In this blog post, I will summarize my learning journey and personal growth, focusing on my activities in the high school law club and my experiences related to environmental disputes.
Experience and Learning
Academic Efforts
When I entered high school as the top-ranked student, I drew envy from those around me. This led me to become complacent about my grades, and I began to take exams lightly. I believed that I could do well on exams without studying diligently on a daily basis, and since I had already learned everything at cram schools, I didn’t need to pay close attention in class. Even when preparing for regular exams, I would cram haphazardly starting just a week before, and since I still received satisfactory grades, my arrogance only grew.
However, after the midterm exams in the first semester of my sophomore year of high school, I faced a crisis. I had crammed as usual and thought I had done well on the exam, but my school ranking dropped significantly. This was because my classmates had studied hard and spent their vacation more diligently than I had. So, I decided I needed to stop being complacent and study hard, and I began to take my classes more seriously.
I also broke the habit of relying on cram schools and tried to develop the habit of studying on my own through school classes and online lectures. In particular, during class, I developed the habit of keeping both my workbook and textbook open at the same time, comparing them with the teacher’s explanations to ensure I was studying the fundamental concepts thoroughly. As a result, by the time of the first-semester final exams, I was able to regain my original ranking. By sticking to the basics without cutting corners and reading the textbook content carefully, I found that many exam questions were drawn directly from it. When faced with difficult questions, rather than guessing based on intuition, I would think them through until the very last moment. I also double-checked what I already knew and tried to apply that knowledge to solve application-based problems. These efforts turned my mistakes into learning opportunities, and from then on, I avoided complacency and prioritized fundamentals in both regular exams and my preparation for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT).
Law Club Activities
My high school had a law club that was affiliated with external legal civic organizations, allowing us to engage in professional activities. I joined to gain relevant experience toward my goal of becoming a professional lawyer, and after joining, I studied extensively. The club assigned a senior mentor to each member to monitor our progress, and we could ask questions anytime about anything we didn’t understand or were curious about. As a freshman, I was worried about my lack of legal knowledge, and I was impressed by how my peers already had well-formed perspectives on current affairs and politics.
To avoid becoming a student with knowledge but lacking common sense, I began studying current affairs and was exposed to various newspapers and media outlets through club activities. In particular, I was able to improve rapidly by studying with others rather than alone. We formed groups of five, selected newspapers from both the conservative and progressive camps to read, and engaged in activities that went beyond simply understanding the content of the articles to analyzing the media’s reporting stance and editorial tone. By analyzing articles in groups, we practiced cultivating a critical perspective, and my habit of unconditionally accepting others’ opinions changed significantly.
When analyzing a topic, we started by summarizing the content of the articles. For example, when encountering an article on the Sewol Ferry Special Act, we briefly summarized articles from various newspapers to identify each media outlet’s perspective, and based on this, we evaluated which arguments were more valid. When assessing validity, we considered the arguments presented in current affairs commentaries, editorials, and columns, and consulted expert opinions. By studying each section of the newspaper analytically in this way, I gained a great deal of general knowledge.
After completing a certain amount of media analysis, I moved on to studying court rulings. The analysis of court rulings conducted through an NGO was a great help in building my general knowledge, and the rulings served as excellent learning materials, providing analytical data that revealed the factual circumstances of actual criminal and civil trials. I reviewed the validity of rulings by grasping their main points and analyzing the full text, and based on the knowledge I accumulated, I grew to the point where I could participate in a “Law in Daily Life” competition with my group members.
Mock Trials and Collaboration
Among my activities in the law club, the area I was particularly interested in was environmental disputes.
As cases involving noise between floors increased, our club held discussions on this topic and analyzed relevant case law. Through these activities, I realized that environmental issues—including noise and vibrations—are not distant problems but immediate concerns, and I began to think about how to respond and act in daily life.
Our club actually attended a courtroom hearing for such a case, where we observed the plaintiff, the defendant, the attorneys, and the judge to understand each role. We did not merely observe the trial proceedings; we also took on investigative and monitoring roles. With the support of a legal civic group that provided detailed explanations of the proceedings, we were able to fulfill our roles without difficulty. We divided tasks among club members to take notes on the trial proceedings, summarize aspects related to the trial’s legitimacy, and document the judge’s ruling, which we later used as discussion material.
Following the courtroom monitoring, we researched and compared similar cases, as well as foreign laws and precedents, to discuss the appropriateness of the trial procedures, the validity of both sides’ arguments, and the legitimacy of the verdict. In particular, we examined rulings on similar cases by referring to translations of other countries’ constitutions and laws; this was helpful in assessing the legitimacy of Korean trials and identifying differences and commonalities.
Motivation and Plans
I developed the dream of becoming a lawyer through my family’s educational environment. My parents worked as a judicial scrivener and a public defender, and they hoped I would also become a legal professional. Although I followed my parents’ advice because I was interested in law and enjoyed studying, it was through my activities in the law club that I truly came to understand the profession of a lawyer. Before that, I had vaguely thought of it as a career I could pursue simply by studying hard.
Through club activities, I was exposed to media analysis, case law analysis, and constitutional studies, which helped me discover the joy of studying law. I also felt myself growing as I engaged in discussions with friends. By analyzing case law and observing court proceedings, I examined various litigation issues, and among them, I became most interested in environmental disputes. Since environmental disputes deal with issues closely tied to daily life—such as noise from neighboring floors, industrial wastewater, and odor pollution—and cause ongoing harm to individuals and groups, I resolved to become a specialized lawyer to help resolve them.
Therefore, I have applied to the College of Law at Kyung Hee University, where I plan to study diligently while engaging with real-world environmental dispute cases. Since resolving environmental disputes requires a thorough understanding of various laws—such as the Vibration and Noise Control Act, the Housing Act, and the Facilities Act—I intend to pursue a broad curriculum at university, ranging from constitutional law to specialized legal fields, to develop into a professional in this area. After graduation, I plan to enroll in a law school to continue my studies and become a specialized attorney in environmental disputes.
