Final Reflections

1. I think my writing has improved. First of all, I did not have any oppurtunity to write something in English before this class. During this semester I wrote many writings of various types from simple writes to essays. I think I need to improve skills of writing logical structure.


2. I think my reading skills have improved through this semester. We handled various topics thus I got to know a wide vocabulary and expressions. We practiced to find topic sentences and thesis statements in writes thus I can recognize the write more correctly.


3. During this class many things has improved. One of the most outstanding thing is confidence. We discussed with others many times during this semester. I got used to explain my opinion and listen to other's opinion. To improve my English more, I will read again our textbook during this vacation. It contains many valuable informations.


4. At the first time, it was unfamiliar to me to use blogs for the class. Over time, I thought blog is very useful tool for our class. It is easy to write, easy to read and share opinions with other's writes. Reading classmates' blogs were very interesting. There were various opinions and ideas within same topics. I would continue blogging for write skills.


5. I learned so my things during this semester. It was a very useful class. If I could learn more, I want to practice more about what we learned-skills about reading and writing-in this semester.


6. There was no worst aspect of this class. Even though there was a little bit hardship because of progess:) it was very valuable class, sincerely. I would recommend this class to my friends.


7. I was so happy to meet you all. It was so interesting to share opinions with classmates and contents of the class was also great. Thank you Kyle, and everyone! Have a nice vacation and see you next time!

Essay #2-rewrites

Bona Kim

Prof. Kyle Brebner

IERW (03)

26 November 2015

The Reason All-girls Schools Should Continue To Exist

     Have you ever wondered about why single-sex schools exist? Especially there are many all-girls schools worldwide on nowadays. Some people say coeducation schools are better than   all-girls schools thus there is no more need for all-girls schools. However, even though coeducation schools have some strong points all-girls schools also have their own merit and the significance of existence. All-girls schools should continue to exist because they can alleviate sexual discrimination, nurture talented women more effectively, and there are valuable history of each schools.

      First of all, all-girls schools should remain to alleviate sexual discrimination because there is still male-dominated structure in our society. We need to understand clearly why girls’ schools exist. Girls’ schools were established to equalize educational opportunities. Girls’ schools were intended for girls who did not have enough chance for education compared to boys. While some people say there may be no discrimination of women anymore, many study results show that our society is still male-oriented. For example, according to World Economic Forum report “The Global Gender Gap Report 2015” Korea’s women educational attainment was 102^nd, wage differential was 116^th, and ranked 115^th overall of 145coutries. Since our society still maintains inequality like this, girls’ schools should be maintained to alleviate this inequality by educating women.

      Another reason that all-girls schools should continue to exist is girls’ schools can train women who have differentiated talent. All-girls schools have distinct feature of education. They try to maximize women’s strengths so customized learning that fits in with women’s feature is available. For example, Sungshin Women’s University has various expert job assistance programs for fields which women chiefly adopted such as professional secretary and stewardess. Also they have many programs named ‘woman-leadership’. Thus students can gain various worthy learning at their school. It will be hard to plan woman-oriented programs at coeducation schools because of issue of equality. In girls’ school, all members are women so they can experience various roles without consideration of gender role. Such as carrying luggage and stage installation, which mostly man-doing hard works are all done by women at all-girls schools. Also at coeducation schools men get roles of leader substantially but at all-girls schools everyone can get important roles. It helps to develop their independence and autonomy. Students become confident and talented women through those courses.

      Finally, all-girls schools should be maintained because they had a firm purpose of the establishment and their own history. Even though some people say all-girls schools might change into coeducation school, all-girls schools’ members still have their identity and pride of history. For instance, Sungshin Women’s University was tried to discussed changing the school name into “Sungshin University” in 2010. It seemed like the school was trying to change into a coeducation school, but graduates and students were absolutely opposed to that argument to protect their identity and history. Eventually the discussion came to naught. Most all-girls schools were established when the environment of absence of women’s rights. Thus their educational and cultural history is focused on women and their eventual purpose which has come from the start of schools is education for women. Girls’ schools should continue to educate talented women for the purpose of the establishment-training talented women without discrimination-and keeping their proud history of educational institutions of women.

      Over time, all-girls schools faced too many difficulties. Even though some people say there is no more need for women’s schools they clearly have many valuable abilities of women’s education. All-girls schools must remain and keep a long-last school brand and their private identity. They obviously will do a great job in developing excellent women thus it would connected to development of our society.

