The Islander // Issue 11 by North London Collegiate School Jeju

theislander issue 11

summer term 2015

islandercrew editorial

writers

Mr Gray

Kyung Joon Jang, Y10, Jeoji

Mr Maher

Won Jun Choi, Y10, Jeoji

Mr B Brown

Jin Lee, Y10, Geomun

Jillian Chun, Halla

Hyungsup Kim, Y10, Geomun

Jiwon Moon, Halla

Cion Choi, Y9, Geomun

coverart

Kyung (Kay) Nam, Y9, Jeoji

writers Jillina Chun, Halla Jiwon Moon, Halla Jiho Choi, Halla Justin Yun, Halla Sam Seo, Halla Jackie Lee, Halla Eva Choi, Halla Charlie Park, Halla Ashley Park, Y11, Geomun Jinn Park, Y11, Sarah Celine Tae, Y11, Sarah

Shunto Shigatomi, Y9, Noro Yeasung Lee, Y9, Noro Nancy Kwon, Y9, Mulchat Sarah Kim, Y9, Mulchat Gina Hooton, Y9, Mulchat Harry Lee, Y9, Sarah Alicia Cho, Y9, Jeoji Chloe Moon, Y9, Jeoji Ellie Baek, Y8, Geomun Cindy Kim, Y8, Noro Sydney Kang, Y8, Noro Hailey Kim, Y8, Geomun Brian Ha, Y8, Sarah

June Song, Y11, Mulchat Hannah Cho, Y11, Jeoji Dabin Moon, Y11, Geomun

design

Yoojin Song, Y11, Jeoji

Mr Taylor

Ji in Song, Y11, Noro

Jiwon Moon, Halla

Chelsea Park, Y10, Mulchat

Jiho Choi, Halla

Jeemin Bang, Y10, Geomun

Daniel Son, Y8, Geomun

Sharon Park, Y10, Geomun

Justin Cho, Y9, Mulchat

Gyuri Kim, Y10, Sarah Amy Cha, Y10, Mulchat

contributors

Jimmy Park, Y10, Sarah

Miss Collier

Thomas Lee, Y10, Sarah

Donghyeon Seo, Halla

By Junha Hwang, Halla Colouring credits Junha Hwang Seongjoo Lee Solji Choi Karen Yoo Vanessa Hwang Dawon Jung Irene Myoung Accepting, or rather embracing, the real beauty in ourselves is so important - the differences, uniquenessees, things that make us who we are. We must take some time to put down all the fancy, decorous adornments and shade light on our genuine selves - to accept, embrace and love ourselves as wonderful individuals.

INTRODUCING THE 11TH EDITION OF THE ISLANDER, MISS COLLIER, DIRECTOR OF BOARDING, LOOKS BACK ON A WONDERFUL JOURNEY IN JEJU, FILLED WITH INTERESTING AND LIFE AFFIRMING EXPERIENCES. It is with a little sadness that I write the introduction to this latest addition of The Islander, recognising that I have come to the end of a particularly wonderful journey here at NLCS Jeju. When I first accepted this job, I was certain that it would be a fascinating and fulfilling experience, having taught abroad before, and I have not been disappointed. I have not made that journey alone, of course, but have been buoyed up by a wonderful community of students, colleagues and parents through the changes and challenges of experiencing a new culture in a new country. It felt very strange four years ago to be stared at by little children in EMart who clearly had not seen too many Western faces before. It felt very welcoming when their stares turned into warm smiles as they practiced their best English to say, ‘Hello’, and I began to feel a little less far from home and more accepted. Now, four years on, to echo the island’s own marketing slogan, the world really is coming to Jeju, and I like to feel that we are all now part of a wider and more diverse community that is just so fortunate to be living together in this beautiful and fascinating country. At the heart of such an experience has been the constancy of school life, the rhythmic pulse of, what must surely be, the most rewarding career in the world. I will take away so many outstanding memories of this, my last school, as I retire from teaching. I have been so proud of our students as I have watched them on their own journeys, dealing with the highs and lows of all aspects of their lives, whilst making a significant contribution to all that makes NLCS Jeju so special. I hope that our school will continue to embrace all new comers, to make them feel welcomed, accepted and valued so that we can truly claim to be an International School, and ‘can make room for love, for joy, for peace’. I wish you all love, joy and peace for your future.

Welcome

4 4

A letter from the Editor Music stores memory. There are some songs in the world that, every time you listen, melt in rivulets of melodies that release a swirling, unfurling skein of memories. For me there are songs that make me remember scenery of foreign cities, dawns staring out at frostbitten windows, certain magical conversations. Most recently, I remember playing Olivia’s ‘A little Pain’ over and over again as I opened letter after letter, 5.a.m. of the Ivy Day, the day when all the Ivy League schools simultaneously announced their admission results. The mellow chords of the electric guitar always resonates in the mind whenever I think back to that day, forever fastened to the politely brutal phrases like “We regret to inform you that…”, “success in other institutions…” and finally, to that final, climactic “Congratulations!”. This song, tucked in my playlist, will always be a small ball of tuneful memory, of anticipation, of despair, fear, hope, and joy. Songs accompany our lives and can be vehicles for all sorts of stories, and this is why I asked my group to write short creative pieces inspired by their favorite songs for my final contribution to The Islander. It was a great joy for me to see the wonderful works created by the group when they were given freedom to write what they liked and you can find the collection from page 116. Some tackled social problems like human trafficking and pains of warfare. Other works used compelling motifs like an ironic love letter to IGCSE, a magical subway station, or a mental patient with a holy mission. As a prospective literature student, I always feel there is a strange similarity between fiction and non-fiction. Students draw on their experiences and feelings, so that each fictive ‘I’ in a story tells you something about the writer. In The Islander, whether it is a work of creative writing, an interview, or a feature article, each student creates something unique that reflects his or her perspective, thoughts, interests cultivated in the shared community of NLCS Jeju. Each issue I’m awestruck by the way this magazine brings people, events, personalities, and talents together, article after article unfolding like a collage, a combined playlist of creative personas. Hence it has been an honour for me to work with such a talented group of people who are imaginative, distinctive, and innovative. I am very grateful also for submitting a bunch of scruffy word documents and getting a glossy, beautiful, professional-looking magazine in return each term, a miracle we owe to Mr. Taylor. I leave The Islander happily confident- albeit a little sad- knowing that I leave it to a group of immensely gifted and passionate fellow Islanders.

Jillian Chun, Halla

acceptance doesn' tion; it means unde something is what there's got to be a

famou designed by daniel son

't mean resignaerstanding that it is and that a way through it.

- michael j. fox us canadian actor

Thanks to Seung Youn and Sang Kyu for giving us permission to use their beautiful wedding photo

THE EVOLUTION OF THE HOUSE COMPETITION YAESUNG LEE, YEAR 9, NORO

Marriage

which cannot be disparaged THOMAS LEE AND JIMMY PARK, BOTH SARAH, BOTH YEAR 10, LOOK THROUGH THE VEIL OF ACCEPTANCE AT THIS SACRED UNION.

ne day, my Grandmother said: “I wish that the happiness and love you feel will be carried with you for the rest of your lives.” At that time I did not quite understand the value contained in her words but as the years went by, it began to make more and more sense. Human nature is a compound of relationships between different kinds of people. Whether the person is related to work, social, or even love, it makes substantial bonds between people. Out of these, the bond that is related to love and marriage is very ambiguous and ambivalent. If there is a person who gives a favourable first impression or has a unique charm and attraction, an emotional bond is created and is connected with the person. As the emotional bond strengthens and the keen interest develops into attraction, everything he says and does becomes lovable to you. His/her interruptions becomes attractive, the lateness becomes appealing and the mess can be accepted. As time goes on, the partner’s shortcomings begin to bother the person; interruptions are rude, the mess isn’t accepted and they can no longer put up with the lateness. They begin to find the other less attractive than when they first met and wonder why the spark and excitement is gone. An ordinary person learns about love and relationships through movies and songs. The image of the perfect relationship and the faultless person is an unfulfilled dream that some of us expect in reality, without wanting to work for it.

“I wish that the happiness and love you feel will be carried with you for the rest of your lives.”

The traditional Jewish wedding veil

One reason that an ancient Jewish custom has the bride’s face covered during the marriage ceremony is to symbolize the complete commitment of one to the other. Acceptance is also one of those parts of the spouse’s character that are covered now, only to be revealed later. There is only one secret for a long-term, strong, and fruitful relationship and that is the power of acceptance. Acceptance does not mean that we agree with the other person’s actions or drawbacks; it means simply accepting them the way they are, without working a whole lifetime trying to change them, just like we accept ourselves the way we are with our shortcomings. Once we accept the other person for what she/he is rather than what we would want them to be, the energy used until now to criticize can be used for building and maintaining the relationship. This is no less true of the parent-child relationship. Some parents fail to accept their children the way they are. In their communication with their children, they transfer an open or hidden message comparing them with another child: “Why are you not like (i.e., what I believe a good child is supposed to be like).” This creates a distance between parent and child. When parents truly accept their children the way they are and the way they are not, they will experience a new level of relationship with their children, which they never experienced before.

