volume X X XVII
October 2011
issue 3
Tiger Times s e o u l i n t e r nat i o na l s c h o o l itigertimes.com
Drama Club to perform ‘Sweeney Todd’ on Halloween By Mark Kim
A deranged barber slits his unexpecting victims’ throats and dispatches them to the basement through a revolving trapdoor. Upon stripping the dead corpses of any valuable items, the barber bakes the their corpses into meat pies and sells them to unsuspecting customers. From Oct. 31 to Nov. 5, the Drama Club will reenact these blood-curdling scenes from “Sweeney Todd”—a play about one of the most famous and brutal serial killers depicted in Broadway history. “[The play] is going to be gory,” said John Rider, director. “It’s going to be as gory and bloody as we can make it, which is why we are not having a [performance for the] middle school. The opening night is Halloween, and there is a reason for that.” This is the Drama Club’s first attempt at a melodrama, a play with dramatic and thrilling events that attract the audience. “Sweeney Todd” will be performed specifically for high school students. The Drama Club will incorporate horrific elements that high school students are interested in; gory scenes such as blood spurting out from a laceration caused by a sharp razor and the terrifying screams of hapless victims will be common in the play. Ju Hohn Lee (12) will play the role of Sweeney Todd, a psychopath who seeks revenge against the man who killed his wife. This will be Juhohn’s first leading role in his acting career at SIS. “It’s very pressuring and I’m very nervous because this play is heavily centered around the main
Photo by Stephanie Song
While rehearsing a scene for the play “Sweeney Todd” on Oct. 19, Sarah Yim (12), Mrs. Lovett, confronts Ju Hohn Lee (12), Sweeney Todd, with a knife. Drama Club actors and backstage crew members rehearse weekly and will perform the production for audiences from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5. character,” said Ju Hohn. “But at the same time, I’m anticipating [a good peformance] and I’m very, very excited to have this opportunity.” Contrary to the casts of previous productions such as “Cinderella Ella Ella” and “Juliet and Romeo”, the cast of “Sweeney Todd” will consist of only nine actors and eight backstage members. Nevertheless, Mr. Rider expressed his confidence
in the success of the play. “I think [the play] is going to be nicely different,” said Mr. Rider. “From a director’s perspective, it’s a smaller cast, which has its benefits [and] disadvantages. It’s going to be challenging, but it’s a nice challenge in terms of the scenery as well as the technology we are going to be adding. My expectations are that [“Sweeney Todd”] will be different
to anything high school students have seen before.” In addition to acting and conducting special effects for the play, Drama Club members will also be responsible for illustrating the backdrop paintings for the play. To prepare for the opening performance on Halloween, members meet and rehearse every week on Wednesday lunch breaks.
“I’m honestly curious about [whether the play will be well received],” said Ju Hohn. “This is the first really mature and disturbing Halloween production, and I think that the response will be extreme. Either some people will love it, or some people might hate it. We will have to wait and see, but I hope it entertains them because that’s the goal we are all working towards.”
New teacher introduces interactive online testing to Chinese classes By Helen Song
According to the Journal of Language Learning, the most difficult parts of learning a foreign language are pronunciation and sentence construction. As a result, many students, including those who are efficient readers and writers, struggle to converse fluently in the language. To address this problem, Kenneth Dee, Chinese teacher, introduced an interactive examination he used at his previous school: students converse with native Mandarin speakers via 25-minute Skype calls. All Chinese students, includ-
ing middle school students, took this test as a quarterly assessment on Oct. 13 and 14; students will take this exam again after third quarter. “The goal of a language class is to be able to speak to the native people of that target language, but you can’t truly improve your language skills unless you continually do so,” said Mr. Dee. “There aren’t as many opportunities for students to converse in class, so I think this assessment was a good chance.” Students were given a list of questions in advance to study from. On the actual examination, students had a conversation with native speakers based on these questions in
a question-and-answer format. The examiners then graded each student based on the specific rubrics the teacher provided for them, which were used as the students’ grades. “It was my first try, so it didn’t go as smoothly, as there were problems on the first day with the internet connection and some general confusion,” said Estella Duan, Chinese teacher. “Still, the student average was an A, and the next time, I know to run the test more smoothly as I learned from my mistakes this time.” Students had to pay 12,000 won to take the test because the examination was provided by an online Chinese tutoring company based
Wordplay: Are t-shirt slogans with innuendo appropriate for school? Page 2
in Beijing. This expense was a major source of students’ complaints. “It’s really confusing and frustrating that we have to pay for the test because we already pay a lot of tuition that should be covering these kinds of things,” said Kelly Cho (10), Chinese III student. “Students are already reluctant to take tests, and making them pay for it makes the test even more undesirable.” However, Mr. Dee claimed that this test was helpful because the general feedback given by the individual examiners was more objective than his, as both the student and examiner were hearing each other for the first time.
“Awakening”: Cinema Club film explores theme of teen suicide. Page 8 Photo Courtesy of Cinema Club
“I listen to my students all the time, so I can tell what they’re trying to say even if they’re not speaking correctly, but other Chinese speakers aren’t able to do so,” said Mr. Dee. “They will be able to see the students’ speaking level more objectively and accurately, giving me a better idea of what we need to work on in class.”
Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park
Revamping SISIL: Commitment issues spur change in intramural league. Page 10
viewpOint 2
october 2011
Letter to the Editor
Editorial
Dear Editors, allots a certain number of spots for The viewpoint article about each grade level. clubs forgoing quality for quantity It is definitely a challenge to was so replete with inconsistencies leadership in clubs with bigger and erroneous details that I feel numbers. I have full confidence compelled to respond. In addition that executive members will reI am a club sponsor and an advo- spond to this challenge, and I am cate of increasing the size of com- beginning to see it. HFH has almunity service clubs. ready run two local builds this year The article states that it doesn’t giving about 30 students an oppormake sense to cut tunity to particistudents from comWhat message pate. From a recent munity service clubs, UNICEF meeting it do you send to a but then goes on to looked like everyderide clubs that have freshman when one one was interested big numbers and thus of his or her first in taking part in the can’t function effectrip this high school experi- Cambodia tively. I can’t speak to winter will be able all of these clubs but I ences is getting cut to go. do know that Habitat from a community I’m all about for Humanity (HFH) inclusion rather service club? actually has fewer than exclusion. Let’s members than last year. I would think outside the box and make a argue that a large percentage of paradigm shift—we don’t have to students that have been turned limit the numbers in community away from these clubs in the past service clubs just because that’s were freshmen, who are anything been the case in the past. Everyone but overextended. What message should be involved in community do you send to a freshman when service. What a positive message one of his or her first high school we send when people see large experiences is getting cut from a numbers of Seoul International community service club? The situ- School students helping others in ation is exacerbated by a selection Seoul, South Korea and beyond. procedure that, for some clubs has From Tony Hurt, history teacher been nebulous at best, and at worst
Students shoulder burdensome yet unnecessary workload As the quarter comes to a close and students become swamped with last-minute assignments, extra credit opportunities, quizzes and tests, daily conversations become flooded with complaints. The lunch table becomes an arena where students “compete” with each other to draw more pity for their burdensome workload. These students often fail to realize that they are the ones to blame for their problems, having taken on a course load beyond what they are capable of managing. Far too many students put their names down for four or five AP classes for the wrong reasons; the notion that one must take a certain number of AP classes in order to matriculate to prestigious universities is nothing more than an assumption. These students do not realize that although it is easy to sign up for them, AP courses entail college-level material and expectations. In fact, most first-year college students only sign up for four courses; taking four college-level classes as a high school student in addition to regular, required classes and other electives is not for the
“
Letter to the Editor Dear Editors, It’s been one month since Family Fun Day (FFD) took place. Unfortunately, I did not see much change from last year’s event other than the 2-hour shift schedule. Rather, the same problems seemed to tag along with this year’s FFD. While every club managed a booth, not every club was satisfied with the reward it received at the end. Clubs were incentivized to participate in FFD when SIS Parents Association (SISPA) offered 200,000 won per booth. Yet, when clubs consider the expenses they paid for their members, the total profit each club earned may be disappointing. Large clubs with over 40 members may also risk losing money because of ticket prices. Adding on to the expenses, students who run booths should not be required to pay for admission. Students are volunteering to give up half of their Saturday and return home fatigued from a school-wide event. They volunteered as a sign of respect for all the work SISPA had done for us. And making students pay for their service is not the way to appreciate someone’s help. It is a mutual. Can they at least get a free drink? As a matter of fact, forced participation is not compatible with Editors-in-Chief Stella Kim Eunice Lee
Managing Editor Lydia Kim
Production Editor Jasmine Park
Graphics Editor Stephanie Song
Copy Editors
Alison Chang Angela Cho Elizabeth Song
Layout Artists Yong Gun Choe Jason Huh Joanne Lee Milton Yoon Jonathan Yun
the SIS culture. When SISPA explained FFD to the students, it left out a crucial guideline: the consequences. Each club believed it was mandatory to run a booth. SISPA should’ve made it clear that no one had to manage a booth. As a result, every club participated even if there was hardly any monetary incentive to participate. At this point, I’m not even sure if there was a consequence for boycotting. When giving out directions, it is important to discuss consequences. I also have a message to club leaders. Often times, the decisions are made by executive members. This applies for all events that are not sponsored by your club. It may not be a bad idea to discuss with the entire club whether they should participate or not. I probably enjoyed FFD just as much as fun as my friends did despite the scorching heat. But my observations have led me to see how SISPA’s intervention is not geared entirely for the students. These events will continue to happen as SISPA is embracing itself inside the student community. School is a place for students. Any event should place students’ interest and satisfaction at the core.