#7 Languages

     Speaking many languages became important in today's age of globalization. Some people say Korea need to use another official language to have advantage over the other countries. However, Korea should not have any other official language because it is unnecessary, brings enormous expense, harms culture and history.

     Korea does not need another official language because they has own language and type generally used in Korea. While some people may say counrtys that have more than one official language got economic benefits, Korea should use only one official language. The dictionary definition of official language is the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools and used in the courts of law. In Korea, all of people use Korean for their communication, education and everywhere. A country which uses several different languages might need to use more than one of official language. But Korea does not need any more official language because they have their general used language.

     Another reason Korea should not have any other official language is choosing another official language causes enormous economic cost and time. While some people may think choosing another official language can improve people's ability at another language and it could connect to economic beneficial, it should cost more in the long run than economic development. For example, Japan tried to adopt another official language but they withdrawn that agenda after analysis about economic costs. Adopting another official language is not simple. We should keep one official language like now rather than choosing another language.

     Finally, Korea should have just one official language because a country's language contains own culture and history must not destroyed. Korea has own historical language, Hangeul. It does not mean only a language but also contains Korea's own history and spirit. Hangeul also contains many cultural elements. It can connects Koreans together just they uses Hangeul. Choosing another official language should harm this cultural and historical environment, thus Korea must not have any other official language.

     The fact that choosing another official language is needless, expensive and it hurts culture and history show that we do not have to consider about another official language. Korea does not need to choose any other official language thus other languages have well educated would suffice.

#6 Innovation

  What innovation do you think that has had biggest impact on you? Certainly one of them might be 'Smart Phone'. The first smart phone named Simon was invented by IBM in 1992. It had calendar, address books, calculator, notepad, fax features and had on-screen keyboard that can input text to make a phone instead of press the button. It also had touch screens for exploring. Since then smart phone not only had changed the meaning of phone, but also had has bring enormous changes in daily life of people all over the world.


  Smart phone is a great innovation because it removed boundary between cellular phone and computer. Could people imagine surfing internet by phone decades ago? But we can do it now. We search information, shop things, send e-mail by using internet in our smart phone. We can save our data in the smart phone like as computer too.


   Smart phone is an important invention because it has become an essential component in our daily life. Nowadays we will feel hard to imagine life without smart phone. Almost everything we need in our daily life is done by smart phone. We use smart phone to watch TV, take photos and listen music and even if for banking service. Everything can be done with this one device. Smart phone is like our secretary too. It manages our schedule, give us wake-up call, make a note and even analyze our sleep cycles such as a secretary.


  Smart phone has become an indispensable part of our lives. It is like a personal portable computer. New devices and remarkable functions released everyday. In future, the use of smart phone will become larger at the part that we cannot imagine now.

Essay #1- Rewrite

Bona Kim


Prof. Kyle Brebner


IERW(03)


11 November 2015

 

 Between Despair and Hope - Frida Kahlo

 

    Frida Kahlo was born with despair but sublimated the pain into art. Considered one of Mexico’s greatest artists, Frida Kahlo had suffered many privations through life. She had several serious injuries and they influenced not only to her life, but also to her world of art. Most of her paintings are self-portraits because she tried to observe and express the hurt inner side by paints. Even if Kahlo suffered she did not only despondent of her destiny but also had strong will to live. The Wounded Deer (1946) is one of Kahlo’s works that shows Kahlo’s inner side clearly. The paint expressed her severe pain through various descriptions. But inside there she included symbols of hope and will thus give us positive messages. The reason that the paint is impressive is it gives us both of sympathy of pain and consolation.


 

The Wounded Deer (1946)

 

 

    The Wounded Deer was created when Kahlo had intense deterioration of her health. There is a young deer with the head of Kahlo. The deer seems to mean herself. The deer is alone at the forest fatally wounded by arrows. The background is dead trees and broken branches. Far away is storm and thunder over the sea. All of conditions seem hopeless and pessimistic. Kahlo tried to describe conditions surrounded her by that paint. In 1946 Kahlo had on operation on her spine. She hoped her spine gets better with the surgery but it was unsuccessful. Kahlo suffered both the physical pain and emotional depression. Her suffered heart and fear revealed through that deer. Arrows that penetrated deer’s body and made it bleeding means Kahlo’s intense pain. She was certainly frightened and desperate as the deer. 