Oscar Acceptance Speech

JIN LEE AND HYUNGSUP KIM, BOTH YEAR 10, GEOMUN LOOK AT THE FAMOUS SPEECH ARQUETTE MADE WHEN ACCEPTING HER OSCAR FOR THE FILM ‘BOYHOOD’.

cceptance can be defined as a psychological process that makes people successfully adapt to a situation. While tolerance is limited as an attempt to assent to the reality, acceptance goes beyond that and makes us become accustomed to reality. Although the term acceptance often fits into our daily lives, the scope of acceptance can also reach to the point where society accepts certain situations. To make this clear, this article talks about an individual who appealed to society for the acceptance of women within United States.

ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES AND THE ACADEMY AWARDS An individual, in recognition of his or her achievement, delivers an acceptance speech to people as a concrete gesture of their gratitude to their benefactors. They can also talk about personal aims or ambitions. The Academy Awards is an annual movie awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The winners in various categories are awarded a copy of a statue, the Academy Award of Merit, known as an Oscar. The winner of the Academy Award of Merit gives a short speech, and Patricia Arquette, a female winner of the Academy Award of Merit,had her popular acceptance speech in 2015.

WHO IS PATRICIA ARQUETTE? Patricia Arquette was born on 4th April, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois. She made her film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (1987). She has married two actors, Nicolas Cage from 1995 to 2001 (divorced) and Thomas Jane from 2006 to 2011 (divorced). Recently, she has achieved recognition and received widespread praise through the movie Boyhood, released in 2014. The movie started filming in 2002 so that it could portray one childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adolescent development. The film has been honored, receiving various awards from film associations, and remarkably, Patricia won Best Supporting Actress.

WHAT DID SHE TALK ABOUT? Although the speech lasted only about a minute, Patricia Arquette embeds lots of messages in it. She starts off by namechecking the people who helped her to achieve the glory of an Oscar award. “My Boyhood family, who I love and admire. Our brilliant director Richard Linklater. The impeccable Ethan Hawke. My lovelies, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater. Thomas and Paul, thank you for giving me my beautiful children. Enzo and Harlow, you’re the deepest people that I know.” But, it was not this part that audiences were looking for. They were looking for a bona fide message and the first part of the speech was a mere prerequisite to her sincere words. After a little pause, Patricia Arquette lived up to the expectations. Noticeably, it was quite clear that the tone of her voice changed. She cleared her throat and, in a solemn tone, she appealed to actors, visitors, audience and the public concerning the nationwide inequality of women. “To every woman who gave birth, to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” Her comments about the wage equality of women brought about a massive public backlash. Critics who took her remark amiss argued that it is wrong to talk about ‘politics’ in the award ceremony. Some people pointed out the moral drawbacks of Patricia Arquette, who failed to advocate for the rights of gay, lesbians, transgender and women with different skin colour. Nevertheless, Patricia Arquette remained firm on her twitter account “I don’t care if people are p*****. The truth is that wage inequality adversely affects women.”

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES SHE EXPLORE ACCEPTANCE IN HER SPEECH?

“Women are half as likely to receive a pension as men.”

Patricia Arquette used her acceptance speech as a method of highlighting women’s position in the US. Despite all the historical moments that enhanced women’s social identity, such as the enfranchisement of women in 1920 and the 1960s feminist movement and its resultant achievements, she still believes that women in some respects are still marginalised. In other words, society still neglects women and does not ‘accept’ them as equals to men. In fact, ‘women are half as likely to receive a pension as men’, ‘women are 42% more likely to live in poverty than men’ and most importantly, ‘the gap in poverty rates between men and women is wider in America than anywhere else in the Western world.’ These statistics justify her speech and make Patricia Arquette a de facto modern day leader of women’s rights. Women in the United States are still in the grip of inequality. They still demand society’s ‘acceptance’ of them. Since the 19th century, women have worked hard to be accepted by society. Taking Patricia Arquette’s speech as providing momentum, women should rise again and make another bold step for their ‘acceptance’.

Russia for the Russians Racism and xenophobia generally isn’t extreme, but in Russia both racism and xenophobia is like a widespread disease. It was mentioned by Alexander Brod, the director of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, that surveys show xenophobia and other racist expressions are common for 50 percent of Russians. The following is an extract from an article. “Black visitors will also have to be extra careful when they venture outside of Moscow into the rest of Russia. In a chilling warning, the Russian expert of New Republic, Julie Ioffe, said, “There’s quite a bit of violence against people considered to be Black” in Russia, raising new fears about the safety of Olympic athletes, visitors and media attending the 2016 World Cup. Ioffe warned that nowhere in Russia is safe for a person of color to visit, outside of Moscow’s city center.” During an “Ask Me Anything” discussion on the social media site Reddit, Ioffe was asked by a Black college student whether it is safe for an AfricanAmerican to study in Russia.

Julia Loffe

“Hmmmm, that’s a tough one. I think that, for the most part, you’d be okay — if you consider people glaring at you and cracking racist jokes okay. (Russians are not the most tolerant bunch.) There’s quite a bit of violence against people considered to be black, which includes, in the Russian mind, people from Central Asia and the Caucasus. My advice is go, but stick to the city center and try to go to a bigger city like Moscow. (St. Petersberg is crawling with skinheads.) Be extra, extra careful and make sure the American Embassy knows you’re there. They have a special unit to deal with threats to American citizens, so you should report anything that happens immediately.”

russian neo nazis There are several examples that help us learn about racism and xenophobia in Russia. The first is neo-Nazism. Russia has an unusually high population of neo-Nazis, estimated to be around 85,000 in 2008, “half of the world’s total of NeoNazis” according to western news agencies. Neo-Nazi groups have extreme racism, anti semitism (hatred of Jews) and homophobic views. Because European countries ban Nazi symbols and do not welcome acts to do with nazism, those who support neo-nazism tend to simply act as if they are nationalists (a person who believes in nationalism - An extreme form of patriotism marked by a feeling of superiority over other countries (Oxford University Press, 2015, www.oxforddictionaries.com)). Wearing the masks of a nationalist, neo-Nazi crowds chant “Russia for the Russians!” This is a very common slogan used by protesters, who say that darker-skinned people should be kicked out. On National Unity day in 2013, nationalists lead an anti-immigration protest and there were about 30 protesters with banned symbols.

hatred of immigrants As shown by the example of the anti-immigration protest, although Russia has the second largest number of immigrants, they are not welcomed. There are numerous protests lead by those who believe in anti-immigration and these protests often turn into fights. One of the reasons why many Russians have negative feelings towards immigrants is because there are a huge number of illegal immigrants. According to a Federal Migration Service official, there are presently more than 4.3 million illegal immigrants living and working in Russia. The following paragraphs from an article give an example of how the authorities can possibly create or intensify the dislike for immigrants in Russia.

Immigrants in Russia could face a wave of violence following thousands of arrests in a crackdown on illegal immigration which has been condemned not only for human rights breaches but for entrenching a virulent negative public perception of migrants. More than 7,000 people were arrested across Moscow – and more than 800 already served with deportation orders – under Operation Migrant 2014 which ran between Oct. 23 and Nov. 2 in the Russian capital.

Ismailova (Tolekan Ismailova, vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights) told IPS: “Operations like this only reinforce negative images of migrants in Russia and increase violence towards them. Once Russians see images of the raids in the news they will rally to support the government’s actions.” (PIS 2015, ‘Russia’s Immigrants Facing Crackdowns and Xenophobia’)

A Colour blind Approach Racism and xenophobia in Russia are targeted at people who are not considered ethnically Russian. Millions of Russian immigrants and visitors have to suffer the hostile treatment of this group of Russians. As mentioned in the beginning, some people decide to accept and understand that all people are the same after all. But some people end up thinking that people of different races just can’t be the same. The examples described above are not meant to make you fear Russia or have a negative view on the country. It is explained so that you become more aware of racism and other forms of discrimination around you and choose to be one of those who understand that colour (or sexual orientation) does not decide who someone truly is. A colour blind approach to things will change how you view the world.

