stairwell and head back upstairs, and there we find a familiar face. He starts to describe how we can find it, something about upstairs. He says it's in the building but upstairs, and starts to point to the stairs we should take. As he points, he sees someone who is familiar and calls her over to us. As I look, I see her. She has blonde, curly hair that is a little wieldy. She is wearing a white shirt and shorts and sandals. She has on red glasses. When she looks over to where we are she smiles so brightly, and it is then that my eyes lock with hers. I recall seeing her before in the hallway downstairs. She is traveling with another girl, who is also blonde but very tall and skinny. When our eyes meet it feels like an ordinary moment, and yet a special one all at once. She smiles at me, yet I do not know if I am smiling back. I take a breath and manage to smile back at her. The man who was trying to help us before talks to her, and asks her if she could take us to the dinner. She agrees happily, and he introduces her.

Afterwards it is like a cloud, floating across the front entrance and lounge towards the staircase. As we walk she talks to me, asks me questions about where I am from and how long I have been on campus and if I like it. Some things I don't understand, but I smile at her and answer as best as I can. She is kind, and never stops smiling. We climb the stairs to the second floor, and she says "It is just through the door here." We walk through the doorway and only a few students are present. It started earlier and most of the food has already been eaten, but there is still some left. The four of us got some food and sat at a table. She asks me about my country, and about my interests. Her roommate asks me and the other Korean exchange student about Korean dramas, as she is very interested in them. She mentions that they have just started watching a historical drama about the first queen of Korea, and I am familiar with the drama although I have not seen it. I tell them that, and they invite both me and the other Korean exchange student to their room so that we can watch it together.

It was with that invitation that Sydney and I came to know each other and become friends, and eventually discover our love for one another. It is since this time that we have stayed together, and we strongly believe that it is our fate to meet in this green place.

Shim Ho Seob/Chapter 4 Essay Final draft/Narrative composition Tue 34

My secret room in Social-science building

 

 

I will talk about my club room. I am belong to a dance club in our school which name is JANE. The club room of JANE is a very precious place for our club members. At there, we practice individually, chat, sleep at a sofa in the room, study at a table when it's a test period, and even order and eat Chinese foods.

 

It's located at the underground of Social-science building. Club rooms are gathered in the floor and our club room is next to Hufs Dovy (Hip hop club) room. The floor's atmosphere is kind of damp and dark because only clubs members pass by there. Many delivery foods advertisement flyers are attached in front of our club room. And each club room has it's own electric door lock. So the outside of the room feels like a corridor of old apartment.

 

Inside of the room is very bright contrast to the dark outside. And the size of the room is about 2/3 of Narrative composition classroom. One side of the room is filled with full-length mirror for dance practice. The mirror reflects people's body quite slender. So many people take selfies using the mirror. There's a sofa next to the room. It's a black and flat and about 6 feet long sofa. It has a bunch of club jackets and other clothes of members on there. Many people use the sofa to take a nap putting the pile of clothes aside. The room has small windows for ventilation. But they are necessary evils because people can watch inside of the room from outside if they bend their body low.

 

The room gives club members cozy feeling because it reminds us of a high school class room. It smells little musty because we occasionally cleans the room. When it's summer it's cool but when it's winter time it's quite cold because it is located in semi-basement. It has book shelves filled with many major books and also has lockers which look just same what I used in high school. Light of the room is very bright if we turn on all light switches. The room itself is quite well organized because there are some members who lead arranging things in the room and also, the number of girls is much more than the boy's.

 

Lim Jung-Yun/ Chapter 4 essay final draft/ Narrative Composition Tue 3 4

My British Silver Lining

 

 In my Junior year, I spent a semester abroad in the UK as an exchange student. My fantasies of a promising semester filled with exciting opportunities of parties, making friends with British students, and studying outside on campus grounds was thwarted quickly. The ghastly weather and crushing work load was tough but not enough to crush my spirits. What tormented me the most was the racist behavior of the fellow students.  A few incidents involving racial slurs and a water balloon that was aimed and hit right at me was enough to make me fed up with the entire "British Experience".

 When times got hard, I locked myself into my dorm room which I had all to myself. It was a tiny room but it wasn't a shabby one. In fact, the small size of the room along with the earthy colors of the  green bed covers and beige wallpaper gave a feeling of coziness and warmth. It had all the things I needed, a bed, a desk, and even a bathroom with a shower. When I was feeling low, I spent the weekends in my room crying through my days in Britain. After finishing classes, I would run back to my dorm room with bags of chips and drown them down with beer while watching soap operas on my laptop. I admit, it was quite a low point in my life, but the fact that I always had a place where I could be all by myself free from the taunts and hurtful remarks of the foreign country I was stuck in somehow always comforted me.

 After a while, I bonded with two other Korean friends who were also exchange students. They too were also struggling with the gap between the exchange student life they expected and actual reality. It became a nightly ritual for the three of us to gather and talk about our day. Just being able to about the hardships of the day was a relief. We could not bear to talk about our day-to-day struggle with our parents who would be worried sick, or to our friends back in Korea who expected to hear marvelous tales of a romantic semester abroad. But nothing was off-limits with the three of us. We got really close in such a short span of time and soon we were inseparable.  As my room was the biggest, we almost always met at my room. We would talk, cry, but mostly laughed till our sides ached. Then we would all fall asleep on my bed which was crowded, but no one would let each other sleep on the floor. I no longer spent my days in my room feeling lonely and alone.

