In this blog post, I will summarize my academic experiences and school activities during high school, examples of compassion, sharing, and collaboration, as well as my motivation for applying and my career plans.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
In my freshman year of high school, I signed up for an after-school class on Hanja (Chinese characters) and took the course alongside about forty classmates who shared my interest in Hanja. Since we were a group of friends with shared interests, we selected Hanja texts as our study materials. We began by focusing on the Four Books and Three Classics, then expanded our studies to include the Hunminjeongeum, classical literature, and modern literature.
While studying the Four Books and Three Classics, I was able to memorize a large number of Hanja characters thanks to my intensive study of the characters and classical Chinese. By systematically learning the pronunciations and meanings, I achieved the milestone of obtaining a Level 3 Hanja certification, and this foundation allowed me to continue my studies thereafter.
While studying the Hunminjeongeum, I was able to learn both archaic Korean and Middle Korean. Although Hanja characters were frequently mixed into the Hunminjeongeum materials, the fact that the ancient language was written directly allowed me to identify the grammatical features of Middle Korean. Unlike modern Korean, medieval Korean frequently uses run-on sentences, rarely employs spaces between words, and often uses continuous writing; moreover, its orthographic symbols and word forms clearly differ from those of today. I thoroughly studied these characteristics as essential elements of the Korean language curriculum, and I found the process of analyzing obsolete words and pre-modern word forms while examining historical texts particularly fascinating.
After gaining a certain level of proficiency in the Hunminjeongeum, I began studying the original texts of classical and modern literature. The experience of reading the original texts directly—rather than relying on the interpretations provided in textbooks—was far more vivid. Since classical texts still contained a significant number of Chinese characters and Classical Chinese, I had to continue studying Chinese characters. During this time, I earned my Level 2 Hanja certification. While studying modern literature, I noticed that although the use of Hanja decreased, traces of archaic language remained, which helped me gain a diachronic understanding of the process of language change.
Major Campus Activities and Reflections
Starting in the second semester of my freshman year, I joined and participated in the school’s multicultural club. I did this because I had learned the importance of utilizing the Korean language and writing through my Korean language, classical literature, and literature courses, and I believed that improving my communication skills would be particularly practical. The club primarily focused on activities aimed at understanding the lives of multicultural families and students residing in Korea and helping them overcome the language barriers they faced.
Specifically, we invited parents and children to attend Hangul classes, which were held once a week with two programs alternating every other week. The first program consisted of theoretical lectures by a Korean language teacher, along with practice in everyday conversation and speech patterns, while the second program involved group activities where participants learned language skills needed in the home, school, and community, organized by theme. Rather than having the Korean language teacher lecture unilaterally, students took turns serving as teaching assistants in teams, and I participated by acting as a conversation partner or supporting the activities during group sessions.
As we met every week, I grew close to the members of the multicultural families and felt a sense of responsibility as their language assistant and information provider. Although the family members changed on a monthly basis, I noticed that the more frequently we met a particular family, the higher the quality of our conversations became, and their Korean language proficiency improved noticeably. Seeing these results gave me a great sense of fulfillment and motivated me to find ways to help even more.
In addition, our club worked on creating practical teaching materials for the students to use. Since many commercially available Korean language textbooks are geared toward test preparation or designed to direct students to online courses, I felt they were disconnected from everyday conversation. Therefore, I created our own materials by excerpting and editing necessary content and supplementing them with dialogues tailored to real-life situations. Through research, editing, and discussion, we enhanced the practicality of the materials by including dialogues for real-life scenarios such as supermarkets and airports. By balancing my role as a Korean language assistant with the creation of these teaching materials, I was able to cultivate both a deep affection for the Korean language and a keen educational sensibility.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
In my sophomore year of high school, I took a course in rhetoric, and I learned a great deal from that class. Our school’s rhetoric teacher had majored in rhetoric, so she provided specific and practical guidance on vocal exercises and presentation skills. Even if I had no trouble with everyday conversation, I often found my voice trembling or becoming quiet due to nervousness when on stage or giving a presentation—and I was no exception.
So, I participated particularly enthusiastically in the vocal exercises during class. These exercises were conducted in groups, and when we practiced with strong enunciation while lowering our center of gravity in a riding stance, my friends would press on my back or help me maintain my posture—we supported one another. Through active expression training that simultaneously utilized facial expressions, gestures, hand movements, body movements, and vocal projection, I worked hard to develop a confident and expressive presence.
Working in pairs, we expressed poems such as Park Mok-wol’s “The Wanderer” and Kim Young-rang’s “Until the Peonies Bloom” with our whole bodies, giving each other feedback on the intensity of our voices and expressions. We also worked in teams of three to convey emotions and share our reflections. We repeated this practice by expressing our feelings vividly through active hand gestures and vocal projection, and then having our partners receive and relay those emotions back to us. Thanks to this process, my presentation skills improved, and my fear of public speaking gradually diminished.
Efforts and Preparation Related to My Motivation for Application and Career Plans
I am applying with a clear goal in mind: to major in Korean Language and Literature. Influenced by my family, I have long held a steady interest in Duksung Women’s University, and I chose the Department of Korean Language and Literature as my academic goal because I feel it aligns well with my aptitude and interests. I have loved the Korean language since middle school, and in high school, I actively engaged in studying all aspects of the language, including Hanja and medieval Korean.
My ultimate goal is to grow into an actress with a deep appreciation for literature. I believe that when studying one’s native language or taking Korean language classes feels dry, literary works play a role in sparking interest. Through my involvement in a multicultural club, I personally experienced how incorporating literary works into lessons improves both the quality of instruction and learning outcomes; this experience has led me to firmly believe that literature provides practical help in enhancing communication skills.
In college, I plan to build my literary foundation by writing and reading novels and screenplays extensively, and I intend to broaden my understanding of screenwriting to grow into a drama acting specialist. I believe that actors with strong storytelling skills have an advantage in deeply understanding and expressing a work. Therefore, rather than majoring exclusively in theater from the start of my undergraduate studies, I plan to develop my skills by first studying screenwriting at a writer’s level and exploring drama media, and then solidifying my abilities through acting classes.
By putting this plan into action, I aim to become a college student who brings this fresh concept of connecting literature and acting to life.
