The Songgok Journal A Farewell to the Songgok Journal

library in school. And the volumes of books increased every year. Mr. Yi had a secret plan to support students who came to the room to have a chance to improve their language skills with the books.

During the ten years for the Songgok Journal, we could feel ups and downs in life. When the season to recruit cub-reporters in March every year came, we could almost eat our heart out. We had enough new reporters one year, but sometimes we had to lead a club life with a small member — only one or two. After publishing the newspaper every February, we have never missed the delightedness and success: self-achievement and self-confidence.

During the ten years as Freedom Writers, we felt how important it was to express our ideas about domestic or worldwide topics. The name ‘Freedom Writers’ that we decided to name the English newspaper club after watching a movie, ‘Freedom Writers’, came from ‘Freedom Riders.’ In 1994, an idealistic first-year English teacher at Wilson High School in Long Beach in the USA, Ms. Erin Gruwell, started to change her class 203. She helped her students to read books and write their own stories, which touched her profoundly and intensely. Students wanted to call themselves ‘Freedom Writers’ after ‘Freedom Riders.’ She decided to publish their stories in a book, ‘Freedom Writers Diary.’

During the ten years with Freedom Writers members of The Songgok Journal, we have been experiencing unique articles with brand-new ideas and sincere endeavors of the reporters. We finally encounter the last volume of The Songgok Journal, sincerely feeling sorry that one of the reasons is to sharply cut down the number of fresh Songgokians who apply for the school. Of course, the situation results from the decrease of would-be high schoolers all

over the country, and the case would not regrettably stop or change for the time being.

During the ten years for the Songgok Journal, we have been improving our English language skills: reading English books as many as possible, writing English articles for the newspaper, and even searching and thinking about specific topics. It was easy to find what kind of books we would read in the club room because it was like a small English

During the ten years of club activities, we have been happy to cover many kinds of topics: human rights the Japanese army sexual slavery issue and the most prolonged rally movement on every Wednesday since 1992 in front of the Japan Embassy in Korea, environmental, climate, and ecological crises on the earth, educational issues in Korea, K-cultures, the most heartbreakingly tragic accident - the Sinking of MV Sewol on April 4, 2014, and so on.

There could have been more topics and issues we would cover, but alas, we cannot help but stop here and now. No regrets. All those things we mentioned above helped us grow up, improve our language skills, and have various wide-angled points of view. Most of all, we realized who and what we are. Thank you, Freedom Writers and Mr. Yi. And Farewell to the Songgok Journal!

Freedom Writers, Songgok Tourism High School / 67 Yangwonyeok-ro, Jungnang-gu , Seoul, Korea /

Ye-rim

Usher in a New Era

Metaverse becomes a new driving force in society and economy that complements, expands, and even replaces the natural world soon. Global conglomerates point up Metaverse as a new growth engine and future competitiveness. They speed up its commercialization and R & D.

events much larger than the actual space held. Trevi Scott’s five-day performance at the Party Royale and 4,600 people participating in the Black Pink fan signing show are the potentials of the Metaverse.

According to some experts, we need to prepare systematically for various aspects of systems and technologies to jump on the giant stream of Metaverse. Korean companies should have an institutional foundation for industrial development and global competitiveness.

The tourism industry is no exception to this. All reservations for actual tourism products, such as flights, hotels, experiences, etc., can be experienced in advance in the virtual world. People can make reservations and payments, and virtual currency will also approach a new trend. We need to combine tourism with new fields rather than look at it as tourism.

Tourism is now becoming a part of everyday life, not something special. The daily life of sharing and sharing this kind of tourism through encounters with other people or strangers has also become a culture that is no longer unfamiliar by using SNS. The tourism industry should not be left behind with the Metaverse development, which will show all of this in one space. Baek Ga-gyeong, editor-in-chief

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We can use Metaverse not only in a specific field but in various places, including work and leisure. The area first recognized by the public was games. Roblox Fortnite is an example. The common point is to use games as a space for communication. Users respond by realizing things that are difficult to achieve, such as concerts, fan signing events, and exhibitions, in virtual communism. We can have

We Are the World Citizens

Therefore, global civic education is not a value-neutral education but a value-oriented education. To do so, we should agree on how and what to define the universal value of humankind. It is necessary to reorganize it globally, including international elements in education organized around the existing national state. Therefore, global citizenship education is an education aimed at the universal value of humankind that we can agree upon at this point.

Today, due to the rapid progress of globalization, human and material exchanges across national borders have become more active. Interdependency and interconnection between countries have deepened in political, economic, social, and cultural aspects. At the same time, global problems, which any one country cannot solve, are poverty, environmental issues, terrorism, and infectious diseases. These issues are expanding, the need for cooperation to respond jointly is also increasing. Therefore, the international community emphasizes the cultivation of global citizenship necessary to live as a responsible member of the worldwide community. We want to examine the necessity and concept of global citizenship education today.

It is not easy to define global citizenship education as one. It is common to see various existing educational discussions such as international understanding education, peace education, sustainable development education, development education, and civic education as a comprehensive concept.

First, global citizenship education forms identity as a member of the global community recognizes each other’s diversity. It fosters the power to live together, even if race, religion, and nationality are different.

Second, global citizenship education fosters people who pursue and strive for universal human values to internalize the values such as human rights, peace, and social justice.

Third, global civic education aims to cultivate civic awareness that recognizes and practices one’s rights as a responsible member of the global civil society. The progress of globalization has led us to the rapid spread of global problems. We cannot solve the issues such as poverty, environmental crisis, terrorism, and infectious diseases at one country level.

Therefore, global citizens do not stop at understanding global problems and issues but actively participate and solidarity for social change with ownership of the worldwide community.

All our lives have something to do with each other globally, not just limited to one village or country. We need to learn global citizenship education so that the world’s population can coexist. We specialize in tourism and should further cultivate the spirit of global citizenship. No one has a right to violate others’ human rights while conducting international projects. They should help each other as members of the worldwide community.

Baek Ga-gyeong

We Came, We Learned,

2021 Korea World Food Championship

Our proud Songgokians of the Culinary Science Department won the cooking contest in 2021.

At the 2021 Korea World Food Championship, four groups of Songgokian contestants won: one group for the first prize (the best school), two groups for the second prize, and another group for the third prize. They participated in the third section of the live competition of the contest.

The contest has been famous for its nationwide scale among many other cooking contests in Korea. The Korean Cooks Federation, Cooking Skills Promotion Association, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA), and 19 other government agencies supported and sponsored the championship every year.

The contest for Songgokians opened at our school because of the problematic Covid-19 situation. Under the training of chef Kim Dongki, a professional with the Korea chef team, and chef Jo Min-jun, who was with a restaurant of Michelin two stars. The Songgokian participants made themselves super rookies to blow a fresh breeze in the cooking field in Korea because they presented high-class appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. They had trained themselves at the cooking lab in after-school classes every week for two months.

The contest for Songgokians opened at our school because of the problematic Covid-19 situation. Under the training of chef Kim Dongki, a professional with the Korea chef team, and chef Jo Min-jun, who was with a restaurant of Michelin two stars. The Songgokian participants made themselves super rookies to blow a fresh breeze in the cooking field in Korea because they presented high-class appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. They had trained themselves at the cooking lab in after-school classes every week for two months.

and We Achieved!

2021 Sweet Macaron Awards

Songgokians of the Culinary Science Department won the gold and silver prizes at the ‘2021 Sweet Macaron Awards’ at COEX in June last year. All three teams participated in the contest to activate the bakery industry by promoting local Korean agricultural products and improving the quality of macaron, one of the confectionery products.

