30 interesting things about myself

1. Short Height
If I ask any friend of mine to express me in one word, the most common adjective will be the word "short," referring to my short height. As a result, I was commonly dubbed as smurf or dwarf when I was young. Now, even though I am a high school senior, my height does not exceed 170cm, quite unsatisfactory. I once had a complex being teased by my peers about my height. After I went through adolescence, I learned how to respect myself rather than being influenced by others' mean comments. Thus, these days, I do not care so much about those banters, but still if someone jokes about my height when I am in a bad mood, it hurts my feeling slightly. I guess I am still on the way to learn how to genuinely appreciate my given condition and cope with those chaffs. In fact, if we round our heights up to hundred digit, it's all the same!

2. A short boy story by haha (Song)
One of my favorite songs is"A short boy story" by the singer HAHA. I can truely sympathize with the main protagonist in the lyrics. The line that caught my attention, and still remains as the all-time favorite, is that "I am happy that I am short because I can look up everything in the world," in a sense of reverence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrYuEJV4UCk

3. I wear 260~265mm shoes, larger than normal size that a person similar to my height would wear. In other words, I relatively have big feet. I only buy "Reebok" products.

4. Sports Maniac
I enjoy almost all kinds of sports. Olympics games seasons, coming every two year considering both summer and winter, are one of the many factors that motivate my mundane life. Every month before the Olympics, I print out our Korean National team's schedules in order not to miss a single game. Regardless of the kind, sports games themselves containing dramas and stories thrill my nerves. Pyeongchang Olympics is also added to my enjoyable memory.

5. Lotte Giants
Whenever it is not the Olympic seasons or World Cup seasons, I fill my boring evening with watching Korean Baseball League. Many people align themselves with their regional teams. However, I cheer for Lotte Giants, the team based on Busan, even though I was born in Cheon An. I hate seeing traitors moving from one team to another. Thus, it has been about 10 years since I started watching Lotte Giant's games. My favorite player is Dae Ho Lee. Unfortunately, my team has not won the Korean series for 26 years. I wish the curse will not last longer than the one did for Chicago Cubs.

6. Laziness
I like to be lazy. I focus the quality of work that I do than the quantity of the work itself. Thus, my policy is to be a smart couch potato. Still, the premise of my policy is to get all works that I have to do done.

7. Stick to the principle
I often like to stick to the principle. I do not like people who make exceptions and justify their actions. That pisses me off.

8. President of the 23rd Judicial Council
I was elected as a president of the 23rd Judicial Council in 2017 first semester. I resented the absence of presumption of innocence in our student rules, merely justified for the purpose of keeping the dorm in order. Thus, I chose the keyword "trsut" as the direction of reforms, restructuring the stance of Judicial Branch, leaning slightly toward students to protect them from being wrongly accused and penalizied. At the end, I got reprimanded by both some students and some teachers, the accusors. Those reproves, often ignorant about the true reality, despaired me, but still it was the best lesson in KMLA that effectively taught me what responsibility and justice truely means.

9. I am an only child. Interestingly, I never wanted nor asked my parents that I want a younger brother or a sister. I guess I extremely enjoyed the advantage that an only child can have: monopolizing parents' love and attention.

10. Chinese/Japanese
I can speak three languages: Korean, English,, and Chinese. I had studied chinese from 5 years old for a while. In KMLA, I regain the chance to maintain my linguistic interest. Luckily, I also received satisfactory results in SAT Subject Test Chinese with Listening. My next goal is learning Japanese up to a level that I can understand normal conversations.

11. Animation - Detective Conan
This animation was the major cause that made me feel the necessity of studying Japanese. The main character Conan, a smart detective, filled large portions of my childhood, once leading me to pursue the future career as a detective when I was young. This still stays as my favorite Japanese animation.

12. Poor dresser
I have little interest in fashion fields and clothes; In fact, I can be classified as one of the worst dressers in KMLA.

13. Grandmother
I spent my most of childhood with my grandmother. At first, I hated it because I was often embarrassed by her because people often gossiped about her strange outlooks (She is disabled because of several car accidents) whenever I played at the playground. Now, however, I extremely appreciate her efforts. Without her, my personality and characteristics would have not been completed.

