In this blog post, I’d like to discuss in detail the academic efforts I made during high school, my participation in school activities, my experiences with consideration and collaboration, and my career preparation process.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
Overcoming Challenges in the Korean History Course
To prepare for the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), I chose two social studies subjects: Economics and Korean History. While I had always been interested in Economics, I wasn’t particularly fond of Korean History when I first selected it, so I was quite worried as I began preparing for the exam. I wasn’t used to memorizing historical facts, and since Korean History combined national history with modern and contemporary history, there was a massive amount to memorize. Additionally, some parts were difficult to connect to current events, so I struggled a lot with how to approach my studies.
To overcome these challenges, I decided to approach Korean History from the perspective of Economics. Looking at the Korean History syllabus, which is divided into social, political, economic, and cultural sections, I found the economics section to be the most interesting. I was struck by the fact that recent economic phenomena and theories had existed and been applied in the past as well, so I studied Korean History by interpreting various economic phenomena—from barter and the emergence of currency through the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties to the modern and contemporary eras—in light of economic theory.
Once I understood the flow of history from an economic perspective, the social, cultural, and political sections also became much easier. After grasping the trends and chronological progression of each era, I was able to recall the economic conditions of that period first and connect them to the specific details I needed to memorize. For example, when looking at a graph explaining the economic situation during the opening of the ports, I could interpret it by linking it to foreign invasions, political power struggles, and cultural shifts.
Through this experience, I overcame my fear of memorization-based subjects and learned that connecting and understanding different topics is a natural way to memorize. My greatest achievement was developing a learning attitude focused on understanding context rather than mere rote memorization.
Major School Activities and Reflections
Preparing for the Junior TESAT through the Experimental Economics Club
Driven by my interest in economics, I sought out and read economic newspapers on my own and actively participated in the Experimental Economics Club. The Experimental Economics Club was a group where we learned about economic phenomena in an easy and fun way by connecting them to real life, going beyond textbook theories. In particular, there was a strong sense of camaraderie between the teacher and the club members, and the teacher personally designed the study plan and curriculum, which was a great help to our learning.
The teacher had an educational philosophy of first sparking students’ interest by appropriately blending theory with games, and then naturally building upon that with knowledge of economic and industrial issues. Once the games had piqued our interest in economic phenomena, the lessons would transition into sessions where we built up a variety of economic knowledge; thanks to this approach, we were able to enjoy the feeling of learning through experimentation.
In my sophomore year, our teacher launched a preparation course for a certification exam, and we decided to participate in the Junior T-SAT Club Competition, an economics comprehension test for youth organized by the Korea Economic Daily. Since it was a club competition, we all studied and prepared together as a team to achieve good results. Our teacher encouraged us to use this competition as an opportunity to reflect on what we had enjoyed, learned, and experienced so far, and to use it as a stepping stone for growth.
To prepare systematically for the competition, we formed teams and increased our activity time. All 25 club members agreed to participate, and we scheduled one additional meeting on top of our regular activity time. We increased our scheduled two-hour club meetings—which normally took place twice a month—to three times a month, extending each session to three hours to focus intensively on reading economic newspapers and playing economics games. From that point on, we developed the habit of clipping even minor details or organizing them in our notebooks, which allowed us to review what we had learned repeatedly without forgetting it.
Feeling that club time alone was insufficient to fully develop our individual skills, I also organized a small study group. We met for one hour each week, where a few team members worked together to fill in gaps in our theoretical knowledge and terminology, organizing terms and fragmented information much like memorizing English vocabulary. The books we used as references during these study sessions were Mankiw’s ‘Principles of Economics’ and Bernanke and Frank’s ‘Economics’; these two volumes were immensely helpful for teenagers seeking a systematic understanding of economics. We strove to master every theory and term introduced in these books without exception.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
Attending the “Practical Economics Education” and “Warm Finance Camp”
The activities of the Experimental Economics Club extended beyond competition preparation to include economics education for teenagers and participation in economics camps. At school, we attended engaging classes and participated in hands-on experiments, while off-campus we visited relevant institutions and government agencies to observe operations and gain practical experience. Among these experiences, the most memorable was participating in the “Warm Finance Camp” hosted by Shinhan Financial Investment. This program was designed to teach teenagers sound financial concepts and nurture their dreams of becoming financial professionals through career experiences; it provided an opportunity to tour actual workplaces and experience real-world financial practices.
At the camp, we participated in a simulated stock investment activity in the form of a board game. Unlike the small-scale investment activities we had done at school, this program was on a larger scale, and each participant was given virtual funds. One of our team members took on the role of a stock broker, while the rest of us were divided into institutional and individual investors to play the game. I took on the role of an institutional investor and, together with my teammates, carefully reviewed the information provided by the broker to make investment decisions, which allowed me to truly understand what stocks mean from a company’s perspective.
We worked together cooperatively throughout the camp and toured several key departments at Shinhan Investment. The departments we visited included the Sales Department, the Global Business Department, and the Head Office Trading Room, and we also visited the Korea Exchange to gain hands-on experience. Going beyond a simple tour, we were guided by staff members in each department and even had the opportunity to handle customer service tasks ourselves. Although the clients were not real, sitting there in the role of a client made me feel a sense of responsibility and tension; conversely, by playing the role of a client, I was able to experience firsthand the demands and perceptions clients have regarding financial services.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
My ultimate goal is to pass the Senior Civil Service Examination and work at the Ministry of Finance and Economy
My goal is to pass the Grade 5 Administrative Service Examination in the finance sector and work as a financial civil servant in a government economic ministry such as the Ministry of Finance and Economy. This career goal was formed through my participation in the experimental economics club in high school, and I have made various efforts to achieve it. First, I prepared for the Junior TESAT exam and conducted systematic study sessions for inter-club competitions. In these study sessions, I focused on reviewing the economic theories I had previously learned and familiarizing myself with related terminology.
However, while studying, I also had concerns about whether this path suited my aptitude and career goals. When reading specialized textbooks by authors like Mankiw, Bernanke, and Frank, I often encountered parts that were difficult to understand. I also fell into a slump at times, feeling that my comprehension was lacking compared to my peers in the study group who grasped concepts relatively quickly. When I even faced difficulties in a study group created to support my competition preparation, I began to question my career choice itself.
Eventually, I asked my advisor for career counseling. My advisor told me that, having seen how passionately I participated in class, they believed a major in economics was a good fit for me. They also advised me that studying isn’t about knowing everything right away; rather, insights come from the process of identifying what you don’t know, asking questions, and working through those challenges. Hearing this helped me let go of my impatience, and I began approaching my studies with a more proactive attitude.
Thanks to my teacher’s advice, I overcame my slump and set new academic goals. Moving forward, I intend to steadily work toward my goals by filling in the gaps in my knowledge through the process of asking questions and finding answers.
