Huyoung Lee/Language Improvement/Tuesday 11 a.m.

1. Just as almost everybody would probably agree, endlessly struggling to change one's life without giving up looks greater than just giving up.

-> Just as almost everybody would probably agree, it looks greater to endlessly struggle to change one's life rather than giving up.

2. First she lived in a small house, but later, as she entered the middle school and her father was transferred to the same school, family moved to an official residence near the school.

-> As she entered middle school and her father was transferred to the same school, her family moved to an official residence around it.

3. She was fairly good at study that she almost always took 1st place in her class. What she was especially good at was English.

-> She did well in school that she almost always took 1st place in her class. She especially did an outstanding job in English.

4. Usually English teachers in Korea, especially if they're quite old, their pronunciation is not very good. And students who are quite interested in English and, do a good job in English, are also good at pronunciation.

-> English teachers in Korea, especially if they're quite old, usually have bad pronunciation. On the contrary, students who are quite interested in and good at English have good pronunciation. 

5. She didn't want to major it but her parents wanted her to be a teacher.

-> She hadn't meant to major in home economics and education but her parents, who wanted her to be a schoolteacher, had forced her to apply. 

6. She tried hard to recover her grade and newly get a good grade on other subjects.

-> She spent her second year trying hard to recover her grade and get good grades on other subjects, as well as preparing for the test needed for changing major.

7. She said she realized the greatness of poem and novels as she read a lot of them. 

-> Having read a lot of poems and novels, she realized how great they were.

Huyoung Lee/Oral History Final Draft/Tuesday 11 a.m.

A New Life

201102861 Huyoung Lee

Everybody might be living a tough life in this world. Some are struggling to somehow change their lives while the others are just giving up in the middle of their way. Just as almost everybody would probably agree, it looks greater to endlessly struggle to change one's life rather than giving up. I know someone who had an unsatisfactory life but struggled and finally grabbed a new life. "I failed, but because of that, never want to fail again," she says.

She was born in Wonju in Gangwon Province. Her father was a high school teacher and her mother was a housewife. She grew up as a member of middle-class family. She said her childhood was quite happy with her younger brother. They were living in a house with a little garden where her and her brother used to play together jumping and running.

As she became an elementary student, her family moved to Taebaek – not very far from Wonju. Her father was a schoolteacher which made them move when he was transferred to another school. She says she didn't like this very much because she had to adapt herself to a brand new life. She had to make new friends, find new places to play, familiarize herself with new neighborhood. "Maybe that's why I naturally started to develop social skills to get familiar with the people," she says. As she entered middle school and her father was transferred to the same school, her family moved to an official residence around it. She says life in Taebaek was not very exciting. Taebaek was a very small and underdeveloped city where there is nothing a teenage girl would be attracted to. And she didn't like the situation she was living in an official residence. The house was very small and old. What made her really hate the house was a snake. She went to the veranda to get something and then, saw a big snake coiled up there. Panicked, she immediately called her mother and she, as astonished as her, immediately called the 119. "I tried not to enter the veranda as possible as I can since then. I was so panicked." Also, she didn't like her father being a teacher of her school because almost everybody in school came to know her. She was a freshman and fortunately, she says, her father was teaching second and third year. However, every time she was going back her house, she heard some senior students yelling at the window, "Look! There goes his daughter!" And then some curious students come to the window and impishly waved their hands to attract her attention. She tried to ignore it but as it was repeated over and over, she got so tired. So she used to bend her body beside the wall and slowly walked so that she wouldn't be discovered.

She did well in school that she almost always took 1st place in her class. She especially did an outstanding job in English. She always got a top score. There is an interesting story. It was her first English class after having entered middle school. The new English teacher was an old woman. Teachers love to have their students read the textbook and she was not an exception. She called my friend's name from the attendance sheet and told her to read the book. Without hesitation she started to read out loud. Here comes the interesting point. English teachers in Korea, especially if they're quite old, usually have bad pronunciation. On the contrary, students who are quite interested in and good at English have good pronunciation. That was what made the students laugh. It was so obvious that the teacher's pronunciation was not very good and my friend's pronunciation was far much better than her. And it was obviously funny if you think about their position. The teacher too, of course, realized why the whole class was laughing, and her face turned red. "That's enough. You can sit down." She somehow tried to keep her dignity as a teacher and didn't say anything. But later she had to suffer from bad-tempered, deliberate hard works such as being asked very difficult questions which was obviously aimed at her.

