This blog post introduces sample entries for the hobbies and special skills section of a self-introduction essay, covering computer skills, internet activities, and gaming experience.

Computers, English, and My Growth Story

My strong computer skills sparked a deep interest in program development. Having won first place in an information retrieval competition, I was confident in my computer abilities and dedicated myself to building my skills in program development for a period. Back then, I made it a habit to read two computer-related books a day, which allowed me to systematically expand my knowledge. While learning from books was valuable, I realized the world holds many excellent sources of information beyond books. One blog I frequently visited, in particular, was filled with the materials and tips I needed, and whenever I asked a question, the operator responded quickly. This connection led me to actively participate in the blog’s activities. As my friendship with the operator grew, I also joined a monthly meetup club. Meeting people with shared interests provided not only information exchange but also enjoyable times, and I found myself increasingly stimulated and inspired within that group. Seeing the operator generously share their advanced knowledge earned my sincere respect, and I resolved that once I gained the necessary skills myself, I too would become someone who shares useful information with others.
After graduating from university, in my third year of corporate life, I finally realized that dream. I launched my own website under my name, dedicated to providing valuable information on computer program development for many people. During this process, I acutely felt the necessity of English alongside my computer studies. While the specialized terminology related to system development wasn’t difficult, I faced limitations in expressing myself fluently. To facilitate smooth communication, I carved out time from my busy work schedule, often filled with late nights, and diligently studied English. As a result, I have now developed English proficiency beyond technical terms, enabling free conversation. Moving forward, I will actively leverage this English ability and computer expertise to establish myself as a talent who adapts quickly and delivers results in any environment. I hope my experience and passion can be of help to someone and create new value.

The Hand Reached Out by the Internet

At school, I was truly envious of friends who casually shared everyday stories—what they did with their parents, minor arguments they had, or conversations over meals. Those kids envied my spacious, well-appointed room, but I actually dreamed of a life bustling with my parents, even if it meant a cramped, crowded home. Yet, whenever I shared these inner thoughts, my friends looked utterly baffled. So, I gradually stopped talking about myself. The longer I remained silent, the more an unavoidable sense of disconnect grew, and that distance slowly widened. I couldn’t even offer light-hearted responses to my friends’ everyday stories, and sometimes I think they found me burdensome when I forced awkward smiles. That’s how I gradually became awkward at socializing, and eventually, I tried to endure my time at school in my own way, surfing the internet on my phone.
Ironically, though, the very internet that had made me withdraw ultimately saved me. One day, while chatting with someone I met in a gaming club about where we lived, I discovered we lived very close to each other. That coincidence felt so amazing that we kept talking a few more times. When I found out we even attended the same school, my heart raced and I couldn’t believe it. Though we were in different classes and couldn’t see each other often, the moment we first sat across from each other at the school store and talked is still vivid in my memory. That person quickly became a good friend to me, a steadfast pillar of support for someone who struggled to make friends. They were the one who pushed me forward again when I was about to give up trying altogether, lacking the confidence to build a genuine friendship.
That experience made me see the internet a little differently. I realized it wasn’t just a refuge for solitary survival, but a gateway to connect with the world and a space where new bonds could sprout. Even now, when I recall those memories, the image of that friend reaching out to me through the window of the internet remains vivid. Thanks to them, I still love the internet today and continue to create new stories within it.

Learning English for a Favorite Singer

Hanging out often with people who shared similar hobbies in online communities meant I sometimes neglected my offline school life. Occasionally, I wanted to share my hobby with friends I frequently encountered at school, so I’d lend them CDs of my favorite singer, but it wasn’t easy to match tastes overnight. Still, a few understood my hobby, and I remember feeling incredibly happy when I met those few friends. One friend, though not sharing my favorite singers, empathized with my situation, saying they liked rock bands not well-known in Korea.
Perhaps naturally gained from enjoying my hobbies, my English grades were quite good, and I was confident in my skills, often sweeping top spots in school contests for website creation or internet-related competitions. So my teachers often encouraged me to “explore a related career path.” Honestly, I didn’t have a clear field of interest beyond my favorite hobbies, but I thought that if I could turn work I was already familiar with into a career, I’d have a significant advantage over others. So I paid close attention to the related information my teachers shared, and that ultimately became the catalyst for my decision to major in IT-related fields in college.
Of course, aside from English and computer science—subjects I excelled in thanks to my hobbies—my grades were quite uneven, so I struggled to meet the score requirements for my desired university. However, my accumulated achievements from internet-related competitions proved invaluable, and the joy when I finally got accepted to my dream university was indescribable. It was the moment my passion for what I loved guided a crucial choice in my life.

