The Islander 31 - Achievement

Achievement 31

Sticky Success: Arthur Fry's and Spencer Silver's Accomplishment of Success from Failure

By Jinyoung Kil, Year 10, Geomun

Edited by Mr. Quinn

Have you ever thought about how Post it notes were created? If not, was it because it is used so daily that we never fully cared to understand the process or the history the post-it went through from relative failure to major success? In this article, we’ll dive into the history of sticky notes, and see how it grasped a great success from failure.

Just before we dive into our main topic here, I would like to introduce you to the two creators of the sticky note: Arthur Fry and Doctor Spencer Silver.

Arthur L. Fry was a tinker and a problem solver who was born in Minnesota, grew up first in a small town in Iowa and later moved to Kansas City. Fry enrolled at the University of Minnesota, majoring in chemical engineering, and in 1953, while still an undergraduate, Fry began working for 3M in New Product Development.He continued to work until his retirement in the early 1990s.

Spencer F. Silver was a chemist who was born in San Antonio. He majored in chemistry at Arizona State University during 1962, and earned a PHD in organic chemistry from the University of Colorado in 1966. He took a position as a senior chemist in 3M's Central Research Labs, until passing away from a heart condition in May 2021 at the age of 80.

It all started in 1968 when Spencer created a high-quality but "low-tack" adhesive glue which was strong enough to hold papers together but weak enough to allow the paper to be pulled apart again without being torn. More importantly, the adhesive could be used in the same way again and again. Silver was actually trying to create a strong-adhesive glue, but it looks like that back-fired. Spencer wanted to market the adhesive he had created, but he didn’t know exactly how to make use of the glue he had created. Over the next few years, Spencer tried to market the adhesive product to the 3M company, but the company did not see the probable usage of the glue because it did not stick very well. It was considered a failure, until Aurthur Fry showed up.

Aurthur was a member of the choir in his church in 1974 and was extremely frustrated by how the paper bookmarks that he used in his hymnal to mark the songs on the program would slip out of sight onto the floor. Fry realised the potential of Silver’s reusable adhesive as it would provide his bookmarks to mark the songs without harming the paper when deciding to reattach them.

Arthur began to brainstorm the ideas of using Silver’s adhesive glue on notes to be a reliable and reusable bookmark and presented the idea to the supervisors, and they could not get enough and wanted more. Thus, the 3M gave full support for five years to perfect the specifications and design, and finally in 1980, the sticky notes were made. Within 2 years, Stickynotes became one of the most popular office products in the world.

The Accomplishment of Vegan Meat

By Alvin Kim, Year 9, Noro Edited by Stella Kim

Vegan meat was invented in the 1940s from soya during the second world war. Soya was used to replace or fortify products – though not very palatable. Soya was left with an image problem that persisted until the 1960s, when the US company Archer Daniels Midland developed the “meal extender” textured vegetable protein (TVP), offering all the protein but less of the unpleasant aftertaste.

Then, in 1995, spotting a gap in the market for Thanksgiving, Archie Daniels Midland created a turkey substitute from wheat protein and tofu – and named it Tofurky. “It really hit a chord,” they said. “No meat alternative had caught fire in the way Tofurky did then, and in the way that Beyond Burger and Impossible Burger are catching fire now. It just became part of American culture.” The Beyond Burger is currently the best-known vegan meat brand in the world.

The meat was very expensive at the time, so they needed better alternatives. This is when America actively started to work on vegan meat. The first prototypes of vegan meat were very bland. But, since then, the meat companies have increased and it has been more popular.

Beyond meat is the most popular choice when it comes to vegan meat. It was founded by Ethan Brown in 2009. The meat is mainly made out of pea protein isolates. It does not contain GMOs, soy or gluten. The name of the beef is non vegan meat, but it has very advanced ingredients.

These days quite a lot of people are choosing the alternative which will help reduce global warming. Try a Beyond Burger to see whether you like the accomplishment or not.

Accomplishment In Genetics

By Joanna Ryoo, Year 11, Sarah

Edited by Mr. Maher

There were two main events that took place prior to the creation of recombinant DNA (rDNA), and the other prominent discoveries of the 1960s that put genome engineering on its path to revolutionize biology. The discoveries of the 1950s in the field of genetics paved the way for future study of genetics, biotech, and all things DNA-related.

In the 1953 there was a discovery of the Double Helix, The twistedladder structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) familiar to us today as the “double helix” was pioneered in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick, giving rise to the modern study of biology, and genetics. This was one of the most important early milestones that defined genetics, as we know it today, and was the backbone of many of the future discoveries that came out of the world of biology. This discovery is widely considered one of the most significant early events in the field of genetics, yet an important person is often missing in the narrative. Watson & Crick owed their discovery to the work of their colleague Rosalind Franklin, without whose X-ray diffraction images of

"Genes are like the story, and DNA is the language that the story is written in."

Sam Kean

DNA proteins in the early 1950s, they never would have thought to consider the idea of the double helix.

In 1958, the scientists succeeded in making DNA in a test tube for the first time. Arthur Kornberg had been working on the project of DNA synthesis from about the early 1950s. In 1953, when all five nucleotides could be synthesized in the lab, he decided to turn his focus to the remaining factors needed for DNA synthesis - the enzymes that assemble nucleotides into DNA or RNA. He isolated DNA polymerase from bacterial extracts and within a year successfully synthesized DNA in vitro for the first time. Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize for this outstanding achievement. Interestingly, his initial papers publishing his DNA synthesis data were rejected by the The Journal of Biological Chemistry; some reviewers refused to term the product “DNA,” and suggested the term polydeoxyribonucleotide. Kornberg withdrew his papers until a new editor joined the JBC in 1958.

The 1980s was a point in the genetic engineering timeline that

turned many genetic experiments into real world products and ideas. The dedication of the scientists were displayed in the achievements and creation of vaccines and treatments, utilizing DNA to solve human problems. In 1982, synthetic insulin, the first genetically enginneered human drug, was on the market. Insulin is used to treat patients suffering form Type 1 diabetes. Histroically, insulin had been harvested from animals. While similar to human insulin, animal insulin has a few significant differences. Also, a single pround of insulin requires 8000 pounds of pancreas glands from 23,500 animals. This required 56 million animals per year to meet the increaseing demand in the United States. A synthetic alternative was clearly necessary. The formation of synthetic insulin was a definining moment for the genetch history.

Another astonishing accomplishment happened in 1986 when the first recombinant vaccine for humans was approved. In 1963, Baruch Blumberg developed a blood derived vaccine for Hepatitis. A few years later, scientists created

the vaccine using yeast cells. The vaccine immediately became the market standard, and the bloood derived vaccine was removed from circulation.

In 1994, there was an accomplishment in genetic modification, where a tomato engineered to stay ripe was brought to market.

Another major event is that the First Human Chromosome was sequenced. In 1988, the United States Congress funded The Human Genome Project, which aimed to completely map out the human genome. Though completion of this endeavour wasn’t achieved till 2003, in 1999 scientists working on the project demonstrated that they had completely mapped out the sequence for chromosome 22. This was a milestone for the project, and proved that the massive time and worldwide collaborative effort that went into this project wasn’t for naught. This publication also confirmed the efficacy of the current sequencing methods in use by genetic scientists, and provided invaluable insight into the connection to certain diseases through human DNA.

Artificial Intelligence

By David Bae, Year 12, Halla Edited by Cathy Kim

AI, Artificial Intelligence, is one of the technologies that has developed the most over recent decades. It is defined as the development of machines or computer systems that perform tasks which are normally completed by humans, and its use is widespread around the world. Artificial Intelligence is currently applied in numerous fields such as medical, manufacturing, and shopping; whilst it brings benefits to us, it also brings disadvantages.

Artificial intelligence was initially developed in the mid-20th century by Alan Mathison Turing, a British logician and computer scientist. In 1935, he wanted a machine that could learn from experience like humans, with a limitless memory and ability to store those memories, using them to develop and behave like humans. His work and study on machine intelligence continued and he proceeded with one of his colleagues, Donald Michie, to produce a system that learns from experience and solves problems using the stored information. After the study, “Intelligent Machinery” was introduced in 1948. Turing mentioned that a computer will be able to play chess and improve from previous games, and as he predicted,

in 1997, after more than 50 years, International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) invented Deep Blue, a chess machine that defeated Garry Kasparov, the 13th World Champion. Turing also introduced the “Turing Test” in “Computing Machinery and Intelligence” which is a test that is used to check and evaluate a machine’s intelligence and whether it can perform human intelligence and behaviour. From this foundation, AI has continued to develop and is now applied in various fields today, especially in medical fields.

AI in the medical field started in 1964 with Eliza, a chatbot therapist, and it was tested by the Turing Test. It was used to imitate a therapist, making the users think that they are actually talking with a human. Since then, AI has developed increasingly, affecting the medical sciences as new technologies are introduced which helps doctors perform tasks. The common use of AI in the medical field is diagnosing diseases such as cardiac arrhythmias, chronic diseases, lung cancer, and strokes, in order to provide the appropriate and best treatment. For example, an algorithm called DLAD (Deep Learning based Automatic Detection)

Machine intelligence is the last invention that human will ever need to make.

"- Nick Bostrom

was developed by researchers at Seoul National University Hospital in 2018 to analyse chest radiographs and identify cells which grow oddly and can potentially cause cancers. The early diagnosis of diseases, such as cancer and neurological disorders, helps patients to get treatment quickly, subsequently reducing the development of disease and risks. AI can also predict a patient’s potential health issue by detecting diseases at an early stage. AI allows doctors and researchers to have access to different diagnostic resources which helps them while conducting research or treating a patient, and it uses data of patients’ symptoms and previous illnesses to diagnose correctly and provide the best treatment.

Although the use of AI in the medical field comes with many significant benefits, there are also potential disadvantages to this new addition. Firstly, diagnosis by AI depends on the information and data that the system has. This means that it can increase the accuracy of diagnosis, but it can also have inaccuracy when there is not enough data for a specific patient or disease, leading to inaccurate treatment. AI is susceptible to security errors and those errors

might give inaccurate diagnosis and treatment, so it is difficult to only rely on AI. Secondly, the use of AI in medicine is controversial due to its significant impact on employment rates. There is an ongoing debate, especially between medical professionals, about whether AI should be implemented in healthcare. Due to the application of AI in medical fields, the unemployment rate is increasing amongst healthcare workers. Although new jobs are created by AI to operate the machines and systems, some are lost. After the implementation of AI, more robots replace human workers, increasing the number of unemployed people. By 2030, 54% of medical assistants are at risk of losing their jobs as AI takes their place.

Overall, integrating Artificial Intelligence into medical provision increases the accuracy of diagnosis, improving and providing better treatment for the healthcare of a patient. It is clear that it has significant advantages in our healthcare system, but the application of AI should be continuously considered and discussed as it undoubtedly also has some medical and social disadvantages.

Accomplishment and Alexander Fleming, the Father of Antibiotics

By David Bae, Year 12, Halla

Edited by Cathy Kim

What is an accomplishment? Accomplishment is a positive aspect which an individual has achieved. A feeling of accomplishment encourages individuals to become more passionate about their work and so complete it. According to the studies, it is believed that people with a strong sense of accomplishment perform better at their work. There are a number of scientists who have accomplished the discovery of new pathways in science, which still contribute to modern studies. Alexander Fleming, dubbed the father of antibiotics, is one of them. He discovered penicillin and other useful aspects of Antibiotics such as lysozyme, which are the most significant accomplishments in his life.

Alexander Fleming was a Scottish physician, microbiologist and pharmacologist who was best known for paving the way for antibiotic medicines with his discovery of penicillin from the mould “Penicillium notatum” (TheFamousPeople). He is also well-known for the discovery of lysozyme and the critical facts about antiseptics. In his early life, he studied at Loudoun Moor School and Darvel School and attained a twoyear scholarship to Kilmarnock Academy, then attended the Royal Polytechnic Institution. Continuing his journey on his interest to the medical sciences, he made his contribution in bacteriology while serving in the hospitals during World War I. Fleming discovered that the antiseptics used for wounds of the soldiers ‘only’ cured the surface, however harmed the deep wounds.

This fact discovered by Fleming allowed the suggestion of alternative treatment of wounds with saline water by Almroth Wright. Furthermore, Fleming opened the era of the development of Antibiotics, as he discovered the existence of an antimicrobial enzyme called “Lysozyme”. Lysozyme is an enzyme that is able to lyse (cause dissolution of cells by lysins) bacterial cell membranes and thus serve as an antimicrobial agent in foods. (Burks, 2020) As scientists progressed to work with lysozyme, it supportively suggested how enzymes could speed up a chemical reaction as in its physical structures.

In addition, Alexander Fleming ‘accidentally’ discovered the very first antibiotic substance at his laboratory on 3 September 1928. Since 1927, he had been studying the common staphylococcus bacteria; during this research, he accidentally observed a specific type of fungus which had contaminated and destroyed the surrounding colony of staphylococcus samples. Such discovery of penicillin led to the development of its medical use for diseases such as the infectious eye diseases like ophthalmia neonatorum and conjunctivitis, and other infectious diseases like streptococcal meningitis which is an acute inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord caused by bacteria from the streptococcal species. In this background, penicillin was widely supplied to many countries to cure various infectious diseases. The antibiotic saved a significant number of lives worldwide

DNA and Genetic Engineering

By Hyunseo Kim, Year 10, Sarah

Edited by Injoon So

DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, which contains the units of biological building blocks called nucleotides. DNA was first identified in the late 1860s by Swiss chemist Johann Friedrich Miescher. He isolated a new molecule, called nuclein, from a cell nucleus. DNA relates to the entire human life; reproduction, health, and growth. It contains the necessary instructions in order to control the function of the production of protein. DNA is significant, however, it sometimes gets damaged and mutations can sometimes contribute to disease development. This is not just a problem for humans, it is a principle for most organisms. This also links with genetic engineering, also called recombinant DNA technology.

Genetic engineering is the direct manipulation of an organism’s genes, using biotechnology. It is also called genetic modification. This is the process of direct manipulation of the organisms’ genes factors using biotechnology. Scientists transfer the genes from one organism to another. By selecting the offspring, humans manipulated genomes indirectly. Genetic engineering finds one organism that has a desirable characteristic. Then the gene with a special trait is transferred to another organism in order to develop the other organism’s same trait. Overall, it is the process that modifies the organisms’ genome by adding a new helpful gene. It is not limited to organisms of the same species, though, the genes of one species to genetically modify organisms of another species.

There are a variety of examples of genetic engineering. The media keeps bombarding us with outcoming items about genetically modified food. On 31st of July 2000, Ingo Potrykus appeared on the cover of the Time magazine. It was for golden rice, a breed of rice which contains provitamin A. Provitamin A is a very significant source in the human body, preventing blindness

and deficiency-related diseases. Philippino researchers in the international rice research institute proved even small amounts of rice are sufficient, absolutely safe with its colour. Also in 2008, one New Zealand research team produced the genetically modified onion that does not make you cry while cutting. The insertion of a single gene which downregulates the activity of the onion enzyme that makes our eyes water has managed to achieve two things: first, onions no longer make our eyes water and secondly, there are more health beneficial sulphurcontaining substances than regular onions. There are productions other than just food using the technique. Genetic engineering is used for mass-produce insulin, human growth hormones and to discover the functions of certain genes.

