In this blog post, I’ll provide a detailed breakdown of the four sections of the personal statement required for admission to the School of International Studies at Kwangwoon University, focusing on academic efforts, campus activities, examples of consideration and cooperation, and my motivation for applying and career plans.

Writing About Academic Experiences and Reflections

To improve my English skills, I set the goal of “listening, listening, and listening some more” and followed a systematic study program. I believed that to succeed on the global stage, I needed to be able to use English as freely as my native language. While maintaining my academic performance, I adopted a detailed approach to listening practice to simultaneously develop my listening, speaking, and conversational skills.
First, I broke down the listening material into individual words to accurately identify key vocabulary and pronunciation. Next, I listened at the sentence level to confirm the meaning within context, and finally, I reviewed the entire conversation repeatedly. Through this process, I was able to identify that the root cause of my frequent listening errors lay in missing vocabulary or connecting words, and as I scrutinized these details, my error rate decreased.
To improve my conversational skills, I utilized various videos—such as documentaries, TV shows, and American dramas—to analyze intonation, nuances, and everyday expressions, while practicing by repeating them aloud. This approach—learning expressions within specific situations and contexts rather than through rote memorization—was extremely helpful in simultaneously improving both my listening and speaking skills.
Through this experience, I learned that studying blindly is ineffective; instead, analyzing my approach to make it more efficient leads to better results relative to the time invested. I improved my weaknesses by systematically breaking them down to identify the root causes and address them, and I plan to continue researching and enhancing my skills based on this method.

Major Campus Activities and Reflections

Driven by my interest in English, I joined the English-language newspaper club, and during my sophomore year, I served as editor-in-chief, creating and managing a section that covered domestic and international issues. At first, writing articles in English felt unfamiliar, and I had doubts about whether I could accurately convey the nuances I wanted to express. However, as I wrote articles every month, I gradually gained confidence through the repeated process of recognizing subtle differences in nuance in English articles and refining my expressions.
In particular, writing interview articles made me think deeply about how to convey the nuances of Korean in English. To naturally express the interviewee’s tone and intent in English, I experimented with various alternative expressions and adjusted sentence structures, which allowed me to learn a wide range of English expressions; as a result, my English writing skills improved significantly. My involvement with the English newspaper helped me develop practical writing skills, which laid the foundation for my success in school competitions.
I consistently participated in various related school competitions, such as English writing and book report contests, to objectively assess my skills. I incorporated the expressions I had learned through listening and conversation practice into my writing to enrich my texts, which enabled me to achieve excellent results in several competitions. Winning these awards confirmed that my accumulated efforts had borne fruit and gave me the confidence to apply to the School of International Studies.

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

While serving as the president of the English newspaper club, I had the opportunity to mentor a junior who struggled with written English. Although this student was proficient in spoken English, they showed weaknesses in written composition and article structure. Since I had recommended them for the club and they were now working alongside me, I felt a sense of responsibility and decided to help them directly.
First, I carefully read the articles they had written to identify problems, then had them rewrite the same topic in Korean. Through this process, I identified deficiencies in sentence structure and topic selection, and I provided specific feedback and suggestions for improvement. Rather than simply instructing them to rewrite the text, I worked with them to find solutions by repeatedly offering suggestions—such as “Wouldn’t this be better?”—based on consideration and respect.
My junior accepted my sincere feedback, and within two months, their skills improved noticeably. Through this experience, I realized how much genuine support and thoughtful feedback can influence a person’s growth, and I resolved to take responsibility for helping others who lack certain skills whenever I encounter them in the future.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans

I applied to the School of International Studies with the goal of becoming a professional working at an international organization. From a young age, I developed an interest in social issues by regularly reading newspapers, and through various club activities and volunteer work, I engaged with a wide range of people-centered issues, such as policy, the wealth gap, and the environment. As I came to realize that these issues are not limited to Korea but require solutions on a global scale, I developed a dream of playing a role in planning and implementing policies at an international organization.
After setting this goal, I studied consistently to become proficient in English and have also taken an interest in learning other languages. Because my goal was clear, the preparation process was enjoyable rather than arduous, and the motivation and achievements I gained along the way further strengthened my resolve to pursue this career path.
After enrollment, I plan to build a solid foundation in my major while actively participating in diverse social experiences and extracurricular activities to develop practical work skills. I will stay consistently engaged with domestic political, economic, cultural, and industrial issues to gain expertise in international relations and stay abreast of current trends, and I will hone my policy planning and negotiation skills through practical experiences such as fieldwork, internships, and mock conferences related to international organizations.
I will grow not merely as a student who sits in a classroom studying, but as a professional who seeks out real-world settings and current issues to gain extensive experience and knowledge. I will do my best to study with enthusiasm and participate actively in activities so that I can become a capable professional who contributes to both the School of International Studies and the nation.