Marketing Director Jeffrey Chun
Cartoonist Christine Lee
Photographers
Joshua Kim Linda Heeyoung Park Jessica Song
faint-hearted. This is not to say that students here are incompetent or incapable of handling a heavy workload. Nevertheless, students should take a more realistic standpoint—they must be more aware of their own limits and realize that the amount of work an individual can manage differs from person to person. Signing up for four or five AP classes is not a requirement; nor is it a social norm—there is no reason for one to be pressured to take a certain number of APs. Rather, because how prudently a student selects his or her courses in April or May determines how stressed he or she will be in the next school year, it is imperative that students take course scheduling season more seriously. Instead of succumbing to peer pressure, it is advised that students consult more well-informed sources that are readily available to them, such as counselors, teachers or other knowledgeable faculty members. At the same time, students must not pressure their peers to take a particular AP class or a certain number of APs. Contrary to what some students and parents
claim, not one AP course offered at SIS is mandatory for graduation or university entrance. It is not strange to choose not to take an AP class nor is it abnormal to take one over another. At most, a university may strongly encourage that a high school student take an AP course in preparation for a certain field of study. Almost a month has passed since the end of AP grace period and students are realizing that three weeks is just not enough time to decide whether they should continue taking an AP class. While the first month’s worth of work in an AP course might seem manageable, workload increases significantly as the school year progresses. Whether or not a student enrolls in a class is a decision that should be made in the spring, not the fall, and is entirely up to his or her will, not the urging of a peer. Let yourself be heard. If you have any responses to articles published in the Tiger Times or original contributions, please send them to tigertimes@gmail.com.
Sexual slogans unfitting for school By Yong Gun Choe
Students giggle at the slogan “Kiss my ace” etched on the back of the junior varsity girls volleyball team hoodie. Two things come to mind when reading such slogans with sexual innuendo. First, they are humorous. At the same time, however, they are inappropriate for school. Whichever the thought, the latter bears more weight than the former. This year, several extracurricular clubs, sports teams and the High School Student Council have come up with catchphrases that contain implicit sexual meanings. Indeed, slogans such as “Hardcore shooting” by the Cinema Club are witty. Although most students’ intentions behind these designs are solely for laughs, several of them have gone to the extremes. For example, the varsity girls volleyball team hoodie has crude statements that display blatant innuendo. This means that sexual innuendo is intended, although the team might have meant to be more subtle. In a school environment that extends from kindergarten to grade 12, a certain level of appropriateness has to be maintained. The school should not expose vulgar statements to younger students since doing so
Reporters Mark Kim Michelle Kim Marcus Lee Helen Song Min Ji Suh Web Designer Stephanie Yi Adviser Ms. Carolyn Brown
Cartoon by Christine Lee
would be just as bad as showing them swear words. Sexual slogans like “Everything is better on top”, the senior class t-shirt slogan, are not the best impression to give to elementary school kids who expect more maturity from high school students. The faculty and the students are not the only ones affected by this situation; SIS also hosts sports games and invite guests to on-campus events. Upon seeing some of these crude slogans on SIS clothing, college representatives, guest sports teams, alumni and parents can view our school with uneasiness and may stereotype SIS students as immature. This is not to say that the school is oblivious to these slogans. Club
Tiger Times seoul international school Songpa P.O. Box 47 Seoul, South Korea 138-600
executives and advisors, like those in the Cinema Club, made efforts to discard the more vulgar and inappropriate slogans during club meetings while some students simply chose not to wear the clothing. Students should also not be discouraged from designing funny slogans because they are a form of play-on-words. Students are using what they have learnt in English classes and applying it to real life language form. However, they can still come up with witty slogans without being inappropriate or offensive. With any slogan that has innuendo, it all comes down to the individual’s analysis of the words. Sexual slogans are open to interpretation, but students still have to con-
The Tiger Times exercises the right to report on and editorialize all topics, events or issues, including those unpopular or controversial, insofar as they affect or interest the school, community, nation and world. We refrain from publishing material that advertises illegal products or services, is obscene, libelous or invades privacy. We refrain from publishing material that creates a clear and present danger or the immediate material and substantial physical disruption of the school.
viewpOint SIS tutoring program invaluable source of help for students october 2011
3
By Elizabeth Song
Hagwon. It would not be so far-fetched to say that this single word defines Korean education. Attending hagwons has become such a popular trend that even teachers are well aware of it. But to some teachers, the concept of hagwons is puzzling—why attend institutes and pay extra when students can ask teachers for help? Although this recourse seems most reasonable, it may not be appealing to students who are shy or feel uneasy about exposing their weaknesses to adults. It is students like these who should take advantage of free school tutoring services, instead of immediately resorting to overpriced hagwons. National Honor Society (NHS) student tutors, who hold sessions every day in the library during activity period, are glad to help out free of charge, and student volunteer tutors in grades 10-12 who may not be in NHS receive only 16,000 won for eight lessons. In addition, if students do not want to open up to their own teachers, they can always seek help from after-school teacher tutors they feel more comfortable around. Costs aside, school tutors can
Photo by Angela Cho
At a tutoring session, Joon Kwon (9) receives help from Judy Anderson, art teacher. Joon and Dr. Anderson meet every Wednesday to work on various subjects such as Spanish, English and science. present students with valuable information that hagwon instructors cannot. During sessions, student and NHS tutors can provide specific tips on how to please a certain teacher, make an essay fit a particular teacher’s standards or choose testable material out of a thick textbook.
Many of these tutors have taken classes from the same teachers that their students currently have, so their feedback is much more useful than the comments hagwon teachers may make. Despite these advantages, students may still be discouraged to
seek school tutoring. For example, they may not trust upperclassmen to know enough about a subject to teach it. However, they should keep in mind that many of these tutors, especially NHS members, are in fact qualified. Not only do NHS tutors have cumulative grade point
averages of at least 95 percent, but their leadership skills and outstanding character have also been recognized by a panel of teachers and the principal. Student tutors who are not part of the NHS must also go through a long application process for tutor positions, receiving teachers’ recommendations and being interviewed by the counselors before they can teach lessons, so students can rest assured that both NHS and student tutors are eligible to teach. Others believe there is a social setback to school tutoring. Introverts may feel uncomfortable sitting one-on-one with another student they do not know very well. After spending hours together, however, it is inevitable that students and their tutors become closer. Thus, tutoring should be seen as a great opportunity to form valuable upperclassmanunderclassman friendships. SIS tutoring is an option that is easily accessible to the whole school, so students should not be hesitant to give it a try. They can reap more benefits and have more fun getting tutored by their own peers or upperclassmen than sitting at a hagwon all day, stuffing 100 SAT words into their already-filled brains.