Not all of these processes are proven to be ‘completely safe’. No human activity is ever completely safe. However, there is not a single example of a catastrophic consequence of genetic engineering. Using genetic engineering techniques, a large body of knowledge on how cells and organisms work, and understanding these processes is a way to improve human health is indeed an accomplishment of the scientific community.

By Jason Bang, Year 9, Mulchat

Edited by Jaeyoung Chung

THE BIONIC BODY

Currently, there are a lot of students in NLCS Jeju whose legs and arms are hurt. In school, pupils with casts protecting and supporting fractured bones and joints are easily spotted. Daily life may be uncomfortable with body parts in a fixed material. However, people are cured rapidly. Schools are not places with hazardous facilities and materials so the possibility of getting severe physical damage is certainly low.

In contrast, people working in risky jobs such as mines and construction sites have greater chances of getting hurt, from small wounds to severe damage. According to the Amputee Coalition, more than 185,000 people in America are living with amputations, or limb loss. There are more limb losses than people think. Limb loss can happen as a result of accidents when a body part is severed. The other possibility is limb loss happening artificially, surgery getting rid of a body part to prevent further infection or wound spread. For example, frostbitten limbs amputated to prevent further spread of cell death.

Amputation results in slow wound healing and infection. This is because a chopped body is more easily exposed to other germs. Also, it causes “phantom limb” pain, which is caused by a perplexed nervous system. Although the severed limb is gone, the ending site of the nerve after amputation continues to send pain signals. This is excruciating, and is found in 50~80% of amputation cases. How can patients stop suffering from this?

The Bionic Body

The correct definition for a bionic body is ‘an artificial body used to replace a missing body part which may have been lost due to trauma, disease or congenital defect’. Let’s talk about the detailed history of prosthetics.

(950~600B.C): Prosthetics in the B.C. period often used natural and easy-accessible materials to create artificial limbs. It was found that in ancient Egypt, wood, leather, glue,linen and plaster were used to replace the toes of humans.

(300B.C): Romans crafted a bionic limb called ‘Capua Leg’ which was made with bronze, iron and wooden core. It was historically the oldest known prosthetics leg and was destroyed during WWII.

Middle Ages(476~1000 A.C.): Peg legs and hand hooks were used for citizens who could afford them. Prosthetics for knights were designed to hold and fit shields, not functionality. Therefore, people started to add gears and springs for more detailed functions.

The Renaissance(1400~1800 A.C.): Common materials for bionic bodies during this period were copper, iron, steel and wood. Most new comfortable materials were created and improved. In the 1500s, a French surgeon Ambroise Paré made significant developments in prosthetics. He was the first to introduce a hinged prosthetic hand, and a leg with locking a knee joint.

The Modern era (1970~1990): For lighter and easily-cleanable prosthetics, alternative materials including plastic, carbon fibre, polycarbonate and laminate were used. The bionic body changed the custom to an easily-fitting, individual and comfortable style.

Today (2000~2014): The design of prosthetics has advanced to highly specialised systems including high-performance, responsive legs and motorised bionic hand with sensors and microprocessors.

I hope you have enjoyed my run through of the history of the bionic body.

The Greatest Accomplishment of Humans in the Animal World

By Jean Kim, Year 10 Jeoji

Edited by Mr. Maher

Cloning, the process of generating a genetically identical copy of a cell or an organism, happens often in nature. Some plants and single cell organisms such as bacteria, produce identical copies of themselves constantly. However, for animals which are multicellular organisms, cloning is a very complex process. There are only a few successful cases of cloning animals and many died after only having a short life. Plus, human cloning hasn’t been successful yet. Dolly the Sheep is one of the most famous successful cases of cloning in animals. There are many helpful uses of human cloning but there are also lots of ethical issues surrounding it.

Dolly the sheep is a female fennish dorset sheep, cloned in 1996 by associates from the Roslin Institute. It was cloned by the process of transferring nuclei, also known as somatic cell cloning. Somatic cell cloning is the process in which the nucleus (DNA) of a somatic cell is transferred into an unfertilised egg for the generation of a new individual, genetically identical to the somatic cell donor. The first step is to remove the DNA from unfertilised eggs. Then, inject the nucleus which contains the DNA to be cloned. When injected, newly constructed cells might divide normally, replicating the new DNA while remaining in a pluripotent state. There are some disadvantages of using this process since it is inefficient though it has been successful when cloning Dolly the Sheep. Even though she died in 2003 at age of 5 due to progressive lung disease and severe arthritis, Dolly the Sheep is one of the most famous cases of successfully cloning.

Cloning is still not prevalent these days. Even though there were some successful cases of cloning animals, human cloning hasn’t been successful yet. However, as technology is being developed, human cloning might be possible in the near future. Cloning can take a significant part in our lives since it has many uses such as extending human life. Today the average lifespan of humans worldwide is 72 years with Japan reaching about 84 years

but, if cloning develops, it can increase even more. For example, when we need to get our organs transplanted or we suffer incurable diseases, our cloned bodies are very useful. When humans get severe diseases, or get a sudden loss of blood, our organs must be transplanted or the blood needs to be supplied. However, it is quite hard to find organ donors since there is too much demand compared to supply. Also, to receive an organ people undergo a complicated process to see if the new organ matches. In those instances, clones are very helpful and effective since clones are exact copies of us. It is very easy for us to receive the organs and there’s no need to go through complicated processes since their bodies woulld not reject the clonned organ.

Even though clones are quite useful, there is a lot of controversy surrounding them. The ethical issues cannot be ignored. If we are cloned, our cloned selves do not have an identity or rights. What life would they live? They will have to live under humans and are not able to live their own lives. When humans are sick, they will have to forcefully donate their organs and blood. When humans need something, they will have to sacrifice themselves. Clones will be considered as a creature that is created to sacrifice for humans. Many consider human cloning unacceptible because they think of it as torture. It is too selfish and immoral for humans to copy themselves just to use them for their own benefit.

In conclusion, cloning is one of the greatest accomplishments since it is an interesting technology that is closely related to controlling human life. There were a few successful cases of cloning multicellular organisms, such as Dolly the Sheep but human cloning hasn’t been successful yet. It has functionality when humans are cloned such as providing organs. On the other hand, there are lots of ethical issues surrounding it. My personal opinion is that from now on only animal cloning should be allowed and human cloning should be considered later in the future.

An estimated 300 million people died from smallpox in the 20th century alone. Curing it is one of the greatest achievements of humankind as it paved the scientific way for the development of the vaccination industry which so benefits us today in slowing flu and Covid. This virulent disease, which killed one-third of people who contract it, has been known to cohabit alongside humans for thousands of years. It was Edward Jenner, a British physician who discovered the vaccination for smallpox. He dubbed smallpox the “speckled monster”; and as the world's population swelled and travel increased, the disease seized every opportunity to colonise the Earth.

The knowledge of vaccination has been with us for a long time, however there were downsides to its utilisation until Edward Jenner came up with a protected antibody for smallpox. This development convinced nations to take action but it was not till 1996 that these nations finally

began to subsidise and support the mission to eradicate disease using vaccines.

After the advent of vaccinations, when a Smallpox epidemic occurred, a team from the World Health Organisation arrived to vaccinate and isolate individuals who were ill, as well as track and vaccinate all of the people they had come into contact with. They effectively encircled the sickness, preventing it from spreading to new victims. The eradication teams also deliberately sought out the disease, carrying a ‘recognition card’ depicting a smallpoxinfected newborn to show people what the infection looked like. Incentives were given to promote the reporting of incidents.

The last natural case of smallpox was in Somalia in October 1977. Ali Maow Maalin, a 23-year-old chef, had never been effectively inoculated. In the two weeks after Ali’s diagnosis, an intensive tracking and vaccination

campaign swung into action. The disease was cornered, with no vulnerable features close to spread. DA Henderson and his team cheered at the idea there could, at absolutely no point in the future, be one more instance of this awful illness. There were no authority declarations, nonetheless, until a two-year time of extraordinary observation was finished, ensuring the illness was at long last gone.

Smallpox made one final endeavour to organise a rebound with humans. In September 1978, Janet Parker, a clinical photographic artist at the University of Birmingham, was unintentionally contaminated with smallpox and later died. Her disease was at first analysed as a medication rash, however soon pustules showed up on her body. Mrs Parker’s mom additionally developed smallpox, and fortunately, survived. The resulting examination never settled precisely how the smallpox infection had made a getaway from the university’s laboratory.

Greatest Achievement in Modern Medicine: Eradication of Smallpox

By Ji-Min Lee, Year 10, Noro

Edited by Peter Chang

This accident served as a stark reminder that humans were still susceptible to the disease, particularly because routine immunisation had been phased out in many nations by the 1970s. Following their triumphant declaration in 1980 that smallpox had been eliminated worldwide, the WHO advocated for a reduction in the number of laboratories storing viral samples. Smallpox was only allowed to be held in two WHO-approved laboratories, in Russia and America, by 1984.

The world will be forever grateful to Edward Jenner and his cows for the discovery of the smallpox vaccine but it took from the first inoculation in 1796 to 1977 to eliminate the disease. Medicine moves slowly and this accomplishment could have been speeded up with more resources. Today we are still trying to eliminate malaria but small, cheap solutions are available.

Artificial Intelligence

By June Kim, Year 10, Jeoji

Edited by Mr. Maher

"Artificialintelligenceisatool,notathreat."-Rodney

AI is the branch of computer science that simulates human intelligence in machines. Machines perform tasks that were usually done by humans. They can complete the tasks with higher efficiency and accuracy than humans can, leading to a higher rate of success. Due to its significant benefits, AI has impacted our world greatly, especially in the business area. Three uses of AI will be introduced.

Automation, which uses AI in a system of manufacturing and other production processes, undertakes repetitive tasks instead of humans. In manufacturing where most of the tasks are labor intensive and boring, automation not only improves the productivity and efficiency in completing the taks, but also ensures greater quality at lower cost and in less time. It also regularizes the outputs, which shows why this technology is so prevalent in manufacturing businesses. Quality control is easier to maintain. AI automation is very complex as it combines machines with analysis capabilities as well as cognitive technologies. It works by machine learning and making new decisions based on the past experiences they have analyzed. For example, automation is used in healthcare. It supports the area by avoiding medical areas and diagnosing diseases. Due to its high accuracy, it is estimated that it can potentially save 10 milion lives per year.

Natural language processing (NLP) gives machines the ability to understand text and words just like humans can. It combines machines with human language, allowing them to understand it. NLP is closely connected to our world, as it is used in voicecontrolled assistants, translators, GPS systems, and speech-to-text dictation software. For example, Google Tranlate uses a system called Google Neural Machine Translation, which uses a large artificial neural network to increase fluency and accuracy of all languages around the world. There are still some errors such as unnatural flow of language and gramatical errors in the process as it is a very challenging task for machines to understand human language because it is very deep and ambiguous. However, it offers significant benefits to humans thesedays.

Every business requires security online since all the important financial data of the compay is stored in the computers. AI can be used to spot cyber threats. A large number of malware is created every week, which the traditional systems cannot deal with. Instead, malware can be destroyed by adapting AI to the systems. It helps them to be aware of any malware and be prepared for any attack. It also analyzes big amounts of data and develops the system accordingly to reduce threats. AI works very efficiently in cybersecurity improving the safety in the computer system.

In conclusion, AI is used in many areas in the human world, such as automation, natural language processing and cybersecurity. People worry about AI taking place in the human world and how it might cause negative consequences, such as an increase in human unemployment. It is true, but still humans might have lived a more tiring and challenging life without AI.

By Stephanie Lim, Year 10, Jeoji

Edited by Injoon So

Accomplishments Space

Do you know what humanity's most amazing space accomplishments have been?

Maybe, when the first satellite went out to space? Or maybe, the first human to walk on the moon? Over the last 50 years there have been around 185 space flights sent into space and 134 successful orbital missions. Isn’t that incredible?

But which of these missions are the most incredible, and why were they such an outstanding accomplishment?

To start off let's explore the first satellite that we launched. Its name was Sputnik 1. This satellite was first launched on October 4, 1957. When this satellite successfully left the landing pad, everybody around the world was impressed by the success. The Russians were winning the Space Race with the Americans. Sputnik 1 was to provide a lot of information about the atmosphere of the earth for further improvements, and the Americans were nervous about what new things would be discovered. The most effective discoveries were knowing the density of the upper layers of the atmosphere by calculating the lifetime in orbit. It is important to know the density of the earth’s atmosphere because the change of density depends on the temperature, the pressure and how much water vapour is in the air. If the air is dense which is cool, this air slows down a race car speed. This happens because the cars designed from the wheels up for racing are really like upside down airplane wings that push pressure to the ground, therefore this dense air pushes them down harder for the race cars to slow down. The Sputnik was later observed optically to decay 92 days after the successful launch (January 4,1958) it completed about 1400 orbits of the earth over a progressive distance travelled of 70 million kilometres.

After the launch of Sputnik 1 the Soviet Union launched another satellite on November 3,1957 named Sputnik 2. There was something interesting about this satellite. What do you think it is? A dog was launched into the earth’s orbit. This dog, named ‘Laika’, was a small dog which weighed 13 pounds (6kg), a mixed breed dog about two years of age. She was one of the stray dogs that were taken to the Soviet spaceship project after being rescued. It was the first living creature to be launched out of the earth. A fun fact is that female dogs are anatomically better suited than male dogs for close confinement. So, the Soviets only used female dogs. Laika prepared for life on board the satellite by gradually shrinking her living quarters. She learnt to take food in jellied form that could be easily provided in a weightless environment after being spun in a centrifuge to acclimate to variations in gravitation. According to Soviet reports, the dog was kept alive for six or seven days before being poisoned with food before her air supply ran out. On April 14, 1958, the satellite was destroyed as it finally entered Earth's atmosphere. Laika's heartbreaking end drew worldwide sympathy and concern.

In conclusion, I think the first two satellites, Sputnik 1 and 2, were the most amazing accomplishments in humanity.

Quietude

By Sabrina Huh, Year 8, Jeoji

Edited by Warrick Kwon

‘Peace begins with a smile’. This is a mantra that Mother Teresa has used to save 4,500 children’s souls by reminding herself of these five words again and again. One might consider her as a saint and miracle worker, whereas others may call her overly dogmatic, a woman who let everyone down with her exceedingly critical stance on many controversial and emotive subjects. Mother Teresa was an icon of compassionate care for the poor and the disadvantaged. On the other hand, many highlight her questionable political contacts or divisive statements. There are two sides to every story, even the legacy and legend of Mother Teresa.

When she was only eight years old, Mother Teresa’s father passed away in 1919. After this tragedy, she developed a strong devotion to Jesus Christ. For Mother Teresa, the work she performed was only a means to put her love for Christ into action, her only goal was to help bring change to people's lives. It was not her own, but the livesof the poor, especially the younger generation. Becoming a Catholic nun, taking her final vows in 1937, she dedicated her life to caring for the destitute and dying in the slums of Calcutta - now known as Kolkata.

On the 7th of October 1950, Mother Teresa received permission from the Holy See to start her own order. She was in charge of “The Missionaries of Charity” whose primary task was to love and care for those nobody was prepared to look after. Furthermore, the society became an International Religious Family by a decree of Pope Paul VI in 1965. She founded the order, The Missionaries of Charity, to look after abandoned babies and to help the poorest of the poor, once saying that they "lived like animals but died like angels". Praised for her open mind, her childhood majorly influenced the goals and accomplishments of her adult life.

“Intense does not measure. It just gives.”