Songgokians did their best to get the gold prize for ‘Ggaecaron,’ meaning ‘macaron with sweet sesame pork’ after many failures for the contest. And other teams won the silver awards with ‘Sweet pumpkin macaron’ and ‘Gotgam macaron’ (meaning, macaron with dried persimmons).

It was a special awards contest at which they showed the possibility to become good cooks with actual ability.

The Master-hand at Cooking has Come!

The first workshop with a master hand at cooking began in 2021.

Mr. Nam Dae-hyun is a chef de cuisine at Signiel Seoul of Lotte Hotel at Lotte World Tower. He has served at Hotel Lotte for 30 years. He was appointed as the 14th master hand at cooking by the Presidential Decree of Korea. He managed many national events such as the G20 Summit, the opening and closing ceremonies of the Pyeongchang Olympics, a state guest dinner, etc.

Of Songgokians, the second and third graders of the Culinary Science Department participated in the first regular class/workshop with Chef Nam. They experienced high-class food, which Pierre Gagnaire had sold. Pierre Gagnaire was Michelin’s first star restaurant at Signiel Seoul of Lotte. Chef Nam demonstrated cooking to students, and they applied his skills for ‘a workshop exhibition with Master hand.’ Chef Nam’s cooking skills were beneficial for students who had plans for their future with hotels and cooking fields. The workshop gave Songgokians new hope and courage.

Welcome to French Atelier

French Atelier Dissert class has launched for students of the Hotel & Tourism Department this year. They can learn the French food culture through cooking French food by themselves.

It is not too much to say that French people even have a long-time course meal to enjoy dessert. Even artistic desserts have developed: sweet cakes, baked apples with whipped cream, Krebsuit with orange sauce and ice cream, chocolate mousse, pears salted in syrup, raw yogurt, compote of fruits in natural non-solidified cheese, etc.

This lesson offered students a chance to experience French food through the local characteristics, culture, and basic knowledge of French food.

A glass of wine and a piece of cheese contain France

The Hotel & Tourism Department students could perform their roles like the steppingstones between the two countries Korea and France. Before that, they must deeply understand France through learning French culture, tourism, wines, etc. The French Atelier, one of the after-school activities at Songgok, was planned to decrease the negative understanding about the tourism industry, which has been suffering a severe blow from the problematic covid-19 situation. The situation almost made the industry stop not only domestically but worldwide. And we hope to offer a possible chance for students to go into the various tourism fields.

In particular, the class has schemed as a preparatory course of mapping out the competitive career, a representative F & B in the hotel industry. Therefore, students must fully understand the wine sommelier as a vocation, which is deeply related to the French culture in the background. Students also need to catch on to the various business of the industry.

Most of all, students could learn about the various French wines by production areas through the French Atelier after-school class.

Moreover, they could comprehend the French culture by studying food and its supplemental ingredients in harmony with the wine production areas, kinds, and characteristics item by item. That may lead them to challenge the tourism industry with solid self-confidence.

My Short Stay with

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello. I am Hyeri Kim, an education trainee who attended Songgok Tourism High School in 2021. I am a Kyunghee University Graduate School of Education student, majoring in Commerce Education. So, while I was at Songgok Tourism High School, I taught Accounting Principles, and I was in charge of the 4th class of the second grade.

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School.

First, I thought the students were bright, cheerful, and innocent. And that first impression lasted until the very end, and I thought, perhaps, that these students are so pure as time goes by. So, thanks to that, I became a person who, under the influence of students, thinks positively together and tries to radiate bright energy during educational practice. At the same time, I did not want to harm the cheerful atmosphere, so I strengthened my will to treat students more responsibly.

education that protects them is proper education.

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

My major is business administration, but overall, business administration has an extensive range of learning. There is even a nickname “Mixed-soup-department” among students in the same department because they learn based on theories and knowledge of different disciplines. Psychology theory, law theory, economic theory, statistics theory. In this way, you can learn the studies and theories of various departments little by little. The detailed curriculum may vary from university to university. Still, the curriculum consisted of personnel organization, marketing, production management, financial management, international management, and accounting at the university I attended.

College activities include various things, such as course activities, club activities, external activities, exchange students, and interns, as you might expect. There are so many activities that I don’t dare to list here, but few college students take care of them. When you come to college, you take care of everything by yourself when you become an adult, so if you have something you want to do, you can find it yourself and do such activities.

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

Whether it’s employment or going to school, I want to let you know that dreams can continue to change, and that’s natural. That’s why I don’t want you to be embarrassed or frustrated by the change of dreams and the disappearance of your original goal. Changing dreams is such a natural phenomenon. I’m much older than you. My dreams are changing. Ha-ha, your age is much younger than you think, so even if your goals for the future change thousands of times, it’s never a late decision. What if I’m late again? I think it only needs to arrive appropriately and accurately. So, don’t be in a hurry, and instead, I think you can grind and polish yourself more closely, sharper than others, delicate and firm.

Ga-gyeong

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

All the times I spent with the students was truly memorable. Before coming to practice, I was worried about my role in demonstrating myself. At lunchtime, I enjoyed chatting with my students in the classroom. We strolled up to the beautiful small hill behind the school campus in the first week. We took group photos together under the cherry blossoms in the background. I consulted with each student for an hour. On the last day as a teacher-trainee, they surprised me with a short farewell party for me. We exchanged gifts with each other. All these things remain unforgettable memories.

I am curious about your high school life.

I came from an academic high school and was one of the students who had the most stress on the entrance exam than anyone else. Compared to Songgok Tourism High School students, I seem to have lived a very depressed and lackluster life. At that time, I was studying for a better future, but I was not happy at all. So, seeing the bright and healthy students of Songgok Tourism High School, I felt that this is the life of a real teenage high school student. Songgok Tourism High’s

Baek

“So even if your goals change thounds of times, it’s never or late deciion.”

Kim Hye-ri Graduate School of Education at Kyunghee University

Songgokians in 2021

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello, I am Yeo Seong-ik, a 15th grader currently attending the Department of Tourism, Kyunghee University. I was admitted to my alma mater through the entrance exam for the 2015 academic year. Since 2016, I applied for a teaching job in the Department of Tourism and was approved.

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School. My first impression of Songgok Tourist High School was awe-inspiring. The appearance of Songgok Tourism High School, seen from the crosswalk opposite the school, looks a bit unusual because the school has a unique structure on a steep hillside. The internal system is also complicated by connecting several schools. Still, I thought it was a school with a long history. On the first day of student practice, the cherry blossoms bloomed beautifully. It was nice to think that the students could enjoy the cherry blossoms in the back garden on the side of the school grounds every year.

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

The most memorable thing was that I had classes with my friends in class 5 of the first grade at Songgok Tourism High School and gave life guidance such as ordinances and endings. I took charge of general tourism courses and took turns in classes 5th and 6th of the first grade. In the class course, I learned the importance of encouraging students to participate and considering all students, not just specific students. In addition, the scenes of students huddling together to talk to us, the student teachers, during the breaks are most memorable. We were in the temporary teachers’ room on the 5th floor, and they came up from the first floor out of breath.

I am curious about your high school life.