Being school-sponsored not a necessity Honor society members ne-
glect responsibility for prestige
By Milton Yoon
The school has a system for approving school clubs. All clubs must go through both an application and an approval process, in which the High School Student Council and Ivan Atanaskovic, activities director, review the possible candidates. However, whether a club is official or not should not be a topic of concern because extracurricular clubs can still thrive without receiving school support. There are three main differences between a school-sponsored and a non-school-sponsored club. Official clubs receive school funding when they go on international trips and are guaranteed participation in school events such as the annual SIS Parents’ Association Bazaar or Family Fun Day. A third privilege is that members are able to bulk up their college applications by mentioning that their club is approved by the school. However, these three privileges are not prerequisites for a strong club. For example, even though the Pearl Buck Student Association (PBSA) started last year and is not school-sponsored, it has a strong member count of 64 and actively participates in events such as the Youtheca Expo that was held at Coex on July 24. Moreover, this year marked the creation of several more non-schoolsponsored clubs, such as the music publication Rhythm and community service club China Care Club, both looking toward bright futures. Extracurricular activities allow students to express themselves in ways that the school curriculum does not provide. As such, the primary goal of a club should be to sat-
By Angela Cho
Photo by Stephanie Song
During lunch period on Oct. 19, Linda Park (11), China Care Club president, leads a meeting and discusses the club’s upcoming wristband sale. isfy students’ interests; a club would have no intrinsic value to a person if it does not relate to him or her in any way. A club that is non-schoolsponsored can fulfill its purpose just as well as a school-sponsored club, without the support and help from the school. Being school-sponsored does help extracurricular clubs, but club leaders should not stress about receiving school support. Instead of being discouraged that they are not part of an official
club in school, members of nonschool-sponsored clubs should be proud that they are a part of something that they are truly interested in. More importantly, students who are motivated to create a new club should do so even if they cannot receive school support. Even though being an official club does have its benefits, extracurricular clubs are fully able to strive without the help of the school.
Yet another chenille insignia is embroidered and a gold badge pinned onto newly inducted honor society members’ letterman jackets. Every year, the SIS chapters of honor societies recognize high school students’ excellence in various fields such as academics and art. But despite the recognition honor society members receive, they fail to uphold the prestige of membership as they do not take their titles as seriously as they should. Honor societies are unlike other extracurricular activities because membership is exclusive to students who meet specific requirements outlined by the national chapters. While students work diligently in school to become eligible to apply to these honor societies, they tend to lose the motivation to continue to work hard or serve the school community once they join. The math honor society Mu Alpha Theta, for example, decreased its membership of approximately 100 to 50 this year due to students’ lack of commitment. Many honor society members lose the motivation to work hard and misuse their honorary statuses to pad their college applications. Some members do the minimum amount of work needed to maintain their membership. When it comes to serving the student body, for example, honor society members coordinate tutoring and peer mentoring programs but do not put enough time and effort to verbally publicize them. Organizing but not individually promoting the programs is an example of students doing the mini-
mum amount of work just to get by. As non-members begin to lose trust in and respect for honor society members, they find it difficult to tell apart honor societies from other clubs. This is not to say that all honor society members show a lack of commitment. Yet too often those who do most of the work are executive members, who are expected to work hard anyway. These few members’ contributions cannot compensate for most members’ slacking off, which undermines honor societies’ prestige. The prestige is the administration’s means of giving distinguished students an incentive to not only maintain their own achievements in an expertise but also to encourage excellence among their peers. Thus, these students have to devote as much time to maintaining their honorary statuses as they do to keeping up with academics and extracurricular activities. Executive members should evenly distribute the workload to ensure equal input from each and every member. Honor society members have to work evenly on a variety of activities that fulfill all the expectations of honor societies such as academics, leadership and service. Honor society members should keep in mind that SIS students, parents, teachers and other faculty members recognize their expertise and accomplishments. Having gained this recognition and extra responsibility, they should not take their titles for granted and assume that they will always be upheld, for it is more than easy to remove the insignia and badges from their letterman jackets.
nEWS 4 NEWS BRIEFS Special Olympics to be advertised in Korea for 2013 event
Photo by Joshua Kim
In the auditorium on Sept. 28, Jay Koo (11) introduces guest speakers from the Special Olympics. The Special Olympics (SO), an Olympics tournament for the disabled, will take place in Pyeongchang in 2013. Ron Vederman, SO director, visited SIS on Sept. 28 to make a presentation about the international event. After the presentation, Mr. Vederman met Peter Corcoran, Director of School, Lyuh Kim (12), Community Service Club president and Jaemo Koo (11), SO Global Youth Summit member to discuss plans to promote the SO in Korea. Global Youth Summit is aimed at raising awareness of the SO. Some ideas are to have a walkathon, sell wristbands and having SIS classes “adopt”, an athlete. “Having classes adopting an athlete should be a lot of fun,” said Mr. Vederman. “It’s a remarkable experience—it’s the Olympics.” Global Issues Network initiates “Education for All” campaign Even though many countries offer high-quality education, there are countries where it is not available. Global Issues Network (GIN) has initiated a campaign called “Education for All” (EFA) to raise awareness about those who do not have access to education. Members began campaigning by holding middle school workshops about EFA and will cooperate with Room to Read, a non-governmental organization that focuses on Asia and has a donation system. They also plan to campaign with methods such as making posters and uploading videos on Facebook. “We’re trying to utilize Facebook since it’s proven to be the most effective for spreading word,” said Yeeun Chun (12), GIN president. Mu Alpha Theta competes in Korea Math Competition at YISS Those who enjoy math indulged in the subject at Yongsan International School of Seoul (YISS). The school hosted the annual Korea Math Competition on Oct. 22 in which 54 Mu Alpha Theta (MATh) members participated. To prepare, members practiced solving past test problems for three weeks on Fridays during activity period. “This year’s test was slightly easier than last year’s,” said Gene Park (11), MATh member. “The past tests were really difficult, so I think the level was lowered. But overall, I think the practice paid off.” By Michelle Kim
OCTOBER 2011
Schools react to Arabian students at KIS Steve Jobs By Jonathan Yun
It is not every year when Arabian students attend a school in Korea. However, when Korea International School (KIS) began its school year on Aug. 8, many students were greeted by an influx of Saudi Arabian students. This year, KIS accepted 28 students from Saudi Arabia as a result of a contract signed between Samsung and a Saudi Arabian oil company. As devout Muslims, these Saudi Arabian families sought nonChristian international schools unlike Seoul Foreign School and Taejon Christian International School. “It was a little bit hard to approach the new classmates from totally different backgrounds,” said Diana Lee, KIS junior. “But once I started talking to a couple, I discov-
ered that they weren’t very different after all—they were actually friendly, and we get all along quite well.” According to a KIS student, this school year is an “experimental year” for the Saudi Arabian students because they have only enrolled at KIS for a single school year. If they are pleased with the school environment, they will stay longer. On the other hand, SIS is lacking the diverse student population that KIS is currently experiencing. “It is unfortunate that our school does not have a lot of international students,” said Joanne Kim (11). “[The student demographic] at our school seems to contradict our school being ‘international’ because, except for the faculty members, most people at SIS are Koreans.” The admissions office is not sure why SIS lacks diversity in the student population.
“To be honest, we are not sure why we have so few foreign students,” said Yang Min Ko, admissions officer. “We do have inquiries. We do receive calls. [Foreign families] do call visit and email us, but it all just doesn’t connect to the final admission. Maybe they look at the student ethnicities at our school and are not comfortable with so many Koreans.” While SIS lacks multiethnic students, the admission officers are optimistic about the future of SIS as an international school with more international students. “We try to take more foreign students,” said Mrs. Ko. “It is not that we don’t want to take them in. We are willing to give them a try. We even give them tours, but they just don’t come. Yet, we certainly are interested in bringing in more foreigners in the future.”