Friendship JEEMIN BANG AND SHARON PARK, YEAR 10, GEOMUN

ry to imagine a friend you don’t get along with very well. Let’s admit it - we’ve all had friends who would cry all day because of the most trivial mistake on his or her math test, who would never take part in a group project, and who would always find you only at times you’re desperately needed. He or she might be too nerdy and even a bit too sensitive to cope with. Now take a step back and remind yourself of why this person has given such a negative impression to you. Did he refuse to lend you his homework when you told him it was an emergency? Or was she fed up with you when all you did was to say she looked a bit weird in those boots? Maybe you just can’t remember. As people we recognise others - more specifically, “friends” - in so many different ways. We can refer to one as a best friend, another as an enemy or a rival, and others as just school or workmates that you have no strong feelings about. It’s forever impossible to feel great about and become best buddies with someone you already know you’ve hated in the past, or even who you dislike at this very moment. This doesn’t mean you should never be normal friends and treat him or her as you would treat any other friendly mate. However, before even acknowledging the fact that we all need to accept people just the way they are, we first need to understand the reasons for our behaviour and thinking. Friendships are dynamic relationships that both offer and require a sense of acceptance and belonging. One possible reason why you don’t get along with that particular friend lies within your “fundamental attribution errors”. Fundamental attribution errors are in fact, extremely common in everyday life that we don’t notice them very often. For instance, when the result of a certain piece of group work does not fulfill your expectations, you start blaming your partner’s abilities. You can say “he wasn’t at all cooperative” or “he did not fit me very well” without even thinking about external factors that might have resulted in the unsuccessful event. Another example would be when someone doesn’t respond to your calls or messages right away. This case is incredibly trivial, however you think, “He was always like that. He’s just too careless and inconsiderate to answer and even just return my calls.” That moment you’re already creating a fundamental attribution error by overestimating his personality while underestimating his possible situation. This is what most people tend to do - judging others with one insignificant event by their expected personalities instead of reaching further to a deeper extent. Different backgrounds create different identities, which every single one has in oneself, whether the effect is ethical or even environmental. Thus, another reason for your dislike towards someone is because of differences. Because you are different to her and she is different to you, it can never be guaranteed that the two can spend a solid month without feeling bad or a solid month always feeling great about each other. However without doubt, the subtleties of making friends is accepting people who are different, therefore filling in each other’s vulnerable points. It is not about choosing people who are almost identical to yourself and making restrictions to who you meet and get along with. Experts clearly say that people who are likely to have less personal connections are also likely to cling on to others and force their friends to only stay with oneself due to the fear of abandonment and desertion. Likewise, spend time with a wide range of individuals and expand your comfort zone. Rather than taking the opportunity as an invasion and avoiding it, why don’t you catch the opportunity and develop yourself?

THIS YEAR, MANY NEW STUDENTS ENTERED NLCS JEJU. NLCS HAS A VERY DIVERSE STUDENT POPULATION, AND THIS YEAR STUDENTS WERE ADMITTED FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD. BEING A NATIVE OF KOREA, AS WELL AS AN NLCS STUDENT, I WAS CURIOUS ABOUT HOW THEY FEEL ABOUT KOREA AND NLCS JEJU. THUS, I DECIDED TO INTERVIEW SOME OF THE NEWLY ADMITTED CHINESE STUDENTS AND GET THEM TO SHARE THEIR FEELINGS ABOUT THEIR NEW HOME.

Have you been to Korea before? Before coming to Korea, what did you think about Korea and Koreans? I had been to Jeju 2 or 3 times before I started school. But since I was here for the estate license and entrance examinations, I stayed in my home for most of the time that I was here. Now I realize that I missed out on not going out and enjoying the beautiful views that Jeju Island has to offer. I didn’t know too much about Korea before I arrived. All I knew was that it is a capitalist, democratic country, one of the MEDCs, and is famous for kimchi, K-pop and Korean dramas. I also thought Korea is a very small country compared to China.

How did you feel about Korean culture? It was fine because there weren’t that many big differences from China. I think that it is because we are both East Asian countries. But I did notice that Koreans were really polite and that they respect their elders. I also liked Korean foods, but some are too spicy!!!

What differences and similarities were there between Korea and China? Apart from the language and some cultural differences, there aren’t many big differences. But one thing that I quickly noticed was the air quality. As you know, right now in China there are a lot of factories polluting the air. As a result, air pollution is a huge problem. But on Jeju, I haven’t seen any smog or pollution.

Now how do you feel about Korea after 2 terms (about 6 months)? I think I’m used to Korea after 2 terms. I think Korean people are very nice and friendly. During my school life, they have helped me a lot. I’m getting used to living here, and Korea is much better than I originally thought. I’m really happy living in Jeju, but I still can’t still eat some of the very spicy foods!! ^^

How do Chinese high schools compare with NLCS Jeju? To start with, I think NLCS Jeju is a paradise for me. I believe that at NLCS Jeju, I receive a high-level education. In addition, there are many extra-curricular activities to get involved with. As a result, I have been able to experience many things here that I would never have had the opportunity to try in China. The school I attended before coming to NLCS Jeju administered endless tests and didn’t have any extra-curricular opportunities. So in that way, the schools in China are much different than NLCS.

IF I IMAGINE MYSELF BEING IN CHINA, AND GOING TO A SCHOOL WHERE NOBODY SPEAKS KOREAN, I THINK I WOULD FIND IT VERY HARD TO GET USED TO THE FOOD, CULTURE AND BEING AWAY FROM HOME. THEREFORE, I REALLY RESPECT MY CHINESE FRIENDS FOR ENROLLING IN NLCS JEJU. 37

CONFORMITY &

PSYCHOLOGY

WHEN ACCEPTANCE CAN BE BAD OR WRONG ALICIA CHO & CHLOE MOON, BOTH YEAR 9, JEOJI

Design by Daniel Son, Year 8, Geomun

There are many occasions when acceptance is wrong. Some people make unwise decisions, like smoking and drinking, and these inappropriate decisions are sometimes made because of conformity. Conformity is a type of social influence involving a change in belief or behaviour in order to fit in with a group. Apparently, people conform for two main reasons: because they want to fit in with a certain group which is regarded as a normative influence, and because they believe that the group is better informed than they are which is an informational influence. The acceptance of reasons as to why people conform is one of the examples of when acceptance is wrong. People should not conform just because they want to fit into a group and be one of the “cool guys”. People, especially students, allow themselves to conform because they think that fitting in with a certain group is more important than acknowledging their limits. Also believing that the group is better informed than they are, shows their lack of self-confidence. Therefore, people should not think that conformity is perfectly fine to be accepted. There are lots of examples showing people conforming. The Asch experiment shows exactly what most people have probably experienced in their lives. In this experiment, one person is posed a dilemma between two choices: having to choose the answer that he thinks is right, and having to choose the answer that other people think is right.

According to the Asch experiment, we can easily recognise that people are likely to be conform. Milgram's’ experiment was carried out by Solomon Asch and he wanted to investigate how social pressure from a majority group affect an individual to conform. There were 50 male students from Swarthmore College in America who participated. In a room with seven people who were in the same team with Asch, and an innocent participant, they were asked to do a line task. The participant didn’t know that this was for an experiment and thought others would be like themselves. The left image shows the actual task, which was finding the same line, A, B or C, to the one on the left. The participant is the last person to answer and the answer is conspicuous and undeniable. However, confederates pick the wrong answer to see how the real participant acts or conforms in this situation. In the participant’s view, they first did not believe the answer that was given by the confederates, but later on the participant thought they might be awkward in choosing the other answers.

Asch did 18 experiments and 12 were with confederates choosing wrong answers. In total, Asch found out that approximately 32% of participants conformed and chose an incorrect answer. Identically, in 12 experiments, about 75% of participants conformed at least once but 25% never conformed. However, in a room with all real participants, 1% gave a wrong answer. These indicates there was conformity in a group. Conformity is defective, therefore should not be accepted. This type of social influence should not affect people because this is not an effective way of living life. As people accept other people conforming, they would soon think that conformity is alright and it would lead to their lack of self-esteem and loss of self-confidence in their own opinions. The Asch experiment proved this, as there is a high probability of a person conforming when they are in a situation where people are saying something different from them. It clearly showed how individuals could be affected by a group of people and how they conform as they feel worried when other people say something different to what they said.

HUMANS OF NLCS JEJU Sam Seo, Justin Yun & Jackie Lee all Year 12, Halla, were so impressed with Brandon Stanton’s ‘Humans of New York’ that they decided to create their own version. This issue, the guys spoke with their classmates.

THIS TERMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S KILLER QUESTION What kind of things have you accepted even though it was against your own will?

JACKIE LEE I always think back on one bad decision I made. However, there is nothing that I can do with it now, I just have to accept failure.

JAE YOUNG YANG I accepted my girlfriend leaving me.

All portraits by Justin Cho, Year 9, Mulchat

DAVID KO I sometimes catch myself remembering that I need to serve for army some day, and I hate it, but I just have to accept the fact.

MINSOO YEO I needed to accept some of my fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s advice on my career. 46

Jean Hyung â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Charlieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Park I wanted to be a professional pianist recently, but I had to accept that it was too late now.

Alex Kim

There was this misunderstanding caused by an event, I only realised that there was any problem after about one or two months. Therefore, this misunderstanding has become too old to straighten it out. So, I just had to accept it, as partly it was my mistake, too, as I knew it was too late.

John Whangbo So while I was experimenting for my EE, I recorded some data and compared it to the theories that I had researched in books and on the internet. However, I figured out that the two data didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t match, even the slightest. After this terrible discovery, I just carried on, without being deterred. From this I realised that if you cannot avoid any complications you should just enjoy it. 47

Today, terrorism is the chief issue that is taking place across the world including countries in Europe and the Middle East. Most of the terrorists are from Islamic State, which is a radical Islamist group that uses brutal tactics including mass killings and abductions of members of religious and ethnic minorities, as well as the beheadings of soldiers and journalists. The group aims to establish a “caliphate”, a state ruled by a single political and religious leader according to Islamic law, or Sharia. Killing non-Muslims is seen as a sacred duty of every devout Muslim for which Allah repeatedly commanded (in the Qur’an) and declared unlimited reward in the afterlife. This is disrespecting people who choose not to be Muslim. In virtually every heterogeneous society, religious difference serves as a source of potential conflict. Because individuals are often ignorant of other faiths, there is some potential tension which eventually leads to conflict within themselves. Religious hostilities increased in every major region of the world except the Americas according to a new report by the Pew Research Centre. People must accept the difference in other’s beliefs and religions whether they agree or disagree. What people choose to believe, and what they are of the opinion of, is up to themselves and it must be respected. It can be difficult t o accept a person with a completely different idea, but by attempting to accept them you would be able to see the world in a wider perspective. This would also diminish the number of frictions among different groups and make the world more peaceful.