She moved to Chuncheon, which is also located in Kangwon Province, at the end of her seventeenth year; her father was transferred to Chuncheon Vocational High School. She transferred to Chuncheon Girl's High School, which was undoubtedly the top among all the girl's high schools in Chuncheon. "That was quite a burden to me. Although I had always gotten good scores until then, it started to fall." She met the vice-principal and had a brief face-to-face talk to get an admission to the school. He looked through her report card and said, "You're not very good at math." She was very hurt by what he said. Her math score was relatively low compared to other subjects but it was, at least from her point of view, not very bad. "I thought this was going to be tough and that was right. There were a lot of smart students and it was quite difficult for me to catch up." Her school grades gradually went down and she was severely scolded by her parents. However, she didn't really try to recover her grades. "I was overwhelmed by all those brilliant students. I got frustrated and didn't think I could surpass them. In other words, I was almost giving up myself."

After having graduated high school, she entered the Department of Home Economics and Education in Kangwon National University. The result was not what she wanted but there was no choice; it was the only university that she got acceptance to among the three universities she had applied to. She hadn't meant to major in home economics and education but her parents, who wanted her to be a schoolteacher, had forced her to apply. She couldn't resist them because she felt guilty about her poor grade on Suneung, a college entrance exam. "It was ironic that I was majoring in home economics when I had gotten so poor grade on it during high school. And I was studying pedagogy when I hated schoolteachers. I never loved my major." In her freshman year, she somehow managed to maintain her school life. She was excited about a brand new college life just like other freshmen. She didn't really care about the grade. She often cut classes and failed the exams. She just spent the days as time goes by, working part-time and going out with guys. There was no reason to be enthusiastic – she hated her major, her department and her school. She didn't really think much about her life or future and she didn't want to. "I wanted to escape from the situation I was in. I had no confidence to face the reality – so I just ran away."

However, as she became a sophomore and got tired of repeated school life, a question arose to her: Am I doing right? "It occurred to me that I'd done nothing in the past freshman year." She wanted to study English. And she realized that her major couldn't help her. So she decided to change her major. It was a hard decision because there was a lot to do to cover her horrible grade. She spent her second year trying hard to recover her grade and get good grades on other subjects, as well as preparing for the test needed for changing major. She studied so hard that she became the top in her department and even got a scholarship from her department. At the end of the year, she applied to the Department of English and English Literature. Finally, she got passed. "It felt like the first triumph in my life," she says proudly.

She was happy that she could study English and English literature. As she loved English, everything was so fun and exciting. She neither cut classes nor failed in exams again. Now there was a reason to be enthusiastic because it was what she could enjoy. As she studied English literature, she became interested in literature. "It was quite surprising because I never enjoyed reading before. What I had read so far was just a few self-help books." Having read a lot of poems and novels, she realized how great they were. She was comforted by them whenever she lost her way or felt lonely, isolated and hurt. Having been deeply touched by the literature, she thought she would write one by herself. Despite her busy schedule, she wrote in her spare time and completed her first unofficial novel "The Letter B" Starting from that, she wrote a few more novels, poems, essays and freewritings. "I started to enjoy writing. That was a big change for me." She's now working on her graduation thesis which is dealing with English poets and their works. "I don't want it to be just a normal 'graduation thesis'. I want to put all my enthusiasm about literature, especially poems, in it so that I could proudly call it a 'masterpiece'." She says she wants to be a writer so that she could maintain her new life she grabbed. 

Ha Eun Park/ Improved Wriitng/ TUE 3-4

1.      In one of my class, I got the opportunity to get to know one person.

 

In one of my classes, we always have a group discussion. During the break we were talking among ourselves about our future plans and a girl said that she was going to Canada.