School policy hits hard on Coffee Toah By Min Ji Suh
The scent of freshly-roasted coffee permeates the air. One can sit back on the cushioned chairs with schoolbooks, paper or laptop, while listening to the roar of the school buses passing by. Coffee Toah, ever since its opening, has been a part of the SIS community as the closest café to the school, and the effect of school regulation on its business has been met with disappointment. Official school policy prevents students from eating on the buses. As more buses got delayed by students getting snacks off-campus, the administration tried to prevent those who ride buses from leaving campus after school to buy food. “We conducted research years ago with Sang Kyu Nam [Director of Transportation Department] and all the bus drivers, concluding that [leaving at] 3:15 p.m. was the best time to bypass traffic and get children back home in the shortest amount of time,” said Liset Palmitessa, middle school principal. “When students are late from buying their snacks and thus delay the bus departing time, there are a lot of involved parties—and those stakeholders are parents waiting at the bus stops.” Due to this policy, Coffee Toah has been facing a slump in business, losing student customers that it used to attract before. “Two-fifty p.m. is usually the
Photo by Jessica Song
Drinking a smoothie and sparkling water at Coffee Toah, sophomores Michelle Chun and Soo Kim update each other on their personal lives. busiest time of the day, but when the school implements this policy, it cuts back on the customers we used to have,” said So Young Kang, Coffee Toah owner. “Managing this side of the store is actually our second job apart from the main job of managing the clothing store next door. There is really no clear reason as to why we should be earning less profits in comparison to keep Coffee Toah open, when we have a business of our own.” However, Jimmy Ryoo (11) maintains that school policy is not the only reason why business has been slow. “True, the school policy may be a factor, but students have found that other nearby stores, like Cafe Tiamo, provide the same, or possibly even higher quality food products,”
Phone: 031)723-8210
he said. “Furthermore, many parents are regulars of Coffee Toah because of its proximity to the school. Parents being there can create an atmosphere that students may feel uncomfortable in—especially because they can get distracted.” In response to this situation, Mrs. Kang is asking the school to find other solutions to the problem. “We tried multiple times to address the issue and resolve it with the administration,” said Mrs. Kang. “It is in everyone’s best interests to help the students stick to the school rules concerning bus schedules and we are always willing to do our best to make sure that our valued customers are happy with the service we offer. We are hoping that we can come to a mutually satisfactory agreement with the school soon.”
passes away By Marcus Lee
His marketing genius knocks the wind out of Robert Havens, technology coordinator. His drive to be better reminds Art De Filippo, elementary school principal, of his own father. His innovation lives in sync with this world through his inventions. Steven P. Jobs, Apple Inc. co-founder and chairman, died at the age of 56 on Oct. 5—the day after Apple presented its new iPhone 4S. “Jobs covered up his illness all the way to the end,” said Mr. Havens. “People knew he was ill but they didn’t know that he was about to die. They knew he was sick but he continued to get on stage and present Apple’s new products. That is why his death was so shocking. But the timing of his death makes you think that in a way, he died for his company. If he had died prior to the [iPhone 4S] announcement his death would have totally overshadowed it and people would have completely lost all interest in the release.” The Santa Clara County Public Health Department confirmed that Jobs died due to a respiratory arrest caused by a pancreatic tumor. His battles with cancer began in 2003 when he was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. “For him death was the greatest qualifier,” said Mr. De Filippo. “Death was the greatest gift to life because it took out the old and brought in the new. He led the world forward with that thought in mind. That philosophical push was in his products. They always tried to be number one and stay ahead of the game. The iPod, the iPhone, the iPad—all of these products that he envisioned came to life from his willingness to never be satisfied with the present.” Though his product line has made the world what it is today, to miss out learning from the principles that he stood for may be an even greater loss than his passing away. “I think he has clearly shown the world that conventional ways such as going to and graduating from a good college do not matter,” said Jiho Kim (10). “What you need to do is to make people happy and do what your heart tells you to do, not what your parents, friends or society tells you. Do what you like. That is a valuable lesson he left behind.”
Address: 677-8 Bokjungdong, Soojungku, Seungnam, Kyungkido
OCTOBER 2011
Four seniors embark on energy efficiency project By Jessica Song
One should take on extracurricular activities to make a difference within the school community, rather than to pad his or her college applications, according to James Ham (12). On Mondays and Fridays after school, he and fellow seniors Kyong Tae Kim, Eric Ahn and Jimmy Park work on a yearlong energy efficiency project to improve the school’s facilities. The project is based on the “three Es”: energy, efficiency and education. The group is looking for an alternative energy source to improve the school’s level of energy efficiency, especially with regards to its air conditioning and heating systems. Kyong Tae believes working on this project will educate themselves and others about energy efficiency. “I remember last year, Mr. Horn’s room was really cold in the winter and really hot in the summer,” he said. “I realized that the air conditioner and heater were inefficient, and that something had to be done about them.” They are aiming to convince the administrators to enforce greener policies and change the school’s
inefficient windows, air conditioning, lighting and recycling system. So far, the group has conducted an experiment to measure the effectiveness of the air conditioners in the classroom of Raymond Slapikas, chemistry teacher. They used thermometers to examine the difference between room temperature when the window was opened and when it was closed. With the window closed, they turned the air conditioner on for 25 minutes. The boys discovered that because the cool air sinks to the bottom, leaving holes that allow hot air to slip into the room, the air conditioners are ineffective. “I hope the administrations will agree with our idea,” said James. “The biggest issue they may have with [this project] is money. We’re showing that it’s actually a better idea to use money because they’ll be saving money in the long-run.” The group will write a proposal that reveals the drawbacks of the current facilities and outlines a reasonable and inexpensive solution. “I think it’s a great idea,” said Jarret Lambie, high school principal. “When the students are being logical and doing actual research and proposing realistic soultions, they certainly make the school better.”
Teachers learn too
Listening to lectures, taking notes and discussing material happen in typical classroom settings, but the learners here are not students, but teachers who organize and attend workshops in and out of Korea.
Teaching about the Holocaust in a Global Setting
By Alison Chang
Teachers frequently remind students of the importance of breakfast, but ironically, teachers themselves often skip the most important meal of the day. To raise money for funds, as well as help busy teachers, the freshman council members will begin distributing breakfast to teachers every other week on Monday mornings starting Oct. 24. The freshman council used to do food sales on SAT days as fundraisers, which were unprofitable. To replace the SAT food sales, Kristy Corcoran, freshman council adviser, suggested the breakfast program after she heard that UNICEF had done this successfully two years ago. “Because the SAT food sales were so unsuccessful, we’re hoping
Lifeguard Training
Melissa Hubley and Ji Min Kim, swimming teachers, organized a workshop on the basics of lifeguarding to take place on Nov. 4-11 at the swimming pool.
Tony and Shanna Hurt, history teachers, went to China on Sept. 15-17 to visit and learn about the Jewish community in China.
Graphic by Lydia Kim
Freshman council serves teachers breakfast that the breakfast sales will make up for that,” said Jenny Lee (9), freshman council president. “It’s also a nice thing to do for the teachers, and a way of showing our gratitude as the student body.” As this is a new program for the High School Student Council, there is concern as to how successful this program will be, since UNICEF had experienced problems in the past. “It was successful at first, but after about three weeks, teachers stopped buying it so we had to stop,” said Euna Sun (10), UNICEF treasurer. “Also, we had problems with distribution when students didn’t show up in the morning and were late to class.” Once Jarett Lambie, high school principal, approved the program, the council created a sign up sheet on a Google document. They must
nEWS
5
now agree on a basic menu for a package that will sell for 5000 won each. “I’m going to teach the students how to use the coffee maker in Mr. Lambie’s office,” said Mrs. Corcoran. “We’re going to deliver fresh coffee to the teachers, along with some fruit and probably a croissant.” Teachers responded positively to the breakfast sale two years ago, so the council is hoping the program will live up to their expectations. “The biggest thing I liked about that breakfast program was that it didn’t mean you had to rush in the morning,” said Christopher Moore, physical education teacher. “Monday mornings can be hectic, especially now since I’ve got a baby girl, and it’s great that we don’t have to worry about having enough time for breakfast.”
행복한순간, 소중한추억을 전하세요~ 늘푸른식물원 전국 꽃배달서비스 꽃바구니|꽃다발|화환|관엽 www.ksflower.co.kr Tel: 031) 759-4806 Mobile: 011-310-4806 경기도 성남시 수정구 복정동 55번지 화훼단지내
Zeitgeist Number of North Korean defectors soars in past five years Countless movies depict the difficulties North Koreans face crossing the demilitarized zone, but this scene is not completely fictional. Just recently, the South Korean navy spotted two North Koreans on a boat near the Koreas’ east coast, and in September, nine defectors who had intended to drift to the South were found off the coast of Japan. This trend has significantly raised the number of school-aged North Korean defectors from 475 in 2006 to 1,681 so far this year, according to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. “I think the recent reelection of Kim Jong Eun triggered the onset of North Korean defectors to South Korea,” said Michelle Lee (12). “With a different dictator, [North Koreans] are not as devoted to the country anymore, so they seek other places of residence.” Although defectors receive citizenship after months of debriefing and participate in societal adjustment programs, many struggle because they have lost their Korean-speaking abilities while living as refugees in China. Others have difficulty dealing with the competitive nature of the South. “Teenage defectors suffer from isolation at schools,” said Eunice Kim (12), North Korea Human Rights (NKHR) president.
