In this blog post, I will outline my personal statement, which focuses on my academic experiences and school activities during high school, examples of my consideration for others and volunteer work, and my motivation for applying to Gongju National University of Education.

Academic Experience: What I Learned by Enjoying a Wide Range of Literature

During my freshman year of high school, I participated in an activity where we selected a literary work we had read and created a reading journal. Through this experience, I realized that the Korean language study method I had been using all along was flawed. Previously, I had focused solely on reading textbook passages and memorizing their themes, but this approach was limited to short-term memorization and prevented me from fully understanding and internalizing the works. Reading a work while focusing solely on the text itself, without considering the author’s disposition, life, and values, caused me to miss the depth of literature. While introducing works by poets I had always admired—such as “Flower” and “I Ask You”—in my reading journal, I made an effort to go beyond a superficial view of the themes in the poems and instead explore the authors’ epistemological perspectives to grasp their deeper meanings.
In particular, I discovered that both of these works simultaneously reveal the poet’s purity and life lessons, and by sharing these insights with my friends, I was able to convey the emotional impact of the poetry. I did not limit myself to domestic works but broadened my horizons to world literature, immersing myself in works such as ‘Demian’ and ‘The Metamorphosis’. I strove to understand the reasons and contexts behind how these works conveyed philosophical messages about humanity and life through sharp, incisive prose that captured the social realities of their time. Exposure to diverse literature broadened my humanities background, and I realized that literature is a subject closely intertwined with life. This experience led me to resolve that, should I become a Korean language teacher in the future, I would not merely teach the content of textbooks but would provide students with opportunities to engage with a wide range of world literature.

School Activities: Planning a Literary Field Trip Program and Visiting the Yoon Dong-ju Literary Museum

The area where I lived had a high proportion of multicultural families, and the school even organized separate classes specifically for these students. While students from multicultural families often got along well with their peers, they frequently struggled to adapt to school life due to cultural differences. To support them, I planned a “Literary Field Trip Program” designed to help them learn about different cultures and build closer relationships through literature. At the suggestion of “Dongju’s History,” the literature club I was active in, I organized a visit to the “Yun Dong-ju Literature Museum” in Seoul with one Korean language teacher and five students from multicultural families.
Realizing before our visit that the students lacked background knowledge about the poet Yun Dong-ju, I introduced his influence and major works in advance to help them understand. Upon touring the museum, I found it to be more than just a simple exhibition—it was a space where visitors could truly experience the poet and his works. The “Closed Well” exhibition in Exhibition Hall 3 left a deep impression on me, as it allowed for a complete understanding of Yun Dong-ju’s life. We shared our emotions with my friends as we imagined the poet writing resistance poetry by the light of a small flame during dark times, and we spent time growing closer through literature as we engaged in lively discussions about works such as “A Night Counting Stars,” “Self-Portrait,” and “Another Hometown.” Reading the lines from “A New Path” displayed at the museum’s entrance, I felt a sense of hope—the hope of moving forward one step at a time without giving up.

Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation: Supporting Korean Language Learning for Children from Multicultural Families

The friends from multicultural families who participated in the literary tour harbored a certain degree of distrust toward Korean society, and wanting to understand the reasons behind this better, I decided to volunteer at a support center for foreigners. While volunteering with a friend, I met people from diverse backgrounds—including a Vietnamese housewife, a Chinese mother, and a young man from Indonesia. I particularly remember counseling a young Vietnamese housewife who was worried about her child’s adjustment to school after marrying a Korean.
After hearing that her son seemed to be facing bullying at school, I suggested Korean language lessons as a way to help boost the child’s self-esteem. After that, I visited the child’s home every Saturday for an hour to teach Korean, and I felt that this volunteer work, which I had started without expecting anything in return, was gradually bringing me a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. Watching the child’s Korean skills improve, I discovered the joy of teaching, and I became convinced that, as a future teacher, I must foster a respectful and flexible classroom environment to ensure that students from multicultural families are not discriminated against.

Reason for Applying: Passion for Education and Love for Children

The Department of Korean Language Education at Gongju National University of Education has a long-standing tradition and is close to my home, making it a place I have long aspired to attend. To become a Korean language teacher, I engaged in various activities during high school to cultivate three essential qualities: a passion for education, a love for children, and a solid foundation in the Korean language. My experiences—such as reaching out to a classmate who felt isolated to listen to their concerns and spend time with them, as well as my efforts to understand the difficulties students face through peer counseling—helped me develop an attitude that respects the diversity of each individual student.
As a future Korean language teacher, I have also reflected on teaching methods that foster logical thinking, reasoning, imagination, and creativity. I broadened the scope of learning by applying creative teaching methods that incorporated textbook content in innovative ways—such as reading and discussing literature, writing autobiographies during speech and composition classes, and creating reading newsletters. I am confident that the competencies I have built so far will deepen further in the Department of Korean Language Education at Gongju National University of Education and will manifest as practical teaching skills.