She has to be acknowledged by how much inspiration she has given to others. On the Internet, there are hundreds of quotes from her about love, peace, family and more. You might wonder how small quotes and sayings could possibly hold any importance, to some they could be useless; but thinking about the positive outcomes her words had, shows how massively inspiring she was and remains some twenty five

years after her death.

On the other hand, the controversy surrounding Mother Teresa was, and is, far from new; she was viewed as a questionable political contact. Her saintly reputation was gained for aiding Kolkata's poorest of the poor, yet it was undercut by persistent allegations of misuse of funds, poor medical treatments and religious evangelism. In the institutions she founded, there were issues with suspicious management of the enormous sums of money she received. In addition, she was called overly dogmatic particularly regarding abortion, contraception, and divorce.

Despite the controversy, Mother Teressa is still considered one of the most memorable leaders in the world. To be self-aware and to prioritise your personal development before anybody else, is one of the significant qualities of becoming a leader, however this is not why Mother Teressa became a great leader. If you can’t feed a hundred people, just feed one. But don’t be afraid to step up, to fight for change, put individuals first, inspire others in various ways and take risks. We fear the future because we are wasting today.

“The Nation’s MC”

By Andrew Kim, Year 12, Halla

Edited by Jeremy Kim

One of the most famous Korean celebrities of all time and known as the “Nation’s MC”, Yoo Jae-suk is a host, comedian and television personality. Some of his widely known television shows are Infinite Challenge, X-Man, Running Man and Hangout with Yoo. Yoo is also known for his quick wits and personality. He has established himself as one of the top South Korean comedians and television personalities alongside Lee Kyung-kyu and Kang Ho-dong. A distinct aspect about Yoo was that he did not like to plan ahead to achieve certain goals or accomplishments. He believed setting too many goals limited his potential of accomplishing something greater. Students in NLCS are encouraged to create their own plan for homework and daily routines. Although it is beneficial to have a set of goals, it would be more useful to not create too many strict goals that limit your chances of development and success.

Yoo was born in Seoul on 14th of August 1972. He was the firstborn of his family and had 2 younger sisters and hence, his family had high hopes and expectations for him. Becoming a full-time comedian, or any jobs that were unstable, wasn’t preferable in

Korean society; parents want their child to have a job that provides a strong financial stability. However, Yoo had shown his artistic interests since he was in elementary and middle school. When he began high school, Yoo used to entertain his friends, classmates and family with his jokes which sparked his interest in becoming a comedian. He risked his future career in order to pursue his dreams of being a comedian and he was successful; he was accepted into the Seoul Institute of the Arts. As his success continued to develop and build, he decided to take comedy seriously and participated in the ‘KBS Comedian Festival’ in 1991 which started his television debut. His performance grabbed the attention of various show producers. In 2002, through a close friend, Yoo was able to host his first program Live and Enjoy Together. The show became a huge success and he became a minor celebrity.

After Live and Enjoy Together, Yoo hosted small shows here and there until he got a chance to host one of the most well-known television shows of all time: X-Man. The show soon grew to be the highest viewed show in South Korea. Because of this,

Yoo was renowned as one of the most influential television personalities in television history. X-Man sweeped the Sunday afternoon television program slots while having the best ratings. In 2010, a new variety show was introduced to the people called Running Man.

At this time, the fact that Yoo was the host of this program made people have high hopes and expectations for another major hit like X-Man. The first episode was a hit, but mostly due to the ‘Yoo effect’ (An effect that grabs the viewers attention just because the show was starring Yoo). The episodes that followed had significantly low ratings and did not do so well. The chemistry between the members was poor and they did not have any outstanding qualities that would catch the audience’s interests. This period of time for Yoo showed that no one has a constant upwards spike of success; everyone experiences failures and the way someone could achieve greater accomplishments is to be resilient. Realising the problems with the show, Yoo and the Running Man program director looked back at their mistakes and recreated characters for all the members, such as Yoo as the brains

with the nickname ‘Grasshopper’, Kim Jong-kook as the muscle with the nickname ‘Mr. Capable', Song Jihyo as the lucky one ‘Ace', etc. Soon, the show had started its solid journey for over 10 years and still continues today. Running Man was the biggest international breakthrough for Korean variety shows and Yoo’s own career as a television personality.

Since Yoo’s first ever television program hosting he currently holds the record of having the most grand prizes on KBS, SBS, and MBC. He is the only Korean celebrity who received the most grand prizes continuously in 12 years and 18 in total for 16 years. He perpetually inspires his audiences, fans, and fellow entertainers through his goodnatured personality towards the people. Yoo has earned the title of the “Nation’s MC” through his successful career as a television personality and accomplished his dreams of becoming the man he desired to be: inspiring and entertaining people within and beyond South Korea. As for us, we can learn from Yoo that one of the roads to success and accomplishments is by setting a broad goal related to one’s strong passion and working towards it with dedication.

Leadership is about vision and responsibility not power.

By Daniel Kim, Year 8, Jeoji

Edited by Injoon So

“Leadership is about vision and responsibility not power.” This quote is fundamental to becoming an exceptional leader. Until today, only a minority of people have successfully accomplished the task of following this quote whilst the majority have failed. Still, there are many leaders throughout history whom critics call ‘successful leaders’: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon Bonaparte, and more.

The people who are leaders, though in the minority, may be easy to spot. You may even have encountered them yourself. However, how many great leaders have you met? The ones who had the power to change billions of people's lives using only the power of their mouth?

This article is about a brave man and a great leader. A man who saved countless lives by fighting against racism in the United State of America without using any physical violence.

This man was Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King was an icon of leadership. Although decades have passed since his death, he is still remembered as the one who defined what it means to be a leader. His accomplishments are celebrated on Martin Luther King Junior Day that falls on the 16th of January each year.

Martin Luther King was born in 1929, January 15th, in Georgia Atlanta, and graduated from Morehouse College. In that period of time, African Americans were facing terrible discrimination from white people. Schools, swimming pools, restaurants, even bathrooms were strictly segregated. Martin Luther

King Jr wasn't an exception for this disadvantage. From his early life, he realized the devastating reality of living with black skin in America.

His story begins on December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, when Rosa Parks was arrested by the police for refusing a bus driver's order to yield her seat to a white passenger. This was a brave moment of rebellion and encouraged African Americans to stand against the unfair treatment for black people. It was also a significant chance for Martin Luther King Junior to accomplish his future goals.

A small spark became a huge flame. A fire that is inescapable. The great journey started silently, with a small group of African Americans refusing to ride the bus in the morning. Although it seems to be a useless boycott, the influence was massive. As a high ratio of the passenger were black, the profit of the drivers decreased. This small start in Montgomery Alabama encouraged the whole country to rise against the racial discrimination which resulted in equal treatment on buses as segregation was eventually overhauled.

While the name “Martin Luther King Junior” was honoured by the African Americans, the obstacle that blurs his goal was introduced. Martin Luther King was sent to prison 29 times and had a life threat as his house was bombed by white man. Nevertheless, he was intimidated by millions of white people. Despite the many challenges he faced, he continued to campaign for the rights of black people in America and passionately followed his convictions.

His “I Have a Dream” speech, in which he took a risk by departing from his prepared text to share his emotions with the crowd, is now considered one of the greatest speeches in history. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character,” he spoke, and these words will undoubtedly be remembered for generations to come.

Martin Luther King Jr accomplished a lot. He was a leader of the American civil rights movement. He organized a number of peaceful protests as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, including the March on Washington in 1963. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, and, at the time, he was the youngest person to have accomplished this.

He fought for change, using his words as well as his actions to lead a movement and encourage more people to join him. In his short life, he achieved a great deal, and his achievements continued to the present day through his powerful legacy. He once said that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Wherever there may be injustice, he can inspire new people.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

-Martin Luther King Jr.

SUCCESS

By Hanna Wang, Year 10, Sarah

Edited by Cathy Kim

What does success mean? The dictionary meaning of success is ‘the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.’ But the question changes into ‘what does it mean to live a successful life?’, what would your answer be? For some, it can be money, honour, a life of sharing, or something else entirely. The world's richest people selected by Forbes, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, have identified human relations. Everyone of us will have a standard of successful life. There will be no one in the world who doesn't want to succeed. What unusual actions are you taking that others don’t? Most people around the world want to become successful regardless of gender or age. But when it comes to thinking about what we should do, we are not sure. By looking at people who are living a successful life, we will be able to understand how they became the envy of the world.

When you first think of a successful person, who are you reminded of? When I think of a successful person, the first person that comes into mind is Bill Gates. Just by looking at his early life we are able to see how hard he had to work in order to become what he is today. Bill Gates was a brilliant student who performed exceptionally well in academics, especially in mathematics. His passion for computers and programming was developed at a young age. At 15 years old Gates and his friend Allen built software and sold them to optimise traffic for $20,000. After completing his schooling he enrolled at Harvard College but soon dropped out to pursue his passion

in computers. He teamed up with Allen and founded their start up, Microsoft. However, Microsoft was not as successful on initial release. Sales were below par; this meant that the company was operating on a tight budget. The turning point for Microsoft was when they licensed an operating system called MS-dos which was used for IBM’s personal computers. Consequently, Microsoft became the world’s biggest operating system supplier and continued to develop its products. Bill Gates’ journey wasn't easy; even after his success he found himself working on the very competitive edge of consumer software technology, facing stiff competition from a variety of companies. While industry experts pointed out that many companies have missed the overall transition to mobile technology, Microsoft and Bill Gates were surprisingly successful.

Who else is there that you can think of? We all know the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. At the age of 12, Zuckerberg created a messaging program named Zucknet that he implemented as an interoffice communication system for his father's dental practice. Zuckerberg was fascinated by computers and continued to work on developing new programs. Zuckerberg enrolled at Harvard University, and Mark Zuckerberg quickly became known as the go-to computer programmer on campus. Zuckerberg collaborated with his friends to create a social networking site where Harvard students could connect. The site was officially launched under the name

of 'The Facebook.' After sophomore year, Zuckerberg dropped out of college and pursued what is now Meta. The website reached 1 million users by the end of 2004. If he were not the founder of Facbook some of us might think, ‘Why on earth would anyone drop out of Harvard?’ It is true that he was talented in computer programming, but his life wasn’t focused on grades or school; he was passionate about what he wanted to achieve. That does not mean that he was certain that his work would be successful. People tend to focus on the outcome. People should not just look at what they've accomplished, but know what these people have gone through, how they saw the forest, not just the trees.

Looking at the childhood and life of people who have become successful we see what processes they went through and the efforts they made til they reached the zenith of their career. It is not about following in their footsteps, but understanding how much effort they have made. The "success" of a person we see is only the tip of the iceberg. Below that, there has been a lot of effort to reach that position. If you try to follow that person only by looking at what you see, you won't be able to succeed. Only then will we be able to see ourselves as truly successful people, someone who is strong, even under the iceberg. Real success is not the result, but is the process of everyday hard work.

Margret Thatcher’s Accomplishments

By Sophie Lee, Year 10, Mulchat

Edited by Jiho Lee

“What is success? I think it is a mixture of having a flair for the thing that you are doing; knowing that it is not enough, that you have got to have hard work and a certain sense of purpose.”

Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. During her term as a Prime Minister, she made amazing political achievements that impressed other politicians worldwide. The public called Magaret the ‘Iron Lady’, the nickname based on her appearance as a firm political leader. Then, what were the accomplishments she made?

It is significant that Margaret Thatcher was the first female elected as a Prime Minister in Europe. She served as a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. This was a significant achievement since no other female politician was elected as the head of government before; the proportion of female politicians was relatively low at that time. To this day, there have been only two female Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom. Whilst the number of female politicians in general has gradually increased, the 20th century was a period when women's social status was comparatively low. Thatcher’s election, overcoming these difficulties, ultimately had a positive influence on breaking down the prejudice and limitations on women's social status.

Thatcher also made notable achievements in resolving a political dispute. The two main successful events were the Iranian embassy crisis and the Cold War. The Iranian embassy crisis was an incident where six armed terrorists attacked the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980. The terrorists held 26 people as hostage and revealed three requirements for the British government: independence in Khuzestan in Iran, the freeing of about 90 inmates, and a safe path prepared for them to leave the UK. However,

Thatcher refused to have any negotiation with the terrorists. Instead, she permitted the SAS to attack them. As a result, 25 hostages were rescued, and five terrorists were shot dead. Following this crisis, Thatcher's ability to hold strong on challenging issues was once again shown in ending the Cold War. Thatcher believed that aggressive policies should be implemented to win the Cold War against the Soviet Union. She cooperated with Ronald Reagan, the president of the United States who shared the same view as her. Thus, she made a critical contribution to ending the Cold War.

Magaret Thatcher led the economy in Britain to grow significantly towards the end of her time. She boldly promoted privatization, drastically reducing government intervention in British industry. Major British governmentowned companies such as British Aerospace and British Telecom have been transformed into private companies. This privatization led to a free-market economy, activating competition within the companies and preventing an industrial monopoly. Each company began to compete fiercely to attract more consumers, resulting in lower prices of goods and higher quality services. Overall, through privatization, Margaret Thatcher improved Britain's economy. Also, in the early 1980s, she implemented a policy of increasing interest rates and indirect taxes to lower inflation from 26% in the UK. With this policy, inflation began to fall by about 4% every year but reached 9.7% in the last year of Thatcher's term as a prime minister.

The public have distinct perspectives on politics, and their view also divides on whether Magret Thatcher was the greatest or the worst leader of the UK. However, the public would commonly agree with how impressive she was as a prime minister despite her somewhat controversial reputation.

<Life in Film>: Accomplishment of Film on Society Morals

By Emily Lim, Year 11, Sarah

Edited by Shona Park

Films are not only a form of escapism, but an influence on society. Films can be seen as a passive resistance to social irregularities and prejudices. By presenting problems through a screenplay, movies can make the audience change their mind or perspective on certain issues. Movies deal with important topics such as racism, animal rights, and prejudice against LGBT people, demonstrating an accomplishment in changing morals and society.

The film, ‘Bambi,’ which came out in 1942, is one of the movies loved by children but, at the same time, is a form of exemplary protection of animal rights. The film made a memorable influence on society. ‘Bambi’ is recognized for bringing anti-human sentiment by presenting the scene where Bambi’s mother is shot and killed by an unnamed hunter. The American Film Institute, AFI, viewed this moment as the iconic scene of the movie and named the hunter as the 20th greatest villain ever in their list of the 100 greatest film villains of all time. After the release of ‘Bambi,’ it prevented a significant amount of animals’ death. For instance, in 1943, when a group of hunters in Wisconsin claimed for an additional deer hunting season to control the state’s unmanageable deer population, public outcry followed the proposal. The defiance towards deer-hunting was stronger than ever. As a result, the push for an additional hunting season was rejected. In 2006, there was another event which demonstrated the success of this film on preventing natural disasters. The Ad Council, in partnership with the United States Forest Service, started the ‘Public Service Announcements,’ which used ‘Bambi’ as a footage for wildfire prevention. As a consequence, the film was recognized in December 2011 by the National Film Registry for its eloquent message of nature conservation.

Films did not only made an impact on conserving nature, but also marked an achievement by breaking down sexual prejudices. The film, ‘Philadelphia,’ released in 1993, is often credited for destigmatizing AIDS and leading mainstream America to consider the plight of homosexuals. Living as an homosexual at that time, victims had to go through the silent

plague and the homophobia rose as a sensitive issue. However, not many people in society were concerned about these ongoing problems. An American film critic, Roger Ebert, described this movie as “a righteous first step,” and added saying, “with Philadelphia, the ice has been broken.” By the premiere of this film in LA, ‘AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA)’ benefited by earning $250,000, which would be used to promote well-being and healthcare for the LGBT community. The film brought out the butterfly effect positively, showing the power of the media to change the whole world by drawing attention to specific issues.