“Because of their different backgrounds and accent, they have a hard time adjusting. We try to build relationships [with the refugees] so that they will have companions in Seoul to help them adjust.” To help North Korean families overwhelmed by financial burdens, Representative Choon-jin Kim of the main opposition Democratic Party urged the government to take measures to provide a comfortable home for defectors. As a result of his urging, the Lee Myung-bak administration this year nearly quadrupled its budget for North Korean escapees. Such efforts to assimilate refugees have helped lower the dropout rate of student defectors from South Korean schools from 10.8 percent in 2007 to 4.7 percent in 2010. According to Representative Kim, helping escapees adjust is crucial because their ability to assimilate into South Korean society is a barometer for Korea’s preparedness for unification. “South Korean society has learned to become homogeneous and rejects newcomers, even if they are the same Koreans,” said Katherine Bae (11), NKHR vice president. “I want reunification only if it becomes positive that there will not be social hardship for North Koreans [in] South Korean society.”
By Elizabeth Song
By Christine Lee When picturing the day of typical Korean students, a clear picture comes into mind. They wake up, go to school, go to hagwon, go home, study and then sleep. This experience that most Koreans go through brings up the question of how the Korean education system is structured and what can be done to improve it. “When I think of Korean students, I know for sure that they’re living a much harder life and studying more than we are,” said James Lee (10). “So it would be a good idea to change the style of education in Korea though it may take a long time.” Stereotypically, Koreans are known for studying very hard, attending 220 days of school as well as going to hagwons in order to learn more. According to results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a worldwide evaluation of students’ scholastic performance, Koreans rank sixth in the world on the reading, writing and math sections. However, the system consists of several major flaws, such as the emphasis on memorization, which need to be addressed. “Rather than a holistic approach, Korean education consists of students memorizing what their teachers learned in college,” said Victor Cho, counselor. “It’s not really learning, but more of a regurgitation [of information]. Plus, students don’t get to choose their classes except for foreign languages.” Another problem is the emphasis on test scores and grades rather than the actual learning process. For example, college-bound Korean students need to take the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) or suneung, which is only provided once a year. Stress caused by the CSAT has also become detrimental to students’ mental health. A 2011 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) survey ranked Korean schools the lowest for student happiness and highest for suicide rates, surpassing Japan. In comparison, Finnish students hardly take any tests yet score the highest on the PISA. Finland’s education system puts a greater emphasis on student-teacher interactions, which is why trust is highly-valued— students and parents trust that teachers do their best to help students learn and develop throughout their
Layout by Milton Yoon Graphics by Elizabeth Song
school years. Finnish classrooms are also relatively small, giving teachers more time to concentrate on individual student's needs. But most importantly, they spend the fewest number of hours in school and start school at the latest age, allowing the creative parts of their brains to develop. “What’s lacking [in the Korean education system] is the ability to be innovative and creative,” said Shanna Hurt, history teacher. “If students are going to compete against their peers and around the world, they need the other ‘creative’ part to do so. Test scores aren’t the only thing prestigious universities look at.” Finland's education system shows that it is indeed possible to be academically successful without sacrificing creativity or mental health. There is much that Korea can take from the Finnish system to improve Korea’s classroom environments. However, the rigidity of Korean education serves as an obstacle in the attempt to modify a system that has been in place for so long. Many Asian values such as Confucianism make features of other education systems difficult for society to accept. “I really don’t think that such a system [like Finland’s] would fit our society due to the fact that Confucian values are so deeply rooted into the Korean education system,” said Younghwan Sim (12). “Plus, it wouldn’t be possible for such integration to happen because Korea isn’t as socialistic as most Scandinavian nations and we don’t have the budget to maintain a Finnish type of education.” Korea is slowly adopting positive aspects of educational systems of other countries such as the US. For example, this June the Korean government announced that from 2012 and onwards, it would eradicate Saturday classes in order for children to have more time to get creative and relax. Still, Korea has a long way to go in terms of renovating its education environment. “Parents need to stop being so hung up on grades because sometimes that brings the opposite of what they actually want in their students, which is for their grades to go up,” said Mrs. Hurt. “Grades don’t graduate with how you will go on with life and sometimes an ‘A+’ isn’t always excellent. Kids need more breathing room to learn properly.”
By Min Ji Suh "Paparazzi" is a term used for photographers who take photos of famous figures without their knowing or consent. Koreans have coined this term to refer to any citizen who takes photos of or records any illegal hagwons and their activities. Since July 2009, the Korean government has been conducting a reporting system called the "Illegal Hagwon Regulation" through which ordinary people can receive rewards for reporting and taking pictures of hagwons’ illicit activities. It was enforced for the first time in Seoul and now has spread to different parts of Korea. The government hoped to address two major issues—operation after 10 p.m. and over-priced tuition fees—and in turn ensure students' health and prevent them from being out late at night. Hakparazzi were encouraged to find hagwons that breached this new government policy. Ac c o rd i n g t o t h e M i n i s t r y o f Education, Science and Technology, in September, the number of prosecuted hagwons in Seoul decreased from 4,275 in 2009 to 1,093 in 2011. The Seoul Education Office provided hakparazzi with a total payment of 699,760,000 won, the highest among 16 local education offices. Initially, the prohibition against hagwon education after 10 p.m. was designed to allow students to rest. Students were happy that these restrictions had at least given them some free time. “Ac a d e m i e s g i ve l a t e p r i v a t e lessons, and studying for excessive hours in hagwons is surely a private
issue, for each individual,” said Hyeri Park (11). “However, Korean society often pressures students into environments that are too tough for many of them. I think the government is taking a progressive step forward by enacting this policy.” However, this policy only applied to classes at hagwons. This restriction caused parents, who were no longer able to send their children to academic institutions after school, to resort to illegal, more expensive private lessons, which led to dissatisfaction. “ This regulation of hagwons through the hakparazzi is not the answer,” said Shin-ah Kim, mother of Adrian K im (10). “Children are gradually becoming more dependent o n h i g h cost private institutions because parents can’t rely on the qualit y of teaching in [public Korean] schools. The government s h o u l d i nve s t more in public education with better teachers at schools, and build an atmosphere of trust between teachers and students." Furthermore, hagwon fees have been capped and hagwons were told to report on the amount of tuition they charge each student. Realistically
“
speaking, however, this regulation is likely to cause financial difficulties for many of these institutions. According to the director of W Math Hagwon in Daechi-dong, financial burdens can be severe. “ The hakparazzi system is just ridiculous, as the government continues to restrict the maximum fee per student to 200,000 won,” he said. “To manage six lecture rooms for 150 students with six different teachers, I pay a monthly cost of 50 million won—considering additional operating fees. The minimum I really need to charge per student, then, is at least 330,000 won per student to maintain the hagwon.” Statistics have indicated that this year alone, 17,532 hagwons have been prosecuted for registration problems, and another 2,839 for collec ting additional tuition fees. Though statistics imply the success of t h e h a k p a ra z z i , t h e system has fostered a culture of mistrust among the public rather than helping to solve the problem. There are people who make a career out of being hak parazzi by effectively spying on others, because they can make large amounts of money by collecting evidence of illegal hagwons. This has even given rise to a stream of hagwons that teach how to become hakparazzi, beginning the cycle of hagwon mischief yet again.
The government should invest more in public education with better teachers at schools, and build an atmosphere of trust for both teachers and students. - Shin-ah Kim
lifesTYLE 8
october 2011
+ COVER
+ APPS
The top of your timeline will include a wide open space where a unique image can be inserted.
A variety of social apps is now available for your timeline, including personalized music selection for you and your friends to enjoy.
+ Source: facebook.com
MEET FACEBOOK TIMELINE
Is change always a bad thing?
Facebook Timeline, which will eventually replace each profile page, has stirred up debate among users on whether these new changes to Facebook are for the better or worse.
STORIES
The grey dots that run down the center of the timeline display your posts such as events and photos. Starring these features will allow you to view them widescreen.
Graphic by Joanne Lee
Facebook Timeline evokes varying student responses By Jeffrey Chun
Facebook has digitalized the way people interact with each other over the last three years. On Sept. 22, through the F8 keynote address Facebook announced one of its new features: Timeline. Currently, Timeline is open only to Facebook developers. It rearranges the standard profile page by running a vertical timeline down the middle with space available for walls on both sides. Timeline chronologi-
cally exhibits the user’s past activities and shows the time interval between the events. On the right corner of the page, another Timeline is organized by months and years. “After watching the F8 keynote [address], I was fascinated by the new profile design,” said Andrew Jeong (11). “I knew that it was not accessible to the public, so I signed up as a Facebook developer to try out the new feature. Scrolling down my profile page reminds me of flipping through my old photo albums, especially with the new cover photo.”
