Below are photos of the Korean boy band - 'U-Kiss'. You can either say that they are "잘 생긴다" or "귀업다".
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
걸 그룹
Below are photos of the Korean girl group - 'Kara'. I believe guys will only have one word to describe them and that is "예쁘다".
You know when you say Korean girls are pretty, you can get sweeping feedback like, "Oh, they all had plastic surgery." -_-
Photos of popular boy band and hip-hop group coming up soon.
You know when you say Korean girls are pretty, you can get sweeping feedback like, "Oh, they all had plastic surgery." -_-
Photos of popular boy band and hip-hop group coming up soon.
가장 좋은 반 사진
After going through many class photos, I have concluded that the best place to take class photo in KHU is at the left stone lion in front of the main admin building (see photo above). By the way, the photo is not my class photo. It belongs to Class 14 of Winter 2008.Thursday, November 19, 2009
사랑이 뭐 길래?
I used to have an American classmate. He was funny. He cracked jokes, did 'silly' (in the funny sense) things which contributed to making our class's atmosphere lively. I believe this has something to do with his social circle; he befriended many Korea's well-known gag men (comedians). He probably has more Korean friends than American friends and among them, the most famous has got to be the Korean singer - 이승철.
While he may come across as a joyous person, his life story will tell you otherwise. He did not love his mother as a child because he hated her for choosing to divorce his father and then leaving him and his siblings in the care of his grandmother to work somewhere else. He related this story of his in his poignant speech, titled "조건 없는 사랑" (unconditional love) during the 12th WKLSCFF held in KHU on May 15 this year.
If you can understand his speech which he had made into a video, you will probably understand why the judges had selected him to be one of the 20 finalists from among 1,100 applicants. The most important point in his speech is perhaps what we would call the greatest love in this world - sacrifice. In the context of his speech, it is the sacrifice which every mother would make for their children. It was only after he understood the sacrifice which his mother made that he rediscovered his love for her. His speech was not just a tribute to his mother or grandmother but to all the mothers whom have made sacrifices without conditions or what he called "조건 없는 사랑".
My classmate's script was great but he forgotten his lines during the contest and was unplaced. We believed he had a good chance to come in top if he could deliver his speech fluently. We knew he had the ability to speak well but he just wasn't himself on the contest day. Despite that, we were still proud of him.
My American classmate delivering his speech on "unconditional love" during the 12th WKLSCFF held in KHU on May 15 this year. You will get to watch the background video behind him in full below.
This video was probably made about 3 weeks before the contest. It is about 3 minutes long because that is a contest's rule. Anyone who exceeds 3 minutes on the contest day would have their mic switched off.
This video was played in the background whilst he made his speech. He need not do this video since I don't think it gave him any additional points. But since it was done, it just only shows how much he feels about what he says. This video is his tribute to all the mothers in the world.
While he may come across as a joyous person, his life story will tell you otherwise. He did not love his mother as a child because he hated her for choosing to divorce his father and then leaving him and his siblings in the care of his grandmother to work somewhere else. He related this story of his in his poignant speech, titled "조건 없는 사랑" (unconditional love) during the 12th WKLSCFF held in KHU on May 15 this year.
If you can understand his speech which he had made into a video, you will probably understand why the judges had selected him to be one of the 20 finalists from among 1,100 applicants. The most important point in his speech is perhaps what we would call the greatest love in this world - sacrifice. In the context of his speech, it is the sacrifice which every mother would make for their children. It was only after he understood the sacrifice which his mother made that he rediscovered his love for her. His speech was not just a tribute to his mother or grandmother but to all the mothers whom have made sacrifices without conditions or what he called "조건 없는 사랑".
My classmate's script was great but he forgotten his lines during the contest and was unplaced. We believed he had a good chance to come in top if he could deliver his speech fluently. We knew he had the ability to speak well but he just wasn't himself on the contest day. Despite that, we were still proud of him.
My American classmate delivering his speech on "unconditional love" during the 12th WKLSCFF held in KHU on May 15 this year. You will get to watch the background video behind him in full below. This video was probably made about 3 weeks before the contest. It is about 3 minutes long because that is a contest's rule. Anyone who exceeds 3 minutes on the contest day would have their mic switched off.
This video was played in the background whilst he made his speech. He need not do this video since I don't think it gave him any additional points. But since it was done, it just only shows how much he feels about what he says. This video is his tribute to all the mothers in the world.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
사진을 살펴 보자
Sometimes, photos capture more details than you expect, just like the two below. With no disrespect to my classmates, I am not going to talk about them, at least for this post. I am more interested in what was written on the blackboard behind them.