I remember entering high school and almost studying at school all three years. I woke up early every day. After all, I had to go to school by 07:00 because I had 0th period. In period 0, I read or did what I wanted to do before the morning ordinance. We had morning classes from 08:00 to 11:00. During lunchtime, the school broadcasted English lectures to improve our listening ability on the air. After lunch, we had classes again until 16:00. Until 18:00, students are obliged to take after-school classes by instructors on the outside, such as basic essay writing or state-run courses. After an hour of dinner time, night self-study continued from 19:00 to 23:00, which is for 4 hours, so it was close to midnight when I always came home, washed up, and lay down on my bed. The club relieved the stress of studying by entering a baseball club that had nothing to do with admission. The school called for self-study when the vacation came and conducted self-study from 09:00 to 17:00 except for weekends. I think I became a greasy grind or a study bug for three years in high school.

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

We want to take university classes registering for courses like the

high school credit system. It has recently emerged as a hot topic, so students can take the classes they want. I am a tourism major, so when I was in the first and second grades of college, I took liberal arts and majored in tourism. Liberal arts classes consisted of human value exploration, civic education, writing, and English classes at Kyung Hee University. Tourism majors consisted of tourism academy theory, air transport industry theory, hotel industry management theory, and tourism strategy management theory. After I went to the military, I majored in economics. I took economics, microeconomics, macroeconomics, financial engineering, and information economics. As for the club at school, I went to Worldview, a travel club, and had a lot of fun traveling in Korea. For off-school activities, I worked as a ‘Korea’s Probono,’ Workaholic, an ambassador for Walker Hill Hotel Seoul, Shinhan Bank’s college student ambassador, an intern at Haevichi Hotel and Resort, and an intern at DB Financial Investment’s compliance monitoring part.

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

What I want to say most is that no experience is useless. Everything students experience, whether they graduate from high school or get a job, can be a great asset in their future lives. Finally, we live intending to have an excellent job in a high-quality workplace. It is a common goal for students in humanities or specialized high schools. So, I want to say the importance of determining the moment of choice, setting a firm plan, and preparing for it.

Baek Ga-gyeong

“Set a firm plan, and prepare for it.”

Yeo Seong-ik Department of Tourism Science at Kyunghee University

My Short Stay with

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello, I am Seo-yeon Park, a senior in the Hotel and Tourism Management Department, Sejong University. At Songgok Tourism High School, I taught the hotel food and beverage service course for 3rd-grade students of the Culinary Tourism Department and the 5th class of 2nd grade!

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School.

When I first came to Songgok Tourism High School for an orientation held on April 2, I remember worrying about getting lost because of the unique school structure. Of course, I’m still confused even a month later. Thanks to the shouting students I encountered on my way to the auditorium made me glad. I was impressed that Songgok Tourism High School students would be active and active. As the first impression, our Songgok Tourism High School students could spend a month with a lot of affection and love.

When it comes to learning, I want to express it as “I’m not good at it, but I work hard.” I didn’t study well for three years, but I tried to do my best, and as a result, I got the best result in the final exam, the CSAT, so I entered Sejong University.

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

Sejong University’s College of Hotel and Tourism consists of the Department of Food Service Management and the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management from the second year after entering the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management and teaching essential management, economics, philosophy, and English knowledge. The Department of Hotel & Tourism Management offers lectures to build understanding in detailed fields such as travel agency management, cruise management, and service management. Sejong University offers many theoretical subjects suitable for acquiring related knowledge. Still, there is a limit to gaining practical experience at school as the only experimental subjects are ‘casino practical practice.’

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school (or get a job)!

I wanted to be a “middle school home curriculum teacher” throughout middle and high school. Still, I entered the Department of Hotel Tourism Management due to barriers to grades. Since then, I thought about giving up my dream of becoming a teacher, but in April 2021, I became a teacher in front of you. Like this, the world goes around in any way. Our Songgok Tourism High School students will also have a lot of concerns about their careers. Still, if they enjoy and work hard on what they face, they will do what they want someday.

I don’t have much age difference from you. Still, if I had to advise you as a senior living in the world for four years, there’s nothing much. In other words, if you become an adult from adolescents, of course, your responsibility will increase, but don’t be afraid of many things. I hope you have the confidence and courage to try many things and start over even if you fail.

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

I made the mistake of breaking glass while conducting a hotel food and beverage service class of the 3rd class of the 3rd-grade. The moment I remember the most when the students put away the glasses and said that it was okay on my behalf, who was bewildered by the first situation. The students who held hands and said it was okay were comforting, so I secretly wiped away tears during recess. I still remember the soothing eyes of our friends. As a novice teacher, I might have lacked many things. Still, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the 3rd grade culinary and tourism students who listened intently to the class!

I am curious about your high school life. I was the so-called ‘insider’ in school life. In a word, I was a ‘noisy student’ who enjoyed dancing and talking. I didn’t like being awkward with my classmates from the first day, talking to everyone and asking questions. Also, when I think of high school, I remember the days when I tried to be faithful to school life while serving as the class president and the student council.

Lastly, please know someone you support when you hate the world and don’t want to do everything. It is fate that we met like this in the spring of 2021 when flowers bloom, but I will think of you anytime, anywhere, and cheer for you. Let’s live well and see each other again someday, Song Kwan Go!

Baek Ga-gyeong

“So even if your goals change thounds of times, it’s never or late deciion.”

Park Seo-yeon Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at Sejong University

Songgokians in 2021

Yoo Jae-hyun Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at Sejong University

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello, Songgok Tourism High School. I’m Yoo Jae-hyun, who’s a little sad because I resemble potatoes, dog poop, and even seed ‘hotteok,’ a Chinese stuffed pancake! Ha-ha. I’m studying hotel tourism management at Sejong University, taking a teaching course, so I met you like this. I spent my first-year course, General Tourism. And I was with the 4th class of the first grade during the past month. Good to see you!!

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School.

The first impression of Songgok Tourism High School just came to mind that it was a “bright spring” as much as the flowers filling the back garden. Everyone was energetic and bright, from the first graders who had just started high school to the third graders now taking their last steps in school and going to their dreams. The way they listened to the teacher hard in class, took pictures of each other on the hill behind them and played little tricks on me and other student teachers looked so pretty. The cherry blossoms, which were in full bloom on the first day I went, fell in less than a week. Still, Songgok Tourism High School students were always in full bloom, so I think I could receive that energy. (Is it too cheesy? lol)

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

There are unforgettable scenes: The students who came to me and played with cute props, the students who flocked to me after class and poured out questions, the students who gave me gifts they brought themselves, and our first-year class 4 friends who threw me a surprise party on the last day. Every moment is crucial, so it’s hard to pick one. So rather than the most memorable thing, I’ll tell you about what encouraged me in the beginning. In the early days of the student, who had a lot of worries because he was so awkward and clumsy with dealing with students, there was a student who gave me a candy. I was suffering a lot alone, but I brought one candy home and fiddled for a long time, and I made a promise that I should do my best in my way, not follow others. I was grateful to all the students I met, but I remember it encouraged me to start a hard time. Taking this opportunity, I would like to express my gratitude to the student again!

I am curious about your high school life.

I graduated from a high school in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do. Our school is a dormitory school located in the middle of a rural mountain, so there were only rice fields around it. What was unusual was that cell phones were prohibited, so we used public phones and didn’t have school uniforms. Now that I think about it, I wonder how I lived there for three years, but I ran and played in the mountains behind my friends, and I was the dance club president (even if I didn’t look like that at all. I prepared for the festival and held a student council meeting, so I had a hectic time planning an event. I want to ask Songgokkians to do what they can only do when in high school rather than unconditionally do many activities. When I thought about the club ‘Shall I try,’ the student president, and other things, I felt that they were things that I couldn’t do unless now, so I did it without wor-

rying. Even if other people say it’s useless, and even if the results didn’t come out as good as the student thought after doing it, if it’s worth it, be brave and do it! The work, in some way, will surely repay the student someday.