Design by Jiwon Moon, Halla

Junior Islander Crew Yeonju Shin, 6BB Seoyeon Lee, 6DG Steve Na, 6DG Elysia Bae, 6CR Zion Kang, 6BB Vivi Lee, 6CR Kevin Jo, 7BN Sarah Yoo, 6BB Clark Shin, 5VB

BY YEONJU SHIN, 6BB, HARUBANG

We all lie, and often do it for our own benefit. Did you know that there are lies that deemed acceptable by many of us? Or sometimes even expected from people? Lies forced, lies compelled, lies required; altogether they are called the ‘partial truth’.

“Telling the truth and making someone cry is better than telling a lie and making someone smile.” Paulo Coelho

We might thank people for things we don’t actually like or call someone beautiful though we don’t think it. For an even better example, parents often force children to thank people for the presents or the things they do even if the child themselves does not feel thankful. Most people say lies are bad, despite believing that partial truths are acceptable. Partial truths are also known as ‘white lies’. These lies are often used in different circumstances, however mainly in situations when your intentions are good, rather than hurtful. Imagine a friend or even a date giving you a bunch of flowers wrapped in a splendid paper, especially made for you. What if you don’t like flowers? What would you do if you don’t like the date? Most people would at least say ‘thank you’ because of the effort that the person has gone to. Though one may not recognise themselves doing it, this is a form of a white lie. However, the false reaction is considered etiquette and good manners. Many of us say polite and pleasant words to each other for the positive, emotional feelings we have in response. However, a white lie is only beneficial for the receiver. According to Anita Kelly, a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, she believes that the majority of people tell approximately 11 lies a week. Based on further experiments, Kelly noted that the more lies a person told, the poorer their mental health. When they told the truth, their health improved. This indicates that lies, even though they may cover up a hurtful truth, it would only result in pain, stress and toil. People can lie either purposefully or unconsciously. Lucy Hale confirms, “little white lies here and there are Human Nature… everybody does that.” Terry McAuliffe suggested that someone who lies about the little things will lie about the big things too. Telling whites lies for others may seem good but surely telling the truth and learning to accept truth is a healthier way forward.

Accepting Korean Culture BY SEOYEON LEE & STEVE NA BOTH 6DG

Accepting Korean culture can be incredibly hard, especially for foreigners. Many elements of Korea are different from Western values. Many teachers at NLCS Jeju will sympathize with this topic. Living in a country where the language, food and perspective is very unlike that of the country you were born in, can make it hard to accept another. Despite this,

people are constantly working hard to understand our culture and adapt to it. Firstly, respect is of far higher value in Korea than in many European cultures. If you give something to another person, it is customary to hand it to them with two hands, out of respect. The person is also expected to receive the item with

two hands. The Korean language also distinguishes age by having a more polite way to address an older person. It is expected that one address older siblings as ‘brother’ or ‘sister’. Though this is rare nowadays, there are still older people who may disregard women as men used to be considered more valuable than women.

Ms. Burden, a Year 5 teacher told us that the hierarchy system where people are automatically superior because of their age was a hard thing for her to accept. These kinds of convention flowed down from the Chosun Dynasty, when the national religion was Confucianism. So it is very hard for Korean people to change. Alexandra Wingrove, a Gap Assistant, told us that she struggled to accept Korean food. Many foreigners wonder why Korean people love Kimchi and spicy food so much. Hot peppers and chili came to Korea a long time ago, and people have been making Kimchi and spicy dishes

for generations. Though spice may cause discomfort, Korean people enjoy this sensation and many cannot imagine a meal without it. Foreigners will struggle to eat in Korea without accepting the national love of spicy food. Another aspect of Korean culture is the emphasis on work and study. Most Korean people believe that not working is a form of failure, and socially embarrassing. The more you work, the more successful you will be. This is shown by the thousands of Hagwons found across Korea. These are academies that students attend after school to learn even more.

Mr. Gaffney, a Year 6 teacher told us that he found it difficult to speak, read and write in Korean. Knowing how to correspond with Koreans is very important for foreigners in order to communicate at the bank or store. He said he continues to learn Korean. Though it is hard and foreigners have to work to become true members of Korean society, we at NLCS Jeju hope that our foreign teachers have adapted well to our culture and leave feeling like members of our society.

ELYSIA BAE, 6CR & ZION KANG, 6BB INVESTIGATE HOW TO TURN YOUR WEAKNESSES INTO STRENGTHS

EOPLE ARE NEVER PERFECT. EVERYONE KNOWS THAT. Sometimes we all have to accept that we have some weaknesses. However, accepting our disadvantages can be hard. There are lots of different kinds of weaknesses. Some people might get really nervous around others, whilst others might lack the ability to control their emotions. Some people are boastful and arrogant. However, pointing out the weaknesses of others will usually cause denial. As humans, many of us do not want to admit to our flaws. We strive for perfection our entire lives. Is this even possible? Even famous leaders have flaws. Winston Churchill, for example, when he was young, wasn’t good at speaking clearly. When he went to school, he knew that his friends would pick on him for that. So, he practised reading books for hours, everyday. That is how he overcame his weakness and proved to himself and others that he could do it. That is how Winston Churchill became a good leader. Alexander the Great, who was the conqueror of Persia had flaws too. He was famous for doing things his own way and not listening to what other people demanded. However, he did not listen to his friends nor his loyal soldiers. Because of this, when he was old, many people did not like him and wanted to kill him. This is the difference between people who accepted their weaknesses and made a difference and those who did not.

When you identify what weaknesses you have, you will be able to fix them. People might say, “focus on your strengths!” But you shouldn’t just focus on your strengths. If your weakness is something that will affect your life and those around you, you have to change it. If you can’t draw, for example, it won’t massively affect your life. But consider being shy in front of people, as your disadvantage. When you grow up, you won’t be very social. That will make your life harder as you may have difficulty forming relationships or working well with colleagues. If you think that your weakness might be something that could affect your life, then ask your friends and families about it and get some help if you need it.

But you shouldn’t just focus on your strengths. Our weaknesses aren’t embarrassing. Instead of hiding it, try to change. The first step to that is accepting your disadvantages. After you’ve changed, people will like you better because you now know your limitations and you have made an effort to change that. Accepting your weakness and learning about them can make you stronger. Since no one is perfect, you don’t have to feel bad as we are all constantly improving.

Your are strong when you know your weakness. You are beautiful when you know your flaws. You are wise when you learn from your mistakes.

Alexander The Great

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Unfair! VIVI LEE, 6CR AND KEVIN JO, 7BN

Around us there are small problems and big problems. One of these is the issue of discrimination, which is the polar opposite of acceptance. It is the act of failing to accept our differences from others and behaving negatively towards them due to this. Examples include not allowing girls to play football or separating people based on their skin colour. We can see how incorrect and unacceptable this behaviour is. There are many different types of discrimination. One form is Gender Discrimination which can be viewed today in Afghanistan. Girls are not allowed to attend secondary school as they are not considered worthy of an education. Because of this, only 18% of Afghan women can read. Astonishingly, this situation was the same in Korea in the 19th century. Only men could study and have the chance to gain skills for work. Obviously, not only men are talented, and having allowed women to study, Korea has improved. A further form of discrimination is Religious Discrimination. This involves treating someone badly just because of their beliefs. Though today it has

improved a lot, there used to be serious tension among different religions. During World War 2, the Nazis hated the Jewish race simply for their religious belief and killed them in the Holocaust. National Origin Discrimination refers to treating people unfavourably because of the country they are from, perhaps because there is a lot of terrorism there. People often make assumptions about others only because they have different coloured skin. African American people may face this discrimination in a place like Korea or Japan where dark skin is uncommon. Everyone is different, and this is partly what makes our society grow. However, these differences also cause a great deal of hurt. The story of The Ugly Duckling explains this well. The brown ducking is not allowed to join the group because of its different fur colour. Could you imagine how miserable you would feel when someone discriminated against you? We absolutely shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t accept discrimination because of how serious the problem can become.

No Bullets Accepted SARAH YOO, 6BB

WHEN THE RULES DOESN’T FIT, FIND THE COURAGE TO FOLLOW YOUR OWN.

