In this blog post, I’ll summarize what I learned and felt, focusing on my academic experiences, school activities, and examples of compassion, generosity, and collaboration during my high school years.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
I spent my high school years guided by the belief that “Those who love literature should write and read.” From an early age, I dreamed of becoming a writer and consistently read books related to literature. I even went out of my way to obtain the scripts for TV dramas based on works by my favorite authors and pored over them. Although TV scripts have a different format from literary works, I drew a great deal of inspiration from the way they depict character-driven conflicts and their resolutions. Therefore, rather than taking specialized screenwriting classes, I chose to cultivate my creative abilities by writing poetry and novels myself.
I believed that as a future writer, I needed to have a broad understanding of the trends in Korean literature and modern and contemporary authors. I believed that familiarizing myself with major authors, their works, and key events in literary history would help me understand the psychology and desires shared by readers. Consequently, I studied the various literary works, literary history, and sections on poets and novelists covered in my school’s Korean language curriculum not through rote memorization, but through an exploratory approach.
The exploratory learning I’m referring to wasn’t merely taking notes as instructed during class or memorizing material for exams. When I studied one work per day, I would look up the reference books listed in the textbook, read them, and expand my thinking based on their content. For example, when studying poetry, I referred to Shin Kyung-rim’s “In Search of Poets” series to understand the background and anecdotes of a poet through a single poem. This book contained descriptions of fellow poets the author had met in person, along with their stories, providing valuable background knowledge for understanding the characteristics of the works.
When studying novels, I analyzed the structure, style, and unique characteristics of the authors through books on literary history, such as ‘Understanding Modern Novels’. This kind of interdisciplinary reading transformed the study of literature from a monotonous memorization task into a creative exploration, ensuring that the works and authors I learned about each day remained in my memory for a long time. As a result, I was able to cultivate both the sensitivity and analytical skills necessary for creative writing.
Description of Major School Activities and Reflections
“Expressing My Creative Drive Through the Band Club.” During high school, I was deeply influenced by my experience as a vocalist in the band club. Having sung while playing the guitar since I was young, I was recognized for my ability to combine instrumental performance with vocals, and I joined the club on a friend’s recommendation. At first, I thought I would play the guitar, but since the band was short on vocalists, I ended up taking on the vocal position.
The songs I mainly sang were mellow acoustic tracks. My voice was described as thin and soft, which was said to suit the indie genre, and thanks to that, I naturally ended up performing mostly acoustic songs on stage. The problem, however, was that not many club members actually composed or wrote lyrics for acoustic music themselves. Typically, high school band clubs focused mostly on rock or punk songs, and acoustic songs were usually limited to just one or two per performance.
So I tried to create my own songs without relying on others for composition or lyrics. Since I had never studied composition professionally, I enlisted the help of a friend in the school’s music department. He would create demos with basic background music and repeating patterns, and I would write lyrics to complete the songs. I believed that while melody is important in acoustic music, the impact of the lyrics must be even more profound, so I tried to express them simply and honestly, as if I were writing poetry.
Rather than focusing on love and romance, the lyrics I wrote drew on the social, family, and everyday experiences I encountered as a high school student. I wanted to share “my story”—one that my peers could easily relate to—and as a result, I was able to complete the lyrics for several songs. For the club performance, I was responsible for performing not just one but three songs, and I took the stage with an acoustic lineup alongside a friend who played acoustic guitar and keyboard. The songs we performed were “My Story,” “Outside the Winter Window,” and “Merry Christmas,” and we set the scenes against a winter backdrop with a high school student as the narrator to draw the audience in.
After the performance, we received an empathetic response from the audience and were well-received within the club as well. Above all, the experience of resonating with people through lyrics I wrote myself was the most rewarding part. Through this activity, I learned the importance of self-expression as a creator, teamwork, and communication through performance.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
“Managing the Class and Resolving Conflicts as Class President.” The high school I attended was a neighboring school not far from Danwon High School. After the Sewol Ferry disaster, shock and anxiety—both major and minor—spread throughout our school, and even friends I was close with were affected. Although it was a crucial time as seniors, many students struggled to compose themselves, and the atmosphere on campus became quiet and somber.
In that situation, our school decided to support the “Love Meal Truck” to ensure the bereaved families did not go without meals. The school raised funds and recruited students to participate directly in serving meals. I took part in the fundraising, but because I wanted to comfort and help the affected families directly, I volunteered for the meal service and headed to the site with other friends and teachers.
Our initial plan to enter Jindo itself proved difficult due to staffing and logistical constraints, so instead, we served meals to bereaved families and volunteers in the surrounding areas. We went directly to the recipients to deliver boxed meals and washed and cleaned up the used dishes ourselves. Although we were unable to provide meals to as many bereaved families as we had hoped during the two-day volunteer effort, we were able to experience the diverse realities on the ground firsthand by interacting with other volunteers, police officers, and members of the press.
Above all, what mattered most was the time spent comforting and offering condolences to the bereaved families—more so than simply serving meals. While on site, we shared in their grief and witnessed moments that were difficult to comfort with words alone; through this, we came to truly understand the significance of serving the local community. Through this experience, we learned how important it is to be considerate of others’ suffering and to share their sorrow, and we saw the power that comes from a spirit of cooperation and action in times of crisis.