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

Just as I played hard in high school, I played hard in college. Since I work in the band and confectionery is a hotel tourism management, I also joined the Hotel Research Group, Casino, and Cocktail Volunteer clubs and worked hard. Briefly tell you about the class. It feels slightly different from what you learned at Songgok Tourism High School. I think it’s right to say that universities don’t necessarily receive a higher level of education, but that the ‘field’ of learning is a little different. I’m Songgok Tourism High School. The hotel table setting, cocktails, baristas, bakeries, and cooking skills are almost zero, so I must learn from you. Lol. Instead, I’m learning strategies to make the hotel successful and analysis of the recent types of tourism. So, I was able to tell my first-year friends about General Tourism! I want to go to college and learn more! Students are remarkable, but it would be an excellent college choice. And they can experience more than college, depending on what they want to do.

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

Whether you go to school or get a job, you will need time to explore what you want to learn and do. Just because you come to college doesn’t mean you get a better job, and there aren’t many cases where you have a job related to your department. So, I want to tell our Songgok Tourism High School students to “increase chance meetings as much as possible” for the rest of their time as high school students. Right now, you may be in a state of thinking, “I don’t want to do anything big” or “I don’t do anything well.” But I’m sure you haven’t found what you want to do and what you’re good at yet. There are so many jobs in the world, and many new jobs are emerging at this moment. I’m sure we haven’t met the ‘job’ that expresses what I want to do and what I’m good at. One day, if you run into something you like, the day will come when you decide whether you need to go to school or get a job! Until we meet at some point, we will see, hear, and learn as many things as possible. I will sincerely cheer for the days and new seasons that will come to you!

Baek Ga-gyeong

“Set a firm plan, and prepare for it.”

My Short Stay with

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello! I am Yebin Yoo, a senior of the Christian Education Department at Chongshin University, who came out as an educational apprentice for ‘Religion’ in 2021.

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School. It looks like an ordinary school from the outside, but I thought it was a school with a lot of charm hidden inside. Looking at the spaces in the middle of the stairs and the colorful stairs, especially the decorated hallways on the 5th floor, I remember feeling like I was looking at the lobby of a hotel.

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

I remember many things, but by far, the most memorable ones seem to be the memories I had with the students. Many of the students called their intimate teachers in the teacher’s room. The teachers were busy with various things, and I woke up on my own when I saw them coming to me. So, the most memorable was when the students called me and ran to me.

I am curious about your high school life.

I graduated from an academic high school. As a result, I had theoretical classes rather than practical classes like Songgok Tourism High School. The timetable consists of subjects for KSAT, such as Korean, mathematics, English, science, Chinese characters, Korean history, law and politics, and life and ethics. You will take classes one by one. In the first year of high school, night self-study was essential, so after school, I ate dinner at school, studied until 9 pm, and then went home. I remember eating and staying in the reading or math learning room until midnight and seeing the traffic lights turned off every day when I got home.

While I was in high school, there was no Covid19, so I made many memories while chatting and playing with my friends. The school trip was also an excellent memory. Still, the small memories of talking with friends during everyday life, going to the kiosk to buy food, and sharing it seems to remain as happy memories.

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

There are many departments in the university. These parts are all different for each university, so it isn’t easy to define a university as such. As an example, speaking of the Christian education department I am studying, Christian education is a study of how to educate Christianity as a combination of Christianity and education. So, while exploring theology, the Bible, and the fundamental part of Christianity that pastors and evangelists study, we combine these two parts by overwriting the pedagogical features. Specific subjects include Philosophy of Religion, Religious Textbook Research and Guidance, and Christian Children’s Education. I also want to learn to counsel, so I have a double major and a minor.

There are two kinds of classes in universities: a lecture-centered

general type and a mutual communication-centered type. There are many systems, such as double majors and minors, which have the advantage of allowing students to choose the subject they want to study. As for the activities, I joined an academic club in my first year and spent three years writing a joint thesis. Besides, I have participated in various activities and businesses of college.

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

It’s important to try anything. If you don’t try, you can’t judge the limits of how far you can go. Suppose you want to get a higher education. It is essential to get information about the university and determine how far you can go after solving mock test booklets. Then, you can set your goals.

On the other hand, if you want to get a job, it is necessary to participate in the school’s programs actively, decide what kind of company you want to work for, and analyze what talents the company wants from you. A common requirement seems to be certification. It will be essential to have a certificate. It is a critical evaluation factor in both fields of study and employment.

And most importantly, no matter what anyone says, you must go without being swayed by what others say. Neither your grades nor your life circumstances can determine your worth. Your worth is unique. Recently, I saw a video of a famous model talking about her experience. In that video, two words came to mind. “Always Awesome”

You are always a wonderful person. No matter where you are, you deserve to be loved just for being. I want you to be someone who loves yourself and values yourself. GOD BLESS YOU

Baek Ga-gyeong

“If you don’t try, you can’t judge the limit of how far you can go.”

Yoo Ye-bin

Christian Education Department at Chongshin University

Songgokians in 2021

Jin Woo-rim

Chinese Language Education at Graduate School of Education, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello, everyone. My name is Jin Woo-ri. As you know, I took the Chinese class for tourism at Songgok Tourism High School and am the homeroom teacher for the 6th class of freshmen. I’m shy, but I’ll briefly introduce myself. I’ve been running nonstop since college before I graduated from exchange students, language training, and internship at home and abroad.

When I was an exchange student, my Chinese conversation skills improved significantly. My experience in China was the most significant experiential learning time for me, who majored in Chinese. When I returned to Korea, I constantly applied for activities and internship opportunities to exchange my major with both countries. I have a history of working as an intern at many different companies in various fields, wanting to experience a variety of experiences at a young age.

Meanwhile, I taught Chinese at a Chinese academy as an instructor. That’s why I was confident in education. I went to Singapore because I could improve my language skills in English. I thought it would be helpful for me because people use both English and Chinese in Singapore. After finishing the language training, I worked as an intern at a local company as a member of sales and marketing. I covered overseas markets in China and Singapore. Since then, I have had a new goal of becoming a professional teacher who can communicate with students and entered the Graduate School of Education.

When I was an undergraduate, I had had the experience of teaching Chinese at an elementary after-school class. I volunteered to teach high school students about creative economy and management with local youth. In addition, I participated in events and small meetings for multicultural families every weekend as a helper. It led me to become intimate with students from multicultural families by helping them learn Korean. I felt that many tasks were to help around, such as language adaptation and job placement. After that, I wanted to know how to experience genuine education, even as a student majoring in pedagogy. I usually like to give my talents to others. It’s not that great, though. Still, I want to be a teacher who helps pretty students like Songgok Tourism High School friends and delivers positive messages.

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School.

Various practice rooms and subjects in the school were the most impressive. Compared to other schools, the hard work of incumbent teachers who listened to students’ career employment was great. The students were relatively mature and intelligent, so the friends of tourist high school who enjoyed their school life were pretty.

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

The most memorable thing was that students visited me in front of the student lab to consult. Even now, I think of each of their concerns. I will never forget my friends who looked at me with sparkling eyes. I think I felt and experienced that my experience and story are a great motivation and strength for them for the first time.

I am curious about your high school life.