In June 2013, the movie ‘Wadjda’, which the subtitle above is from, told the story of a girl in Saudi Arabia rebelling against the Islamic rule that banned women from riding bicycles. This movie gained fame because of the severity of the gender discrimination that it showed existed in many Islamic countries. Due to certain interpretations of the Qu’ran, the Islamic Holy Book, many organisations suppress women’s ability, often by banning their education or preventing them from working in a company. After all this restriction, several women rebel against the rules. Disobedience in these countries can often result in groups like the Taliban silencing them. Malala Yosafzai went through extraordinary treatment when she was just eleven years old and is a worldwide champion of women’s educational rights in Islamic states. Discrimination of women is not an issue that exists only in Saudi Arabia, but also in Pakistan, where Malala was from. Her education was banned as she was a girl and she deemed this situation unfair, though she was just eleven. She began blogging for womens’ rights and eventually her bravery lead to her school being opened for girls. Despite the support for her, Taliban members, believing in an extremist version of Islam, wanted to silence her and her followers and decided on violence. Consequently, armed forces broke into the school bus Malala and her friends were riding and tried to stop her fighting for women’s rights by shooting guns. They brutally harmed her. Nevertheless, Malala stood up again and carried on what she believed in, but not in the way as the Taliban members. Instead, Malala who was shot in her head but luckily soon improved - was able to make a famous speech in which she said, “...weakness, fears and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.” To credit her for her moral actions, on 10th October, 2014, Malala Yousafzai, aged 17, received a Nobel Peace Prize for “her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” So far, she is planning to continue her good deeds even after being ‘the youngest Nobel Peace prize winner ever. Even during the crisis, the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner kept calm, didn’t give up, and carried on. Malala didn’t hesitate, and stood up for all the women in the whole world.

An Apology. Understanding our Mistakes SARAH YOO, 6BB AND CLARK SHIN, 5VB

As human beings, we all make mistakes. You must have had times when you put off your homework until the very last minute, completely forgetting its presence until the day it was due. Admitting our mistakes, acknowledging we were wrong and apologizing are fundamental to moving forward. Often, saying the word ‘sorry’ is a difficult process. Like solving a hard Maths question, apologising requires courage. We watched a useful video from watchwellcast.com which helped us to formulate a better understanding of how to apologise. Firstly, we must analyse the entire situation; thinking about what we may have done wrong and why we did this. We must also consider the consequences of our actions. Take this example, to demonstrate. A friend creates a beautiful carnation for her Mother’s birthday present. Unfortunately, you threw it away carelessly along with other rubbish. Because of that action, your friend feels dismayed and disappointed that their efforts were wasted. Moreover, her parents will also feel the disappointment that the carnations were thrown away. A clear mistake has been made. In situations like this, it is easy to place the blame elsewhere. We may criticise others for their part. You could blame your friend for not keeping the gift in a safer place. In doing so, we fail to accept our mistake and fault. Apologising often involves listening. Just as a famous pianist plays a lengthy new piece, it is important to listen to the feedback of others involved. Listening helps us to empathise with others and to ensure we don’t make the same mistake in the future. Lastly, apologising often involves accepting the temporary discomfort or awkwardness that the situation caused. To break this awkwardness between you and your friend, you could prove that you plan to change your actions. In the case of throwing out a friend’s gift, you could offer to make a new one together. Apologising requires sincerity. When your friend is hurt because of something you send, it is crucial to apologise in order to mend your relationship. Problems between friends often cause unnecessary hurt that could be fixed through acceptance and apologising. 60

ELYSIA BAE, 6CR, LOOKS AT GIFT CULTURES FROM AROUND THE WORLD Different cultures around the world have varying expectations of gift giving. It is important to understand these differences and be mindful of what we give someone of another culture. Accepting these customs will aid our friendships with people from backgrounds that differ from our own.

Europe

In European countries such as Spain, England, Switzerland and Germany, it is customary to give someone high quality wine, flowers, or dessert items like chocolate when visiting. Additionally, you express your appreciation for that gift by opening it in front of the gift giver. In Germany, a gift of French or Italian wine will be considered more thoughtful than a local, cheaper wine. In England, a gift of red roses or white lilies should be avoided as roses are considered a romantic gesture and lilies are symbolic of a funeral. However, this same rule is not applicable in Spain, where such flowers are acceptable. In Germany, it is the carnation flower that represents mourning and should be avoided. Moreover, in England it is polite to send a handwritten ‘Thank You’ card following a dinner party or the receipt of a gift. This is a gesture of appreciation and shows you had a good time.

Europe

Generally unacceptable gifts in Europe would be knives or scissors as this could symbolise damage to close relations. In Switzerland, extremely expensive gifts may cause embarrassment or be misunderstood for bribery.

Korea

Elsewhere, customs are very different. In South Korea, gifts of fruit, coffees and chocolates are common. Koreans will often show their appreciation for a gift by giving a gift of their own. This is why it is important to be aware of a person’s economies so that they can give you a similar gift. Gifts of money are common during weddings, holidays and birthdays and are given in white envelopes. Moreover, when taking a present, it is polite to use both hands to receive it and to ask the person who gave it to you for permission before you open it.

India

In India, wrapping presents in black or white paper is considered unlucky. Instead, bright colours like yellow, green and orange are acceptable. It is rude to open a gift in front of the gift giver. When giving money, it is lucky to give an odd number such as $101. A key principle is to never give a Hindu a leather object as cows are considered holy in India. Muslims should also never be given alcohol as this contradicts their religious values. Unlike in Europe, presents of knives, computer discs or bandages would be appreciated in India as they are not common.

Brazil

In Brazil, champagne is a common gift when visiting anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home. It is also polite to prepare small presents for any children of that household. Handkerchiefs are representative of funerals and should be avoided. Instead, books or perfumes are acceptable.

SE Asia & USA

Another point to note is that in countries in South-East Asia or America, it is almost obligatory to give a tip when using a public service or at a restaurant. The amount varies according to your satisfaction or the type of service. This same principle does not exist in England or in South Korea.

As this article shows, accepting the traditions of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s different cultures is very important in order to avoid offending others and to show our appreciation appropriately.

13YKL Photography by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

13JMR Photography by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

13IR Photography by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

13RHM Photography by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

13SJ Photography by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

13HT Photography by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

Photogpahy by Justin Cho, Year 9, Mulchat

Rugby guy HARRY LEE, YEAR 9, SARAH, CAUGHT UP WIYH BRIAN KIM TO FIND OUT HOW TAKING UP RUGBY HAS CHANGED HIS LIFE FOR THE BETTER.

Brian, Dong Hyun Kim is a student in Year 11, Geomun. Presently, he is a courageous and active student, who is the current House Captain of Geomun and a player in the NLCS Jeju rugby squad. He is known as a bright and social student by teachers and other students. However, he was not the student he is today when he first came to this school - he has changed a lot. I would like to introduce how he has developed through his life in NLCS Jeju. When Brian Kim first came to NLCS Jeju, he was a very emotional and inactive student. He struggled to have conversations with others. It took a long time for him to make friends and adapt to his boarding house. Furthermore, he was afraid of challenging himself to do new activities that he had never experienced before. He didn’t enjoy playing new sports with new teachers and new people. Interestingly, the reason why he started to play rugby was not because of his own interest, but on his friend’s recommendation. On the first day of rugby, he was in absolute chaos. He didn’t know the ules of the game, who was playing on his side or even who was the coach. As we can imagine, he got stressed and found the idea of continuing rugby very uncomfortable. However he challenged himself to persevere and

slowly began to understand the game. Today, he says once he gained some confidence, he began to make new friends and became closer with staff through rugby. Rugby as a whole, helped him to settle in school and gain courage to develop new ideas. Rugby is a sport that requires a lot of teamwork. He has learned to build strong friendships from his teammates, and boosted his confidence after being a player in the NLCS Jeju Middle School rugby squad. It has also made him very fit. He says “before I began to play rugby I was a chubby boy! Now I either work out or train everyday and have become very fit.” The reason for this dedication? He wants to be better at rugby. Brian Kim also changed his mind to be more active and friendly with others. He decided to start conversations with people he had never met. As a result of his increased confidence and improved social relationships, he was not afraid to join various house competitions. For instance, he performed at the glee of Geomun as a main performer. His image has changed from a bashful student to a friendly leader and he is now the House Captain of his house, Geomun.

JUST THE WAY YOU ARE CHELSEA PARK Year 10 Mulchat

Just the Way You Are is a song that everybody knows or has at least heard of. Why is this song so popular? We could say that the catchy tune played a major role in this, but one thing that we cannot miss out is the song’s touching lyrics. Although the song’s main theme is a man’s love towards a woman, the lyric “You’re amazing just the way you are” points out something that people nowadays tend to forget. With their brains full of tasks to finish, relationships to manage and appointments to make, people are overburdened, and this burden has overshadowed one value that should always be remembered - self-acceptance. According to Shepard, self-acceptance is an individual's satisfaction or happiness with oneself. Becoming aware and acknowledging your own behavior, habits and personality and not being afraid to look at yourself as you are is an important step to self-acceptance. Students at NLCS Jeju are talented individuals, and every one of them is known in our school for different things. However, the one or two traits that students are known for cannot tell us who that person is or who that person thinks he or she is. With hope to get a better idea of what some students think about themselves, I interviewed several.

HOJIN JANG, YEAR 7 GEOMUN, KNOWN FOR HIS ACTING What kind of person do you think you are? It is hard to say what I am myself, but I think I am a passionate and sociable person. What are your strengths? I think my strengths are that I try to encourage every single person in a group to join me so that no one gets excluded and that I can align what the group needs, thus making a good environment for both entertainment and academics. What are your weaknesses? Sometimes in academics, I think I am too direct with people, so I worry that I might hurt their feelings.