The writings on the blackboard behind my Japanese classmate was written by my teacher. It says, a fine system is (officially) introduced on Jan 29 (2009), Thursday. Latecomer will be fined 1,000won and absentee 2,000won.
A few weeks after the system was implemented, our class's secretary collected enough money to buy pizza for everyone.
The writings on the blackboard behind my Chinese classmate are guidelines on how we should conduct our current affairs' presentation. First, we need to introduce our selected article to the class. Next, it will be article reading. After that, we have to summarise and explain the article briefly. We also need to explain difficult words (when required). Finally, we have to think about the problems and issues that are related to our article.
There was a lot of stress preparing for the presentation but it was worth my effort because I got an 'A' grade for it.
The writings on the blackboard behind my Japanese classmate was written by my teacher. It says, a fine system is (officially) introduced on Jan 29 (2009), Thursday. Latecomer will be fined 1,000won and absentee 2,000won. A few weeks after the system was implemented, our class's secretary collected enough money to buy pizza for everyone.
The writings on the blackboard behind my Chinese classmate are guidelines on how we should conduct our current affairs' presentation. First, we need to introduce our selected article to the class. Next, it will be article reading. After that, we have to summarise and explain the article briefly. We also need to explain difficult words (when required). Finally, we have to think about the problems and issues that are related to our article. There was a lot of stress preparing for the presentation but it was worth my effort because I got an 'A' grade for it.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
겨울이니 안아줘
Pictures taken in winter exude an indescribable warmth. Perhaps, it is the thick warm winter clothings or perhaps, we tend to keep closer to one another. Whatever it is, the colder it gets, the better I can feel the warmth of hearts.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
수능날
Today is Korea's college entrance exam day. This reminds me of an interview which I had with my dowoomi (foreign student's helper) on the Korea's education system in May. It was a class project given by my teacher. The purpose of the interview was to put our Korean language to practical use whilst learning more about Korean's culture and life from native Korean.
On the day of interview, I had lunch with my dowoomi at the Kyunghee's most famous omurice house. Then, she showed me the way to the student's cafeteria at the basement of the College of Hotel and Tourism Management (her college) where I bought an iced mocha for only 1,500won. I have yet to find another place selling such cheap mocha. Holding our coffee, we found an empty bench in front of the college where we sat to have our interview. It was late Spring but the afternoon weather was still quite cooling.
After the interview, I made a presentation in class and below is my presentation notes.
Interviewee
My interviewee is 24 years old, a 4th year student at the College of Hotel and Tourism Management. She majors in Hotel Management and Japanese Language. She is currently living in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, with her parents and elder sister. Her parents are both teachers while her elder sister is a doctor and also a graduate of the Korea University.
How do I know my interviewee?
We first met in 2006. Back then, I was at KHU for a specially-arranged 1-week immersion programme and she was assigned as my substitute dowoomi after my initial dowoomi 'vanished mysteriously' after only one meeting. We have since kept in contact, although, not regularly. Frankly speaking, it is hard to find a dowoomi who will become your friend eventually. I heard many people crying out that it is very difficult to meet their assigned dowoomi, not to mention, having them as friend. I consider myself fortunate.
About the Interview
The interview was conducted on May 27, 2009 (Wednesday), in front of the College of Hotel and Tourism Management. The interview took about 1 hour and the atmosphere was comfortable and relax. The interviewee's attitude was positive and helpful. I chose the Korea's Education System as the subject for my interview. I was interested in understanding the study stress which the Korean students are experiencing, their college entrance examination's culture and why they don't seem to do well for English despite spending a lot of money on English education.
Korea's Education System
All Koreans have to undergo 9 years of compulsory education which comprises 6-year elementary school and 3 year middle school. High school education is 3 years long and on the third year, everyone will have to sit for the college entrance exam which usually occurs in November. Based on the exam results, students will then choose their college. About 90% of each cohort undergoes college education which lasts for 4 years long. With many graduates walking around, getting a Masters is not something that is nice to have, but, more like a necessity to differentiate oneself from the rest.
High School Student's Weekday Schedule
High School is the most stressful period for Korean students because of the need to prepare for the college entrance exam. A typical High School student will attend school from 8:30am to 4:30pm. After school, there will be a short break before going to tuition centre for their night lesson from 6pm to 11pm. However, night lesson after 10pm has been outlawed recently to protect students from excessive stress and school works. The law drew more flaks than applause from the public. There is serious concern that shortening of tuition hours will affect the preparation for the exam.