I always went to different classes away from my previous best friends in high school. I lived in school life in an environment where I was independent and could hang out with many friends. As I became a high school student, I felt pressure about my grades and mock tests, and I gradually realized that I had to take care of my own. All the students played and studied hard in my school, so I naturally competed with my friends. Sometimes, I felt my self-esteem lowered. However, when I was a senior in high school, my homeroom teacher encouraged me. My teacher’s praise and encouragement helped me a lot. He taught me an expansive world and gave me a broader perspective, thinking of a career simply as a job. Thanks to the teacher, I had a dream of becoming a teacher. You’ll feel that your high school life, which will never come back, was a pink time when you become an adult. But I hope you can fully enjoy the present flower-like days.

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

As a graduate student, I am currently a teaching assistant at school and taking major and pedagogy classes in the evening. It’s a pity that all classes are held online after COVID-19. However, I am learning a lot from my good professors in classes. I think studying is more and more fun. Why did I realize this now?

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

My friends who took my class know my story of going to school and getting a job too well. As a person who has experienced both, I want to tell the students. Think first about why you choose to go to school or get a job. Isn’t it just environmental requirements and parents’ recommendations that make you consider your choice? First, it is most important to think and choose yourself. If it’s not the thoughts and decisions from your head, you’ll have to come back for the first time. The first start is always important. Going to school or getting a job has both advantages and disadvantages. Before considering these two things, I hope you have enough time to think about what to do.

Baek Ga-gyeong

“Think first about why you choose to go to school or get a job.”

My Short Stay with Songgokians in 2021

Lee Hye-won Department of Tourism and Management at Halla University

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello! My name is Lee Hye-won, an education trainee at Songgok Tourism High School in the first semester of 2021. I am a senior student in the Department of Tourism Management at Halla University. I am about to graduate this August. I was the homeroom teacher of the 7th class of the second year. I taught sophomores at Culinary Science and Hotel & Tourism departments.

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School.

For orientation, I visited the school the week before the training, gathered in an English-only classroom, and moved to the auditorium. The view from the 6th floor was magnificent. So, my first impression of Songgok Tourism High School was that it was a ‘pretty school.’ After lunch with the teachers on the first day of the training in earnest, I went for a walk to the cherry blossom garden. The garden I saw up close was even prettier. I felt naturally healed when I looked at the playground during the training period.

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

On the third Friday, the class had a party, and it was the happiest moment as a trainee. Due to Covid19, I was only able to see classmates for two weeks, and in my case, I was also in charge of the second year, so there was no interaction with the first and third graders. That is why the 2nd year school week was incredibly precious. The most memorable day was April 23, when I spent time with my homeroom class and made good memories.

I am curious about your high school life.

I was an uninterestingly ordinary high school student who worked hard at school. I went to a liberal arts high school, which was rather strict. I went to school by 8 o’clock, and after the 7th period, I took supplementary classes for two subjects for 50 minutes each. After dinner, I had self-study until 10 o’clock. I went to school in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays from the second year and studied autonomously until 4 o’clock. Of course, I often went to karaoke with my friends or ate out during self-study time (^^). Still, since I spend a lot of time with my friends, there are so many memorable things, and to this day, I meet regularly with my high school friends and keep in touch every day and get along well. I hope you all make many good memories with your friends and have a good school life!

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

Since I am attending the Department of Tourism Management, many subjects overlap with your study subjects. Although learning contents are different, I took classes such as tourism school theory, resource theory, and food and beverage management, just like general tourism subjects. I want to highlight domestic and overseas field trips as a departmental activity. It will be difficult for the time being due to the coronavirus. Still, I went to Jeju Island and Japan, and it was a time to learn and think a lot as a tourism student, not just traveling. In

addition, I experienced volunteer work at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, a Canadian working holiday, and outside activities through a one-and-a-half-year leave of absence. If you are entering a university, we hope you will enjoy a variety of extracurricular activities and on-campus activities as well!

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

After graduating from high school, whether going to college or finding a job, I hope you enjoy every moment and live a life that values yourself as the best! Anyone can fail and wander, but I hope you don’t get too discouraged and use that as a foundation to run towards your goal. I like the word YOLO (You Only Live Once) very much. I hope you can enjoy your school life as happy as you want. Don’t forget that I will always support you. :)

Baek Ga-gyeong

“Enjoy every moment that values yourself as the best.”

The Metaverse Era Has Already Come

We always have a desire to create a new world. Sometimes we go beyond research and draw a new future ourselves. The new world we are talking about these days is mixing artificial intelligence, big data, and AR or VR technology with our daily lives. If we look more closely, we use them online, especially in SNS and platform services. And a new word is being created by collectively referring to these changes. It is the so-called “metaverse.” In general, it is a compound word of ‘meta’ meaning ‘transcendence’ and ‘verse’ meaning ‘world, universe.’ These changes are becoming a trend in the world as computer, phone, and internet become a part of our daily lives.

such as releasing digital fashion items.

We should pay attention to Metaverse because the core age of metaverse users is mainly teenagers. 80% of ‘Naver ZEPETO’ users are teenagers, and 67% of ‘Roblox’ users are also teenagers. These generations are more familiar with communication in the virtual world than anyone else, and they will lead the future metaverse ecosystem. As they will emerge as a significant consumer group in 10-20 years, Metaverse seems to emerge as a critical economic activity platform in the future.

In addition to the cultural domain, we can use Metaverse in other fields. For example, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital held a conference, ‘the Asian Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons Online Conference,’ with about 200 thoracic surgeons from around the world. They presented a Metaverse operating room, a virtual classroom, to learn surgery techniques. Metaverse uses extended reality (XR) technology to educate medical students worldwide and those who have visited Korea to learn medical technology. And it is attracting attention as a non-face-to-face educational tool that can reduce the risk of infection or medical accidents.

We must begin preparing for the new world! Although Metaverse is still being used mainly in the cultural field as the initial stage of the market, it will be helpful in various industries in the future. The continuous investment and technological innovation of global companies and the proliferation of platforms that can satisfy people’s needs will accelerate the growth of Metaverse.

Baek Ga-gyeong

The biggest reason for spreading the Metaverse concept is replacing the real world, contracted by the prolonged coronavirus, with a virtual world. As face-to-face activities decrease, various non-face-to-face services have been prevalent to satisfy the basic human need for social communication. Metaverse is one of them. The public and professionals that require contact with the public, such as celebrities and politicians, have begun to use the Metaverse as a virtual communication channel. Fashion companies are also using the metaverse ecosystem as a channel to make up for the reduced offline consumption activity,

A Tale of a Songgokian from Mongolia

Hello, I’m Lee Ye-rim. I want to introduce myself to the people who don’t know me. My Mongol name is Tsevegsuren Khulan, and I was born in Mongolia in 2002. My nationality is also Mongolian.

Mongols were nomads, and many leaders ruled them. The most famous and most powerful one was Genghis Khan. He was born Temujin. The empire itself existed between the 13th and 14th centuries (1206-1368).

Mongolians are nomadic people who pack up and transport their houses twice a year, so they become choosy about their possessions. Nomadians usually live in tent houses called ‘ger.’ We can quickly assemble the round hut and disassemble it to carry according to the needs of nomads.

A ger generally consists of a few wooden columns covered by a tarp

of felt (water-proof cloth). Typically, a ger has only one door facing the south side. A ger does not have inner walls, so the whole family stays together without any division or need for privacy.

In addition, Mongolians make their yogurt, butter, cheese, kpumiss (fermented beer made from mare’s milk), milk tea, and milk sweets. The population of Mongolia is about 3 million. Half of Mongolians live in Ulaanbaatar, the capital city.

have two different lives. In school time, I don’t have many friends. But my best friends were in the country. So, during the semester, I used to wish the summer break would come faster.