Hojin is bottom right

Photo by Donghyeon Seo, Halla

DANIEL KIM, YEAR 9 MULCHAT, KNOWN FOR HIS SWIMMING What kind of person do you think you are? I am someone who, most of the time, finds it difficult to get along with new people - I am usually shy around people I don't know. What are your strengths? I am able to help people in need and I am always available for people when they are in trouble. What are your weaknesses? I'm not an active person who goes around getting to know new people, and I hate being forced to do sports or outdoor activities.

Daniel is in the green hat

TERRY RIM, YEAR 10 SARAH, KNOWN FOR HER BRIGHT SMILE What kind of person do you think you are? It is hard to say what I am myself, but I think I am a passionate and sociable person. What are your strengths? I think my strengths are that I try to encourage every single person in a group to join me so that no one gets excluded and that I can align what the group needs, thus making a good environment for both entertainment and academics. What are your weaknesses? Sometimes in academics, I think I am too direct with people, so I worry that I might hurt their feelings.

CINDY LEE, YEAR 10 NORO, KNOWN FOR HER ARTISTIC TALENT What kind of person do you think you are? I think I am a very blunt and straight-forward person, so I sometimes feel the need to be careful not to hurt others’ feelings when speaking. What are your strengths? I think my strength is that I easily forget about bad things. Even if I ruin a test and get a terrible result, I forget about it after a few hours of sleep. What are your weaknesses? My weakness is revealed when I do physical activities. My body is just like a wooden trunk; I am terrible at all physical activities. I think this has led me to not doing any exercise.

Although the four interviewees above seem flawless on stage, amongst friends, in the swimming pool or with a brush and pallet in hand, they all have weaknesses that they have identified. Students at NLCS Jeju, or at least these four students, seem to be good self - acceptors. They know what their weaknesses are as well as their strengths, and they are not afraid to examine or analyse these traits. I hope this positive trend will continue, but in the process of developing self - acceptance, there is one thing that you should never forget. “You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful.”

Who is Mr A? SYDNEY KANG, YEAR 8, NORO WAS SO IMPRESSED BY THE NOVEL MR A THAT SHE JUST HAD TO SPEAK TO THE AUTHOR. LUCKILY FOR HER, AND FOR US, THE AUTHOR OF THIS BESTSELLER ALSO LIVES IN NORO AND IS NONE OTHER THAN ALISHA AN IN YEAR 11.

THERE WAS A DOG. THERE WAS AN ELDERLY WOMAN. THERE WAS A CHILD. THERE WAS A PHILOSOPHER. THERE WAS A MISANTHROPIC MAN. THERE WAS A MURDERER.

These six lines are the opening of the book ‘Mr. A’. Throughout the book, Alisha leads the readers through her magical world, without any embellished words or phrases, not trying to give a strong impression nor to make the readers burst into tears; nevertheless the book is truly powerful. The book has three chapters, ‘There was a Dog’, ‘Looking for the Whale’, and ‘Train Ticket’, each chapter introducing different characters and meeting with their unknown Mr A. The first chapter

is about a girl who has schizophrenia, a mental disorder, who communicates with her own six made-up creatures, which others can’t see. The six creatures are a dog, an elderly woman, a child, a philosopher, a misanthropic man, and a murderer. The six creatures each influence the main character Han’s feelings and they discuss her thoughts and memories. The creatures can be divided into two groups; ones that make Han’s feeling better and ones that make her feelings worse.

‘THERE WAS A DOG’ The dog usually barks loudly, which depresses her and sometimes makes her cry. The elderly woman is very similar to another elderly person in the town, whom Han visits quite often, in order to talk with him. Both are great advisors who help her to get through her miserable times. The child is the one who brings up her joyful childhood. By remembering her happier times, any moment she spends with the child motivates her day and helps her to go through the miserable times with the misanthropic man and the murderer. The philosopher is one of her favourites, whereas the misanthropic man is one of her least favourite. Even though the misanthropic man looks exactly like the philosopher and the subject of their conversation is always very similar, since his perspective of looking at certain thoughts and ideas is the very opposite, his advice is somewhat negative most of the time, whereas the philosopher mostly gives messages that encourage Han. For most of the time the philosopher confuses her, but in a positive way he makes her think deeply about her own values and thoughts. With his drowsy smile the misanthropic man often chokes her, holds her lips strongly enough to make her cry, and does other actions that make her feel extreme fear and pain. Whereas the philosopher explains the subject by explaining the positive side, the misanthropic man mainly focuses on the negative consequences and effects, which is actually the reality but to Han is just cruel and harsh. As the story heads to the end Han realises that he was just waiting for her to agree with him, not to refute him by what the philosopher told her. When she first agrees and shows him that she understands him, instead of a cold stare with madness he looked down at her with a warm smile.

The murderer, the last made-up creature of Han, always asks her whether to kill the other five; the dog, the elderly woman, the child, the philosopher, the misanthropic man, or Han herself. Always in the same way, she faces the murderer who has a dagger in his mouth and runs away from him while he runs after her. During 2 years Han has had many doubts about the murderer. Regardless of him continuing to call himself a murderer and saying that he needs to murder someone or else he will die, Han never sees the murderer actually killing or hurting somebody. Moreover, he never succeeds in hurting her with his dagger; she starts to wonder who the blood on the dagger belongs to. The baseless doubts make her braver. She stands in front of the murderer who is running into her with his dagger. As his knife goes through her body the one who blurts out a painful scream is not Han. It is the murderer. Blood starts to surge from his body and as soon as Han lifts his shirt scars and bruises were covering his body. The blood is from the murderer hurting himself. As the story leads to the end Han realises that her six made-up creatures are representing different parts of her. The dog was ups and downs she will endure during her lifetime, the child is the memory of her childhood and the past, and the elderly person is someone that Han might become when she becomes older. The philosopher is Han’s philosophical part, from which she deeply thinks about people around her and their life. The misanthropic man is Han’s fear of reality, and the murderer is her hatred towards certain things.

Alisha An, Year 11, Noro

‘LOOKING FOR THE WHALE’ The second chapter is about a young couple, Sohyun and Ahn, who are both orphans and their only family is each other. Sohyun has an illness in which her memories go back in time as time passes in a day. In real life the woman is twenty-four years old, but in the afternoon she thinks that she is a student who attends a nearby high school. She has suffered from a mental disorder every night; as she lies down in her room, water slowly fills the room and including herself, all the objects in the room start to float. After a few minutes she is taken to another place, similar to an ocean, where a huge whale spurts out water and makes huge columns of water. Among the three stories is a chapter which contains a powerful twist and emphasizes the power of memories in the past. Whilst reading this chapter, instead of concentrating on who Mr A is, put yourself in Sohyun’s shoes and imagine the beautiful blue sea in her room that only appears just for a few minutes every night.

‘TRAIN TICKET’ The third and last story, ‘Train Ticket’, is the shortest above all but gives the strongest impression. The story starts with a man waking up in a room, about thirty stories high and located next to a railway. Soon he notices a train ticket in his pocket, which has no date, time, or destination written on it. Since the electricity supply was cut he has had nothing to do other than wander around his room. A few moments later a large horn blows. Obviously, it was a train and the man feels a sense of obligation that he needs to get on the train. He starts to run down the stairs frantically. As he gallops down the stairs he can sense that the temperature was getting warmer and warmer as he went down. After he went down about seven storeys, he encounters an unbelievable scenery. When he first starts racing down the stairs the floor is covered in ice and the temperature is very low, it was winter. However, the ice is now melting and on the same spot flowers start to grow. It was spring. Then it was summer, then it was autumn, which takes away the azure of the trees, then it is winter again. When he arrives at the platform it is too late. The train is about to take off in seconds. The man runs towards the train, but as much as the man tries the train accelerates. Due to great despondency the man lies down on the ground. When he opens his eyes he is no longer lying down outside, he is in the same bed that he was in before

he went down the stairs. As soon as he awakes he remembers that there was a train that was about to come and begins racing down the stairs. Again, the seasons change as he goes down. When he arrives on the platform the train is there, as if it was waiting for him. Unlike what he thought, there isn’t anyone who checks the tickets and even though he keeps on asking whether he can ride or not no one seems to have any interest; everyone in the train is busy staring at the front. While he scans through the passengers he can spot some familiar faces. He meets his friend, who was with him right before he came into this weird world, together with a famous celebrity who went missing two years ago. Then a man comes towards him and says to him not to ride on the train. With the man talking about the preference of fantasy or reality the train leaves. The platform is now changing into spring and the man falls down to the ground. ‘Train Ticket’ is a chapter which it is closely related to life and death. The whole chapter is full of lively descriptions about the man’s anxiety, which draws the readers into the story and allows him/her to feel the fear that the man feels when he sees the train is just about to go. This story is mainly about how the author interprets death, since it has a close relationship with the book. It will be a spoiler if the writing carries on; the story stops here!

Interview THERE IS AN EXCELLENT INTERVIEW WITH ALISHA IN THE BOOK AND I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ IT, HOWEVER I HAD A FEW EXTRA QUESTIONS FOR HER. HERE’S OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.