‘Green Book’ (2018), which won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay and Best Picture, made an impact on society by powerfully tackling the topic of racism. The film is about an Italian-American, Tony Lip, working as the driver of African-American pianist, Dr. Don Shirley. When a white man working for the black was uncommon in the 1960s, the film broke down the general prejudice over the racial groups. The film furthermore shows the two men’s development of friendship throughout the process and conveys the message that anyone can know anyone after enough communication. The director of this film, Peter Farelly, commented that general assumptions should be avoided and people from different races will get to find lots of things in common when they start a conversation.

Other than the three films mentioned above, there are a vast number of films that have had a profound influence on social morals and will continue to be produced in the future. It is fascinating that a two hour video can save hundreds of animals’ lives or bring social changes, such as redeeming people from being considered as minorities. Charities related to the films also get to give more help to those in need through the money earned by the movies and businesses. Inspired by the film, they will use the scenes to spread their view on morals, making a just society.

A century ago, some of the most enduring and influential voices were resonated by The Lost Generation, a group of American expatriate writers whose works were to paint the literary horizon of the twentieth century. Among them were Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, T.S.Eliot, William Faulkner, and other names of the literary hall of fame. A century later, the words of these writers still remain with us with their respective messages of timeless hope and value.

The world came to a bitter stall at the futile end to the First World War. In the poem The Waste Land, T. S. Eliot references an ‘archduke’, rats, dead men, demobbed soldiers, and possible shell-shock victims, reinforcing the themes of brokenness and loss that relate to his experiences of the War. Written during his years of recovery from a nervous breakdown, Eliot writes about his disillusionment, surrounded by the modern society apparently lacking spiritual significance and soul; the world has become a ‘wasteland’, with its once-brilliant values and treasures at jeopardy. The confused and intricate structure which underpins this message implies that after the war, peace has become a far-off dream for all.

On the other hand, some of the post-war generation envisioned a new life, away from the ideals of the past that had driven them to war. From the nightclubs of Paris to the highrises of New York and the coasts of the French Riviera, these young men and women swirled over their thirsts for a hedonistic new life. It was an escape from the despair of the war and boisterous societal changes in the century prior. In The Great Gatsby, however, Fitzgerald paints a picture of a failed American dream. The characters, although seemingly enjoying their lives, are in fact troubled by the excessive materialism and corruption of the society. Repealing the despair of the war they had experienced, the characters did receive all that they wished for, but were unable to evade the recognition of

the absurdity of life. With or without efforts to let their tragic memories slip, as Fitzgerald writes, the post-war generation could not find themselves at true peace.

Unlike the somewhat pessimistic messages delivered by Eliot and Fitzgerald, Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises implies that hope can still flame in the darkest of times. The novel is centred around a romance narrative between a returnee from the war and a woman craving comfort with her surrounding world. As characters recover from their trauma, they feel themselves solidified by the scars and memories once battered by conflict and violence. The world, perhaps, could no longer return to what it once was, but the characters themselves could, with the right people besides and with the right dreams. Even at the most disenchanted of times, Hemingway finds reason for people to pioneer through the most uncertain moments of their lives with the healing powers of love and care.

Today, the masterpieces penned by the Lost Generation still resonate with us. The modern world no longer skirmishes with the backlash of the First World War, trauma of the Spanish Flu, and the collapse of traditional empires, but today's world subsists with its own problems to endure and new routes to take. We have seen that the phrase “war to end all wars” proved itself false; illnesses continue to reside with us, building chains of pandemics over another; democracies still stand fragile and imperfect. Therefore, the true and candid literary accounts of these writers still allow for that greater connection that so many of the disillusioned yearn for in the wake of hardships in life. Maybe in another one hundred years, the criticisms, pains, and desires woven into these works won’t be as apt - maybe that resistance to change will start to crumble. But even then, these poignant novels act as a snapshot of the beginning of the end. Once penned, the memory and lessons of these writers will not fade away; it is the echo of the Lost Generation.

The Echo of the Lost Generation

By Jeremy Kim, Year 12, Halla

Edited by Andrew Kim

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

Women’s Achievements in Art: Zaha Hadid

By Minju Kang, Year 11, Jeoji

Edited by Jaeyoung Chung

Women artists have been involved in the development of art, but they have been underrepresented and discriminated against throughout history. Many works created by women artists have not been adequately introduced to the public, and women were forced to work in minor art forms such as miniatures, portraits, still lifes, and flower painting. Women in art have faced the difficulties of gender bias, including challenges in training, travelling and exchanging their work. It took a long time for women artists to be recognised by the public. However, despite these harsh environments, there have been some significant achievements made by female artists. One woman achieved the goal of getting her name on the list of the world’s most recognised architects: Zaha Hadid.

Zaha Hadid is well known for her bold and innovative architecture. She disagreed with the status of women artists. To get recognition in the architectural field, Hadid began her studies at the American University in Beirut and received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. By 1972, she had moved to London to study at the Architectural Association, the centre of the progressive architectural movement of the 1970s. There she met Elia Zenghelis and Rem Koolhaas. They were her collaborators as a partner at the Office of Metropolitan Architecture. After, Hadid established her London-based architecture firm, Zaha Hadid Architects.

Hadid solidified her reputation as a successful architect in the 2000s when she began designing for the new Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati. This museum was the first building in the USA to be designed by a woman. At last, society approved her boldly imaginative designs. She won her Royal Institute of British Architects prize for the best building designed by a British architect. She was the first woman to earn that prestigious prize, assessed on many different categories of design,

architecture, graphics, and transportation. Hadid’s other notable works include the London Aquatics Centre built for the 2012 Olympics, the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum in Michigan State University, and the Jockey Club Innovation Tower for the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She not only designed buildings but also designed interior spaces such as restaurants, stage sets, furniture, footwear, bags, and jewellery, notably for the B.zero 1 jewellery collection of Bulgari, inspired by the design of the Colosseum. Hadid also taught architecture at many places, including the Architectural Association, Harvard University, the University of Chicago, and Yale University. She had become a world renowned architect and mentor.

Hadid’s accomplishments remarkably stood out because she was the only woman while men primarily dominated the architecture industry. In an interview published in Icon magazine, she said, “I never use the issue about being a woman architect ... but if it helps younger people to know they can break through the glass ceiling, I don’t mind that.” However, she admitted that she never really felt a part of the male-dominant architecture establishment. She once said, “As a woman in architecture, you’re always an outsider. It’s okay; I like being on edge.” The solitude she felt while carrying the burden of being the first successful woman architect made her accomplishments more noteworthy. Zaha Hadid’s contribution to the progress of the architectural profession has been acknowledged by professional institutions around the world, including the Forbes list of the ‘World’s Most Powerful Women’ and the Japan Art Association. Her designs were awarded several valuable awards, proving her contribution to the architecture field. Hadid’s ultimate goal, to get more women involved in architecture, succeeded due to her pioneering works. She did not only set the standards higher in the architecture field but also broadened the influence of women in the world.

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL

By Hailey Kim, Year 11, Geomun

Theepithet of division and tyranny, the Berlin Wall symbolised Churchill’s “Iron Curtain'' theory on the ideological polarisation between the West and the Soviet Union, reflecting the Soviet’s authoritative and oppressive way of maintaining control and power over their satellite nations. The accomplishment of its fall is regarded as one of humanity’s most significant achievements in history, as it marked the unofficial end to the seemingly incessant era of the Cold War, and symbolised the beginning of an unprecedented era of freedom and peace. Yet, despite its significance and gravity, all that was required for the collapse of this wall was simply a series of misinformation and farcical slip-ups by government officials, appropriately merged with a vehement longing for freedom and peace.

Before the wall was officially erected, only an intangible border divided the East and West occupation zones of Germany’s capital Berlin, each under the heavy influence of the Soviet Union and the Western allies (France, Britain, USA) respectively. Despite the fact that they stood on the same ground, life was distinctly different in these two regions. The West was ruled by the three wartime allies under the ideology of capitalism, preserving the basic rights of its citizens and featuring an array of colourful culture and thriving industries. In contrast, the communist East found itself trapped in economic stagnation, and its citizens struggling under strict repression of their freedom and basic rights from an authoritarian government. Gradually the appeal of the West’s liberal lifestyle grew amongst East Germans, and more and more people in the East started to move to the West in the hope of a better lifestyle. Between 1949 and 1961, some 2.5 million Germans fled from East to West Berlin.

This was an eyesore to the Soviets for a number of reasons. Because the majority of people leaving were skilled workers and young intellectuals, the Soviets feared a “brain drain” phenomenon in the East, speculating that work efficiency would drop and the economic situation of the Soviet Union would worsen. Even more worrying was that it might then lead

FORGET NOT THE TYANNY OF THIS WALL.. NOR THE LOVE OF FREEDOM THAT MADE IT FALL"

- anonymous graffiti on the Berlin Wall

to the economic playing field leaning towards the West. Not only that, the vast amount of people fleeing to the West made the Soviet regime look unpopular and unable to create sustainable living conditions, creating unacceptable propaganda. Troubled by these phenomenons, the German Democratic Republic was in a dilemma. Something had to be done to prevent East Germans from crossing over to the West.

On the morning of August 13th, 1961, The people of Berlin woke to find 30 miles of barbed wire and concrete dividing their city. They rushed to the checkpoints sporadically stationed on the lining of the wall, only to be frightened away by the vast numbers of army units, militiamen, and police forces guarding each side. As the number of people attempting to cross the wall increased, more and more extensions were added to the wall to reinforce its security, each more violent and extreme than the next. Guard dogs, land mines, and deadly traps accumulated to form what is now known as the “death strip”. Living up to its name, more than 140 victims were killed trying to cross over to the other side of the wall.

The Berlin Wall kept its place for a solid 28 years, diligently tending to its task of keeping the borders of East Berlin tightly sealed. In response to this repression and the economic crisis insidiously gripping the nation, mass demonstrations were staged in 1989 demanding democracy and better living conditions, and US President Ronald Reagan openly condemned the existence of the wall in a famous quote: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” As public opinion leaned more and more towards reform and change both domestically and internationally, the government acknowledged the fact that something needed to be done. On November 9th, East Berlin party official Günter Schabowski appeared on national television to talk about the travel restrictions that forbade East Germans from leaving the region. He had received in advance a briefing of new legislation that would allow East German citizens to travel to the West, and vice versa. However, he had overlooked the amount of gravity

and significance that his statement would hold, and dismissively skimmed the pages with much brevity before stepping into live television. Sure enough, after informing the public of this unbelievable news, the party official was bombarded with questions.

Following confused murmurs of disbelief among the swarm of press, one reporter spoke up to ask the decisive question. “When will this legislation take effect?” Schabowski was caught off guard with this inquiry. Scratching his head sheepishly, he paused for a moment and replied “ab sofort, unverzüglich”, meaning “from now, immediately.” He failed to mention the copious requirements and loopholes that this legislation contained, such as the need to obtain a visa. It wasn’t even supposed to start on that day, it was intended to take effect on the day after. Such requirements were crucial as the legislation was intended only for propaganda purposes, and specifically designed to prevent big changes.

However, Schabowski’s misinformation provoked Germans watching their television screens to gasp in shock. For all they knew, an official statement had been issued that implied the end to years of repression.

Much equivalent to when it was first built, huge crowds gathered at each checkpoint stationed along the Berlin Wall. Impatient to be reunited with their family and friends after so long, and with the heart-fluttering prospect of being able to tread on West German soil once again, they stood eagerly waiting for the moment the officers would open the rusted gates of freedom. The officers had of course not received any orders from higher authorities to allow anyone to pass through, and were oblivious of the fact that Schabowski had made such a statement. They could do nothing but exchange confused looks as more and more people gathered with the same incentive, and even started to chip away at the wall using tools such as hammers and shovels. Harald

Jäger, a member of the secret Soviet police force, was one of the mere handful of baffled officers stationed at the checkpoints that night. He had always regarded himself as a loyal, diligent worker obedient to the Soviet’s demands, but the treatment he received that night by higherups through reproachful phone calls and condescending attitudes was unacceptable. After curtly hanging up on yet another phone call from a superior questioning his ability and responsibility, Jäger marched straight past the panicked officers and swarm of East Germans, and opened the gate.

An ecstatic roar rose from the people as they watched in awe at what would surely become a legendary page in history. What followed was a nightlong celebration of Germans from both sides with glasses of champagne, music, and tearful reunifications with loved ones. After that historic night, many changes occurred internationally. Within six weeks following the fall, an estimate of 2.5 million East Germans had visited the West. The “Sinatra doctrine” rose to become a crucial part of the ruling of other Soviet Republics, which was basically the belief that they should “let them do whatever they wanted, without repressive interference”. This meant that they were now redirected towards the path leading to freedom and even democracy. A few years later in 1990, the two Germanies signed a unification treaty which prompted the allies to suspend all rights to the government of Germany. Two days later, Germany was officially reunited.

The collapse of the Berlin Wall wasn’t just about the dismantling of a physical concrete wall; It was about the era of freedom and hope that would follow not just in Germany, but in every Soviet Republic that was under the same authoritative regime. While it can be pondered that the collapse may have not been successful had it not been for the misinformation of an official on national television, it must be acknowledged that the people’s deep-rooted passion and longing for freedom itself was a dominant factor, and that mere “people power” had brought one of the most seismic changes in history. As citizens of a country that has experienced a similar history in terms of national division and repression, the story of the Berlin Wall can teach us that the power and passion that people hold is truly enough to achieve the impossible.

Ode to orangutan

By Stella Lee, Year 12, Halla

O, orange orangutan

Thy smooth, onlooking face glows with youthful glamour

Thy confused voice resounds with an ominous clamour

Thy urgent babble, the unintelligible bumble, so much more observant than I

As I bore into thy cage, I observe how the sun soaks through thy coop; food, untouched, on a poop clusters and lustres with flies festers and welts under eyes

Yet the omnipresent odour of fleas blinds others and fills them with selfish glee that they’re so much greater than thee that they’ve had more morals than thee

And amongst those nincompoops, whose efforts end in a moot, I solely admit, that through all thy simplicity, thou had achieved so more than I

For you made those goons happy, eclipsing their self-consciousness and pity had they not laughed when you sniffed and sniffed when you cried, throwing stones for shallow provocation?

Oh! how most fail to see the boon of life to simple, actions so inconsequent is a misfortune in itself an epitome of idiocracy

Dishonouring life so glamorous and fine

So, orange orangutan

O, glorious, foolish orangutan

I must admit though it pains to omit

That thou are so much more accomplished than I

That thou hath lived far better than I

In an expone n tiallygrowi n g

I think the reason we tend to shy away from the idea of thinking might be found in the fact that it is related to our past, and therefore our accomplishments. Rooted in reality, our imagination can only take us so far without training or talent. Therefore mindful activities generally look backwards for reference. And these small accomplishments that get recalled every so often, hold much greater meaning in modern society compared to the past. In the past, the greatest achievement a citizen could make was to become famous in their town, period. With the wildly improved communication technology, however, a child from a normal household could be earning trillions of dollars. And people can hear everything about it, down to every detail, conclluding that they were not so much unlike them. Perhaps also that they could have been successful like them, having a similar background, but they had failed to achieve this. Consequently, the word thinking generally implies worrying and crying over a person’s past, present and future accomplishments.