The cover photo is a picture people can display on the top of their profile page as an introduction to their Timeline. Unlike Andrew, Meg Kim (12) has yet to convert her profile page. Still, she looks forward to Timeline because it will further personalize her profile. “Although I did not try using Timeline yet, it seems pretty neat,” said Meg. “Timeline reminds me of a personal diary, as I can not only record and reflect my personal thoughts, but also know exactly when I wrote it.”
What is the “real world” like? Sander Herden, Class of ’87, shares his work and life experiences as the vice president of Siemens Building Technologies Division. He is currently in Korea for Siemens’ infrastructure city sector, which helps cities and urban planners make better use of the city and become eco-friendly. 1) Is this what you wanted to do in SIS? If not, how did you discover your interest in this field? I didn’t know what I wanted to do in high school. I didn’t know until I went to college. Actually, my career has been a strange turn of events. Opportunities just appeared and then [I took] them—you just have to be smart enough to see the open doors. I actually started out working for Mercedes-Benz in Hong Kong and China on the strategic management side. Then I earned my Doctor of Philosophy in Singapore, and I took on the passion for business and marketing. After that I got my job at Siemens, and ended up in building technologies. 2) What was your experience like in SIS? It was tremendous—I made a lot of friends whom I still contact. I actually came to visit SIS few weeks ago with two other alumni—one of my classmates and one of my younger classmate, Ray Chien. He is now working for me. Actually, within Siemens, there are three SIS alumni. 3) Apart from Korea, where have you worked? I have worked in Pakistan, Hong Kong, Greece, China, Belgium, Germany, Singapore and Switzerland. That’s where I bought my house. At some point you have to throw an anchor. It’s close to France, Germany and Italy—it’s kind of nice and central. 4) Have you ever regretted having job that required you to move a lot? Well, I think I have the advantage that I have friends I can go to anywhere in the world. I can call my friend in Thailand to say “can I just go to your house and hang out?” It is a huge advantage—I have never thought it was a disadvantage. Also, I think the world is getting so much smaller, and so you have the take advantage of it. 5) What is your work motto? Honestly speaking, I do not have one—I like being spontaneous. Enjoy life whenever you can. Travel. Go scuba diving. Take some pictures. I always remind myself that I am working to live, not living to work. It seems like a lot of people forget that fact. 6) Do you have any words to SIS students? Don’t worry so much about what you are going to do after you grow up. The world is changing so fast—things you can imagine today aren’t there tomorrow. Go out and live a little. Do some internships and travel. Traveling opens the mind. Not all success is measured by money. By Linda Heeyoung Park
Although some commend Facebook for enhancing the layout of users’ profiles and keeping track of their old memories, Shawn Kim (10) is concerned with privacy issues and complained about the inconvenience of the new features. “I was really annoyed when Facebook changed the way it organized most recent and top stories,” said Shawn. “I understand that Facebook is constantly making efforts to make things more convenient, but sometimes, simple is best. I am afraid that Timeline will turnout to
another of those features that confuses half of the Facebook users.” To those complaining about the privacy issues, Gray Macklin, the high school counselor, offers some quick advice: use Facebook wisely. “You should never put up anything on Facebook and expect a reasonable degree of privacy,” said Mr. Macklin. “The purpose of it is to have [your] network connected to other people’s to create an everexpanding network. You can’t complain about something that is not designed to be in certain way for not
Cinema Club enters 11th Korea Youth Media Festival By Lydia Kim
Six out of 10 teenagers in Korea have contemplated suicide at least once, according to a survey conducted by Yonhap News in 2008. Teenage suicide rates have been doubling every year ever since. These facts were woven into “Awakening”, a film that addresses the urgency of teenage suicide by exploring how social factors such as drugs, alcohol and homosexuality disturb teens’ mental stability. On Sept. 10, Ju Hohn Lee (12), director, and 10 other Cinema Club members submitted the production to the 11th Korea Youth Media Festival. Through research, Ju Hohn discovered this festival and submitted his work to compare his directing skills to those of other teenagers. To choose a topic, he reviewed his “movie ideas notebook”, which he has kept since the eighth grade. “I always knew teenage suicide was [a] problem in Korea,” said Ju Hohn. “Then, in Communications class, I had a debate topic about it. I looked into it more, and it was more serious than I had thought. I wrote down the idea in my notebook. I opened it up later and thought that maybe it might work as a movie.” However, Ju Hohn and other members were initially concerned that the subject of suicide was too sensitive. “[Later,] we came to the conclusion that we shouldn’t worry—the message to the audience is what
matters,” said Ju Hohn. “I wanted to deliver how serious teenage suicide is in Korea. I knew that in order to make an impact, I had to be controversial and as unbiased as I could be. Making a movie became a duty—not a hobby—to deliver the message.” Students were able to watch the film through links posted on Facebook and Tumblr. Heejae Jo (9), who discovered the link on a Facebook post, said that the story line was creative and didactic. “My favorite part was when Charlotte says to Ethan that taking your life [doesn’t] change anything,” said Heejae. “I don’t have a life as depressing as the characters in the movie, but I [am] aware that taking your life isn’t the best solution.” Though the team did not win specific awards from the competition, Rachel Bae (12), actor, said that the members still deemed the project a success. In order to meet the competition’s submission deadline, the crew worked from 8 a.m.-2 a.m. on most occasions from July to September. The crew also experienced technological difficulties, such as the lack of professional equipment, which forced them to use cell phones for lighting. “It’s amazing that we got this far,” said Rachel who edited, directed and filmed the movie. “It’s overwhelming. I see a new Rachel. I’m not a person to work this hard on something, but when [people] are this passionate about something, they can really work on it to make their dreams come true.”
october 2011
Student and teacher bond through common interest By Alison Chang
When Kyong Tae Kim (12) refers to his previous band mate and good friend, he is not talking about another student, but Sean Syverson, English teacher. Before coming to SIS, Kyong Tae and Mr. Syverson performed in a band called the Educated Monkeys at Indianhead International School (IIS) and developed a friendship that exceeds the typical teacher-student relationship. IIS offers a rock band program in which students can participate in friendly jam sessions and perform at school festivals. Though Mr. Syverson initially served as the supervisor for the program, he ended up joining students on stage for fun. “Kyong Tae needed help with putting together parts for a performance,” said Mr. Syverson. “Eventually, I [ended up singing and playing] the harmonica while [another] teacher was on bass guitar.” Mr. Syverson is currently part of a band outside of school. He has been playing music ever since he was young, and performed in a band when he was 21 as a part-time job. Though Kyong Tae is an experienced guitar player himself, he has benefit-
ted from Mr. Syverson’s expertise. “I’ve been playing [the guitar] for almost nine years now,” said Kyong Tae. “Playing in a band with Mr. Syverson really opened me up to some old-school music, very blues-y stuff and things I probably never would have heard otherwise. I learned how to pull off solos too.” In addition to gaining a broader musical outlook, Kyong Tae managed to maintain a strong bond with Mr. Syverson even after he left IIS. “Even when Kyong Tae was at SIS while I was at [IIS], we maintained our relationship through our love for music,” said Mr. Syverson. “I’d ask him through email if he was still playing [the guitar] and I would suggest songs every now and then.” It was not the exchange of emails that allowed Mr. Syverson and Kyong Tae to maintain a friendship. Their shared, on-stage experiences speak louder than words. “I really like performing songs by [the band] Stone Temple Pilots with Kyong Tae,” said Mr. Syverson. “There is no better feeling than standing up on stage in front of a cheering crowd. The adrenalin is pumping and it feels great to really get into the song.”
9
Lifestyle
The World at the Tip of My Tongue
The Tidal Pearl: Korean from service to taste By Marcus Lee
The welcoming host greets incoming diners at the door, pictures of Korean superstars outline the entryway, the clattering of soju bottles resonates throughout and the constant sizzle of roasting clams indicates the calm before the storm. It is 10:25 p.m. here at the Nonhyeon Tidal Pearl. On average, 200 to 300 kilograms of clam are consumed everyday at Tidal Pearl. Dressed in a spicy yet sweet red bean sauce, these clams come pop their mouths open and reveal their hidden gems to the delight of diners. This distinct sauced clam is the pride and soul of Tidal Pearl since it sets the restaurant apart from the traditional no-sauce cooking style of clam-roasting restaurants near the coastal shores. Eating, though, is only half the experience. A rich culture comprises the other half. Waiters in their twenties wear military uniforms to exhibit their readiness to provide quality ser-
vice and establish personal ties with diners. The waiters always use banmal, informal Korean, in order to break social boundaries between the servers and diners. Not surprisingly, the genuine interactions encouraged here have formed relationships that transcend the dinner table. Diners have made fan pages for each waiter as a means of keeping in contact with them and regularly return for the waiters, if not for the food.
