In Korea, there is a system of compulsory volunteering. For graduating secondary school, students should volunteer in some limited places which are close to the school. The purpose of this compulsory volunteering is teaching a pleasure of giving and sharing to students. This is a good idea, but I think current system is ineffective way for teaching it. Some people say the program already settled in some schools, but I think the program has not been broken in Korea well in aspects of the system and cognition of students.

     Most of secondary school students do mandatory volunteering unwillingly, because in Korean system, they don’t have any authority to choose the time and the institutions that are given to them for volunteering. Volunteering has to be acted in unurged and spontaneous way. Still, most of Korean secondary schools limit the range of institutions to make them close to their schools for confirmation of students’ volunteering data, thus it makes students be more bored. When I was a high school student, I couldn’t go to the place where I want to volunteer, so I had to go same place several times. In addition, in that kinds of facilities, there are not many ones which really need to be helped from students. They just make students do miscellaneous works in place of them, so students can’t learn anything valuable and get any satisfactions.

     Also, in Korean schools, nobody teach the importance of volunteering and welfare. Just they put the students in forced volunteering system. Therefore most of students think volunteering is self-sacrifice and they don’t know it can be opportunity to experience various things and can be helpful for themselves.

     Some people might argue that many people won’t do the service unless it’s mandatory. I disagree with it. In my case, after becoming an undergraduate student, I could have enjoyed my volunteering for the first time by choosing myself without any pressure from the school. I think not forced, adding extra points to the volunteering students will be able to more effective way like university system.

     I’m not against volunteering of secondary school students. I suggest that Korean mandatory volunteering system and cognition of students have to be reformed to more good ways for students themselves for teaching real pleasure of volunteering.

When somebody tells me what to do, I get strange feeling that I don’t really want to do that. Opposite, somebody warns me not to do something, strangely I want to do that. I assume that it’s because of basic instinct of human. However, with very few exceptions, we have learned English for so long, and not so many people have satisfactory results. It is clearly insurmountable for Korean students to become a wonderful English speaker. Being able to become a bilingual is dependent on three following reasons : falsely designed education system in Korea, not enough exposure to English, and motivation of learners.

This problem comes from the education system itself. It is considered important that language learners are exposed to English as much as possible, but we can see how many classes a week Korean students have. Clearly not enough to learn English. Canada, for example, adopted language immersion program. Teachers speak French in and outside class room and every subject was taught in French, which is absolutely enough exposure for students. The lack of enough exposure to English at school leads to another problem of private education. It is reported that most parents in Korea with very few exceptions can’t even buy clothes for themselves to educate their children. Despite their hard struggling and aid of private institutions, it is obvious that students still need far more time to practice English.

An interesting documentary program from EBS aired, and interviewed parents and children in kindergarden and English kindergarden. The question for children is like this. ‘Why do you think you come to (English) kindergarden?’ And the answer was vary. Children in kindergarden say that they come to kindergarden to have fun, and others in English kindergarden say that they come to English kindergarden to study, and they all looked somehow serious and their facial expression says that I want to master English. However, this is how children learn languages. They make constant conversations with parents and their friends and their parents correct their grammar and the usage of vocabulary. Children don’t even know they are studying language. It all happens naturally when they spend time with people in life. When the whole learning process becomes studying, it also becomes harder to learn.

The most import thing in learning language is learner’s motivation. Many linguistics say that there is not much of difference between early English educated children and people learning English after they have become adults. The only thing that is beneficial from early English education is the development of pronunciation. Other parts of language such as vocabulary and grammar can be developed more in adults’ learning process. They are motivated and push themselves harder. Through this aspect, adults learners can reach at high level.

It’s probably not too late to start learning English based on the listed facts above. Parents need to see the fundamental problems of education system in Korea. If they want their kids to be proficient in English, it is important to remember that they need to offer good enough English exposure to their children and it should not be like studying but it should be like playing. If all of these are done appropriately, then parents will see less financial burden for private education as well as vast improvements in children’ language proficiency.

           All the stuff is not going well and struggling for whatever. Sometimes because of love and sometimes because of our identity, we 20’s prepare for the life of future. Someone might say that “What should we have concerned?” is very useless question. But actually there is one thing we have to do in our 20’s. That’s falling. Parents always talk to us that you have to be perfect not suffering the failure but they also have fall down and stand up again. Why they talk to us like that? That’s very simple. Because they don’t know how to express love to their daring they have trouble to educate rightly. We 20’s have to suffer more painful and tearing agony because of three reasons. It is the seed for flowering and it can prevent from suicide and it can be chain to our offspring that they also be the good seed for society.

