In this blog post, I’ll summarize what led me to become fascinated with classical literature during high school, the academic experiences I gained as a result, meaningful school activities I participated in, and what I learned about consideration and cooperation.

Academic Experiences and Reflections

When I first encountered classical literature, I struggled a lot because the original texts were full of unfamiliar terms and Chinese characters. Classes primarily focused on content for college entrance exams, making it hard to maintain my interest. However, things changed when I happened to come across a passage about ‘Taekriji’ while working on a geography assignment. Since ‘Taekriji’ was a human geography text written in Hanja, I relied on a Korean translation to read it. Noticing that the meaning varied subtly depending on the translator, I developed a strong curiosity to read the original text myself.
Since I lacked the ability to interpret the original text right away, I developed the habit of memorizing Hanja characters and studying classical idioms every day. As a result, I earned a Level 1 Hanja certification, and afterward, I tried to interpret literary works, such as sijo poetry, by reading the original texts bit by bit. However, my lack of knowledge about the historical background of that era naturally made it difficult to follow the text, so to compensate, I set a goal to read at least one history-related book per month.
Worried that I might quickly lose interest if I tackled difficult history books right from the start, I began by reading novels based on historical facts, one by one. As I became familiar with the historical context through these novels, my grades in Korean history naturally improved, and thanks to my Hanja studies, my classical Chinese grades also improved. However, improving my grades was not the goal in itself; my ultimate goal was to try translating the original texts of classical works myself, so I never stopped studying.
Through the process of consistently practicing by interpreting even short sijo poems on my own, I began to think more seriously about my career path and realized that the Department of Library and Information Science was well-suited for working with classical texts and documents. Although I started out of simple curiosity, my persistence and diligence led to the secondary benefit of improved grades, and above all, I learned the important lesson that you can achieve better results when you consistently pursue what you enjoy.

Major Campus Activities and Reflection

There were two main activities I participated in meaningfully during high school. The first was the reading discussion club. The club operated by selecting a theme each month; members would each choose a book related to that theme, read it, and then gather to discuss it. Even when the theme was the same, we read different books, which allowed us to compare the authors’ perspectives with our own thoughts during discussions, leading to richer exchanges.
As someone particularly interested in the translation of classical texts, I found great inspiration in discussions about how meaning shifts depending on translation choices. It was a valuable lesson for me to see how the same text can be interpreted differently based on a translator’s background knowledge, emotions, and translation skills. Furthermore, reading and discussing books from diverse perspectives broadened my horizons and naturally solidified my reading habits.
The second meaningful activity was my experience managing the library as a member of the Library Committee. As a committee member, I organized books and assisted users, which allowed me to read many books in my spare time. As a student, it was difficult to purchase books every time, but through the library, I was able to access a wide variety of books without financial burden, and as a result, I maintained a reading pace of over 20 books a year.
Reading extensively broadened my knowledge and improved my writing skills. Furthermore, through my activities in the club and the Library Committee, I learned firsthand that everyone has different values and interpretations. As I came to understand that not everything can be simply categorized as right or wrong, I naturally developed an attitude of respecting others’ perspectives and acknowledging differences, which helped strengthen my relationships with others.

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

The volunteer activity to pick up litter on the streets, in which I participated with my class at school, was an experience that allowed me to truly grasp the meaning of consideration and cooperation. At first, like my classmates, I felt it was a hassle and didn’t want to do it, but as I walked around picking up trash, I began to notice a lot of litter that I hadn’t seen before. I was surprised by how much trash had been thoughtlessly discarded, even in the neighborhood where we live, and seeing that made me reflect on whether I, too, had been guilty of such thoughtlessness.
In particular, while we were busily picking up trash, I saw someone across the street casually littering, and that’s when I clearly realized what “thoughtless behavior” truly means. I came to acknowledge that when small attitudes—like thinking “someone else will clean it up” or “it’s just me”—add up, they end up harming the environment of the entire neighborhood. From that moment on, I started picking up trash even more diligently, and my friends, seeing my example, began to join in one by one.
With so many of us working together, the cleanup was finished much faster, and our teacher praised our class for actively participating and quickly tidying up our assigned area. Hearing those words, I realized once again that even tasks that take a long time when done alone can be completed quickly when people work together. Since then, I’ve made it a habit to pick up even a single piece of tissue and throw it in the trash, and I’ve started making small gestures like offering to help someone carrying a heavy load.
I felt a great sense of fulfillment knowing that these small acts of consideration, when combined, make our surroundings a better place to live, and I learned firsthand that cooperation increases efficiency. Through this volunteer activity, I truly realized that consideration and cooperation aren’t something special—they’re actions we can practice little by little in our daily lives.