Everyone has a place they retreat to comfort and happiness. Mine is a small lake named Buir Nuur. I used to love playing around the lake and swimming with my family and friends. I was a pretty good swimmer. Some people travel here, some go out of town, and some find happiness at their own home. This place is more to me because I feel like heaven with my childhood memories of every vacation.

I came to Korea in 2015, seven years ago. I have experienced Korea in those seven years and have learned some exciting things. At first, it was not easy for me to stay in Korea because I did not have any friends. So, I decided to enter a Mongolian school. I thought that was the only way to make friends. In International Mongolia School in Gwangjin-gu, I learned Korean a little. But the very best and fast way to learn the Korean language is watching K-dramas or listening to Kpops. By the way, K-culture is much effective to foreigners.

In Ulaanbaatar, I graduated from elementary The New Era International School, an international school under the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The first state-owned Mongolian international school provides the English/Mongolian language training program under the Cambridge International Program. Our school has a few critical rules, and one of them is that students and teachers must speak English. I think that was such an impulse for me. In some way, Korean schools and Mongolian schools are different. We don’t have a class or classmates.

I grew up in Ulaanbaatar city. I used to go to Dornod province every summer vacation, where my grandparents live. According to this, I

As I mentioned above, my first resource to teach K-culture was Kdramas. Dramas catch such complicated feelings while watching, but in other ways intensity of emotions is profound and powerful. Also, the main characters are so beautiful and handsome.

I liked the soundtracks after watching a few dramas, so I found OST songs. I was impressed by the video so much. The reason was that they looked so talented in dancing and singing. I became a fan of some groups, followed them on social media, and watched the TV shows they appeared.

After graduating from Topyoung Middle School in Namyangju-si, I had always dreamed about my hotel. That’s why I had no hesitation in deciding to enter Songgok Tourism High School quickly.

Lee Ye-rim

The Songgok Journal, Fr

Are No Useless Experiences or Learning”

After that, I took a chance to do an internship program working for Disney World in Orlando, the US. It was a fantastic experience. Not to mention learning English, I made friends with people from various countries, and I could build up my career in the tourism field.

However, after about a couple of months, the whole world was struck by an outbreak of COVID-19. So, I had to return to Korea because Disney World shut down and terminated the interns. However, I was supposed to work there for approximately six months. I still remember the moment I got a paper saying I must go back to my country and cried with my colleagues in the break room, ha-ha. Looking back, I would say it was worth it despite the crazy situations that I had to deal with.

since I could gain work experience and learn how to navigate my path.

Finally, thanks to what I had experienced at the travel platform company, I got a job at a law firm in Chicago, the US (AGAIN, haha) after deep contemplation and many tries. That’s why I’m enjoying my waiting time for my visa. That’s an intern position, but the best part is that the company would love to offer me a green card if I want. And I like it! I should be a hard worker to get the opportunity, though at least I can try. So that’s pretty much it! Wow, it was a long story. I would never mean to write this long. I feel like I became Park Chan-ho and a boomer, but I’m not. Please don’t get me wrong.

Hi, I’m Chang Yeon-joo, a graduate of 2017. I can’t believe it’s been five years since I graduated from Songgok Tourism High School. I am genuinely sorry to hear this will be the last edition of Freedom Writers English Newspaper, and its circle ended up closing. This news broke my heart. Back in high school, Freedom Writers saved me in various ways, academically and emotionally. When I tried to figure out my way to get into a college, I could benefit from the experiences and outcomes. Also, the friends, teacher, and our cozy club room were such a shelter when I got bullied by some teachers just because I wanted to go to a college, not get a job. That was just a lot to take in for a young high school student. Of course, it helped my English to improve a lot.

Anyways, I’m going to talk about the journey I had taken after graduating from high school and how I’m doing these days. Luckily, I got into Kyunghee University and majored in tourism management after graduating, which was all I ever wanted at that moment. My major and the fact that I went into English and western culture led me to participate in my college’s international program - going to the US for a month. Ever since that experience, I have fallen in love with the country. I’m not sure what aspects specifically I liked, but the thing I would articulate was that I’m dying to go back.

Now I have the experience to work at Disney at least once in my entire life, which is a vast corporation everyone is eager to join. I made lifelong friends in every continent who could share beautiful memories hanging out at the theme parks that I would never lose interest in. All the experiences gave me the certainty to return to the US again. Some universities, including mine, ran this program. Still, as far as I know, it’s no longer operated since Disney World has ceased the program due to the pandemic.

Therefore, after coming back to Korea, I entered a travel platform company as an intern of the CS operation team, and I did it for nine months. Sometimes I think returning to Korea might be a blessing in disguise

By the way, this writing reminds me of the speech contest I participated in back in high school. I picked Steve Jobs’ speech at Harvard University, and its theme was ‘Connecting the Dots.’ He said there are no useless experiences or learning. All we must do is connect them and develop them. I did it with an empty soul only to win the award back then, and however, now I agree with him 100%. I’m trying to say that I’m here because I’ve been through all the things that have happened in my life, including Freedom Writers. So, I will keep recalling the memories I’ve had with Freedom Writers. It will stay alive just like an albatross :) (For your information, teacher Lee once made an English club named Albatross for all students. And Mr. Lee, don’t be mad I brought it up again ><)

Chang Yeon-joo

“There

eedom Writers, and Me

“Trust and Love Yourself! Be Yourself!”

Hi, I’m Lee Ye-eun. I entered Songgok Tourism High School in 2014 and graduated in 2017. I graduated from the department of Tourism Foreign Language. But now I heard that the hotel business department and the tourism foreign language department are combined now. And I was a member of Freedom Writers. I heard that the club would disappear at the end of this newspaper. I’m so sad, but I’d like to say thank you for leading Freedom Writers so far. I miss the club room and teacher Lee so much. Anyways, I’m going to talk about myself. When I was in school, I wanted to become a banker, so I took time to get an accounting and financial certificate while taking foreign language courses. I had the highest grades in my department and participated in various activities in the school. But I could not become a banker and joined a logistics company that I never expected. I guess I couldn’t achieve my dream of becoming a banker because of my lack of confidence. Even though I had a chance to interview at a bank, I almost gave it up due to my weak self-confidence.

On the other hand, a confident friend achieved her dream and became a banker. With this case, I realized that all abilities begin with confidence. No matter how outstanding you are, you cannot demonstrate your ability without confidence and selfesteem. Please have self-esteem and selflove. You grow up depending on how you think of yourself. The company doesn’t want much from new employees. The company just wants the applicant’s sincerity and confidence to do it. It is necessary not only for interviews but also for your whole life.

After graduation, I worked for the logistics company’s transportation business team for four years. Then, I worked with the finance team for about a year. I mainly handle the finance team’s deposit and withdrawal of funds, tax, and accounting. Managing all the funds of a company involves a great sense of responsibility. But it is fascinating and fits well with my aptitude. And I also entered Kyunghee University through the pre-

employment and backward school system. My major is International Trade and Financial Investment, and I mainly learn about trade and finance. My company is related to logistics and trading business. I have been interested in finance since I was a high school student. Hence, it’s an excellent opportunity to learn both things I need. It is challenging to work and study simultaneously, but it is more rewarding than that. We are always in a unique situation, so we are often lonely and cannot be understood by many people.