There is this big problem in not stopping to consider your accomplishments. How do we know whether they’re worthwhile, meaningful accomplishments if we don’t think about them? That would put us in a position much similar to that of a lost traveller. Without a compass or careful consideration of possible geographical hints, we never really know when we’re moving in a good, meaningful way or in the opposite direction. We only stagger through, hoping to reach somewhere better than where we are now. I advocate a harsh reality. This mechanism we all wish to keep, to not think and just purge through with science, has failed us. Although there is no definitive telling which would lead to a better accomplishment, the entire population mindlessly destroying eighty thousand acres of trees a day with most of the population oblivious and uninterested in the anticipated outcome can’t be the best route we can find.

When we accomplish something, we rarely reflect on whether it has actually benefited us, either in the short term

By Inseo Youn, Year 12, Halla

or the long. We fundamentally will never know whether it has been an improving kind of accomplishment or not, the kind that will benefit either humanity or ourselves.

So all that man could ever do would be to constantly stay alert and open for new signs, continue thinking about his actions and reflect. This necessity for reflection is not restricted to individuals. Mistakes made in life aren’t the only bits that ruin our prosperity, global issues such as climate change and war

However, it is impossible for a man to think in the world’s stead, steer the globe in their desired direction. Although becoming an influencer and a famous figure has never been so easy, a single mind controlling the entire world with their will has never been possible, not even for a dictator. The best we could do is for individuals to consider actions and accomplishments for humanity collectively. Perhaps a change or a consideration on a small scale could prevent devastation on a larger one.

This article all comes down to the idea of pause and thinking about it first. It does boil down to philosophical questions and ideas, but there might be a fine line between the two. Philosophy feels too grand. It feels like you would be asked a question about world affairs and politics when you say you know some philosophy. On the other hand, thinking is but an action that is done by humans. There is nothing to think about thinking.

It is too simple and obvious to talk about ‘thinking’. Why would someone ask for people to think and write an article about thinking? However, the degree of thinking in this world is clearly not enough. People tend to criticize when someone is encapsulated in a moment of thought. It is seen as an unproductive thing to be doing when you can instead be working at that time. It won’t hurt, therefore, if a little student wrote an article about this very obvious point as a reminder.

Greta Thunberg - Now there’s a name you have heard of!

By Jian

One teenager. One speech. It makes a change. And this teenager was Greta Thunberg. The 15-year-old has achieved a miracle and made a bold entrance into the history books. This Earth is huge, and maybe even bigger than you first expected. You might assume that an argument made by a small teenage girl could not possibly have such a huge effect upon the world. Well, if you thought that, maybe you should start looking at teenagers from a different perspective.

Greta Thunberg was just an ordinary girl. An ordinary girl going to a school in Sweden. An ordinary girl, spending time with her friends. But, this ordinary girl decided to take on one of the biggest global issues of our time: climate change, global warming and social responsibility. She has been attempting to make the world a better place. A better place, not only for herself, but for the whole world.

Most people know what is happening to the world right now, like climate change; however, they believe someone else, not them, will make

this Earth clean again with suitable environments. This selfish mindset will never help save the planet. They do not want to physically work for the future, they don't see it as their responsibility. They turn a blind eye to the drastic future ahead, one which will be unavoidable if people don't start taking responsibility and making a better world for themselves.

Greta Thunberg decided not to be that selfish person but, instead, to be an advocate for planet Earth and all the people on it. Greta is celebrated today for successfully letting the world see the severe causes threatening futures; climate change and pollution. However, she didn’t suddenly assemble a whole bunch of people in the blink of an eye and then march them all straight to the UN. No. That’s not how it went.

Greta Thunberg started off as an individual, only herself, holding a sign stating, “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (School Strike for Climate). Greta and her father were at a protest to put pressure on the government to reach carbon reduction goals.

She sat on the streets all day until dinner time, waiting for an answer to her desperate questions. Her tiny movement had a worldwide impact, motivating hundreds more young people to organise their own strikes around the world. More people meant more hope for Greta. As many more people supported her, she became much more renowned. She managed to make the world listen. She made society stop and learn about the current problems of the environment.

This teenager continues to fight and is still constantly inspiring the world. She is popular and well-known globally. There are still many people with a question in mind: ‘What is Greta Thunberg actually fighting for?’ She doesn’t desire people to just hear what she wants, she wants a tangible change. Greta Thunberg fights for the planet. She does not consider the selfish side of humans, only regarding themselves. Her goal is to stop the climate crises which has been threatening our home, Earth. It’s time for tangible change.

Yeo, Year 8, Noro

I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet, you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?”

Complete Guide to Human Longevity

By James Kang, Year 11, Mulchat

It was once a myth, now a dream and soon will become an expectation. Out of nowhere, the science of life extension has had several remarkable accomplishments. Recent papers indicate the chance of treatments that could dramatically increase human lifespan.

One article from Trend of Genetics discusses a class of enzymes called Sirtuins. The link between lifespan and Sirtuins was first made several years ago in yeast, this encouraged scientists to investigate various model organisms to find out the relationship between Sirtuins, longevity and age-associated abnormality. The article from Trend of Genetics comes from the accomplishment of these efforts, presenting a large body of evidence about several mammalian Sirtuins - SIRT1, SIRT3 and SIRT6 - that suppress age-related

diseases to promote mammalian health. The question of whether these enzymes could contribute in modulating the ageing process, “has now been settled decidedly in the affirmative”. (Giblin, Skinner and Lombard, 2014)

The immense therapeutic possibility of SIRT1 has been supported in another paper in the journal Aging Cell, which confirmed that the synthetic small molecule activator of SIRT1 can stimulate the production of Sirtuins in mice, extending their mean and maximal life expectancy. In other words, we might be able to design a small molecule that delays the onset of age-related diseases in mammals in the near future. (Mercken et al., 2014)

Another paper in Aging Cell states that “Daumone fed late in life improves survival and reduces hepatic inflammation and fibrosis in mice. “ The pheromone

Daumone is secreted by nematode worms. The researchers hypothesised that these pheromones may have anti-aging effects by mimicking calorie restriction. Calorie restriction is known for extending mammalian lifespan through its anti-inflammatory action, that prevents the chronic inflammation of the liver, which is a major cause of ageing and age-related diseases. The research concludes that Daumone reduces the risk of death in elderly mice by 48% across five months, and that it, “could be developed as an anti-aging compound.” (Park et al., 2014)

Though some critical steps are missing, there is still a profound sense that we are standing in the tumult of extraordinary new science.

However, many people, thrilled by the advance of life extension science, fail to acknowledge that this technology may be an astonishing achievement and an astonishing threat.

One of the leading individuals of anti-aging technology, Aubrey de Grey, presents three concerns about life extension science. Firstly, he states, “wouldn’t it be crushingly boring?” He is right; immortality, as the philosopher Bernard Williams mocks in his essay, ‘The Makropulos Case: Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality’ (1973), will be like “being trapped in a never-ending cocktail party.” As time passes, we would lose what Williams called ‘categorical’ desires - the desires that allow us to keep on living, it supersedes ‘contingent’ desires that are not strong enough to motivate people to stay alive. Humans will have experienced everything that is considered stimulating after a certain amount of time, and lose the desire to live. (There’s a big problem with

immortality: it goes on and on | Aeon Essays, 2022)

Moreover, “how would we pay the pensions?”. Even today, there are huge economic gaps between generations in countries like the UK. The wealthy elderly rentiers are living on investments accumulated across decades; while the young and the people living in poverty are devastated by the system they created. If immortality is achieved, how will the elderly sustain themselves without crushing the young?

“What about starving Africans?” Life extension for those who can afford it might result in an equal or greater amount of life reduction for those who can’t. (Grey, 2022) Due to the finite nature of the resources on our planet, the rich and the poor are already in severe conflict. Hyperconsumption drains the resources at an unmanageable pace and pollutants deplete the planet’s ability to sustain life. It might be necessary for the rich to die in order to sustain the poor.

Imagine a new era, called ‘The longevity of Dictators’, a world ruled by those with access to the best healthcare money and power can buy. Could this new science result in an age of gerontocratic tyranny?

Of course, life extension science might free humanity from the fear of death, but I don’t want to imagine the terrific consequences of the economic and political power built up over thousands of years, nor the everlasting, intensified conflict between the rich and the poor. Will accomplishment in science and social development ever become compatible?

Dominic Atherton

Now that’s a name to remember!

Dominic Atherton is a grad in Halla North who joined NLCS Jeju this academic year. It is Dominic’s first time in Asia since he grew up in Europe and attended an international school thanks to his parents. In the UK, A-level are better known than the IB program but Dominic thought that the IB programme was more beneficial for him as he had some basic knowledge about it since his father runs the programme as a teacher.

Dominic applied to university with his IB Diploma score, he took Higher-Level Maths, Chemistry and Physics. For StandardLevel he did English, Latin and History. His subject combination suggests that he was more interested in science than the humanities.

Cambridge took the 7th place in the world ranking of universities in 2021. Dominic chose to spend his four years at Cambridge because it is well respected and the circumstances and system attracted him. The undergraduate programme in Cambridge has different courses divided into ‘Parts’ which last one or two years. For each Part, students take a number of 'papers' (subjects, topics); some of these are compulsory papers and some are optional. This leads to every student having to choose a certain number from a range of optional papers each year.

Dominic found that the periodic table interested him but this was not the only reason that he chose Cambridge to study chemistry. In Cambridge, the courses are classified as natural sciences, not just chemistry, which gave Dominic a wider variety of subjects and fields of knowledge. In his first year, he took maths, chemistry, physics and material science. Each year he narrowed down the subjects that he wanted to focus on and in his last year he decided to settle down on chemistry. Due to Cambridge’s efficient and special education system, Dominic was able to focus on what he wanted to do.

After graduating from Cambridge with his master degree which finished in July 2021, he decided to build experience in order to become a teacher. You might wonder why NLCS? Dominic has never been to Asia but the environment and the beautiful nature attracted him to NLCS Jeju. Dominic enjoys travelling and likes to have new experiences. He is also keen to live abroad somewhere outside of his comfort zone and is not focused on one country.

A lot of people might think that getting into a good university may be an accomplishment but apart from that, Dominic was proud of the accomplishments he made in the field of sports. When he was a student, he joined the squash and hockey

teams. Dominic was adventurous enough to start a new sport, boxing. Accomplishments do not always need to be something grandiose or verbose but something as simple as finding a new hobby. His admiration for sports did not stop after his graduation. After school as a grad, he goes for badminton, squash, running and cycling. I frequently see him cycling after school and his passion for sport is an example to all students at NLCS Jeju. The motivation he gets from small and big achievements and activities he does such as sports are baby steps towards his biggest accomplishment which will be becoming a teacher.

In general, different colleagues in Cambridge felt pressure and were overwhelmed by wanting to be good and being surrounded by intelligent people but Dominic advises that having a balanced life and staying consistent, finding a source or activity to relieve your stress will help you to feel less pressured. Setting a small goal and achieving it will help everyone from being too stressed out by their academic pressures and motivate us to achieve even bigger goals.

By Jenny Roh, Year 12, Halla

Running to make girl’s education a reality

By Jessica Heo, Year 7, Mulchat

There are various examples of accomplishments that can be achieved by students: winning awards for specific activities or subjects, participating in a student-led publication, joining scholarships, or community service and volunteer activities. The type and importance might differ, yet each accomplishment holds its unique significance so that the student should take pride. This article would explore two big accomplishments made by two very different people: Frances Mary Buss and Roger Bannister. One achieved accomplishments in education and the other’s accomplishments were in sports still, they both showed bravery and strength.

Accomplishment is defined as “something that has been achieved successfully” or “something done admirably or creditably.” There are many synonyms for accomplishment, but what Frances Mary Buss and Roger Bannister did applies to each and every word linked to the word ‘Accomplishment’.

One of the remarkable accomplishments is from a woman called Frances Mary Buss. She was the first person ever to use the title of Headmistress, meaning “the woman in charge of a school; the principal.” She was at the forefront of campaigns for the endowment of girls' schools, and for girls to be allowed to sit public examinations and enter universities. She focused on providing the same opportunity for women, to get educated just like their brothers. She sought to secure education for women at its highest level.

Buss attained bravery moreover accompanied with confidence; by the age of fourteen she herself was teaching and by sixteen she was occasionally left in charge of the school. In 1869 she became the first woman Fellow of the College of Preceptors, helping to establish the College's Professorship of the science and art of education in 1872. The Buss' school, renamed the North London Collegiate School for Ladies, moved to 46 Camden Street, with Frances Buss as its head, on 4 April 1850. She was to occupy the same position in the school, starting with thirty-five pupils, for over forty years. Her election to a Fellowship of the College in 1873 was the only public recognition she ever received. She was also a suffragist, participating in the Kensington Society, a women's discussion society, and the London Suffrage Committee. She was also a member of the Council of the Teachers' Training and Registration Society.

The second example of an accomplishment is made by a man called Roger Bannister. In comparison to Buss, Roger Bannister’s accomplishments may seem extraordinarily unlikely. Buss was leading the girl's education in London and Bannister was breaking down stereotypes and showing people that something is achievable when taking risks for their targets. After the

challenge from the young heroic Roger Bannister, people say lots of positive and warm words such as “That’s Roger Bannister’s true legacy and lesson for all of us who see the role of leadership as doing things that haven’t been done before.”

It is because Roger Bannister had accomplished something which nobody could be brave enough to do for years and years. Therefore his courageous decision to run hard for the record gave abundance of confidence and gave hope to people to try their best. Many people tried to break the record and could achieve better attainments. “It became a symbol of attempting a challenge in the physical world of something hitherto thought impossible,” Bannister said while the 50th anniversary of the run approached that even though he was nervous like other people, after he broke the record, the roar of the crowd drowned out the rest of the announcement. Moreover, in the quote: “We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves”, we can recognise that Roger Bannister is saying to the people to do things which they enjoy.

They both show the capability of education and sports. They both did something which includes bravery. Frances Mary Buss gave the girls the right education. Moreover, Roger Bannister showed awesome effort so that other people could take risks to break the record. Also from Roger Bannister’s famous quote: “Just because they say it’s impossible doesn’t mean you can’t do it.”, we can clearly see that he is sure that people can do anything they want if they do not think that it is impossible.

From Nobody to CHAMPION OF ENGLAND

By Joseph Fernandes, Year 12, Halla

On the 31st of August 2014, a 25 year old nobody from Sheffield walked into the King Power stadium on his professional Premier League footballing debut. This nobody was subbed on to help his team, Leicester, see out a 1-1 draw against Arsenal. By the end of the season, he would be the top goal scorer in England and one of, if not the biggest names in the football world.