Photo by Marcus Lee
Red bean paste, military uniforms, fan pages and the occasional banmal, though they may not seem interrelated, exist for the same reason—to evoke the warm sense of Korean culture. Maybe a tad too unrestrained at times and maybe a little spicy for foreign tastes, nevertheless, the culture and food here at Tidal Pearl provide a welcoming experience for Koreans and a novelty too refreshing for foreigners to miss out on.
Choir students organize national anthem performances By Helen Song
Whether performed at the World Cup or a weekly baseball game, the national anthem unifies the crowd through its respect for the country. This tradition is now coming to SIS, as Dennis Darling, choral director, came up with the idea of having regular national anthem performances before home games. “It is a worldwide tradition for the national anthem to be sung at different sports games, and performing it is simply standard practice,” said Dr. Darling. “In the noisy tumult of a sporting event, it’s good to have a moment of calm in which everyone comes together.” There have been three performances so far—at the Sept. 23, Oct. 14 and 15 volleyball home games. Recruiting singers and organizing these home game performances are
Photo by Jessica Song
Singing in Tiger Gym 1, sophomores Jean Huh and Sophie Kim perform the Korean national anthem before the varsity boys volleyball game against Daegu American High School on Oct. 14. parts of choir students Danbi Kim’s (12) and Jenny Lee (9)’s required annual choir project as they chose
to be the national anthem coordinators. All choir students can volunteer to perform either the Korean or
American anthem as a solo or duet piece. “There is currently some trou-
ble getting people to sing, but [the performances] still went fairly well,” said Danbi. “Even though there wasn’t much of an audience, all the players and coaches stood up and were very respectful.” Choir students were encouraged to learn both the Korean and American anthems. Not only does Dr. Darling regularly incorporate the anthems into daily warm-ups, but he also provides his students an incentive by awarding extra credit points to performers. Though intially motivated to perform by the extra credit, students gained experience from the performance. “I never had the confidence before to sing a solo, so I only sang [the anthem] when Sophie said we should sing it together,” said Jean Huh (10). “Still, it was a really cool watching everyone stand up because of my singing.”
sPORTS 10
October 2011
Weekly open gym prepares players for upcoming season By Mark Kim
As volleyball players gather up their equipment to leave after an exhausting practice, basketball players enter the gym, warming up by shooting and dribbling in the corner of the gym. For both student and teacher basketball players, the action has only just begun. Every Thursday, from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. students and teachers play friendly basketball games in Tiger Gym 1. Last year, the gym was originally scheduled to open on Sunday at 2 p.m., but because of scheduling conflicts, many students could not show up. As a result, this year, the open gym was moved to a school day so that more students and teachers would have time to show up. According to Tim Munro, varsity boys basketball coach, the primary purpose of the open gym is to get students ready and in shape for the upcoming basketball season. “Teachers have more experience, so we’re able to model what we want [our athletes] to do [in real games],” said Coach Munro. “We play [with] more control, so for the students it’s more real basketball than pickup basketball.” The open gym is not limited
Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park
During a scrimmage against the teachers on Oct. 13, Gary Kim (10) dribbles the ball down the court. Students and teachers played friendly basketball games in Tiger Gym 1 every Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
to boys, but is open to all basketball players. Many female teachers have shown up to play basketball, although female students have yet to show up. For most of the time, students and teachers scrimmage against each other, with players taking turns playing on each team. “By the time we’re done playing,
sports injuries
types and treatments
ROTATOR CUFF INJURY
The rotary cuff muscles, which are used in throwing events such as volleyball serves, spikes and racket sports, control the rotation of the shoulder. TREATMENT
+Apply ice, which decreases swelling +Anti-inflammatory medication +Sports massages and stretching
ANKLE SPRAIN
A sprain stretches the ligaments that connect two bones. A strain stretches a muscle or a tendon. Fortyfive percent of sports injuries are related to sprains. TREATMENT +Apply ice for the first 48 hours, then apply heat +Wear ankle braces when healing +Anti-inflammatory medication
sOURCEs:
VOLLEYBALL.COM TOTALPROSPORTS.COM REMEDY’s HEAlTH COMMUNiTiEs WEBMD.COM
RUNNER’S KNEE Overusing the knee may cause irritation in the tendon underneath the kneecap. Fluid may build up, which may induce pain and swelling.
TREATMENT +Replace insoles and shoes +Apply ice after exercise +Anti-inflammatory painkillers +Use elastic bandage for support PHOTO By JEssiCA SONG GRAPHIC By JAsMiNE PARk
I’m drenched in sweat and so tired that I don’t really feel like doing anything else,” said Chungho Suh (11). “Even though it’s hard and tiring, that’s the best part about open gym.” In addition to the weekly open gyms, Coach Munro set up training sessions after school, in which basketball players run laps around
the soccer field and work out in the fitness room. However, few athletes have shown up to the sessions to prepare for the season. “The game itself is fun, but the training for it isn’t always fun,” said Coach Munro. “Just to go for a run for 30 minutes—that’s not enjoyable to a lot of people.”
The open gym is also an opportunity for students to develop close relationships with teachers outside of the classroom. According to Alex Son (10), open gym is valuable because of the camaraderie that develops between students and teachers. “Sports is always a great way to connect with people, and since a lot of students at SIS like basketball, it’s quite beneficial that every Thursday teachers play basketball with students,” said Alex Son (10). “I guess there’s something about all that pushing and shoving on the court when playing on the same team that makes you want to get to like them. Personally, when I go up against players like [Alec Griffin, history teacher], we get real physical to the point where it becomes almost like a rivalry.” With Tiger Gym 1 scheduled to close for construction during the winter break, students are taking advantage of the gym as much as possible before it temporarily shuts down. “Soon, we aren’t going to have Tiger Gym 1 to practice [in],” said Justin Lee (11). “So for me, [open gym] is a great opportunity to have fun playing basketball with students and teachers, while practicing basketball skills at the same time.”
Lack of SISIL commitment prompts change By Joshua Kim
While some watch TV or read books to relieve their stress, others turn to sports to get their minds off of schoolwork. Erik Custer founded SISIL last year to provide these students with the opportunity to play sports in the gym during activitiy period, but a lack of student participation has forced the league into temporary suspension. “Sometimes you have to cut your losses and stop rather than push through with something that is not working,” said Erik Custer, SISIL founder. “The problem in the past was that we had set teams and both teams couldn’t produce numbers.” Starting with the basketball season, the SISIL will change from being team-based to individualbased. Instead of having set teams, students who want to participate in games will meet in the gym or on the field, and teams will be made on the spot. At the end of the year, individual statistics will be accumulated to select an All-Star team that will play against the teachers. “We’ll start with basketball, and basketball is a popular sport, so I feel like the success rate will be high,” said Mr. Custer. “It’ll jumpstart the new system successfully. It takes some of the negative connotation away from SISIL, such as me hounding students to participate.” Although the league was designed so that games could run even with activity period conflicts, a lack of participation remained one of the biggest problems in the old system. “Even though I want to play, as a senior, a lot of business prevents me from playing,” said Justin Lee (12). “Often times, there’s miscommunication in the team or there’s an
Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park
Yontek Chung (12) and Junsu Shin (12) leap for the ball as they attempt to score a point. SISIL ended mid-season due to a lack of participation. event that takes the entire team out. The cancellation of games has also affected the SISIL Times, a publication run by the journalism honor society Quill and Scroll, that covers SISIL-related events. “It seemed like we never had enough content to publish,” said Euna Sun (11), SISIL Times layout artist. “So many reporters would tell us that the game had gotten canceled. It got to the point where we
were forced to cover the friendly matches that would occasionally happen after canceled games.” Mr. Custer hopes the new system will enable the SISIL to conclude the year on a more positive note. “Intramurals is what I grew up with in high school, and I was surprised they didn’t have it here,” said Mr. Custer. “I hope [SISIL] will get kids active and integrate the grades, getting rid of senior dominance.”