College Entrance Exam
The college entrance exam normally takes place in November on the 3rd and the last year of high school. The exam subjects include Korean language, English language, Mathematics, Science and Sociology. The total exam time is 6.5 hours which is almost a day.
On the exam day, apart from anxious parents, it is a tradition for juniors to assemble outside the exam centres to give support to their seniors. They will normally carry banners and placards, cheering their seniors on as they make their way to the exam hall. They will also prepare chocolate and coffee for their seniors. It was said that chocolate is good brain food which can help the brain to think better while the coffee keeps the mind awakes despite a long day.
English Language Education
For a long time, Korean students only started learning English from middle school onwards. It was said that English lessons start from elementary school these days. Students who score 850 or more for TOEIC will only take one semester of English in college while the rest will be required to take two semesters.
There are 3 reasons why Koreans are not mastering the English language well. First, the English grammars are quite different from Korean grammars. Second, students are never required to write in English. Third, all English teachers are native Koreans who may not be good in speaking or writing in English.
On the day of interview, I had lunch with my dowoomi at the Kyunghee's most famous omurice house. Then, she showed me the way to the student's cafeteria at the basement of the College of Hotel and Tourism Management (her college) where I bought an iced mocha for only 1,500won. I have yet to find another place selling such cheap mocha. Holding our coffee, we found an empty bench in front of the college where we sat to have our interview. It was late Spring but the afternoon weather was still quite cooling.
After the interview, I made a presentation in class and below is my presentation notes.
Interviewee
My interviewee is 24 years old, a 4th year student at the College of Hotel and Tourism Management. She majors in Hotel Management and Japanese Language. She is currently living in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, with her parents and elder sister. Her parents are both teachers while her elder sister is a doctor and also a graduate of the Korea University.
How do I know my interviewee?
We first met in 2006. Back then, I was at KHU for a specially-arranged 1-week immersion programme and she was assigned as my substitute dowoomi after my initial dowoomi 'vanished mysteriously' after only one meeting. We have since kept in contact, although, not regularly. Frankly speaking, it is hard to find a dowoomi who will become your friend eventually. I heard many people crying out that it is very difficult to meet their assigned dowoomi, not to mention, having them as friend. I consider myself fortunate.
About the Interview
The interview was conducted on May 27, 2009 (Wednesday), in front of the College of Hotel and Tourism Management. The interview took about 1 hour and the atmosphere was comfortable and relax. The interviewee's attitude was positive and helpful. I chose the Korea's Education System as the subject for my interview. I was interested in understanding the study stress which the Korean students are experiencing, their college entrance examination's culture and why they don't seem to do well for English despite spending a lot of money on English education.
Korea's Education System
All Koreans have to undergo 9 years of compulsory education which comprises 6-year elementary school and 3 year middle school. High school education is 3 years long and on the third year, everyone will have to sit for the college entrance exam which usually occurs in November. Based on the exam results, students will then choose their college. About 90% of each cohort undergoes college education which lasts for 4 years long. With many graduates walking around, getting a Masters is not something that is nice to have, but, more like a necessity to differentiate oneself from the rest.
High School Student's Weekday Schedule
High School is the most stressful period for Korean students because of the need to prepare for the college entrance exam. A typical High School student will attend school from 8:30am to 4:30pm. After school, there will be a short break before going to tuition centre for their night lesson from 6pm to 11pm. However, night lesson after 10pm has been outlawed recently to protect students from excessive stress and school works. The law drew more flaks than applause from the public. There is serious concern that shortening of tuition hours will affect the preparation for the exam. College Entrance ExamThe college entrance exam normally takes place in November on the 3rd and the last year of high school. The exam subjects include Korean language, English language, Mathematics, Science and Sociology. The total exam time is 6.5 hours which is almost a day.
On the exam day, apart from anxious parents, it is a tradition for juniors to assemble outside the exam centres to give support to their seniors. They will normally carry banners and placards, cheering their seniors on as they make their way to the exam hall. They will also prepare chocolate and coffee for their seniors. It was said that chocolate is good brain food which can help the brain to think better while the coffee keeps the mind awakes despite a long day.
English Language Education
For a long time, Korean students only started learning English from middle school onwards. It was said that English lessons start from elementary school these days. Students who score 850 or more for TOEIC will only take one semester of English in college while the rest will be required to take two semesters.
There are 3 reasons why Koreans are not mastering the English language well. First, the English grammars are quite different from Korean grammars. Second, students are never required to write in English. Third, all English teachers are native Koreans who may not be good in speaking or writing in English.