Jamie Vardy was born in Sheffield in South Yorkshire, growing up in the Hillsborough area of inner-city Sheffield. Coming from a fairly modest family (his father was a crane worker and his mother worked at a solicitors' office), he suffered an early setback by being released by Sheffield Wednesday at the age of 16, the age when most players were signing their first contracts. He then played at Stocksbridge Park Steels - a semiprofessional football club in the 7th division of English football. He earned a total of 30 pounds a week playing there which meant he had to have several other jobs including working as a technician and a worker in a carbon fibre factory. Everyday he worked long hours at the factory and played football at night and his back injuries from working at the factory forced him to retire and live off the very little money he was making from playing football. However, he was determined not to give up on his dream of playing professional football and slowly worked his way up from the reserve team

to the first team where he made his debut in 2007, aged 20. During this time he was also once charged with assault and placed under house arrest, meaning that during away games he would have to be subbed off at half time and rush home to keep within his curfew to avoid further punishment. Despite getting the attention of multiple professional teams and even going on a one week trial at Crewe Alexandra, he signed for FC Halifax Town for a fee of 15,000 pounds, scoring the winning goal on his debut. He finished the season as the club’s highest goal scorer and was voted Player of the Season. His goals helped FC Halifax win the Northern Premier League Premier Division title and, after just over a year at Halifax, Vardy signed for Conference Premier club Fleetwood Town. Vardy was exceedingly impressive in his first season at Fleetwood Town, scoring 10 goals in 6 games in the league as well as the FA Cup, winning him the Conference Premier Player of the Month award for November. Vardy finished as the season’s top scorer with a total of 31 goals which helped his team get their first ever promotion to the official Football League.

On the 17th of May 2012, Championship side Leicester City announced the signing of Jamie Vardy for 1 million pounds (a non-league record). Vardy signed a three-year contract with the Foxes,

making this his first ever professional football club. Making his debut against Torquay United in the first round of the League Cup, he scored a goal to secure a 4-0 win. Just four days later, he made his Football League debut striding out at the King Power Stadium to play his part in a 2–0 win over Peterborough United. Despite scoring multiple goals and getting some assists in his first few games, his form started to falter and he was subject to criticism on social media. He even considered leaving football, but the Leicester managerial team led by Nigel Pearson and Craig Shakespeare managed to convince him to continue his time with the club. Leicester were almost promoted but famously lost the Championship play off to Watford after an eventful last few minutes where Leicester missed a penalty and immediately conceded a goal. The next season, however, Vardy’s fortunes changed for the better as he continued his usual goal scoring form, slowly taking his team to the top of the Championship. A win at Bolton secured Leicester their 7th Championship title. He ended the season with 16 league goals and a promotion to the Premier League. He earned a contract renewal to 2018.

Despite missing the first two games of the 2014/5 season due to injury, Vardy made his Premier League debut on the last day of August. On September 21st, he scored his first ever Premier League goal while delivering a Man of the Match performance in a 5-3 victory against Man United. Vardy continued to impress throughout the season, picking up a Player of the Month award in April 2015. His contributions to the Leicester team helped them achieve a miraculous relegation escape and Leicester managed to finish the season in 14th place. The next season Vardy led his team on Leicester’s famous and iconic title charge during which he matched and almost broke Van Nistelrooy's record of number of consecutive Premier League matches with a goal. By December 5th, Leicester had, against all odds, put themselves at the top of the Premier League table thanks to Vardy and his unstoppable goal rampage. He continued to score goals and win Player of the Month awards becoming only the fifth ever player to win consecutive awards and received a Guiness World Record. By this time Vardy was the biggest name in world football and there wasn’t a person in the world who even remotely followed football that hadn’t heard of him. He also signed a new contract with Leicester, taking

his salary to a grand total of 80,000 pounds per week. At the end of a very eventful season, Vardy finished with 24 goals (joint first with football legend Sergio Aguero), a player of the season award, and most notably a Premier League title to his name.

To this day Vardy still plays for Leicester and, although he doesn’t quite possess the goal scoring prowess he used to, he is still very well known, especially among the Leicester and the football fanbase in general. Jamie Vardy is a household name now. In a world where most professional footballers are scouted by the age of 11 and play their debut between the ages of 17 and 19, Vardy managed to defy impossible odds, climbing seven tiers of English football, a feat that still to this day sounds literally impossible, taking a side that had never won a Premier League title and had nearly been relegated the season before, from the Championship all the way to the Champions of the most prestigious football league in the world. The odds of Leicester winning the league that season were 5000-1 and the odds of Jamie Vardy getting anywhere near even playing in a Premier League team were exponentially more unlikely. However, through Vardy’s hard work, and maybe a tiny bit of luck, Vardy managed to create a miracle and accomplish two of the greatest underdog stories in

How poverty has developed and changed

By Lewina Moon, Year 9, Mulchat

Global poverty is one of the most serious problems in the world. It is the most undesireable development in history. Some people are still struggling. Yeah, people literally still suffer from this problem. Because today, people who live in a country with less poverty records think the world’s society has completely developed but their assumptions are wrong. People think like this because they knew that there was a lack of well-being worldwide in the past and it has been an extreme accomplishment of economics that millions are being brought out of poverty. Extreme poverty is still happening because some people are suffering to make progress on this problem. But there was excessively more poverty in the 1800s.

Starting from the

rapidly decreased and it became less than half. This is because the war had stopped in the 1950s (it's not accurate because the Vietnam war was going on between 1959 ~ 1975, but not many wars happened at that time so it’s just approximate). People began to focus on how to develop their economics instead of occupying other countries after experiencing the wars. Finally, in 2015, over 90 percent of the population do not have poverty and less than 10 percent of the population still suffer from poverty.

Throughout history, the extreme poverty has happened a lot because of the discrimination. For example, in 1619, British sailors took African slaves from Africa to the colonies in America and sold those slaves. Not only slaves, but some also impoverished people had difficulties in their lives.

strict, unacceptable laws especially when they prohibited black slave transportation. Lincoln stated the speech against Douglas about the black slavery prevention which had successfully caused people to think as the same way as he did. Martin Luther King is also part of the African-American people and did a memorable speech “I have a dream” which expressed his personal feelings which changed the non-violence of the colour discrimination.

The amount of discrimination occurance is decreasing so people started to receive more amount of bills. Back in the early 1900s, workers received less money. For example, according to a 1940s book called ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J. B. Priestley, the setting is the early 1900s and to briefly summarise, it’s a story about rich people giving poor workers less

Later, the poverty population slowly decreased to the 1950s and then

even though they have a good

working record. So even though citizens work hard and make an effort, there’s no difference in their lives at all. Furthermore, poor people always suffer from poverty and most of the wealthy people are greedy and don't want to share or spend their fortune with other citizens.

However, discrimination started to disappear because of the illegal and unacceptable laws. From almost early 1990s to the present time, workers and employers started to receive enough money which obviously depends on their effort to live from their supervisor. For instance, China’s economics has improved a lot since the 2000s. China had an extreme decline in population of people living in great poverty. In 1981, approximately 900 million people earned below $1.90 and in the present, less than 1 million people are earning that amount of money. In addition, nearly half of the Chinese citizens are earning more than $10 per day which less than 10% of the Chinese population received in 1981. China’s GDP started to increase rapidly after they reformed their economy.

To explain about society and how much it changed throughout history, most of the countries had a lack of well-being. If you think about the word “leader”, “king”, or “president”, what is the first word or description

have to be responsible for their own country. A leader's job is to rule the country properly and develop their area into a better place and citizen’s will also be satisfied. This will change society as well. However, a long time ago, leaders didn’t participate in their job properly and made their country into a disaster. For example, if you think about King Louis XIV, King of France, he ruled his country improperly. For example he discriminated against other citizens which made people feel upset and disappointed. After that, most of the citizens suffered poverty and blamed him. Basically, society was inappropriate. The kings and queens just do whatever they want and no one can stop them. Also, in the past, the rulers were not even chosen by a vote. They just became rulers from their ancestors not for their will.

To conclude, we can infer that poverty occurance was caused by discrimination and unfair treatment. These could affect people who have a lack of education, knowledge, and economics. The world’s society will decline and it will get worse. People should feel generous to others and have efficiency to make the world into a more economically developed place. If this public goes well continuously, the world will change for the better. This is the reason why having a good attitude and being patriotic is important. The personalities will affect the whole world. Let’s be

What did South Korea accomplish from the Miracle on the Han? What has changed from 1960 to 2020?

By Serena Hong, Year 9, Noro

South Korea is now considered one of the more developed countries in the world. After the Korean War, South Korea was derelict, requiring reconstruction and repair. The nation’s economy was second worst in the world measured by GDP, depending heavily on aid from other countries. As the Miracle of the Han began, South Korea experienced rapid growth in GDP and is now positioned 10th in the economic rankings in 2018. The Miracle of the Han is now praised as the biggest accomplishment of South Korean society.

The Korean War happened between North and South Korea, and characterised a conflict between democracy and communism. South Korea fought for democracy and North Korea for communism. 2.5 million people lost their lives. The war ended in 1953, when the Korean armistice agreement was signed: creating the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), separating North and South Korea. South Korea emerged ravaged by the war.

Right after the war, South Korea’s per capita GNP

was about 80 US dollars, but 25 million people resided on the approximately 100,000 square kilometres (62,000 square miles) of land. The per capita income was about equivalent to the poorest African countries today. The country was in need of help. Many school children depended on foreign food donations like powdered milk.

Although South Korea developed rapidly in later years, the first eight years were hindered by political upheavals. Syngman Rhee, the president of the period when South Korea needed an effective leader to pull them out of poverty, didn’t have the ability to lead the country effectively. Due to Syngman Rhee, South Korea’s economy grew sluggishly, averaging about 4% a year. Most of the growth was because of the aid coming into South Korea, especially from America. With this help, the country started building basic infrastructure and, by the late 1950s, reviving South Korea despite Syngman's unpleasant politics. Citizens of South Korea were very displeased with Syngman Rhee’s political system, and on April 19th, the ‘April Revolution’ happened: massive protests were held,

which led to Syngman Rhee’s resignation.

However, as the five year economic plan of South Korea started, the people’s income increased, business activity became diversified, the chemical industry improved conspicuously and exports increased dramatically. Also, by focusing on the increase of agricultural productivity, the expansion of key industries, and the development of science and technology, a lot of achievements were made in a short time period. Several highways were constructed to back up the industrial development, and this allowed workers to travel from one side of the country to the other within a day and also helped decrease the contrast in the quality of life between the city and countryside. Also, rather than focusing on light industry, the five year economic plan started to focus on heavy industry. Exports of steel, petrochemicals, machinery, electronics, shipbuilding and cars became common, and the businesses became prosperous. South Korea managed to improve its economy a lot. Developing the steel industry, for which the economy had no natural resources, enabled a gateway to be opened to making cheap steel for use in the car, ship building and construction industries. So it was a great accomplishment to have a steel industry because so many other industries could be developed as a result.

Statistics show the improvement of the South Korean economy clearly. Firstly, the per capita GNP improved from US$80 in 1953 to US$27,490 in 2021. Its population also increased from 25,329,515 in 1960 to 51,269,185 in 2020. Citizens living in South Korea did not have to starve and could now afford colour TVs with the best screens produced in Korea, cars, houses and electronics and the gap between the countryside and city became much more equal too. Children did not have to rely on foreign food donations anymore either. An average of 71.5% of the students in South Korea graduated university in 2021 too. The quality of life and education went up after an increase in GDP: the life expectancy increased from 55.42 years in 1960 to 83.23 years in 2019 and housing also improved by becoming more stable compared to the houses thrown up in haste due to rapid urbanisation.

South Korea showed rapid growth and achievement through a short period of time. However, there are some disadvantages such as working hours in Korea are long and sleeping time shorter than in other countries. The ppali ppali culture is still alive and well. Air pollution is bad. Alll things considered, the Han Miracle is the most prominent improvement and accomplishment of South Korea, changing the title of the country.

Mark the Achievement

One of the youngest billionaires globally, Mark Zuckerberg is known for his social networking site: Facebook. Despite being heavily criticized by the public for the invasion of users’ privacy and its transformation to Meta, Facebook is still undeniably popular among people worldwide, with approximately 1.9 billion users daily visiting the site. What is prompting people to use Facebook regardless of its criticisms?

One of the main branches of Facebook Messenger enables the users to continuously communicate with anyone in the world despite the time and location differences. About 1.3 billion people use Messenger every month to contact others and make a video call, even with multiple people at once. However, Messenger wasn’t a success from the start. Initially started in 2008, “Facebook Chat” aimed to act as an easy, private communication tool. Until the mid-2010s, BlackBerry Messenger was a prominent communication application used by British teenagers due to its ability to transmit private messages rapidly. Moreover, it used the internet to transfer news, a huge change compared to the conventional way of messaging through SMS: this advance not only made the process convenient but also cheaper. Facebook also modified its system and followed the trends. It developed other features like notifications and photo-sharing also sparked many people to prefer Messenger over other social networks.

Another major aspect of Facebook is its ability to display and provide specific information to people. Frankly, Facebook is the best website if you want to know others’ personal information. Without any difficulty, anyone can visit a profile and see the location of where they live, their age, and their family members. Precariously, it can even show if one is a part of the LGBTQ

+ community. This hazardous feature of Facebook has attracted more young users but also caused many problems. In February 2018, a Belgian court accused Facebook of tracking down people. As a result, Facebook had to discard information illegally gathered from Belgians and had to pay 100 million euros. Therefore, Facebook has now undergone some adjustments to strengthen the protection of people’s personal information to prevent it from being utilized illegally and unjustly.

Lastly, one of the simple but powerful features of Facebook is the “like button”. Even though people might not have noticed the effect of the “like button”, there are many effects shown through people giving and receiving a “like”. For instance, research conducted by Egbark and Ekström shows that people display certain herding behaviours when deciding to click the “like

button” or not. If one’s friends liked the post or numerous people liked it, one would likely like the post, trying to conform with the group. Furthermore, receiving a like by people also provokes significant mood changes. One might consider “like” as being recognized for one’s effort in creating the post. As more and more people like one’s post, one will continue to create posts and actively work in the Facebook society, inducing more users in the social network.

These features of Facebook have all helped popularize the social network to the point where it is now. Unlimited connection with people, wide availability of information, and the like button have trapped Facebook users in a cycle where it is almost impossible to escape.

I am a Fraud with Dumb Lucks

The feeling of extensive exhaustion, irrevocably, utterly tripping through the scalding waves of self-doubt, the emotion is so colossal that it drowns you under the unending loop of self-consciousness. Does this sound familiar? This refers to an imposter syndrome, believing that oneself is not as accomplished and competent as one is being perceived. Loosely defined as doubting your capabilities and basically feeling like a fraud, everything that has been accomplished so far is considered simply as dumb luck. This syndrome has direct links to perfectionism and the social context and it disproportionately affects high-achievers who find it extremely difficult to accept their accomplishments. Being a perfectionist myself, I found it common that there are a lot of students, especially in schools with high expectations, pressured to deny themselves and detach from any sort of satisfaction and pride. It sounds tragic, but presumably, it is the inevitable reality that we will face, if not now, in the near future.

Accomplishment seems like glory, a scintillating beam of satisfaction fills you in but sometimes it is very presumptuous to assume that accomplishment is a simple motivating pleasure. Sometimes, accomplishment is a momentary release from endless worries but results in yet another burden. Higher standards, peer pressure and heightened expectations and finally, imposter syndrome. This essay is not, by all means, discouraging any sort of achievements, but rather reaching your goals is something that should be celebrated rather than be self-deprecating.

The incentive behind this article came from a piece of unexpected news titled “A tragic loss for all”. Cheslie Kryst, only 30, had achieved so much. She was a North Carolina attorney, advocating

for social justice and criminal justice reform. Moreover, being titled the Miss USA herself, she contributed to redefining global beauty standards being a woman of colour and being a creator of White Collar Glam and Emmy-nominated TV correspondent. On the outside, she appears as an ideal portrait of all the qualities anyone aspires to, but she ended up throwing herself off an elevated building, her death ruled a suicide. This strong, independent woman who radiated confidence wherever she went, was internally suffering from high functioning depression and possible imposter syndrome. It was, indeed, a tragic loss of a woman who inspired so many young women, who had the potential to push society towards a little bit more justice. But her

accomplishments formed unbreakable shackles, immobilising her to reach out for help.