14. Vision Trip to America in 2016
The trip was the main momentum for me to make the biggest decision I had to do ever in my 19 years of life. It was my first time to visit all these prestigious universities in America, which expanded my perspective. I always dreamed of studying abroad in America when I graduate high school, and the Vision Trip was the trigger of the decision. It was hard to persuade my parents who wanted me to study hard for Seoul National University. To them, the international field seemed just so risky and instable. I also agitated a lot, weighing both benefits and possible harms of making a big decision. However, at last, I hated refusing to follow what my heart said. I did not want to regret about the road not taken. I at least wanted to be brave about my life, not being a coward.

15. Political science
My academic interest lies at political science. Especially, I enjoy exploring different countries' political institutions and structures and appraise their political efficacies. I am currently planning to major in International Relations in the university; I wish I can work in NGOs or supernational organizations someday.

16. Donation
I have been donating $30 every month to UNICEF for about 8 years. My interest in global societies, especially in global conflicts, may have derived from the practice.

17. Ramyeon
It is my favorite dish.

18. Clean Bed.
To make it clear, I am not a neat freak. This is pretty clear when people look at my desks, covered with unused objects all over the place. However, my bed is almost the only one place that I am obsessed with maintaing it untainted. No one came come up to my bed. I EVEN wipe my laptop and cell phone before I put them on my bed. Thus, there are many friends who are willing to sleep in my bed the day before we leave the dorm.

19. Narcissist
A common evaluation about me from my friends is that I have notably higher self-esteem than others, almost viewed as narcissism. I do think that I love myself more than other people will normally do. I think it is my own way to cope with stressful situations because it seems like to give me some kind of confidence. Thus, nowadays I am confused whether my narcissistic personality is genuine or a mere self-defense mechanism.

20. New Experience
I extremely enjoy trying new things. This might be because I get easily bored doing repetitive, mundane tasks. For instance, when I went to Hawaii to take SAT, I did not feel good right after the test, thinking that I did not meet my goal. However, I decided to experience new things anyway, so I headed to the beach and learned how to surf.

21. Miser
I do not mind using my money for someone else so much. However, I really hate using money for myself, such as shopping. i just feel guilty and uncomfortable spending money on certain products, even related to my hobby or interests.

22. Bad sense of directions
I really suck at finding directions. I do not remember how to get somewhere, even if I visited there several times. I can blame my father for this defect since he is always scolded by my mom whenever he drives. In contrast, my mom seems to have certain GPS and navigation inside her head. Thus, one of my favorite cities in the world is NYC, formed by sreets and avenues, making me easy to find ways.

23. I hate Apple products
Maybe I am already tamed or brain-washed by Samsung. Still, I do not understand why people use iphones or Macbooks. They are just too complicated for me to use.

24. Mongolia
This country is where I visit once in two years to visit my cousins and uncle who work there as a clergyman. Whenever I lie down on the hill of the vast green plain, I feel like I am extricated from all concerns and problems in my life, at least for the moment.

25. Chatter box

26. Cheonan
I currently live in Seoul, not Ilsan

27. Memorization
I believe I am good at memorizing stuffs. Especially, I am good at memorizing meaningless things such as Mr. Kim's phone numbers or his car number.

28. Black

29. Music (Instruments)
I literally cannot play any musical instrument. I once tried flute, but I stopped after realizing that I both suck and hate playing it. However, I came to KMLA and learned how to play Korean Traditional Drum in the school club called Samuchim. Even though it is embarassing to say that now I have my own instrument that I can play, I see it as one of the changes in myself that happened in this school.

30. Caramel Macchiato

6th podcast review

          Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and other prestigious universities most likely are not concerned about the financial issue. Annually, huge amount of donations are given to these prestigious universities by famous philanthropist. In contrast, there are many small colleges in state of deficit being impossible to give out financial aid to poor regional students to enroll the colleges. It's normal for abundant philanthropists to invest their money in prestigious universities to grow competent human resources for the future. Nobody can blame these philanthropists since they are actually donating their own money without vivid benefits. However, we should rather rasie a question. What about the other half of colleges who actually need donations?
          
         In 1990s, Hank Rowan donated $100 millon to a college in New Jersey, a very shocking event back in the time. Until then, nobody thought of giving large amount of money to so-called infamous colleges, viewed as a waste of money. The trend sitll exists today, looking at the amount of money famous universities are obtaining compared to small colleges. Obviously, donating money to MIT, Standford, and CALTEC will bring quick result in scientific research, using already set cutting edge lab systems. If we only regard the quick research result, a college in New Jersey might be one of the most stupid choices the donators could make. However, the point that I want to convey is sometimes the world needs dumb, inefficient policies to help everyone, not someone.