Striving to Change Preconceptions About Gaming

Gaming was undoubtedly my primary interest growing up. Most of my close friends also loved or frequently played games. While some friends had their parents’ permission to buy games freely, many others, like me, were forbidden due to strict parental rules. Yet, my desire to play games was as strong as anyone’s.
In middle school, I was only nominally part of the video club. I secretly saved money to buy a game console, which I connected to the club’s TV to play. Outwardly, I pretended to participate in club activities, while secretly carrying out my ‘covert operation’. Fortunately, our advisor, the supervising teacher, understood our hobby, making this possible. The teacher even brought in old home consoles and classic games himself, giving us the chance to experience masterpieces from the past.
As I encountered these old games one by one, I realized anew that games transcend simple entertainment; they are a culture with history and depth. The technical and creative advancements felt when comparing them to modern games were nothing short of astonishing. Yet, at the same time, I felt a sense of injustice. Just as people pour passion into their professions, game industry workers achieved this level of progress through talent and pride. So why were games alone treated like the root of all societal problems?
Back then, I sensed the world’s prejudice was too strong to vaguely hope, ‘Someday people will understand.’ Many families, like mine, held unfounded negative perceptions about games. So I pondered: ‘Could I contribute to changing that perception myself?’ From that moment, a dream began to grow within me, beyond simply enjoying games—the dream of one day creating them myself. And that desire has remained unchanged, continuing to this day.

Games and Me: An Unfinished Quest

It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve lived my entire life alongside games. From childhood, I showed an extraordinary interest in games, even dreaming of becoming a pro gamer at one point. I did show some skill and stood out at times, but honestly, it was only enough to get noticed locally for a short while. When I competed in national tournaments, I was surrounded by far more skilled ‘monsters’ than me. The moment I realized that reality, I had no choice but to give up on that dream. My parents, who wanted me to focus on my studies, had a hard time trying to keep track of me as I spent my days bouncing between PC cafes and friends’ houses. While I wasn’t ‘pro’ material, I had a talent for learning and applying games that surpassed most of my peers. I was captivated by almost every new game released and spent countless hours engrossed, paying little attention to my grades.
I always harbored the hope of working in games from a young age, but my skills weren’t sufficient to pursue a professional gaming career, and my lack of science background made diving into development or technical fields impossible. Because of this, I often blamed myself, wondering, “Maybe this path just isn’t meant for me?” My love for games was too strong to abandon the industry and live an ordinary life, yet diving in solely on passion felt uncertain for long-term career stability. I eventually concluded, “Let’s keep it as a hobby,” and thereafter maintained my relationship with games from a distance—through club activities or writing amateur game columns. While living this utterly ordinary life brought a sense of stability, an inexplicable dissatisfaction would occasionally bubble up inside me.
The reason was probably clear. Living this way would allow me to pass through life without major problems, but it felt like a life indistinguishable from everyone else’s. The question of whether to leave ‘games’—a crucial part of who I am—merely as a hobby, or to pull them back into the center of my life, continues to weigh on me. Perhaps the very process of finding that answer is the longest quest of my life.

Computer Doctor’s Repair Stories

Computer component repair and laptop repair are both my specialty and a long-standing hobby. These days, it’s hard to find any organization that doesn’t use computers. I call all these devices ‘computers’ collectively—desktop PCs, laptops, and sometimes even tablet PCs and various smart devices. By personally handling and utilizing diverse devices, I naturally learned how to troubleshoot bugs, fix errors, and remove viruses. While taking such issues to a repair center is usually the quickest solution, having majored in computer science, I’ve always strived to solve problems myself rather than relying on others.
Through this process, I gained new knowledge and information, and my repair and troubleshooting skills improved over time. As a result, I reached a level where, in any organization, if computer usage problems arose, I could step in personally to solve them and even provide necessary advice. As this experience accumulated, I naturally studied various problem-solving methods and advanced repair techniques. My skills grew noticeably with my studies, enabling me to handle a broader range of environments.
Furthermore, I expanded my scope beyond simple device repairs to include improving internet environments, network recovery, modem repairs, and fixing software errors. Thanks to these activities, people around me have recently started calling me the ‘computer doctor’. At your company too, if bugs or problems occur while using devices, I can quickly and accurately resolve the issues myself, eliminating the need to call an external repair technician.

Studying Programming Languages

Some people strictly separate hobbies and work, but I’m a bit different. For me, hobbies and work naturally blend together. Generally, hobbies are activities you can enjoy without much mental effort, while work is an activity you must engage in to earn a living, often feeling some burden while using your brain. However, as an aspiring programmer, I create computer programs and plan software. I don’t view these activities purely as ‘work’. Instead, I actively engage in every stage—planning, development, and execution—with enjoyment. I also study programming as a hobby whenever I have free time.
My current focus is programming languages. Studying various programming languages only benefits my work; it never becomes a liability. So, to broaden my knowledge, I take relevant courses, read textbooks cover-to-cover, and consult reference books. Specifically, I’ve gained a solid grasp of several languages like C, JSP, MFC, and Java, but I’m not satisfied with that level and consistently strive to upgrade my skills. Studying isn’t inherently fun, but strangely, when I study programming languages, I find it so interesting that I lose track of time. That’s how much I don’t distinguish between hobbies, studying, and work.
My specialty is modifying and improving existing programs using these programming languages. Of course, my goal is to become a developer who creates new programs from scratch, but when I have free time, I often focus more on ‘improvement’ than ‘development’. The world is already filled with countless software applications and Android games. While I enjoy these programs as a user, I don’t stop there. When I think, “Adding this feature would make it even better,” I apply new ideas myself to modify and improve them. It’s like taking inspiration from the original and adding my own twist. Practicing this often makes me feel my work, ideas, and strategic planning abilities advance to the next level.
For me, learning programming languages isn’t just about acquiring skills. It’s a virtuous cycle: I build my skills while doing what I love, and then apply those skills back to my work. That’s why programming languages are my hobby, my study, and my work. I want to keep learning new languages and technologies, and use them to create better programs.