Q A

One day my friend and I had to say a goodbye that would never lead to another hello. My friend was ill but never showed it. Her sudden parting made me shed tears for three days. On the fourth day I started to ask questions of myself. As I started to answer those questions I came to the conclusion that because I didn’t accept myself and reality I couldn’t show her what I thought. As I accepted everything I was able to say words that included appreciation of and sorrow for my friend.

Q A

For every episode different Mr. A’s appear and support the characters. Looking back to your interview with the publisher you said to be aware of the help that our own Mr A gives to ourselves. Do you think you are a Mr A of anyone? Do you have your own Mr A who gives great help and you can rely on? Well, I think I am still too immature to be someone’s Mr A, but it is obvious that I have some people around me who play the role of Mr A in my life and help me with various things.

In the story Han’s mother tends to be a great advisor of Han. If it is fine for you to answer, I would like to ask whether it is a reflection of your own mother or an ideal mother you want to be when you grow up. Is it? One day my friend and I had to say a goodbye that would never lead to another hello. My friend was ill but never showed it. Her sudden parting made me shed tears for three days. On the fourth day I started to ask questions of myself. As I started to answer those questions I came to the conclusion that because I didn’t accept myself and reality I couldn’t show her what I thought. As I accepted everything I was able to say words that included appreciation of and sorrow for my friend.

Photography by Sydney Kang

Q A

How and where did you get the idea of the six creatures suddenly appearing in an ordinary girl’s life?

Alisha’s book online 97

NLCSFEED The unacceptble list

L O L

by Cion Choi, Year 9, Geomun

Everyone has different views on what should be considered “unacceptable”. For example, one person might find embracing another at the airport when they first meet as unacceptable and extremely awkward whilst another person will just think of it as a warm welcome. What people like and dislike and what they value over others determines what people feel about a situation or an action. Also, depending on one’s background or past experience of the world, one’s views on cultural and personal acceptance can be completely different. This article explores the unacceptable list of what you should never do in the NLCS Jeju community, formed by interviews with people around the school. It is very important to know this list off by heart because you wouldn’t want to get kicked out for not knowing what to do and what to not do... You’ve been there and done that before. So, what is unacceptable for you?

1. When a person gets in my way at a supermarket – or anywhere.

“Move over or I’ll shoot you!”

As we can see in movies where two people bump into each other on the street and suddenly start fighting over the fact that the other person deliberately pushed their shoulder, people can get extremely annoyed if an obstacle appears in front of them when they are walking. In fact, strolling past somebody and getting in his or her way – even by mistake – is the same as saying, “Do you want to fight with me?” For most people, a person standing in front of their shopping cart at a supermarket can easily look like a Gollum, especially when they are rushing. The consequences of blocking another’s way and upsetting them are quite severe. Civilized people will tell you to step aside, but when people are in a hurry, they don’t tend to be all that civilized! Some people will push you over with a shopping cart, scream at you, or in movies such as ‘Mission Impossible’, the really bad guys will shoot you with a gun!

i fa

2. When a person speaks in the 3rd octave – that is not speaking, it’s singing.

“I really didn’t know that you are a soprano…”

This might be a very personal statement for the person I spoke to. People tend to speak in a higher tone than their usual voice when they are trying to appeal to somebody. However, there are some people who speak in a tone way too high that it almost feels as though they are telling a lie or trying to befriend me without showing me their true colours. Also, such high notes (as the one below in the picture) can sound a little bit disturbing for people with generally weak ears. It is important, therefore, to realize when to appear pleasing and when to be your complete self.

3. When a person invades my personal space

“Do you seriously love me that much?” Personal space, as it says in the phrase, is personal. However open and tolerant you are, invading personal space can be a bad move. Cultural differences exist, and where your personal space is can be a little bit different in different societies, but after a certain point, people feel very uncomfortable to be with you – unless they know you very well. For example, Korean friends don’t find touching each other’s hair or holding each other’s hands particularly disturbing, although it might not be a good idea to do that in the corridors or in classrooms, particularly if you visit NLCS London. As Koreans, we generally get the feeling that Europeans are much more protective of the space around them. It is a difference between the two cultures – neither offensive nor strange. Therefore, we should understand and appreciate each other’s personal space for everyone to feel comfortable in the surrounding environment. 99

4. Talking with an amplifier connected to your vocal cords in public

“You don’t have to be that loud; I can still hear you.”

When you are sitting on the grass in a nearby park having a relaxing time, or when you are waiting for a train at a train station, the last thing you want to hear is a person or a group of people screaming and laughing crazily. It feels like your ears are about to go deaf and you really want them to stop talking, but you cannot even scold them because they are complete strangers to you. Especially, when you can hear every word that they are screeching about and they are not very pleasant, your whole day is destroyed. Please, let’s keep our private conversations quiet.

5. Waking one up in the middle of a deep sleep by being rowdy

“I would really appreciate it if you get me some earplugs and a spike hammer.”

Sleeping is very important for most people, so this one ranks very highly on the list of unacceptable. It is very simple – DO NOT wake someone up in the middle of deep sleep. They will definitely try to crush you with a spike hammer!

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6. When people don’t understand my jokes – maybe that’s a problem with you…

“Sorry honey, sarcasm falls out of my mouth, just like stupid falls from yours.” “There are times when people just don’t understand my jokes. I find them really funny, so I laugh, but when I laugh, no one seems to laugh with me. Is that a problem with my joke or my laughter?” If you are someone who encounters this situation often, maybe you shouldn’t trust your imagination or sense of humour anymore. I recommend reading an exceptional selection of joke books and memorizing them, rather than thinking of jokes yourself. “That is a sad piece of advice…”

7. When I am hungry!!!

“It is the reason why barbarians ate raw meat in the prehistoric era.”

Strangely enough, food is what controls life on earth. When you are hungry, your vision starts to blur, your stomach starts to groan louder and louder and your whole body feels like lead. Because your brain becomes dull and slow, you cannot think rationally until your body consumes food. Hunger is our biggest enemy, no matter what.

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WONJUN CHOI, 18, KYUNG JOON JANG ‘18, KAY NAM ‘19 ALL JEOJI AND YEORIM CHA ‘18, MULCHAT

OUR JOURNEY OF ACCEPTANCE AND RESILIENCE

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Nepal currently ranks 145 on the Human Development Index (HDI) with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of 2,310 USD. Despite massive economic challenges, Nepal has striven to overcome many obstacles over the past few decades. The statistics and photos gave us a first impression of the country and the team expected a country with poor circumstances. The views from the plane perfectly matched the expectations; everything was different to South Korea. When the team first met the people of Nepal, we were somewhat shocked by how happy they seemed to be in such a drastic environment. “Nearly everyone had a smile on their face. They greeted us with great delight,” said Minjae Seo ‘18, a participant in the Nepal service trip. As the team walked around the capital city, Kathmandu, they observed and experienced some distinct cultural aspects of Nepal. Everywhere they visited, there were cheerful people who were eager to have conversations. When the team shared talks with the Nepalese, they were surprised by the amount of acceptance and resilience they showed in their daily lives; even in the poorest part of the country, the people were showing great satisfaction and happiness. The locals showed great appreciation and thanks to small signs of help. “There were many occasions but the most memorable one is when I gave them a volleyball and then saw 20 children playing together with great joy,” said Jay Joo ‘18, a participant in the Nepal service trip.

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Sometimes, the team found signs of resilience and acceptance in the most unexpected places. However, every now and then, the team reflected upon the accepting and resilient attitude of the Nepalese and thought of how they could support them. The team went through great hardships at first as they tried to experience and understand their daily lives. But soon enough, they managed to fully adapt to the Nepalese environment and show great responsibility throughout the trip. Eunice Lee ‘19, a participant in the Nepal service trip, to the question ‘what aspect of the Nepal trip turned you into a more accepting person?’ answered “Seeing people who go through life threatening hardships made me feel really grateful about the privileges that I am given. Also, seeing them being so nice, kind and caring to complete strangers made me feel that I wanted to be like them; even though they don’t own much and they lead insufficient lives they think positively, no matter what they go through and they can accept any individual. Without me noticing, I started changing to become more like the Nepalese, to become a person who can understand and accept most hardships and problems.”

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Only a week after our team got back from the trip, a great tragedy struck Nepal: an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.8 vigorously hit the city of Kathmandu, destroying everything there was. The death toll rose rapidly after the initial shock and killed more than 1,800 people within the first 72 hours. (After the first three days, the chances of finding survivors decreases.) Currently, a total of 8,151 people are reported dead and 17,866 were injured through the disaster. The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19 people, making it the deadliest day on the mountain in history. It also set off another huge avalanche in Langtang valley, where 366 were reported missing- this is the village the team visited. A majority of the people lost their home, 27% of the buildings are not able to be reconstructed and the remaining 73% are in dreadful conditions. Krishna Tamang, a victim of the earthquake, worryingly said “They don’t feel safe. They’re terrified there will be another landslide. And anyway, there’s nothing to stay for now. Do you know where there is a safe place for them to go? Can you find out?” Not only did this great tragedy claim over 8000 people in Nepal, but also damaged Nepal’s economy. Because the earthquake struck cultural heritage sites and tourist attractions in Nepal, it is inevitable that there would be economic loss. To complete their misery, they are predicting that the rate of economic growth will decrease. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) analysed, “The economic growth might exceed Nepal’s GDP. There is a 34% chance that the ultimate loss will cause an economic loss of 1 ~ 10 billion USD and a 29% chance that there will be a 10 ~ 100 billion USD economic loss.