          The basic principle of education is that everyone should at least have the equal opportunity to get educated. Local colleges are the places that could provide those opportunities. However, the problem is that they are always short in money, unable to provide financial aid to these students. If the donations given to famous universities that will have enough money in anyway, the inequality of education will be mitigated. It's a dumb decision regarding the result. However, sometimes we need dumb decisions to achieve something clever.

5th podcast review

     Money is a huge problem for colleges. Since there is not enough financial source for colleges to keep all the facilities at the top level, colleges constantly make a choice. For instance, Bowdoin colleges decided to spend more money in order to provide high quality of food in the dining hall for students. On the other hand, Vassar college, almost same size compared to Bowdoin college, determined to use thier money primarily on allowing and supporting low-income students to study in thier college, another contribution for capitalization. Some might view these decisions aa colleges' discrepancy. However, at least Malcom Gladwell viewed it as a moral issue, criticizing Bowdoin as a immoral education institution Through the podcast, Malcom Gladwell tried to point out the importance of capitalization emanated out from the "food fight"
    
     Capitalization is a concept that is constantly highlighted in the podcast. Malcom Gladwell views capitalization as a moral duty for  regional liberal arts colleges to aim for. Thus, he viewed Bowdoin college, where they use substantial amount of money on food rather than students, as an irresponsible institution that does not help the capitalization at all. The question whehter these decisions should be viewed as a college's discrepancy remains, but in my perspective, food could never be prioritized over supporting low-income students since colleges are the last educational institution.

     Food can be important for students to enjoy the elated school life. However, still food does not manipulate students' lives after the graduation. However, financial aid that colleges provide can be the last resort for poor income students. College education is almost their last chances to stop the vicious cycle occuring inside their lives. College should feel responsibility to help these regional students. That is the role of education that should be fulfilled. We should remember that Bowdoin is a college, not a restaruant. 

     We need to respect each college's discrepancy of implementing the school policy by using financial budget. However, we should ceaselessly influence colleges to work for capitalization, just like Vasaar does. To accomplish this goal, students should actively choose colleges that try their best to contribute themselves to capitalization. Just like Malcom Gladwell mentioned inside the podcast, "Don't go to Bowdoin, go to Vassar!"

4th podcast review

Education is a prevailing issue in Korean society. Topics of conversation between parents are always related to universities and special high school. Many educational industries are actually dominant, earning huge amounts of money annually. However, the problem is that these infrastructures are only centered in urban areas, especially in Seoul, leaving many rural areas under developed. Thus, there are many students in South Korea that resemble Carlos, waiting for a “capitalization,” a term used by Malcom Gladwell. Unfortunately, however, the situation of these students is quite hopeless since capitalization is not implemented in an effective way.

           Obviously, government tries to support these impoverished students by giving out financial aid or affirmative action. However, as Malcom Gladwell has mentioned, these policies are not applicable for entire region of the country. This might be a limit of Korean Bureaucracy. However, regardless of the causes, the government’s effort of capitalization becomes meaningless since there are many students, who are gifted just like Carlos in the podcast, who are not found by the government’s policies. These students remain insufficiently educated, contributing to loss of competent sources for the nation as a whole Gladwell strongly argued that we might find many talented students through the effort of capitalization. The reality of South Korea, however, is that the effort of searching these students is not making enough results to resolve these poor, talented students’ problems. In short, many South Korean students, who live in extremely poor or rural areas, are not even able to grab opportunities to become a “Carlos” at the first hand, a total tragedy.

           Malcom Gladwell also criticized the fact that other social problems that students are facing would also act as obstacles to block these talented students’ futures. In order for a capitalization to succeed, diverse social problems should also be resolve along with financial aid. However, Korean government mainly focuses on reducing rich-poor gap and giving out financial aid, believing themselves that they are attributing in actualizing capitalizations. However, those students will eventually go to good universities and get a higher education, without concerning financial issues, without the resolution of other social problems they face. Fundamental gap between rural and urban areas can’t be solved by mere financial aid. Social atmosphere that these poor students will face can’t be disappeared by simple financial aid system. However, the Korean government is extremely ignorant about other factors than financial issues, making so many “Carlos” with incomplete capitalization.