Experience winning an information retrieval competition

During high school, I happened to participate in an information retrieval competition. The competition required finding and attaching materials relevant to a given topic under specific rules. To prepare, I practiced web searching for several days beforehand. When the competition began, the process of finding and organizing materials proved less difficult than expected. This allowed me to leverage my fast search skills and computer proficiency, ultimately winning the grand prize. That experience cemented web surfing-related activities as a hobby, transforming it from mere interest into a daily habit.
Even after that, I frequently surfed the web regularly, not just to find necessary information but also to expand into researching materials for writing articles or essays. Especially when preparing assignments during college, I naturally started with internet searches, and this habit greatly improved my research skills.
I could swiftly locate materials relevant to a topic or subject, quickly verify their accuracy, and because my search speed was fast, the time needed for editing materials was also reduced. During the editing process, I focused on summarizing only the key points to organize them for easy reading by others. Thanks to this, I could write a high-quality piece in a short amount of time.
Through this experience, I realized that information retrieval is more than just a hobby—it’s my specialty. This gives me confidence that I can find accurate information much faster than others.
The sales administration field also inherently involves not only meeting people but also essential administrative tasks like document creation and data organization. I am confident I can contribute effectively in these areas without any shortcomings. My ability to search for information quickly and accurately, combined with efficient data organization, can be a core competency that boosts work productivity. I intend to leverage this strength to achieve even better results going forward.

The Joy of Taking Computers Apart

My hobby is disassembling and reassembling computers, meticulously examining their internals and making repairs. This hobby has continued since my high school days. Back then, I was so deeply interested in computer repair that I aimed to major in computer education. I consistently sought out related information, building up specialized knowledge in the hardware field. Thanks to this, during my school years, I managed the school’s multi-purpose lab and even took on the role of repairing broken computers in the faculty office myself. I actively participated in various computer-related volunteer activities, not only with hardware but also installing and modifying software programs. My abilities were recognized by those around me, and whenever someone’s computer had issues, they would call on me.
While repairing, I would meticulously examine the chips inside the computer or components requiring soldering. I enjoyed performing soldering work myself or fabricating chips to reinstall them. Through this process, I naturally gained a deep understanding of the internal structure, and gradually, ‘disassembling’ itself became a joyful hobby. Now, I collect used computers, take them apart, diagnose the issues, repair and reassemble them, bringing them back to life like new products. The moment broken used parts are reborn into a new computer, I feel immense satisfaction—a sense of pride as if breathing new life into something discarded, along with the feeling of creating added value.
For me, disassembling and reassembling computers transcends a simple hobby; it’s a creative endeavor to build ‘my own computer’ that doesn’t exist anywhere else. The moment a machine destined for the scrap heap shines again, the time and dedication I invested sparkle within it. That’s why, today too, I place a used computer on my desk, pick up my screwdriver, and dream of its new transformation.

Creating Games with Computer Programming

Since high school, I’ve majored in computer science, studying programming languages and various technologies. As someone who always loved playing games, the thought naturally occurred: ‘Why not try making my own game?’ However, practicing and developing alone proved challenging, so I formally took on programming through club activities with friends. This allowed me to create games and software directly, using the methods and systems I envisioned.
I started by building simple programs like calculators and alarm clocks to solidify my fundamentals. Building on this experience, I took on more challenging projects and began developing a simple role-playing game. As I created characters and tried to make them move according to the story, I realized that technology alone wasn’t enough to complete a game. I directly experienced how crucial planning and ideas are, and that games absolutely require ‘fun elements’ to keep users immersed.
After that, I became interested not only in the technical aspects of computer programming but also in story composition methods that could draw out fun and interest. I planned games that could tell stories by borrowing formats from novels or dramas, and actually implemented them. I released these games as Android apps, and after launch, I received diverse feedback from many users. Through this repeated process, I gradually became familiar with the game production environment and development workflow, enabling me to create more polished results.
Today, I consider game and software development, along with planning, both a hobby and a special skill. Beyond simply enjoying it, I find great fulfillment in turning ideas into tangible forms and bringing joy to people. Moving forward, I want to continue learning new technologies, adding creative stories, and making games that many people can enjoy.