The worst aspect of imposter syndrome is that it can easily turn into a vigorous cycle of serious negative consequences. The key to overcoming imposter syndrome is recognizing your own potential and taking ownership of your achievement. Chances are high that at one point in life, imposter syndrome comes creeping in. Be ready, observe and be mindful of those feelings. Self-doubt is paralysing but hopefully, one day, accomplishments can be acknowledged with pride instead of fraud with dumb luck.

Overdosing on H2O

Everyone feels something when they win the gold medal for any kind of competition; everyone feels something, pride. People crave accomplishment, that feeling of short euphoria, like you’re high up on Kilimanjaro. However, that feeling ends abruptly just as it starts. No matter how significant or huge the accomplishment is, those serotonins never last.

He was in middle school - maybe. All he remembered was the encroaching expectations, the rising pressure that will soon envelope him, a spiral of stress. However, he knew, at the back of his mind, this was just a stage that would prepare him for the ocean that would surround him completely with anxiety. His middle school life was barely treading water. When he received that good-for-nothing award, he felt momentarily lighter, both feet out of the murky lake. In fact, he felt that his body was floating high up on the cloud, as pride bubbled up in his throat, ready to burst out to let the world know: he was a winner. He bathed in the approving glances from the crowd, feeling his eyes well up as he got the praise he had always longed for, the praise that he knew he deserved. He looked down from the stage, flashing his eyes towards the sea of people - the sea

of people still bound to the depths of the lake. At that single moment, he felt… superior. The feeling fizzled away like it had suddenly grown sober from all the positivity he had practically inhaled. For after a great ascent must come a swift descent. Climbing down the podium stairs, he glanced at the crowd and realised something. He would soon after return to his initial position: lying flat on the ground, trodden on by the greater beings who laid people like him flat out, using them as stepping stones for their success. As he sank again to the lake, the water rippling around his ankles, he vowed that he would do anything to escape the godforsaken water and stand on the stone, looking down at those still stuck, feeling superior, better, like he was the king of the world.

Feeling his mind shift again, he braced for impact, s his surroundings moulded into his childhood home, the glistening silverware was the first thing that caught his temporarily imagined eyes. Then he blinked his eyes open: turns out, the silverware was just the hospital lights. Hah, silly him. He drew in a shaky breath, relieved that he delayed the inevitable visions if only for a fleeting moment. A temporary rest from the swirl of memories he had to

“Famouspseudo author jumped from anapartment building;nowin hospital, current status unknown.”

wade through. The familiar beeping sound of his life support helped him ground himself, clinging onto a pole in the middle of the ocean. Dragging his weary palm across his face, he clung onto the mental pole he had conjured, trying to stay afloat. As he laid there, struggling through the waves, he couldn’t help but fall into the whirlpool of regret and depression. And, as people often do when they have found themselves in the depth of the sea, with the seaweed of regret choking them, he reminisced back to when he was soaring above the large body of water, overlooking everyone. He was an editor for the all-too famous New York magazine, Ellie in New York. It was a nice paying job but he had craved for more. Ambitious, was the word his coworkers would use to describe him if they knew he was listening to their small ‘discussions’. Imagine the burning pit that formed in his gut, when he had heard his less than competent colleague was promoted to head editor and author while he was still stuck writing gossip columns and reviews of other successful writings. That was only three weeks ago. Three weeks before the accident.

“I heard from Jenny’s mother that she aced her Maths test! Why couldn’t you?!”

“I don’t - I, I tried to -”

“Well, you obviously didn’t try enough. Would it hurt you so bad to try and accomplish one meaningful thing? Honestly! I’m embarrassed to even call you my child! Did you know that Dennis never failed a test ever? How much do I have to pay for a perfect child like him! A C+! Oh, if your father laid a glance on this paper…”

Her rambling drops of water started to drain out the sewer, as he tuned out the pouring acid rain that had started to burn his heart. Try as they might, even the drainage could not help let the droplets travel from the sewer to the brain, where it watered a new seed that soon sprouted into a hideous flower named doubt. Why couldn’t he do anything? All he could do was sprout meaningless words on a piece of paper and even that didn’t bring him tears of happiness. His mother’s poisonous yet truthful words tattered his youthful heart. If only he could do better. If only… if only… His short altercation with the tsunami of the ‘if only’s’ came to an abrupt end, the pouring rain, replaced with a violent sunlight. A blinding flash clouded his vision as he was backhanded across his

room.

“You are no son of mine,” his mother had seethed before leaving his soaking room, with him dazed and weeping on the wooden floor.

Apparently a hit from a trance is equivalent to a slap in the real world. Trembling slightly from the leftover adrenaline, he lightly pressed his cold palm against the hot cheek, where tears were still streaming down like an afternoon rainfall. He closed his eyes, eyelashes fluttering against the icy stings that slowed down to a drizzle. The crippling thought that just a week ago he was at the prime of his life, surfing the vast ocean on a board of success, filled his lungs with excruciating depression. After he had finished his meticulously planned draft was rejected again by the publisher for an umpteenth time, the thick red lettering had left him wondering blankly if he could actually accomplish anything meaningful at all. The blind jealousy and deep resentment he harboured for his recently hired coworker didn’t help to lift his moods. Through his misty haze, he swam blindly towards a faint beacon of light: an unsupervised draft left by his colleague. Of course it was brilliantly written, and of course it was accepted immediately. It was the prime of his life! Finally, a decent accomplishment that didn’t drain out as soon as it was filled. Yet, clean water mixed with mud was bound to lead the mixture’s drinker to an inevitable downfall. This was a week before the accident. When the copy of his stolen masterpiece landed on the doorsteps of his colleague, mud hit the fan. Accusations were placed, soon leading to a court case, ending only when ruinous fines were paid, and compensations made. Soon or later, he was overdosing on water that sloshed around his contaminated lungs.

He had jumped in the hopes to escape the ocean, only to land in a reality where water was forcefully pumped into him, stitches, straining against the porcelain pieces that were falling off his scalp. If only he had studied harder. If only he had won more competitions. If only he wrote better works. If only he had accomplished more… maybe then, he wouldn’t be lying on a starch white bed, water filling his lungs, morphine pumped into his system… and the word failure, flashing red in mind, like a beacon for help.

Do grades make the man or woman?

By Stephanie Oh, Year 9, Jeoji

Every person’s academic career is unique. A student in junior school may be learning algebra and calculus while another student of the same age still struggles with adding and subtracting fractions. This is because the rate of academic development and growth is strictly personal depending on access to education, ability to understand topics faster than others, or even the way they behaved and were treated as children. Those who have a slower rate of development have a disadvantage in grades. However, although students are judged based on their current abilities in grades, I believe that current or past academic accomplishments, just like grades, shouldn’t define the student.

Before everything else, I want to answer a crucial, controversial question: what IS a student in the first place? The Cambridge dictionary defines a student as “a person who is learning at a college or university”, or “someone who is learning at a school”. Although this technical definition could recognise students as merely learning robots that produce impeccable grades, as a student myself, I know that a student is something much more than a learning machine. A student is full of curiosity, effort, willingness to learn and take criticisms. Even outside of academics, there is so much a student can offer in other areas like sports, art, and music. All students are unique in their own way: they have different strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and different academic performances. This brings me to my first point.

Firstly, a student’s ability can always change both for the better and the worse. Students’ grades can

vary depending on the amount of effort and the rate of improvement, both of which would be different for every individual student. This means that just because a student did exceptionally well in a term, they do not have a guarantee to do as well in the next term. Academic accomplishments only focus on the current performance and don’t take students’ potential into consideration at all, when the student may actually have a good enough reason for faltering, like a lack of motivation compared to other terms. For a similar reason, past academic accomplishments shouldn’t be taken into consideration for a student either, unless the student can prove that their ability is still good enough, or has improved, with their current scores.

Secondly, a student can have talents unrelated to academics. A student that lacks academic skills may excel at other areas like influencer, actor and talent show judge. For instance Rihanna, Cameron Diaz, and Simon Cowell are all known to have failed school and didn’t do well in their student years. Nevertheless, here they are today, three of the most eminent celebrities in the world. All three tried hard to improve in their own fields of interest, which is what allowed them to reach their current level of success. This is what students should thrive to achieve, not focusing on what they aren’t interested in because society and school forces them to. Acadmics shouldn’t be a hindrance to pursuing one’s dreams but should be contributing to achieving them. Many students fail to realize this because of the temporary importance of grades, missing out on opportunities to actually pursue

their interests. Although students should try as hard as possible, they shouldn’t lose sight of what’s really crucial for them personally.

In conclusion, I believe that students’ acadmic accomplishments should not define the student because of the tendency of their rate of improvement to fluctuate and the talents and dreams of students that may not be related to academics. Although academic performance would be a crucial string for every student’s bow, it is only one of many. The other horse hairs of that bow could be basketball, musical theatre, acting, violin, and so much more, and it is the student, the owner of the bow, that chooses which stroke to pull. I hope that students can realize they have a wide selection of bows, and it is perfectly okay to choose any of them.

About the Omicron Variant - Is it signaling the end of the pandemic?

Starting from the Delta variant to Omicron, Covid-19 has had its handful of variant viruses. Tens of millions of people all over the world have been affected. The immense scale of the pandemic has led to confusion among experts trying to track the virus and predicting its end. Life with Covid has been long and seemingly endless. Whenever a spike levels out and the restrictions are lifted, we are yet shot with another variant. However, as irritating as another variant of Covid is, many researchers and specialists are predicting that the Omicron variant may actually be great news.

Patients infected with the latest Omicron variant have characteristics of lighter symptoms or no symp-

toms at all. Experts, unfortunately, do not believe that the pandemic will end with Omicron but the signs are good. In fact, there will be more variants to come in the future, having new and unique characteristics. Coronavirus is unlikely to disappear completely, but we will soon be able to live with it much easier. Experts say, ‘Living with the virus’, means that the severity and the deadliness of the virus will be very much weakened. Although it will be sticking around with humanity for the foreseeable future, (endemic) it will not be causing any major harm, just like the flu virus. The flu virus produces variants every year, which is why hospitals offer new vaccines for it every year, predicting its variations. However, the flu is not a virus enough to change our daily lives like Covid is currently doing. It is true that it will take some time for Covid to be looked upon and treated the same as a simple cold or a flu, but experts say time will take us there eventually.

Opposing the idea of ‘Living with

the virus’, third world countries and LEDC’s may struggle to defend their populations. “SARS-CoV-2 will not magically turn into a malaria-like endemic infection where levels stay constant for long periods,” says the head of the biosecurity research program at the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute, Professor Raina MacIntyre. “It will keep causing epidemic waves, driven by waning vaccine immunity, new variants that escape vaccine protection, unvaccinated pockets, births and migration.” In order for Covid-19 to be stablized we have to help supply resources and educate ourselves all about the virus. Though the Omicron variant lowered the fear factor immensely, we still have to take things such as personal hygiene and quarantine seriously.

I would like to end the article with the expert’s views on the

Covid-19 virus, Dr. Annelies Wilder-Smith: “It is indeed too early to call it endemic, and Omicron will not be the last variant. Clearly, with such high viral circulation as we are seeing now, there’s a high probability that we will have another variant coming up. The question is: where and when? And will it be more dangerous or less dangerous than the current variants of concerns. Where and when? So we’re all hoping for that for the best case scenario so that the next one will be even further attenuated.” That said, I believe the world needs to be prepared for the worst case scenario. It is looking as if the newer variants are less deadly, but the world will still have to keep up on the infection control.

By Jaeyoung Chung, Year 11, Jeoji

What Do We Owe Each Other?

By Warrick Kwon Year 11, Noro

If music be the food of love, play on.

These were the first lines of our melodramatic, love-thirsty Duke of Illyria, Orsino, in Shakespeare’s (alleged) comedy Twelfth Night. Orsino, who is infatuated with Olivia, the Countess of Illyria, tastes the bitterness of unrequited love but nevertheless throughout the play finds his resolution through discovering Viola, who he ultimately marries.

Four centuries later, we are still one of the many Orsinos who desperately vouch for love. To find someone to love is a grand task that one must accomplish in ones lifetime and for those who fail to do so, society sneers at their lack of competence. For those who are lucky enough to find their ‘better half,’ the fruition of their affections are materialised through forming an institution called marriage. Such has been the case ever since the first recorded evidence of marriage ceremonies originating back to 2350 B.C. Mesopotamia. Although marriage initially was a mutual alliance between families to form political and economic ties, it soon transformed into the aforementioned symbol of love and stability. Even to Shakespeare, marriage was a crucial element in his plays. In ‘Much Ado About

Nothing,’ Benedick ultimately becomes acquainted with Beatrice, as Cesario does with Orsino in ‘Twelfth Night’ - functioning as a resolution to the love tale of different characters in the plot. Likewise, even to Shakespeare, marriage was an accomplishment of two adults who love each other where they celebrate the fruition of their affections and contribute to the continuation of humanity through enabling the creation of a new generation.

Or is it?

If we were not to have marriage structures, would we still be able to continue the human race? In other words, is it marriage that brings about a new generation? Historical evidence tells us that this is not the case. We have been able to successfully pass on our genes to our offspring even when marriage as an institution did not exist. Of course, to produce fertile offspring is not the sole purpose of marrying one another, but it is worth noting that even without the institution of marriage, humanity would continue to proliferate. On this note, when examining whether marriage was beneficial to the development of society, this writing shall refer to the concept of marriage as a whole, not limited to a particular form of marriage. Any form of marriage, not limited to monogamous, but

also polyamorous marriages is what I wish to refute. Hence, I shall suggest why marriage has not been a significant accomplishment beneficial to humanity due to the massive harm it brings to the general progress of society.

Fundamentally, marriage is responsible for perpetuating inequality amongst society. The type of inequality that marriage imposes on society is twofold: gender and economic inequality. Primarily, by forming marital relations, individuals are creating an institution whose very existence depends on the performance of the members of the institution, e.g. doing household chores, earning money, raising children, etc. When dividing these roles between members of the institution, women members were more frequently associated with household chores and raising children given that they were more proximate to the household’s children due to biological reasons. Although these were entirely arbitrary, the repetition of this division of labour has accumulated into a significant social norm where it has functioned as de facto gender roles confining individuals to perform specific tasks.

Secondarily, marriage is a wealth inheriting mechanism. One of the more unique characteristics

of marriage,differentiating it from other forms of interpersonal relationships, is that parties are given the privilege of sharing their assets, without any legal boundaries, such as having to pay inheritance taxes, whilst utilising each other’s funds. People will be able to add onto the funds each other has the moment in which people marry with each other, perpetuating socioeconomic inequality insofar as those with the most capital will be forming families with others of similar wealth and status, constantly accumulating capital as they merge assets together. In other words, marriage is responsible for concentrating capital in the hands of the wealthiest individuals and lowering the costs for these individuals to accumulate even more wealth.