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CELINE TAE, YEAR 11, SARAH

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In any other world, I would’ve been able to face it, cope with it and recover from it. After all, overwhelming sentimentality makes me flinch whenever I notice it in a friend or in myself. But the destruction of this small world of mine, the world that I created unknowingly but became assimilated into, the world that has protected me through thick and thin, and at times cleaned up the mess my hateful and impulsive but timid mind has made, the world that is still so alarmingly alive and will be alive forever, is impossible for me to accept. There is a blank sheet of paper in front of me. It’s not technically paper – it’s a virtual image of a sheet of paper on the screen of my laptop. A short black line rhythmically flickers on the left hand side of the top of the page, with a pace not too fast but not too slow as if to tell me to take my time, but nevertheless, get it done. I sit blankly for a moment, and then begin to tap the keyboard, pushing the line to the right with a few words I’ve squeezed out of my brain. Then I freeze again. The only moving object in my sight is the black line, going on and off, on and off with a hypnotizing consistency. I breathe in, and then breathe out, feeling an absolute nothingness eating up whatever it is that is filling my skull. The tips of my fingers are on a black square each, ready to go, waiting to be moved to create a literary masterpiece. Are humans evil? Or are we good? How could you know – how could you generalize so. What will happen if we’re all on our own, with no categories dividing me and the person next to me except our physical and psychological individual selves? I read out the words I have managed to print on the screen so far. I like the sound of my own voice. I like it especially when I quietly talk to myself. Sometimes, listening to my own voice makes me shed tears down the sides of my nose and gives me chills around the bottom of my neck. I like it because it’s my own. No one has ever heard this voice except for me, this low and somewhat gruff whisper of calm assurance. I like it because it gives me a sense of accomplishment. Composing new phrases and sentences is hard with this perpetual desire for brilliance coupled with a relentless worry about them being unnatural, or simply wrong. Reading it, on the other hand, is easy. The awkwardness of the sentences fresh out of my mind is subdued when my quiet voice makes them into sounds that vibrate in the air, makes them real and alive, and the uneasiness presiding over my insides turn into pride, a blind, groundless pride of creation. Why is it all so wrong? We have come a long way, that is true, but it seems to me as though we should never have taken the path from the very beginning. Had we had the choice, that is. I tend to believe that we never had the choice. It happened, and that was it. Whether it is the truth, or some desperate attempts at justification, we have strived for the better, and what we have now is the ultimate conclusion. Or the immediate conclusion. Is this the end of history? Or can I rely on the dim shaft of hope I see when I squint my eyes?

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“Man is born free, but everywhere he goes he is in chains.” That is the one saying I always kept in mind. I was once buried, drowning in the shadows of disdain from the bystanders and spectators who loomed down as I shed droplets of tears, sniggered and guffawing at my unpleasant manners and obnoxious appearance. I thought to myself, “ What a delightful agony…” I was in a society where exclusion was common; the ones who didn’t deserve accolades were showered in shame. Life was not free, chains were what made me savage, both in heart and in action. Spat words pierced my heart and made me fall down to the rocky pavement. I wanted to break free and run endlessly to a place where man was free, the place where there would be no one but me. No. Impossible. Chains always pulled me back from my dreams. Laughter and painful words echoed through my ears as giant figures closed upon me and sunlight gradually blurred behind the evil. Before anything could reach me, I closed my eyes. When I opened them, everything was white. Like a sea of white doves, white cloths swirled and danced around in the cool, pleasant breeze. I tried to approach the whiteness, but my head ached, as if my skull fell into a million pieces. I thanked the heavens, and thought how cruel it would be to wake me up again. “Bullied? Nonsense. Absolutely nonsense! My son couldn’t have been. Who are you? Why are you trying to speak up for someone who doesn’t need you?” “No miss, I am trying to help.” I heard a voice that I had never heard. It was a young girl’s voice. Probably someone from my school. But why? Do people get merits for helping someone who is getting bullied? White doves instantly flew into pieces as I realized they were nothing but curtains. Chains held me again in the pain. “Are you awake? This crazy girl says you have been bullied in school. That’s complete nonsense, isn’t it?”

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The white pillow cushioning my delicate mind brewed the tears that started to fall. What is a mother? I thought she would be the only one who could pull me into her arms and comfort me. I have never told her that I was getting bullied, because I thought it would upset her and make her worry. Embarrassed, ashamed, disappointed, shouting in an enraged fashion, that was what she was. As if everything was my fault, she spat shards of sharp words. The last piece of hope tied with me in the chains was freed and gone, leaving me unwilling to continue my life. “I am glad you know…” Every move of my body had no intention as I headed to where I was, I felt, sentenced to die. By the gate of the complete hell, I walked as if my body was without a soul. I waited for someone to push me over or spit knives that would aim to tear my heart into pieces. A hand reached me and I winced my body, with my eyes closed, hoping it would no longer burn me from the inside nor the outside. “I’m really sorry! Did I scare you?” It was a familiar voice, but not one that scared me. It was the young girl’s voice. I slowly opened my eyes and found a beautiful girl with deep, dark eyes. Her eyebrows were trembling as if she was worried. Her long hair shon below the sun in the color of an almond. Her tender hands clasped mine. I couldn’t understand why she was doing this. “I’m really sorry… I should have asked first. Can you take me around the school? I’m new and I want some help. Could you please? At least for a day?”

hard. “Yes” was what I wanted to say, but my mouth didn’t allow me. “You wouldn’t want to if you know who I am. Find someone else. I’m trying to help you.” My own words burnt my throat as they came out and the sound of it stabbed my heart. But I knew I was doing the right thing. “I know who you are, so please.” It was weird. Why would this girl, who looks gorgeous, want to be my friend? Is she out of her mind? She had told my mother that I was getting bullied. She knew who I was. Is she really trying to help me? Or is she going to break me down after this series of pretensions? I looked her in the eyes and told her. “Follow me.” The girl is my wife today. She reached her hand out to save me from the pit of water drowning me. From then on, after that choice to trust her - a choice that I never regretted - my wife and I have always spent our time together.

Just one hand and a smile can save someone who has lost the will to live, free people from the chains that hold them and break the shackles down. Quick, before they no longer exist, give them your hand and smile. Remember, the chains can get to anyone, even you.

I felt my heart beating

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You sit on a bench, legs crossed and a book in your hand. <Lolita>, you’ve been reading that book for 6 days now. You’re holding your head askew, and your auburn hair falls down across one side of your neck to your breast in one single fluid line. Underneath, the thin translucent fabric of your white skirt mirrors your hair’s motion, wrapping your legs in one sensual sweep. The sun hits your face and illuminates your already radiant features; your outlandishly blue eyes blink slowly; your pink-manicured fingers lazily skim the edge of your lower lip, the colour of licked red candy. I still remember the moment I first saw you. You stepping into my front yard in those little red shoes- you were just like an angel, sent by god as his single extant masterpiece in an otherwise prosaic world, me, his biggest, most repulsive blunder of all. You walked towards me and said hello. I couldn’t look you in the eyes so I stared at your lips instead, those sweet red lips, and muttered my hello. You held your hand out for a handshake and I bit into my lips, the taste of blood red in my mouth. Then I took your hand tentatively, palm first, and then the fingers slowly wrapping around yours. I was scared that too strong of a grip would break you into a mere figment of my daydream, or some kind of twisted deception at the very least. After all you were too good to be real. But the sensation of your skin was as genuine as any touch could be and I relished the short 5 seconds that my rough rotten hand could lie in yours. When you slipped your hand away I nearly cried. You said your name was Maria and that you were pleased to finally meet me. Maria, Maria, I was elated beyond your imagination at those words. I had made you pleased! I was happy for days at your careless compliment. You asked me my name. I slowly looked up and saw you- and I was alarmed. Your consummate beauty alarmed me, to the extent that I doubted my own senses. And the feeling, oh the feeling that took over me after that alarm was beyond words; in the most literal sense, I simply cannot put it down on paper, how could I, when no words were ever invented for your beauty. Beyond words- that’s how beautiful you were. I’m Dale. Yes, from the very beginning, you were special. I was not. You were an angel. I was a disgusting, repulsive and utterly undesirable creep. You just closed your book. You are just sitting there now, probably pondering on your read as you always do. Your thin slender fingers lightly tap the cover of the book in a rhythmic jot. Even from this distance, I can hear it; tatatap. Clouds have stripped the sky’s blue and replaced it with an ever so mundane grey. But your eyes still stay blue, your outlandishly blue eyes that blink slowly and whose gaze slowly rises upwards… to me. Dale. You call my name. You smile. I’m a creep, but even a creep can know beauty when he sees it. I’m a creep, but even a creep can look at that outlandishly blue gaze and be happy. Even a creep can love.

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