 

2.      I wanted to know more about her

 

Since the average age of marriage is late 20s and early 30s for most women, I was taken off guard by her answer. Although it was unusual, it was intriguing for me and I wanted know more about her love story.

 

3.      She said yes to the interview

Though she agreed to the interview, she seemed little nervous about what I was going to ask her. I offered we go to a coffee shop to talk more comfortably.

 

4.      She was born in Daegu and has lived in Suwon since elemantary school

I wanted to know whether she had any experience abroad during her adolescent period. Again, her answer surprised me. I imagined that her bold decision came out of her pass experience in another country but I was wrong. She was born in Dae-gu and had moved to Suwon for her elementary school and lived in Suwon since then.

 

5.      I asked how she met her husband

Since the first answer was not what I had expected I quickly moved on to the next question. "Where did you meet your husband and how long did you date your husband?"

Yoo Hongsang/ Final draft of Oral History/ Tue 11

My friend, giving up going to Samsung      Since I am a senior, I am seeking a job now. I decided to interview one of my friends, who is also preparing for getting a job. First, I made an appointment with him to interview him for the purpose of getting useful information in relation with job markets. We met in Jongak, and went into the restaurant nearby for lunch. After a meal, we went to a cafe for the real purpose of the meeting.     Since we are very close, I prepared for the list of questions in advance in order not to be distracted during the interview. First, I asked him about how many companies he applied for and how many he passed. He said that he applied for about 20 companies, among which he passed document screenings and the aptitude tests in 5 companies. He already went through interviews in some companies and now waits for the result. This is amazing because many other friends failed even in most of the document screening.     However, the most amazing thing was that he gave up the final interview of Samsung Electronics. Actually, he did an internship there during the summer vacation, and more than 50 percent of the interns are expected to be turned into the regular position, and all of those interns only have to take the final interview, not having to go through all screening process from the start. I asked him why he gave up on the interview.     He said, ''I want to balance between work and my private life. Samsung Electronics is surely a very good company, but many employees work overtime for the company's profit.''     I thought that it was such a difficult decision. I also inquired him about what his priority is in choosing the companies. He replied, ''I want to go to the company that guarantees the working years until the retirement age.''     It is getting more and more difficult to enter the big companies due to the bad economy. I think he is doing very well in spite of all the unfavorable conditions. I believe that he will be able to find the work where he will feel more satisfied than he would feel in Samsung.

Saewhan Park/ Tue11/ Oral History Final

Oral History

I have not had many opportunities to ask about lives of my father. I know he has always been around me and we talked a lot about a lot of things about my career and education. He has been my mentor and gave me advice whenever I had challenges and difficulties. I guess I was in the center of our talks and I don't recall asking him about his life. Maybe it's because I was too shy, but as I was supposed to conduct an interview for this writing assignment, I decided to go ask him about some questions I had never asked before.

One day, as our family sat around on a table for dinner, I started with a simple question.

"Dad, when did you decide to become a customs broker?"

My father has worked as a chairman of a customs company for more than 20 years. I knew that before he started his own business as a customs broker, he worked at the Incheon International Airport. Whenever someone arrives at the airport, one first checks their luggage. And then he/she goes through passport control. That's where my father worked. He passed one of the highest competitive public sector exams and could get a job in the airport.

"I first worked there and checked passports of travelers from other countries," said my father.

"And then I met your mother."

It was since then my father decided to study more and pass an exam to receive a certificate, allowing him to start his own business as a stock broker.

"I thought I wanted to challenge myself to become a somebody. And now I have my own company."

Then, I was curious how he studied for his exam. And then something came across my mind. I actually remember seeing him studying on a small table when I was a little kid!

"You were a little kid when I was preparing for my exam," said he. "It was a risky decision since I quit my job to study. Your mother supported me and cheered me up to not give up."

As I'm about to graduate from my university and planning to continue studying in graduate school, I thought for seconds how lucky I am. All this more than average living costs, my school's tuition fees and clothes, iPad, and other digital devices I'm now enjoying came from my father's hard work. I never had a chance to appreciate that. Great man, my father, and in the future I will be taking responsibility for my family as well.