 

    Although the painting looks like of described sadness, there seem some hopeful and willed symbolic representations that looks like try to show us there still exists hope. First of all, Kahlo’s eyes are still sharp sighted even though she is bleeding. It seems like she tells she is terribly suffering but she will never give up her live and endure all hardships. Second thing is storm and thunder over the blue sea. It looks like another trouble is coming but at the same time can mean they brings some big positive change that she did not noticed yet.


    The reason ‘The Wounded Deer’ appealing is it makes us sympathize about the sadness but also makes feel hope inside that. Because of her physical and emotional suffering, Kahlo used to observe her own inner side mentality by mirror and express it through the paints. ‘The Wounded Deer’ appears just describe her pain and sadness but look in detail soon can find her strong will and hope. It teaches what is the real suffer means to people who are accustomed to feel like painful. Most people tend to give up everything when they are faced to insuperable problem. But in this paint, even though all of the hardships surrounded her, the deer keeps a stiff upper lip. Even she seems to can overcome conditions any minute. We can consoled by this paint as comparing our sadness with Kahlo’s. Are you oppressed with sadness? Are you under suffering now? See that deer and think you could overcome all the hard conditions surround you. It will surely heal and encourage you.

 

 

Reference

Photo : ‘The Wounded Deer’ from Google

Frida Kahlo : from Naver Encyclopedia

 

 

#5 Reducing Garbage: The Effective Solution for Ensuring a Sustainable Future

     Our various lives in affluent society leave huge amounts of trash. The abundance of everything leads to increase of waste. Too much waste has become a severe threat to our sustainable future. Dumping of wastes causes two serious problems to our environment: soil pollution and water pollution. But we can bring about significant change by our small daily habits. Reducing garbage can prevent these harmful results. Reducing garbage is one of the easiest and most effective things we can do for sustainable future.

 

     The first effect of reducing garbage is making less pollution of soil. Soil pollution may not sound serious, but it is one of most terrible pollution of modern society. We produced large amounts of trash every day. Most of this trash had been buried in landfill. Although soil has purification ability by itself, huge amounts of trash exceeded soil’s capacity thus it makes vicious circle of pollution. We just need little efforts in daily life to reducing garbage. Such as reducing use of disposable product, using less paper and separating the recyclables from the garbage can make soil pollution become less and less.

 

     Reducing garbage is beneficial to water environment too. About 70% of water pollution is caused by everyday wastes. The biggest cause of water pollution in our daily life is producing of food waste. The landfills in many cities are already full so we had been dumped our food waste at sea because it costs just 1/10 than disposal cost over the ground. But it caused serious harmful effect to water environment. Conditions look like so terrible but we just need to produce less food waste to save water environment. It is not hard to do but effective.


     Reducing garbage could be an effective solution for our sustainable future. It makes soil and water―part of our most important resource―safely. Additionally reducing garbage can bring enormous economic benefits. The cost of the refuse disposal of the world is astronomical day after day. If we try to reduce waste together we can get not only economic benefits but also our sustainable future. It is most useful and simple method to ensure sustainable future.

#4 Notting Hill, a place of destiny

  In some movies, the location is very important element of the story. The location is base of story's progress. The movie Notting Hill is appropriate example. The story can not progressed without the specific place-Notting Hill-because all of main events of Notting Hill's sroty are happens at Notting Hill.

  Notting Hill give chances to characters meet and make relationship in the movie. Anna, the world's best liked actress travels London and drop by William's travel bookshop in Notting Hill. After minutes, they collide in the street and William spills his orange juice on Anna's clothes. William invites Anna to his home for change clothes and they have a good feeling to each other. They keep meeting several times, but William get to know Anna has an American boyfriend. After few days Anna suddenly come to William's house at Notting Hill to hide out from the press. They have a wonderful time together but next morning Anna leaves William by misunderstanding. Notting Hill makes them meet again by Anna's return to make a film in Notting Hill. They repeat mistakes and misunderstandings but finally assure minds to each other.

  The end of the movie is also placed in Notting Hill. At the end of the movie, a pregnat Anna and William sat on a bench in Notting Hill. They settled at Notting Hill after marriage. They love this location because their precious memories are all begin with Notting Hill.

  Notting Hill is a connecting link to Anna and William through their accidental first encounter to happy ending. If Anna didn't travel Notting Hill, if her film made at another location, if William didn't live in Notting Hill then could they made the happy ending like now? They were estranged repeatedly but Notting Hill, the place of destiny finally made their love come true. Haven't you ever imagine a strange place leads you fall in destined love?