We graduated from vocational high school and came to society as high school graduates. However, all colleagues who entered the university through the technical high school graduate screening experienced the same situation. So, we can understand and rely on

each other more than anyone else and discuss future careers, dreams, and work-life. I have such a unique and valuable experience now that I can say that I have two different lives before and after entering college. So even if you get a job first, I recommend you to go to college through the pre-employment and backward school system. I finished my first year of college and am preparing for my second year. As a freshman, I got top grades in my major. And I’m recognized as a competent employee at my company. I was able to do this because I developed faith and selfesteem in myself. The belief that I can do it and high expectations make me grow further. As I have achieved, you guys also can do it. Trust and love yourself! Be yourself!

Lee Ye-eun

The Songgok Journal, Fr

the Line between Responsibility

Hi, my junior students. I am Park So-rim, a former freedom writer. I am happy to write an article again. I heard the sad news that it is the last issue. I don’t know what’s going on at school, but I would like to say that everyone did a good job and did their best. I appreciate that I am one of the Freedom Writers. I will write what I want to say to students who will become adults.

First, you must take all the responsibility by yourself. You can do anything when you become an adult. It means that people do not care what you do and what you think. You must think for yourself and make the best choice. I want you to know that your actions or decisions affect your future and even extend to you.

When I was a freshman, I did not study hard because I thought it would be alright. And then, I prepared to be an exchange student in the second grade. However, I missed the chance to be an exchange student because of the lack of credit. The reason was that I didn’t take enough classes in the first grade because of my wrong thoughts. Back then, I felt that a choice I made in the past might influence me in the future. That is why I want you to take responsibility. Nobody knows when the best opportunity comes. The opportunity comes at an unexpected moment. You should prepare to catch it.

However, everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is how to deal with it. Acting without fear is another thing I want to tell you. I told you to take responsibility. However, if you can handle it, try anything. It is your life, and no one has the right to meddle.

In my case, failing to become an exchange student, I went on a trip alone with the money I saved. Rather than being frustrated, I wanted to travel independently and meet various people to broaden my values and thoughts. Like this, there are many alternative ways to solve problems when you fail. The more you experience and learn, the more you will grow. Do not be afraid of challenges with just one sense of responsibility.

But you should know one thing. If you say, “I will do it on my own.”, you must show the result. Otherwise, people will not believe you no matter what you do. I want you to keep the line between responsibility and recklessness and do what you can.

I am worried that it seems like a ‘Ggondae.’ When I was young, I did not understand the word. I know it is hard to keep the line between responsibility and recklessness. I am sure it means thinking before acting. A new beginning of your life awaits you. Congratulations on becoming an adult :)

Hello, guys. I am Song Chae-eun, a high school graduate five years ago. Lately, I heard the news that the Songgok Journal will cease with this issue. HOWEVER, as I expected, it was a bit sad when I listened to that announcement in reality the time I spent with people passing by like a flash. During the three years I was in, I shared my entire school life with the club. It was not just an ordinary club that regular people usually think they had to attend high school. I learned lots of feelings, thoughts, and directions in my life with this club.

These days, I’m about to graduate from the final school of my life. I’m a student majoring in the business administration department at Seoul Women’s University. For five years after graduation, I had a lot of things, and it still goes on. Too long to write. I’ve changed a lot but also the same as before.

When I was young, like a middle school student, or whatever, I felt a little bit awkward about being a college student in the future. Because becoming a college student means becoming an adult who has a sense of responsibility, knows all the answers, handles emotions

well, and all that sort of things. Every good thing is combined. How nice would that be? But now, I’m not the person I mentioned before. Come to think of it, and such things were utterly unsuitable. I’m still becoming an adult, and it will be forever.

While I have faced and realized that fact by this time, it was so hard. I was so anxious. However, in our insecurities, there is always realization. I want to say; you can give up, despair, and fail in any way. Such is a natural thing. So that’s how you get to know yourself. Based on that, live as you are. And I hope you make all the decisions yourself with fewer regrets. Thank you for listening to me.

Lastly, thanks to Mr. Lee, I am who I am now.

Song Chae-eun

“Keep

and Recklessness”

“Live as You Are”

eedom Writers, and Me

Being Scared Doesn't Change Anything to Find happiness”

For several years, lots of things happened to me. Someone can say it could be too hard or say it could be enjoyable. Time passes quickly, and the little girl is now 26 years old.

What is ‘happiness’?

Happiness is an illusion. We can’t see it, also can’t touch it. We spend our whole life to find the illusion that doesn’t exist. But it isn’t just an illusion forever. As we live, we can discover soft contours. If this contour can be energy that makes you live, I think it could be very successful in “Finding happiness.”

When I was a high school student, I can’t remember following what kind of happiness. But I can say one thing with confidence, and I felt delighted when I was in Freedom Writers. It made me feel alive. Not for someone. I can live for myself. When I concentrate on my work, I can forget distracting thoughts and worries. I know it is very contradicting, but I can also clear my head while using my brain. I joined the club to develop my English skills, but I grew up as a mature human.

Comparing me in the past and now, many

things have changed something good or something terrible. The most significant difference is I think I lost my ebullient self. Not living to achieve dreams with passion, I live as time goes by. Now I work at a highly ordinary company. I have been struggled to be an extremely common employee.

But now, the spark of chance appeared. I can’t tell specific things now; the spark makes a fire in my heart. It’s like new cells seemed to wriggle and wake up. I had a similar dream before. I compromised with reality and gave up. Eventually, I regretted that. Also, now, I hesitate to choose, thinking the fact first. Suppose I ask myself in high school. She would say never give up. So, I throw away all my hesitation. Even if I fail, I will give it a shot. I promise myself never to repeat the same regret. My “Finding happiness” in 2022 is a “Challenge.”

We often say that we compromise with reality. But I think we are not compromising with reality, and it is living by compromise and suppressing ideas. In the past, I’m still afraid to dive into ideal. But I’m going to throw myself into the fire pit again today because just being scared doesn’t change anything to find happiness.

Ko Han-hee

“Just

The Songgok Journal, Freedom Writers, and Me

“Initiation of My 20s: The Following Story after Graduating from High School”

Since I graduated my high school, it has been a year. And I have already become 21 years old, a sophomore in university, which is not easy to believe. Corona Virus, including its variants prevailing over the earth, makes us seemingly unaware of the passage of time over two years. As one of the ‘Corona Grades,’ I couldn’t benefit from any college campus last year. And the reality distinguished from dreams I wished did not gratify me at all. When I was 18, I believed the pandemic would culminate or get better next year, seeing seniors whose status was equivalent to today. Most university students enrolled in 2020 and 2021 have never been to their college to take a class except for practical one and had difficulties making mates. I was depressed, but I realized that all the people, not only students, are having trouble simultaneously, then accepting this situation. It has been challenging to act or achieve anything due to social restrictions since 2020. There was nothing but hope for recovery from the condition in the past two years. Letting them pass by to greet a new year, 2022, I hope to be fulfilled gradually. Last year, I was willing to tell some stories regarding my minor university activities for my teacher, club members, and juniors in Songgok Tourism High School.