           Seed for flowering is very rhetorical expression. So I explain it again. It means that failure gives us foothold for our future success. This is very necessary because actually no one can succeed without watering the seeds. Thomas Edison is very good example of this. Scientist usually before they pronounce their achievement had the thousand of different attempts. Edison is just perfect model of scientist. He made bulb which gives us that beautiful blessing. By his marvelous achievement, we students can feel the angel’s bliss by studying at midnight.

           We can hear the suicide news which was the monster at our same age. They are just loser because they didn’t know and could not endure the chaos which every other twenties suffer the same. They didn’t know the awesome truth that we have to enjoy our failing in our twenties. If they do not go through this thing, they might kill themselves in their thirties and fourties which will make more tragedy because that time they almost marry and have a family to burden. So this is very eminent to have an encumbered in our ages.

           Last thing is the chain effect. We can give our wonderful experience to our child. Human being is very same and not evolved at all. We just circle the chain and give a trait to our child naturally and have an honor of inheriting our former virtues. This is more glorious than having the crown of king in the U.K. we have to cherish it and give our daring this bunch of love.

           Twenties is very dangerous times. We can do everything by having the right to do whatever. For example, we can stress out by smoking the one thousand cigarettes. We have to grateful for our parents worrying because they gives us whole body to endure the chaos

You can easily find the person who uses the smart phone on the street. And As much as this people, there are also a lot of people who hide their emotion and feeling on the street, That’s gay. Gay right is very essential issue in U.S. because they are at the increasing their number and also culture is changed from insisting same to individual character. This is like black people’s history before 1960s. Historically, black people was looked down by the white and suffered so many unfair thing at the bus and shop by not selling a drinking. They recognized it by several incident and struggle for their right by strong leadership like Martin Luther King and finally got it. This picture seems very same with gay. Now they are recognizing their own right.

           So my question is that “Do we have right to discriminate them?” because they are physically same person with us and don’t hurt anything to us. They live with us and breath with even we don’t recognize them. But problem is in the word ‘hurt’. This is so subjective and individual word to understand. Therefore, Gay is socially and individually and in the health harmful.

So they have to be discriminated in our society.

           The fact that gay is also the same person is no doubt but make very bad atmosphere in the society. Society is easily compared with the human body. We human society are like the organ in the body. Guess what happen if they fight for the unbeneficial thing. This is totally useless fight. What they have when they finally get the legal right of gay? Nothing special. They officially solo but actually they have marriage and enjoying the life fully. Is this really important?

           I also agree that gay is very special sense in several field than us. They see the thing we cannot see. But the thing is that we actually psychologically feel the danger. They might say that we only like the gay and don’t harm or hurt any other persons. But how can they assure that they don’t like the non-gay. Love is very sensitive feeling and it’s very difficult fully understand in our whole life. How can they confirm that they cannot love other person who is not gay.

           Last is that it’s very harmful in our sanitation. When we suppose that they love each other, it’s very natural thing to have intercourse with each other. But when the gay sleep, they have to use annul because they don’t have other place to enjoy in our part. It might cause the HIV and if it infect non-gay person by their identity problem, it might be disaster. Surely in this context I suppose that not all gays have firm identity about themselves.

           There is no grave without any reason. Every person, every society has their own profit and struggle to get. I am one of them. For me, to admit the gay right is not profit. Why should I have to do that? If they don’t give any reason, I might not be changed. And also it’s the same to persons who live this society straight.

Everyone has their own way to get rid of stress from them. For example, some people regard playing sport as a solution of stress and some other people think that singing is a solution of it. Like those, all of people have their own way. I think that to find a way to reduce stress, we need to find some desirable ways. However, many people choose drinking or smoking as their solution. Even though the way to choose to reduce stress is free, the way of smoking is not desirable for the reasons, smokers’ health, effects to young people and nonsmokers’ health.

     Of course, if people smoke, they will feel relaxed and think their stress will be reduced and decreased. On the other hand, if they keep going on, it will be another problem to them, addiction. According to the magazine I read a few months ago, the author urged that smoking and drinking are not solutions, but just causes of stress. Smoking and drinking are very addictive, even more than what we expect. He meant that because of them, people could get more stress than before.