Ha Eun Park/ Final Draft Oral History/ Tue 3-4

Early and Brave Decision

 

 

In one of my classes, we always have a group discussion. During the break we were talking among ourselves about our future plans and a girl said that she was going to Canada.  Whenever people tell me that they are going abroad, it always draws my attention. Although she seemed diffident and reserved I asked her anyway why she was going to Canada. Her answer was not at all what I had expected. She was married. Since the average age of marriage is late 20s and early 30s for most women, I was taken off guard by her answer. Although it was unusual, it was intriguing for me and I wanted know more about her love story.

I went up to her to ask whether she wanted to participate in an interview. Though she agreed to the interview, she seemed little nervous about what I was going to ask her. I offered we go to a coffee shop to talk more comfortably. After ordering a cup of coffee I started to ask questions about her childhood. I wanted to know whether she had any experience abroad during her adolescent period. Again, her answer surprised me. I imagined that her bold decision came out of her pass experience in another country but I was wrong. She was born in Dae-gu and had moved to Suwon for her elementary school and lived in Suwon since then.

Since the first answer was not what I had expected I quickly moved on to the next question. "Where did you meet your husband and how long did you date your husband?"  She started by telling me how she ended up in Canada. She always wanted to go abroad as an exchange student. At the end of sophomore year, she decided to go to Alberta, Canada as an exchange student. In the process of getting ready, she decided to also apply for "Working-Holiday" visa. "Working-Holiday" is a program run by the Korean government that allows you to go to countries such as Canada or Australia to work. The reason why people add the holiday at the end is because you can also travel during the weekends and holidays. So, when she realized that she was going to Canada, she decided to apply for this so that she could extend her stay at Canada.

When her exchange student program was over, she decided to go to Toronto to find a job for the "Working-Holiday". When she arrived in Toronto, she decided to go to a Korean people gathering that she found through Twitter.

"If you go to school, you get the opportunity to meet different kinds of people but, when you are working you don't get the same opportunity."

There she met her current husband. After couple of days she realized that she clicked really well with Phillip, who is her husband, and started dating after a month.

"I'm not the type of person who goes to these types of meetings and neither is my husband, so I think it is really surprising that we met through this meeting."

I was really curious about how she knew that Phillip was the person that she wanted marry. So, I asked what made him so special that made you say yes to being married. She told me with other people that she dated, there always was some sort of a misunderstanding, but with him it was easy for her to understand him.

When her visa ended her husband came to Korea with her in 2011 winter. Although her parents did not disapprove, she told me that her dad felt a little reluctant. In order to persuade them, Phillip stayed in Korea for about a year, talking to her parents about their future plans and convincing them that they have a solid plan. Phillip is 28 and he is currently working in Canada as a software engineer.

"Although it is not a lot of money, I think it is enough to get by."

She told me that she didn't have a wedding yet, but she plans on having one this year.

"It is difficult for me to prepare all the wedding details without having my husband in Korea." I encouraged her saying that she can do it.

I told her that her decision was very brave since it is not common for students to be married at a young age especially in Korea. I thought that her decision was very interesting since she was born and raised in Korea. Usually, for people who are born and raised in Korea, I found that they usually do not go against the norm. After talking to her I realized that she really pushed through with her decision because she believed in Phillip. I sincerely wish her the best of luck with her marriage. 

Chae Ji Young/ Improved language/ Tuesday 11 am

Chae Ji Young/ Improved language/ Tuesday 11 am   201004306  EIT   I met Hannah last year. --> I remember exactly how I felt when I first met Hannah last year.   She was not good at speaking Korean. --> I was impressed how passionate she was even though she had trouble communicating with members either in Korean or in English.   I could see what made her passionate. --> I learned one very important thing from Hannah. "Do what you love and keep working on it and your dreams will come true."   She seemed busy but happy. --> She seemed very busy but I could see her happy eyes with smile. She was doing what she wanted to, which made her passionate and happy.   I asked about her dream. --> When asked about her dream, she said that she wanted to go to graduate schools of Interpretation and Translation.