I am now studying at Kyonggi University in Seoul, specializing in tourism at the Department of Tourism. Kyonggi University has implemented a system that all freshmen should major in ‘Department of Tourism,’ which handles tourism comprehensively. They may select their major: ‘Catering Culinary Arts,’ ‘Hotel Administration,’ ‘Tourism Administration,’ ‘Tourism Development,’ ‘Tourism Event’ when they become sophomores. As a freshman, I took liberal arts classes in priority plus required significant subjects for each semester, given that the detailed major was uncertain. There are many cultural classes with exciting topics such as ‘criminal psychology,’ ‘movie understanding,’ ‘culture of France/Russia/Spain’ etc. But I should have recognized interesting-looking classes are competitive. I considered the system of registering for courses adverse after the failure. Students generally write for them at least one month before the beginning of the semester. It is like ticketing for a top star concert. It is more annoying than you expect and hinders what I want to take. I did not know precisely how to take college classes and didn’t experience inperson ones. Apart from a practical/experiment class, the college’s Zoom and LMS (Learning management system) has led us over the last two years. The biggest strength of the one by LMS is you can take it anytime and anywhere at your convenience.

On the other hand, the Zoom thing was not that comfortable that I had to turn on my camera on the laptop at every fixed time. Additionally, you can meet a lot of debates and team play commonly. It was significantly difficult for me to address tasks online without facing each other indirectly. Some professors used the ‘small meeting’ function on Zoom, randomly arranging students in several cyber-meeting rooms. It made me hard to communicate with strangers exposing my private space every week. Both classes, offline and online, are assumed to have pros and cons. The sorrowful thing was that I could not make some new friends sincerely by studying at home. I attempted to make a mate through team plays and club activities. But I eventual-

ly couldn’t make friends the same age. Making friends that I barely succeed will be one of my primary objectives this year. As for my club, I usually enjoy taking pictures with my smartphone, so I enrolled in a photography club, ‘Heegwang,’ for my first club in college. I could learn how to use a film camera during the official visit to photograph and get some helpful advice talking with several seniors. I think this was the most unusual school activity last year.

Aside from the new university experiences, it was remarkable for me to begin my work life. Yes, it is getting a part-time job. I had never tried any work until I was in high school. When I was 18, I got a Barista certificate through the after-school class, assuming closing worker in Hollys Coffee over seven months. I am still working there and making money. By blaming my introverted disposition, it was never easy to greet clients out loud, take an order kindly, treat complaints or inquiries and continue communicating with my manager and other part-timers as staff at first. The awkwardness comes up to me with colossal oppression. I live every day being irritated to make up for my weakness lack of socializing, which resulted in keeping this job for a long time. From the part-time job experience, I could recognize that we cannot obtain anything and an opportunity to consider what communities require me.

Concerning what I am planning in the future, I would like to study overseas as an exchange student going through other cultures with new friends. I am studying hard for the TOEIC test to meet the requirement of the exchange program. I aim to get 800 scores or higher and go to the English language country. Still, unless the record is sufficient, I will tend to select the nation after studying another language, like Spanish. Besides, I became getting a count on hobbies or interests these days. In ample free time due to Covid-19, I have tried to find out what makes me happy and something for fun. Discovering my hobbies and carrying them on also became my goal this year. A few days ago, I felt the dance was most complimentary and readily accessible on TV shows ‘Street Women Fighter’ and ‘Street Girls Fighter.’ That’s why I am interested in dance and motivated to have a dance class after the end of the semester, both just for fun and my wellness. Inspiration provided, I decided to give it a try without hesitancy.

As of 2022, WITH-COVID seems to emerge into society in effect. Being ready to overcome the past, I hope you find your new life purpose, give a dare for it, and make it this year.

Han Da-in

A Message from ‘Squid Game’

Last year, ‘Parasite’ swept four Oscars, including the Best Picture and the Best Director at the Academy Awards for the first time as a non-English film. ‘Parasite’ is a film that contrasts the lives of the poor and the rich in Korea and pinpoints social problems related to poverty. ‘Squid Game’ is also a work that exposes the issues of capitalist society at face value. Debt-stricken competitors risk their lives to participate in a game to receive a vast amount of money that will change their lives. In addition to the exciting plot, this drama genuinely depicted exposing inherent problems in Korean society. ‘Squid Game’ also swept the world’s popularity by recording the most famous content ever on Netflix, despite being non-English content like ‘Parasite.’

tions. Still, if you watch this drama to the end, you will look back on your present self, who gave in to reality, unlike your childhood when you laughed and chatted with each other whether you win or lose.

Ki-hoon, the main character, is a jobless man who owes hundreds of millions of bonds. He lived a pathetic life that only saved his life by gambling with the penny his mother earned. But one day, a mysterious man comes to Ki-hoon. He applied for a game that bets Ki-hoon, and he gives Ki-hoon, who barely made money, a business card with a phone number on it, saying that he has a bigger game. Ki-hoon approved his application, was locked in a vast space, and started a game that risks his life with 495 people. It is a system that gives 49.5 billion to the one who survives the game as a final winner. Participants wear gym uniforms and play a game of memories they played in the neighborhood when they were young. The 495 participants are not ordinary people but desperate people in a capitalist world. All of them owe hundreds of millions of dollars or more. They continue the game by using and trampling other players for the money. Traditionally, the game was for children in Korea, but it changed into a killing game.

We discover what we are inside and what we are through this game. Among the characters, there is a person who shows the most duality. Usually, he is wise and acts in common sense, but when he cannot avoid killing others, he pushes it with all his might. The misfortune of others is the perfect word for my happiness. The people who participated in the game had to die to survive and receive more money. Although they are competitors, they have the duality of playing as a team simultaneously. The six games ask for cooperation separately and sometimes require difficult choices. And these situations expose the bottom line of the characters and their most primal desires.

‘I was pure, but why did I change so much?’

‘Squid Game’ used the game we used to play together with friends in the neighborhood as material for the survival game when we were young. As you can see from the photo in the main text, it contains the frightening content that if you lose the game, you will lose your life by a gunshot. In some ways, it probably described unrealistic situa-

When the world feels bright and clear, many people think they cannot return to their childhood after becoming an adult who knows the fear and value of money. ‘The Squid Game’ reveals that those days will never come back. In ‘The Squid Game,’ the highlight scene seems to be a game played with friends. He took up weapons and tried to win by killing the rest. Could anyone be happy with what he obtains? The protagonist would have been happy with what he got if he had been an innocent child.

Baek Ga-gyeong

Epilogue

Baek Ga-gyeong Our club ends with the 10th newspaper to be published this year. I’m honored to write the last issue of a newspaper with ten years of history. Still, at the same time, I feel sad to think that the club I devoted my entire high school life to is coming to an end. When I looked around the club room, I remembered writing newspapers with seniors and my friends until late at night, which brought tears to my eyes for no reason. I thought I had done my best as the last club manager, but I felt guilty that I lacked a lot as the club leader.

A lot happened while I was writing this paper. We have a new presidential election in March, the first public poll in my life. The CSAT, which was the most difficult in history, was implemented. We have already activated the metaverse market in earnest. We also had expectations that creating a treatment for COVID-19 could revive the economy. Korea’s status spread even hotter as K-pop, Korean dramas, and

Korean athletes made their name known worldwide. Aside from these, so many things have happened. Many more things will happen, and there will be many things I want to write in a newspaper, but I get depressed at the thought that I can’t write a newspaper anymore. Even after graduating, respectful seniors continued to do their best to help juniors. The club member did her best for the last ‘The Songgok Journal.’ And Mr. Yi, our supervising teacher, guided us to finish our previous club activities successfully and satisfactorily. I am genuinely grateful to them. Thank you!

Lee Ye-rim All is done! I joined Freedom Writers, the English newspaper club, and spent the whole high school three years with my club members. My teacher, senior, and club members sincerely have taken care of me. Thanks to it, I enjoyed my school life and improved my English.