 My time in Britain was awful and terrible but I do not regret it. The two girls who helped me through such a hard time are still my best friends till this day and I am thankful to have met them every day. The tiny room with the green bed covers and beige wallpaper with a shower has a fond place in my heart. It is a place that comforted me when I had no one, and later on it became a place that helped me bond with two of the most important people in my life. 

 

Park Heewon/ Chapter 4 essay final draft/ Narrative Composition Tue 3 4

 

 

 

Unforgettable place in my life

House is more than just where you live. It is where you mostly spend your time and relaxed yourself. Therefore, it can make a huge difference to your days and has a great meaning to one's life. Due to this, the first thing popped in my head was Vantaggio apartment when I thought about a special place in my life. This was where I lived for a while when I lived in San Francisco. I had never lived alone and separated from my parents before so everything was new to me and I fell in love with my first apartment as soon as I reached and looked around there. I had many good memories in this place and that's why it's still in my head vividly.

I do remember every small detail about this wonderful place. First of all, it was one of the most high-rise apartments in San Francisco which has 24 floors. Though there were tons of homeless people on the streets in the city where I lived, I felt safe because of the security system of my apartment. Inside the apartment, there were many staffs and security guards who were so kind that always smiled and had a small talk with the residents. In the lobby, one of the staffs whose name was Sergio always said hello to me and asked about my day whenever I entered the apartment after school. I liked the fact that there was someone welcomed me when I came back to my place.

My room was on the fourth floor and I could directly see my room as soon as I got off from the elevator. In my house, the wall was white-colored which made me feel calm whenever I looked at it and the carpet on the floor was dark-red color. I preferred bright lightning so there were many standing lights in my room and the first thing that I did after coming back to home was turning all the lights on. The thing that I loved most in my room was many big windows. Through those windows, I could see all the beautiful views in San Francisco. Even I could see the Golden Gate Bridge in my bedroom. How cool it was! Thanks to the amazingly fantastic night-view, just seating near the window and looking down the whole city with drinking beer was my favorite thing of entire day.

In every morning, when alarm clock rang noisy and sun shined brightly, I woke up. All the residents in the apartment could enjoy coffee or some bread in the kitchen located next to the lobby on the first floor. Though I was not a morning person, sweet smell of bread and coffee made my eyes opened automatically at every 7 am. While I was waiting for an elevator, a friend of mine who lived next to my house whose name was John said always hello to me with big smile. We talked for a while and used to enjoy coffee together. Some of my school friends lived there too so we used to go to school together.

What I also loved about my apartment was the neighborhood. Since it was located at the center of the downtown, many famous cuisines, casual restaurants and bars were near my house. I was a total foodie so it definitely made my life better. Even it was only a ten-minute walk to any of them. I liked to try new places every day and it was also one of my enjoyments in San Francisco. There were also a famous Korean restaurant right next to my apartment whose name was Ninja and I was one of their patrons.

My apartment always made me refreshed in many ways and I felt cozy in that place. Thanks to this fantastic place, I could adjust to my new environment very well and made me love the city more. I earned many special memories in there and I still miss those moments a lot.

 

Park Shinyoung / Ch 4 Essay Final Draft / Tue 3 4

CAUGHT IN A TRAP

When I failed the university admission test, I decided to study again in Noryangjin. Noryangjin is originally famous for a huge fish market. But, it is also well-known for people who prepare for tests. Regardless of what kinds of test they prepare for, almost all kinds of academies stand close together. In 2007, I lost contact with all friends and families, and studied at one of academies in Noryangjin. I almost didn't say anything and only focused on what I should do as a test-taker. When I felt tired and alone, I just wandered around Noryangjin. I kept walking without thinking anything. Such a time of meandering was my only recess.

   On November of the year, I took the test again. But, the result was miserable. I failed to enter the university that I wanted. I hated myself too much and felt regret about the year that I had poured myself into studying. I became to think of Noryangjin as the tragic place. Afterwards, I had never been there in order to block out the memory of studying in Noryangjin. For a long time, I had fallen into a sense of frustration.

Last year, I failed to enter some companies that I wanted. I passed all phases of the hiring process but failed the final interviews. I thought that my life was a succession of failures. I decided to change my career. I chose to be public servant just because a job interview is not important too much in the field of the job. I tried to study by myself, and I did so for half a month. But, I felt uneasy in my mind since I wanted to review what I had studied. So, I went to Noryangjin in order to take the final review lecture.

 Even though it has been eight years since I didn't go there, it didn't seem unfamiliar at all. Almost everything hasn't been changed. I felt as if I was caught in a trap again over eight years. As I did so eight years ago, I was absorbed in studying. I disconnect all contacts with people. I felt that I was left behind people my age. Many people my age succeed in achieving their goals. But, I stayed in place and was running in circles for the most of my twenties. I really want to cast off the shackles of my life spent in Noryanigjin. But, I think it seems to be difficult unless I get the job.