October 2011
Tiger Scores
Volleyball
Cross Country Oct. 15: Home
Oct. 1: SFS
V Girls: Eunice Lee (12) 26:15 V Boys: David Nam (9) 21:18
Tennis Graphic by Stephanie Yi
V Girls: Jasmine Park (12) 24:01 V Boys: Kevin Chun (10) 18:41
Oct. 1: Away SIS v. TCIS V Girls: W 4-1 V Boys: W 4-1
Oct. 5: Away SIS v. SFS V Girls: L 0-5 V Boys: L 2-3
JV Girls: W 2-1 JV Boys: W 2-0 V Girls: L 1-3 V Boys: L 0-3
JV Girls: L 1-2 V Boys: L 0-3
sPORTS
Sports Photo of the Month
Oct. 1: Away Oct. 5: Away Oct. 7: Away Oct. 8: Away SIS v. TCIS SIS v. SFS SIS v. SAHS SIS v. YISS JV Girls: W 2-0 JV Boys: L 1-2 V Girls: L 0-3 V Boys: L 0-3
11
JV Girls: W 2-0 V Boys: L 1-3
Oct. 14: Home Oct. 15: Home Oct. 18: Away Oct. 19: Away SIS v. DAHS SIS v. TCIS SIS v. SAHS SIS v. OSAN JV Girls: L 2-1 V Girls: L 0-3 V Boys: L 1-3
Jv Girls: W 2-0 V Girls: L 0-3 V Boys: L 0-3
Oct. 7: Away SIS v. SAHS V Girls: W 4-1 V Boys: W 3-2
V Girls: L 0-3
Oct. 8: Away SIS v. YISS V Girls: W 4-1 V Boys: W 4-1
JV Girls: L 1-2 V Girls: L 0-3 V Boys: L 0-3
Oct. 19: Away SIS v. OSAN V Girls: W 5-0 V Boys: W 5-0
Tennis teams travel to Osaka for first time By Michelle Kim
The two tennis teams spread their wings, took flight on Oct. 22 and returned on Oct. 25 after years of staying put in Korea. This marked the tennis teams’ first overseas trip. Seven girls and seven boys traveled to Osaka, Japan to compete in the Association of International Schools in Asia (AISA) tennis tournament along with Korea International School, Osaka International School (OIS) and Yokohama International School. “The events are rotated among the schools,” said Ivan Atanaskovic, activities director. “It just happened that OIS was hosting tennis this year. The trip will be beneficial for our students, as they will get expe-
rience and grow with it. Also, the tennis team is young, as there aren’t many seniors, so there is a really nice future for the members.” Instead of staying at a hotel, the players homestayed at the Japanese student athletes’ houses. For those who had never homestayed before, the novel experience was initially a challenge, but was later enjoyable. Mr. Atanaskovic said that the homestay program would be beneficial for both parents and athletes. “It’s a challenge to stay at someone’s house,” said Mr. Atanaskovic. “But what is nice about international trips is that the students can meet new people. And for the parents, homestaying is less expensive than staying in hotels, so it is easier on the parents.”
When they were not with their homestay hosts, the athletes either participated in matches or went touring. The teams visited Universal Studios, had an evening banquet and ended their trip with an award ceremony. Overall, the players were content about the trip. “I was able to experience new cultures,” said Emily Koh (12), varsity girls tennis team captain. “I had looked forward to going to Osaka because I have not visited Japan before, and it was the first time that I went overseas with the team.” Following the tournament in Osaka, the boys volleyball teams competed in the AISA volleyball tournament at SIS and the girls volleyball teams competed at KIS on Oct. 24.
Photo by Christine Lee
Sprinting to the finish line, Richard Chung (9) completes the 5-km race at Osan American high school on Oct. 6.
Tigers lose to Warriors but show improvement in skills over season By Joanne Lee
Preview
The familiar sounds of team cheers and the thuds of volleyballs filled Tiger Gym 1, where the girls varsity volleyball team played against the Daegu American High School (DAHS) Warriors on Oct. 14. The nine girls on the team warmed up for the game, preparing to play in all three sets due to the lack of substitutes.
Set 1
DAHS served first and started off the set with a two-point lead. Although the game’s direction seemed to be changing when Erin Lee’s (10) powerful spike put the Tigers at a 3-2 lead, they fell back behind after giving the Warriors 11 consecutive
points. The highlight of the girls’ performance was a two-minute rally in which both teams displayed strong, consistent bump-set-spike plays. DAHS was eventually unable to receive a spike by Jungsoo Kim (12), co-captain, reducing the gap to 10-19. After an 11-25 loss, the girls still showed sportsmanship and spirit, sharing high-fives.
points. The audience sat in anxiety as a spike by Jungsoo made the score 9-10. The Tigers were unable to overtake the Warrior’s lead, but the girls’ determination remained resilient even in the last few minutes of the game, which ended with a score of 20-25.
Overview
Set 2
The Tigers earned their first point of the set with Erica Han (11)’s spike, making the score became 1-2. The set began with a close game at 6-7, but then the Tigers got stuck in a slump, calling a 15-second timeout at 6-11. The Warriors proved to be fierce competition with their consistently strong serves and spikes, but Jungsoo successfully made two consecutive spikes and the score be-
Photo by Joshua Kim
In an attempt to score against Daegu American High School, Jungsoo Kim (12) jumps to spike the ball over to the other side of the net. came 15-23. The Tigers fought till the end and won two more points before ultimately losing 17-25.
Set 3
The Warriors were unable to
return a powerful serve by Danbi Kim (12), co-captain, and the close score of 2-3 kept the set looking hopeful. A game of cat-and-mouse soon followed with the Tigers trailing behind the Warriors by a few
Despite a 0-3 loss, Ivan Atanaskovic, activities director, believes the girls varsity volleyball team displayed improved skills this game. “The girls played really well today,” said Coach Atanaskovic. “They had tough opponents on the other side of the net. [The opponents] had a definite height advantage. But [the girls] are really growing as the season progresses, learning the elements of the game and burning out after giving it their entire best.”
브라운 스튜디오는 ‘편안함’을 드립니다. 브라운 스튜디오는 ‘즐거움’을 드립니다. 브라운 스튜디오는 고객의 ‘친구’가 되어드립니다. See you everyday at 9:25 in the Atrium
FOOD
CART Aren’t you hungry?
studio Information Family Mart
Coffe Toah Dong Seoul University Brown Photo Studio
Seoul International School
Telephone/Fax: 031) 755-9578 Email: brownstudio2011@gmail.com Homepage: www.brownstudio.co.kr Address: 691-3 B1 Bokjungdong, Soojungku, Seungnam, Kyungkido
Small Talk
By Angela Cho
12
October 2011
Breaks gone bad: students defeat purpose of rest
Over two-thirds of the entire number of breaks for the new school year was crammed into September and October. As a result, Sansbury International School students maxed out two weeks’ worth of breaks in the first quarter. “We deliberately included many breaks in the first quarter to allow both teachers and students a smooth transition into the new school year,” said Ron Roquemore, principal. “Enjoy them while you can because starting from the second quarter, school will be like an inferno.” In September, for example, the US college preparatory school celebrated a Korean Thanksgiving holiday for a week, compared to most Korean schools’ two-day break. In preparation for a barrage of tests following shortly after Thanksgiving, students stinted on sleep. “I didn’t feel like studying at break, but had to in order to maintain my GPA,” said John Scalzo (11). “I drank five cans of Red Bull every day just to keep myself awake and shunned myself from seven social networking websites to avoid unnecessary distractions. And I haven’t attended a single
family reunion since the sixth grade.” Students took two additional days off due to Professionally Demote days, which also function as school days. While teachers struggled to finish grading assignments and plan their course schedules, students relied on outside help to make up for the loss of $200 worth of school tuition. “Thank you, really, for being so considerate towards us upperclassmen,” said Miriam Sasse (12). “Because school closed down, I spent additional thousands of dollars taking cram courses for APs at a hagwon and working on my college application intensively with my hagwon counselor.” Meanwhile during pupils take-off conferences (PTCs), students indulged in guilty pleasure. Fewer than 20 out of 360 students accompanied their parents to the one-onone meetings, preferring to drink, party and relax. “It was easier for me to go out and party because my mom was away at PTCs,” said Ben Saleem (10). “Starting with playing pool, my friends and I went clubbing, drinking and partying all in one day. I can’t wait for the next PTCs in March!”
Cartoon by Angela Cho
Photo of the Month
Photo by Linda Heeyoung Park
During activity period on Oct. 17, Dennis Darling, choral director, leads the concert choir in the performance of “Hush!” at the mini concert.