This blog post specifically examines how international exchange experiences and multicultural communication skills function as persuasive strengths in a trade department academic plan.

Writing About Academic Experience and Reflections

“Learning English Through International Camps During School Breaks”
While attending a foreign language high school, I majored in English. The English department offered highly specialized classes, allowing me to build a solid foundation in basic English. I completed a curriculum that ensured no aspect—grammar, vocabulary, reading comprehension, listening, or conversation—was neglected. Simultaneously, I developed an interest in other languages taught in different departments, such as Chinese, Japanese, and German, learning them to a conversational level. My interest in learning languages beyond English stemmed from the many opportunities to communicate with foreign friends during various school events.
As a foreign language high school, our school hosted numerous international events during vacation periods. Among these, I participated in events held domestically with our sister schools abroad. These large-scale vacation events featured multinational youth visiting from countries like Japan, China, Germany, France, the United States, and Canada. Participating in these events allowed me to introduce our country’s educational culture to many young people and explain the characteristics of our classes. Beyond that, through homestays, we learned about each other’s cultures and ways of thinking, and communicated while introducing Korea’s cultural heritage sites and tourist attractions. The language I used most during this process was none other than English.
I tried to communicate as actively as possible, applying what I had learned in English conversation classes. In fact, it’s no exaggeration to say that we conversed almost entirely in English at school, using it frequently in daily life. Nevertheless, having everyday conversations with native speakers was a different challenge. Initially, trying to formulate what to say in my head slowed me down and often led to textbook-like exchanges. However, during the week-long international camp, using English daily and expanding my expressions gradually improved my conversational skills. Additionally, by challenging myself with conversations in languages like Chinese and Japanese, I was able to enhance my overall communication skills.

Writing about major school activities and reflections

“Steady Preparation for Three Levels of Economics Competitions”
I developed a strong interest in economics subjects early on. Therefore, starting in my first year of high school, I challenged myself with competitions, gradually advancing through the levels to deepen my economics learning. Preparing for the three-level competitions began with participating in school contests. The school held annual economics competitions for each grade level, featuring essay-style questions designed to assess logical reasoning. While the number of questions was limited, they required a much deeper background knowledge base compared to multiple-choice tests, compelling me to build a solid foundation in the basics.
I started by previewing the economics textbooks covered up to senior year and read extensively in prose form. Since writing well-structured essays was crucial for essay-type questions, I focused on developing logical reasoning skills. For economics, I used three reference books to prepare for advanced content: Mancur’s Economics, Principles of Economics, and Introduction to Economics. As the school competition approached, I also consulted past exam question books compiling essay-style questions from the economics field to prepare for such problems. A few days before the exam, I practiced expressing core concepts covered in the multiple-choice CSAT questions in essay form. Through this process, I gradually built a solid foundation in economics.
Through the school competition, I actually won a 500,000 won scholarship and placed within the top three students in the entire school. This achievement led to an opportunity to participate in the regional competition, preparing me for the High School Economics Forum hosted by the regional education office. This marked the start of my second-stage preparation for economics competitions. I focused on studying the advanced high school economics textbook while also practicing current affairs problems to develop my ability to apply economic concepts to real-world situations. Above all, I kept past exam questions from the education office competition in mind and referenced major economic issues of that year to ensure I didn’t miss the latest trends. This exam notably features a higher proportion of microeconomics questions than macroeconomics, uses long-form passages, and assigns multiple questions per passage. I therefore focused on understanding these specific question patterns.
During the actual exam, with a total time limit of 120 minutes, I concentrated intensely on solving the multiple-choice questions within that two-hour window. To prepare specifically for this exam, I solved numerous past T-SET test questions. This was because the T-SET tends to assess both knowledge of economic theory and understanding of recent economic issues in a similar manner. Furthermore, since all questions are multiple-choice, I also honed my test-taking techniques. Applying these skills enabled me to achieve the desired results in the regional education office’s academic competitions as well. Finally, I achieved the third-stage goal by participating in the National Economics Competition. For this, I prepared a short thesis on an advanced topic, received feedback on my writing, and trained my essay-writing skills. With the results of this preparation, I successfully completed the three-stage economics competition preparation by finishing at the national level.

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

“Physical Stamina Developed Through Team Sports”
During my senior year of high school, I spent all day sitting in a chair preparing for college entrance exams. While sitting for long periods might help some achieve better grades, I believed it was essential to balance this with external activities. College entrance is a long-term battle, not a short-term one like midterms or finals; the results needed to be better later than they were now. Therefore, I resolved to build endurance and physical stamina to become someone who would perform well later. Even while doing physical activities, I aimed to create opportunities for communication by exercising with several friends rather than alone.
After all, during my senior year, everyone was racing toward their own goals, so chances to connect with friends around me became rare. Since I also had few experiences creating good memories with multiple friends, I started group sports activities to increase these opportunities. Specifically, I did morning basketball, badminton during lunch, and jogging and jumping rope in the evenings. In the mornings, I gathered close friends to form a basketball team. To boost overall stamina, we arrived early at school and started the day playing basketball. This helped me shake off the sleepiness, kickstart the day energetically, and recharge my energy.
Meanwhile, after lunch, we played badminton. We paired up in twos to play badminton in the indoor gym, taking turns playing matches and having fun. At the time, badminton was also part of the physical education performance assessment, so it was an activity that helped with test scores. Playing matches with a partner also encouraged us to exercise passionately, making it a beneficial activity. Finally, after finishing self-study past 9 PM, a small group gathered for jump rope and jogging. Since we studied for long hours, we often fell asleep immediately afterward, but doing even simple exercise beforehand helped us sleep more soundly and maintain our health.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation and Career Plans

“Following in the footsteps of my father who runs a trading company”
My motivation for applying to Konkuk University’s Department of International Trade was greatly influenced by my parents. My father has long run his own business, a trading company. He also met my mother through an affiliated company and married her, forming a family. Growing up witnessing my parents’ professional connection, I naturally developed an interest in trade work. Both my parents were always busy, and even at home, they often discussed company matters. Consequently, through conversations with them, I naturally gained insights into trade policies, the state of trade, economic policies, and systems.
Because my parents read them, our home always had economic magazines, newsletters, specialized information journals, and academic papers. I acquired economic knowledge by reading these magazines and books, and this accumulated knowledge eventually enabled me to participate in economic competitions. Specifically, I joined a school-run preparation class for economic competitions, studied there, and cultivated an economic mindset by sharing problem-solving approaches with fellow participants. During high school, I had two main areas of interest. Through club activities, I expressed my interest in economics and business courses, while also maintaining a strong interest in English learning. Consequently, starting in my freshman year, I participated in international camps, interacting with youth from diverse countries.
Connections made with friends at these camps led to opportunities to host them for homestays in Korea during their vacations. Conversely, I also traveled to places like the United States, Canada, and Australia during my vacations. During these trips, friends from those countries sometimes hosted me through homestay programs. Staying in local homes, sharing daily life with them, and learning about their living and food cultures was a valuable experience. Particularly, participating in events like trade fairs held in the United States during these travels provided me with hands-on experience related to the field of international trade.