In this blog post, I will outline, in order, my academic efforts and learning experiences during high school, the school activities in which I meaningfully participated, examples of my consideration, generosity, and cooperation, and my career preparation.

Academic Experiences and Reflections

I first took a Chinese class in my second year of middle school and became captivated by the language. Thanks to my teacher, who made the lessons engaging, I found the process of learning pronunciation and tones fascinating, and that experience motivated me to continue studying Chinese after entering high school.
When I entered high school, I chose a school that offered Chinese as a second foreign language. Although I was rejected from the Chinese department at a foreign language high school, I was still able to select and complete Chinese courses even at a general high school. My school had a resident native-speaking teacher, which meant we had more Chinese class hours than other schools, allowing me to study consistently.
Starting in my freshman year of high school, I began considering majoring in Chinese, and I harbored a dream of studying abroad in China one day as a college student and working in the Chinese film industry. To achieve that dream, I devoted myself to studying Chinese consistently for three years, focusing particularly on memorizing vocabulary and practicing tones and pronunciation.
While I believe grammar, reading comprehension, and listening are important, I felt that mastering vocabulary was key because Chinese has so many characters and a vast vocabulary. When memorizing words, I didn’t just write out the characters; instead, I studied by comparing the pronunciation and meaning of each character to how it’s actually used in conversation.
Studying this way allowed me to understand the etymology of characters and made it easier to grasp the nuances in meaning when the same character is used in different words. I created my own vocabulary notebook by hand, wrote the words frequently, and practiced tones by reading them aloud multiple times. Since Chinese has more than four tones and the meaning changes depending on pronunciation, I practiced repeatedly so that I could immediately recall the tone and pronunciation when seeing a character.

Major School Activities and Reflections

One of the activities I took particularly seriously was serving as the student leader for the Youth Regional Camp. I first discovered the joy of group camping when I participated in a school-wide student council camp in the sixth grade, and that experience led to a hobby of camping every vacation until I became a high school student.
The “Youth Regional Camp” I participated in during high school was a family camp program that took participants into nature during the summer and winter breaks. At first, I focused on escaping city life to enjoy nature, but as I participated repeatedly, I realized that the process of getting to know and interacting with the people I was with was enjoyable in itself.
As my love for the camp grew, I eventually took on the role of student leader, planning and managing specific schedules and programs. Together with my friends, I devised group programs for the families who applied to the camp, planned them in detail, and took responsibility for everything from the application process to the actual event.
In particular, one of the directions I proposed was to diversify the camp’s eligibility criteria so that teenagers and parents from multicultural and foreign families could also participate. Thanks to these efforts, people from diverse cultural backgrounds joined us, and the camp experience became increasingly enriching.
The program consisted of time for getting to know one another, activities for interaction, and time to express love within families. For example, we organized activities to reaffirm family bonds—such as writing thank-you letters to parents—and there were many moments when participants with different languages and backgrounds quickly opened up and felt like family.
Through this activity, I gained the important realization that teenagers from multicultural families are peers just like us. Seeing that they, too, cherish their families, strive to adapt to school life, and feel gratitude toward their parents deepened my empathy. Furthermore, by taking on the role of team leader—planning and facilitating these activities firsthand—I was able to develop proactive leadership skills.

Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections

The school specialized in second-language education and offered many Chinese-related events and programs. Among them, the activity that left the deepest impression on me was the Chinese song choir competition. Since choir requires multiple people to form a team and work together, it was a great opportunity to learn about cooperation and consideration.
We formed a choir with classmates from other classes whom I met in Chinese class, and I led the team by handling overall conducting, song selection, and pronunciation coaching. During the rehearsal period, which lasted over a month, my friends participated diligently. Although one person expressed a desire to drop out partway through, I persuaded them to stay and see it through to the end.
Fortunately, all the members understood that person’s circumstances and showed consideration for one another, which made managing the group much easier. We immersed ourselves in daily practice, refining our Chinese pronunciation, adjusting our vocal ranges, and deepening our understanding of the songs’ meanings and melodies to achieve harmonious vocals and synchronized breathing.
After numerous rehearsals, we completed a full choral piece, and on the day of the performance, every member managed their energy levels to deliver their best performance. As a result, we received the Grand Prize, and as the conductor and choir director, I felt a deep sense of fulfillment for having fostered such strong teamwork.

Efforts and Preparation Related to My Motivation for Applying and Career Plans

Having been fascinated by Chinese since childhood, I set my sights on majoring in Chinese starting in high school. I had a specific dream of studying abroad in China after entering college and working as an actor in the Chinese film industry, and to achieve that goal, I consistently worked hard on both my academics and extracurricular activities throughout my three years of high school.
Specifically, I built my proficiency by focusing on vocabulary memorization and tone practice, and I made an effort to grasp expressions actually used in conversation. When memorizing words, I tried to understand their etymology by comparing the pronunciation and meaning of Chinese characters with their conversational context, and I created my own vocabulary notebook to read through it multiple times and practice pronunciation.
Furthermore, through my experience as a camp director and choir conductor, I developed the ability to communicate and collaborate with others. By interacting with people from diverse backgrounds, I cultivated cultural sensitivity, and through the process of leading a team to achieve goals, I honed my leadership and problem-solving skills. I believe these experiences will be a great asset when I pursue my career abroad in the future.
Moving forward, I plan to continue improving my Chinese proficiency while pursuing my studies abroad and taking acting classes to immerse myself in the local culture. Building on the study habits and practical experience I established in high school, I will steadily prepare to become an actor capable of communicating effectively on professional stages and screens.