Not only are the actual implications of marriage structures harmful to society, but the legal framework that establishes marriage is also problematic. When individuals marry each other, not only are they marrying each other following a wedding with flowers, cakes and dances, but also they are entering a contractual relationship with another individual claiming that they will be obliged to spend the rest of their lives together. In other words, they are forming a lifelong contractual

relationship guaranteeing their relationship; they are accepting sharing their responsibilities as citizens collectively As much as all of these details of marriages may sound romantic for others, the fatal flaw of marriages that people fail to notice is the idea that such formation of contracts make it extremely difficult to optout of these duties. Even if we were to say that it is increasingly becoming easier for people to opt out of marriages, this is even more problematic. The direct cause of this is because given that marriage is not the ultimate way of achieving emotional comfort and company, one should not constantly urge people to marry through social norms and legal frameworks that provide unique benefits towards married couples. Hence, it can be argued that the establishment of marriage as an institution and the reinforcement through legal frameworks have ultimately hindered the freedom of individuals.

Finally, marriage reinforces exclusionary values within society. The direct cause of this is because in a world where society views marriage as the dominant social norm that people must conform to, any practices outside of marriage will not be easily approved of. This is especially relevant when considering the way religious

teachings describe marriage. In many religions such as Christianity, marriage is a gift from God where God is giving you the opportunity to form a family as well as a public declaration of devotion and love. As much as this is a sound justification behind encouraging marriage, it leads to a dangerous consequence where it is difficult for us to remove ourselves from the biassed viewpoints of unilaterally appraising marriage as an accomplishment and a duty that God has tasked us with. However, the ultimate duty that we might have thought of does not have to be the dogma that we adhere to. We value marriage for its elements of being able to share a life where each spouse may claim shared time, attention, resources, and have a say in joint life decisions that they make. These can easily be accomplished and have been achieved even without marriages; however, we failed to give people an agency where they can opt out of the conventional belief system. It is time that we liberate ourselves from the shackles of wedding cakes and bouquets to form freer relationships with others. To do so, we must move away from the compulsions of ‘having’ to marry someone.

By Cathy Kim, Year 9, Jeoji

Rain pattered on the sodden ground, soaking the drooping vegetables to the roots. She stood, glaring at every drop that mattered on the dirty windowpane. Would it be crazy to yell at the falling rain drops? Yes, she decided as she walked back to the dining room. She eyed the soggy brown boxes that lay discarded at the side of the room, and deftly sidestepped around the mess. As she walked she sorted the chaos in her mind, neatly stacking her thoughts in mental files; electronics, to be unpacked tomorrow, toiletries, for today… and the box to be unpacked later – maybe it would be opened next week, next year, next decade. Perhaps, she mused, it would be better never opened.

Returning again to the mess, she swept the crumpled papers from the chair, barely noticing as she stepped onto the fluttering pieces. As she collapsed onto the chair, she noted that it creaked ominously under her weight. Buy a new one, she reminded herself, before she remembered that she couldn’t afford to. Swearing softly under her breath, she stared out into space, feeling more listless than she ever had. The vegetables seemed to slump even further under her gaze, as if they were scorning her.

“Well, you guys aren’t looking so fabulous either,” she muttered angrily, before realising that she was talking to vegetation, not her high-school buddies, who, she realised, wouldn’t necessarily call her “buddy”, or even “acquaintances”.

They were more like fellow humans trying to survive their own battle game with their own unique tactics. She wondered briefly what

her so-called friends would be up to. College, perhaps. Not everyone was a failure like her – not everyone quit after barely fighting against the boss level. They persisted, using potions to heal their wounds and advanced weapons that would assist them. Well, she thought to herself. Not everyone can afford those, anyway.

As she continued unpacking her measly luggage, trying in vain to brighten up the dingy apartment building, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for herself. Questions roamed in her head, shouting to be overheard, all crying the single word: why? Why am I like this? Why is this happening to me? Why me? Why? The single word echoed through the silence, a letter challenging the ultimate being. For this life could not be real; it could only be the cruel game of someone up there, laughing as she faced one hardship after another, crumpling at every impact, egging her on.

A bird chirped from above. She woke from her trance to see that night had fallen; the city lights flickering under the pitch dark night. Another day wasted, another day gone… She sighed. She fiddled with her phone, as if hoping for a message to come through. The screen remained stubbornly dark.

She stood silently by the window, her thumb swiping over the screen, like a clock. Left, right, left, right… The screen became a maze of fingerprints, swirling into an endless loop of shapes; she felt a headache come over her as her eyes traced the impossible pattern etched in the darkness. She realised with a jolt that her fingers were hovering over a

familiar dial. She pressed. The ringtone trilled, then:

“Hello, if you’re calling now, I’m probably doing stuff you don’t approve of, like painting graffiti on the walls of your non-existent overlarge mansion, that I’m too busy to listen to you ramble about… whatever is your concern. Haha. Leave a message if you ever decide to call back. Over and out.”

She felt the voice echo around the walls of the empty room. Filling her up from the inside, the words seemed to form a shadow of a figure, perfect with their laugh, little hand gestures, their life. She reached out to touch them, but the shadow dissolved from under her touch, leaving behind the quiet in their absence.

“If you want to see a rainbow, you have to put up with rain.”

She snorted.

“Why act so scholarly all of a sudden? Decided to forgo the college drop-out act and get on with it?”

“Not my words. And also - I’m not the one who’s slacking off in this humble abode.”

“Low blow.”

“Hey,” they smiled. “Right now you’re in the rain. You might feel heavy, droopy, whatever, but if you don’t dust it off and stand up against the rain, how are you ever going to see the rainbow? It’s all in the strength, the strength to stand up when things are darkest, and remain to see it. It doesn't stop raining because you run away and refuse to see it.”

“Then what do you suggest? That I -”

“Yes.” A grin. “Get on with it. You can’t just stay here doing nothing. You can…”

They had both felt the silence, whispering the unsaid words. Go to college, attempt again at education, gain a degree, maybe even get a job. It seemed like a distant dream, these words. Impossible to reach, to touch, to accomplish. Just another feeble suggestion by a stranger.

But with their voice, the words rose up, like a balloon filled with air, full of hope, hope, hope…

Until it all came crashing down.

She could still remember. The tense silence, then the ring. One. Two. Three. Four. By the time she had reached the phone, they were already gone. Gone: beyond the reach of her hands, her calls, her mind.

She had quit her education then, started wandering about; the hope that she had carefully built up was forgotten, drifting too high up for her to see, dismembering her ‘future’ into faint drifting fragments. She could no longer remember what she had lived for, or what she was for.

Most of her days consisted of her bemoaning her fate, crying out for what she had lost. Her few accomplishments, in the face of grief, were nothing. Nothing. For none mattered apart from her loss.

Stuffing her phone back into her pockets, she crumpled against the door.

‘If you want to see a rainbow, you have to put up with rain.’

What would they say if they saw her now?

‘To get on with it,’ she thought, a faint smile lingering on her pale lips.

The bird chattered again from outside, the light reflecting off her white plummet in silver glimmers.

Maybe, she told herself. Maybe.

Maybe the accomplishments would come to her again. Maybe she would stand up against the rain, for once, to see a rainbow. Maybe all this suffering would be worth it. Maybe.

With the single word still adrift in the wind, she stood up. Her eyes glistened against the starry night.

She counted the lights gleaming in the city: One. Two. Three. Four…

A new breakthrough that could end the earth’s plastic problem

By Injoon So, Year 11, Sarah

Plastic pollution has contaminated our planet from the fresh US groundwater to the wilderness of Antarctica, from the top of Mount Everest to the deepest sea trenches. The people who inhibit this vast world are now consuming, and not in a good way, microplastic particles just by breathing. It is currently close to impossible breaking down plastic bottles into their chemical monomers in order to have a complete recycle, meaning more new plastic is being created each year. Numerous attempts have been made to resolve this problem, one of the solutions being certain bacteria that are capable of digesting plastic. As a result of the many mistakes, scientists have discovered a new effective method to solve this pollution. An enzyme capable of consuming plastic has been rendered by linking two different bacteria which originated from a Japanese waste site in 2016 Osaka. This super bacteria is extraordinary; it is capable of breaking down plastic in a matter of days. Even more interesting, this super enzyme is six times more efficient than its predecessor.

As we know from organic chemistry, plastics are polymers made from smaller monomers. In order to recycle these plastics and recreate them into new products, we need to depolymerize them and return them to their constituent states. Scientists have researched ages for a method to do so, and this is where the enzymes come in. These enzymes function by breaking the bonds between the polymers. However, the current biggest limitation is that the enzymes cannot endure the conditions required for depolymerizing plastic. In order for plastic to decay, at least 65°C needs to be maintained, in which enzymes denature after a few days due to the high heat.

The hopeful news is that scientists and researchers are continuing to discover new versions of enzymes that are capable of enduring the required high temperatures. In 2020, another major advancement was made, identifying another enzyme that could degrade PET plastic in only 10 hours. After running multiple processes of binding this improved enzyme with other types of bacteria and enzymes, scientists were able to obtain a mutant enzyme with improved thermal stability. The mutant enzyme was 10,000 times more efficient in degrading plastic than the native enzyme. It is also stable at 72°C,

close to the melting temperature of PET plastic. Many environmentalists and scientists expect this discovery to significantly contribute towards attaining the infinite recycling of plastic. The original type of bacteria was a very fussy eater and could only consume a particular kind of plastic, PET, and it could not do so nearly fast enough to mitigate the 350 million tons of plastic waste that enter the environment every year. However, the breakouts in recent years gave us hope that in future years we might be able to domesticate the mutant enzyme and build industry-scale factories to chomp up tons of plastic piles. As people during the Covid -19 pandemic have exponentially increased their consumption of single-use plastic such as masks, it has resulted in a greater focus of interest on the plastic crisis, encouraging increased efforts to resolve the terrifying issue.

The race is now on to find an engineered enzyme that is both quick and safe to use. It is hoped that the thousands of new candidates discovered worldwide can lead to a revolution in the way we recycle and dispose of all waste plastics. For instance John McGeehan, a professor at the University of Portsmouth stated: “When we linked the enzymes, rather unexpectedly, we got a dramatic increase in activity.” Professor John McGeehan went on to explain that if they succeed in making better, faster enzymes and worked with companies such as Carbios in partnership, they could start making use of the bacteria within the next couple of years. The French company Carbios uses an engineered version of an enzyme originally found in compost heaps to break down PET. This April, Carbios revealed a different enzyme that degrades 90% of plastic bottles within 10 hours. Of course, it still has some disadvantages: required temperature above 70°C; inability to dissolve colored plastic; and the expensive cost to resolve these piles of waste. To resolve these issues, companies are up to effectively dealing with this problem by collaborating with each other to develop and test new enzymes and build more research centers and factories. For instance, Carbios is currently building a £1m testing center in Portsmouth and a plant in Lyon. Also, the firm is teaming up with named companies such as L'Oreal and Nestle, recently announcing the release of a bottle produced entirely from enzymatically recycled plastic.

These plastic degrading enzymes would be more

essential in the long term. Plastic-eating bacteria are not simply limited to munching plastic but could also be applied to solve other environmental problems. Fast fashion is another huge problem these days. The mixed fabrics used for producing clothing are especially complicated waste to recycle. For these situations, the plastic-eating enzymes can be applied breaking down these mixed fabrics that can't be recycled currently due to technological limitations. Furthermore, another trend these days is that many daily products are made of colored PET as people prefer colorful furniture and containers. And unlike most recycling methods that aren't capable of breaking down these colorful containers, the enzymes are suited to dealing with this issue. According to the deputy chief executive of Carbios, Martin Stephan, with traditional methods such as mechanical recycling, to make an end-product suitable for the transparent bottles, the input should be a transparent bottle as well, whereas, for enzymes, this rule isn't applied. The trend in the environment-friendly market also reinforces the motivation for people to jump into the plastic enzyme industry. As consistently mentioned above, the plasticeating enzyme market is full of potential and there are many government policies along with MNCs that are willing to invest in new ventures. It is an open business opportunity to many people. Overall, the largest benefit that these plastic enzymes can bring at the end of the day is that they can present our world with a circular economy in terms of plastic use. In the current situation, most plastic made from fossil fuel is used, where the majority is burned or buried underground after use. However, if we enable the industrial use of these enzymes, we would be able to create a sustainable system where we would be able to reuse all the plastic and contribute to solving the increasing throw away culture of plastic.

In conclusion, humans have already produced so much waste that the harm it caused might be irreversible. However, thankfully with the help of mother nature, scientific advancements, and skillful evolution, we are given another chance to undo the mistakes that we have made in the environment. With the enzyme technology we obtain, we might be able to tackle the growing plastic problem and make a blue, green earth again.

Accomplishing Nationhood

By Eunsuh Kim, Year 11, Sarah

From the past until now, a lot of countries have existed. These countries were established in different ways. Even though the way they were first made is different, the fact that they are newborn countries does not change. Because our world changes rapidly, new countries need to get used to it and have to survive within strong nations such as the US or Germany.

Some of them depend on stronger nations. This is because as they are a newborn country, they lack in many ways. For example, the relationship and trust between other nations are lacking, which decreases the possibility of trade. Also, their government structure may not be well establlished because it will take a lot of time to create a new government for that nation. However, stronger countries do not lack the skills to position themselves among a lot of countries. To explain more, this is because the country is strong, which means that the government has done well and they have enough trust between other countries to maintain their economic stability. Because of this, the newborn country being together with a stronger nation can provide them with some tips to develop their own nation.

If the stronger nation benefits by creating allies with the newborn countries such as getting natural resources, then they would not reject newborn countries asking to become an ally with them. For example, when South Korea asked the US for help, the US accepted the request and gave them money, and built some structures. This was a beneficial decision to both sides because the US and South Korea developed rapidly, and also did not lose in war. By helping South Korea, the US then could enlarge their influence in East Asia. The US was allied with Japan, but because Japan was a defeated nation in World War 2, they had restrictions on military, reputation, and more. Because Japan had restrictions, the US needed another country to extendd influence in East Asia, which was South Korea.

Another example such as the Turkey-US alliance is a similar case too. During the cold war which happened between the USSR and the US, the US needed a nation that was locationally close to the USSR. So, when Turkey asked to become an ally to the US, they agreed. After this, the US used Turkey’s land as a place to install a missile because the distance between Turkey and USSR’s capital Moscow was very close.

In conclusion, in this way, most of the newborn countries can achieve their goal to become powerful. They might struggle at first and their ways of developing might be totally different. But, even though it might be very hard at the very beginning, in the end, they will become a strong nation if they have made the right choices and taken the right actions while growing.

Brought to you by:

Writers

David Bae

Jason Bang

Peter Chang

Jaeyoung Chung

Joseph Fernandes

Jessica Heo

Sabrina Huh

Serena Hong

James Kang

Minju Kang

Alvin Kim

Andrew Kim

Jeremy Kim

Cathy Kim

Stella Kim

Hyunseo Kim

Daniel Kim

Warrick Kwon

Jean Kim

June Kim

Hailey Kim

Jinyoung Kil

Amy Kim

Eunsuh Kim

Taehee Kim

Ji-min Lee

Sangmin Lee

Brandon Lee

Sophie Lee

Jiho Lee

Theresa Lee

Emily Lim

Stephanie Lim

Lewina Monn

David Noh

Stephanie Oh

Shona Park

Jenny Roh

Joanna Ryoo

Injoon So

Hanna Wang

Jian Yeo

Inseo Youn

Designers

Seojin Yang

Seobin Lee

Staff

Alice Bate

Elizabeth Barlow

Raymond Maher

Anthony Quinn

Front Cover Photograph Taken By:

Tristien Crebier