           Most of society members agree with the necessity of the capitalization. There are many talented students undiscovered in poor or rural areas. These students should benefit from the capitalization, contributing themselves hugely to the nation. However, in the status quo, the capitalization is incomplete. Capitalization is not accomplished by mere financial aid. It is necessary for poor students; thus, it needs to be made. Now, base on Malcom Gladwell, it is time for Korean society to deliberately come out with the resolution. We should all remember that a capitalization is a hope for these students.

3rd podcast review

Smart people sometimes make a really dumb decision. It’s not because they do not know how to deal with the issue. Rather, they try to keep the conventional method, expected by the crowds. People are afraid of doing something differently, especially if the method itself is not welcomed by the crowds cheering for them. As a result, smart people inevitably make ridiculous decision, preventing them from reaching another stage. The vicious cycle needs to be broken in order for an advanced result.

            In revisionist history podcast, episode number 3, Malcom Gladwell introduced the example of one of the greatest NBA players, Wilt Chamberlin, trying to explain why smart people also make dumb mistakes. Wilt Chamberlin was a perfect player, indefensible. Nobody can ever stop him if he dribbles to the opposite side of the court. He was an irreproachable player except one tiny little weakness, free-throw. In other words, if he could manage the only weakness, he could be the ideal basketball player of the history. Obviously, Wilt Chamberlin tried so many different methods to improve his free-throw and finally found out that if he throws under-hand, a very awkward and unprofessional-looking format, he could dramatically increase success rate of his shot. Thus, he eventually changed his shoot form and experienced the apparent effect of it. However, he did not keep up with his under-throw, returning back to his original form. Why did Wilt Chamberlin return to his original method? Crowds, avid fans, did not let him to throw in an awkward format.

            Wilt Chamberlin was already a super star back at the time. He was an idol for his avid fans and a role model for every single player of the league. Imagine that player throwing free-throw in a very awkward way just because to increase the success rate. Obviously, avid fans can’t bear their idol being so unprofessional. Thus, even though Wilt Chamberlin knew a way to resolve the situation, can be described as a smart person, he decided not to keep up with the method, a dumb decision.

            The situation is not so different in current South Korea. Productivity and creativity of South Korean industries are in a stalemate. Employees only pursue conventional methods that are no longer effective in increasing the productivity. Certainly, there will be many smart, intelligent employees who know how to resolute the situation. However, with the same reason of Wilt Chamberlin, they rather choose not to be a smart, isolated person but to be an obedient orthodox. Then, the society lacking productivity and creativity is only left.

            This problem should be change. The vicious cycle should be ended. This process needs courage, not the intelligence. It is true that smart people make dumb decision. However, it is also true that smart people know the fact that it is a dumb decision. What they need is the courage to fight with the orthodox, convention, and social atmosphere. When they overcome these challenges, the society will become a better place to live.

1st Podcast review

People often have a strong preference to certain ideologies or groups. Having a preference is very normal, but it often gets distorted as a cruel way of discrimination. In fact, even though people tend to discriminate groups of people who they abominate, they feel some sense of guilt, trying to hide their unjust behaviors. This phenomenon exactly applies to shy trump supporters. In order to find a lee way for their actions, people try to use psychological self-justification using a concept called "moral licensing." In the first podcast, Malcom Gladwell introduced the concept "moral licensing", explaining the moral background of people's malicious conducts.
           Malcom Gladwell criticized that we often open the door to one outsider and give ourselves a permission to close the door for other sides. In other words, he depicted the concept referring to the gate of chance. For instance, he mentioned Elizabeth Thompson, a talented artist, and started the discussion of gate opening. Thompson was excellent and competent, but royal family was not just ready for the acceptance of minorities. As proven in the former example, people tended to be reluctant of accepting minorities. This led many social activitists to arouse civil rights movments. Thus, nowadays society views discrimination as an enemy to eradicate. However, hypocritically, inside the deep mind, people normally have prejudices and anathema for certain people. Since society views it as a sin, people can't publically explicit their viewpoint, exactly same as shy trump supporters. Instead, they decided to find a seemingly rational self-justification to justify their actions, moral licensing. They try to open to the gate of chance to one group and use the exceptions to discriminate other groups who they actually abhorred. Moral licensing eventually makes the problem social prejudices as a deadlock, extremely complicated to be resolved.
             I believe that gatekeepers have the power to make a call. If people are aware of the fact that they are using moral licensing, they will more likely changed their attitudes. Gatekeepers should be the one who need to be aware of the psychological self-justification, turning them into a devil. If the changes do not meet, gates will remain closed and people outside the gate will fall into despair.