     However, the more serious point is that many of young people starts smoking by seeing adults who are smoking, even under 19. in the movie, most describe that smoking is fancy and a expression of struggling with something serious. We usually say children are less mature than adults and their brain is not proper with harmful things. If they start it, they will not able to quit smoking easily and they are addicted more easily than adults. Also, as the adults, they will get very bad and hazardous impacts.

           Smoking is not only bad for smokers, but also for nonsmokers. Even though nonsmokers do not smoke, they get indirect effects of smoking. Many of doctors say that indirect effects of smoking can be more dangerous than direct effects. Also, it is a very unfair thing to nonsmokers. They can get hurt by other people’s action. Smokers need to think about other people.

     From that, I strongly insist that we need to make much stronger and tighter regulation about smoking and drinking. When we buy a cigarette, we show our id cards. However, I think it is not enough to prevent children from it. We should make double or triple ways. For example, I think license is an effective way. In the U.S, when people buy a gun, they need to get gun license and show it. I do not mean a test. I just urge the license that is able to prove that people passed though some education points about negative effects of smoking on the Internet. After people did it, if they want to buy cigarette, it is their choice. I think it is very effective way to prevent children from smoking. Because when children want to buy it, they have to show their id and license to workers, so I think we need to make effective laws to make people less smoke and drink rather than just prohibit.

To learn English, I had been in Australia for eight months three years ago, so I was able to meet a lot of students who also wanted to learn English with many interesting reasons. The students who were very good at English but decided to look for a bigger dream or the students who had come to find difficult areas to study in Korea or even the students who just wanted to enjoy the abroad life.
By reading the article about the growing numbers of U.S college students in study-abroad programs, I recalled that the students’ results varied depending on their variety of reasons. However, before going to study abroad, students have to think there is the probability of failure certainly. It means that going to study abroad in indeterminate belief can cause failure. So, checking ‘opportunity factors’ and ‘risk factors’ is required to prepare before going abroad.

Let’s look at the opportunities factors.

Opportunities for the new environment is the first point. Students entering a new environment which is outside of the traditional framework where they would get into, not to compete and win. So only English is needed in the beginning of the new life and it would be very advantageous for the students who are gifted in language or who are lacked of confidence for the excessive environmental factors to study English because they only need to concentrate on studying English.

Second, except some countries, the competition is not fierce.
In general, the college enrollment in developed countries is significantly lower than the developing countries. It’s not only because of the lack of interest in studying but also because of the fact that choosing a job doesn’t require further study of college or a sufficient social welfare system can guarantee basic living condition so they don’t feel much need to go to the college.

Third, the friends around are changed. Of course, this may be a danger or opportunities because the friends of the surrounding areas affect the study life. Smoking, drinking or being addicted to games easily can be easily seen at the period. As you meet friends who work hard, you can make the chance to look back that you have been on the right track at least. Of course, it is possible to make wrong relationship, but it is able to improve by the will of a person.

Let’s look at the danger factors.

First, it is a vague expectation. You might think that living abroad is easy to adapt but it’s not that easy actually. While living with foreigners, you head hurts and there’s no place to eliminate stress or even you may get tired with the cultural difference with your home-stay family. From the food, thoughts, words and to wants to hang up…………. Because all you need to live in a different way, the stress can be more stressful than you can imagine. Constant check and counseling in advance are recommended.

Second, it is also English. Not as a mean of academic English, as a mean of communication, everything is limited when you are not enough to communicate in English. But I don’t say the academic English is not important. The more important thing is that you need to study grammar skills, writing skills, vocabulary and so on. These things never can be improved if you don’t study at your desk during the period of the study-abroad. All you have to do is just study. That’s the point.

The third risk is ultimately a problem of the relationship. The English-speaking cities such as LA, Vancouver, New York or Sydney overflow with many Korean students like Korea’s big cities. Though you are in English-speaking country, you can not find the difference with your country. Of course, there is no way to avoid Korean students. The problem is not getting along with Korean students but getting along with Korean students ‘only’. It’s not easy but you can make an effort.

You might disagree with those things or there may be other factors. However, if these factors are sufficiently considered, the risks can be significantly reduced. Everybody knows that? Of course, everybody knows the story but misses it most. Actually I also did it too.

Take a look around. People are walking so fast with a bag or whatever they need to carry around with them on one hand. Car owners drive their car by left hand most of the time. In library, I see some students look at books, while others are busy doing something else. what’s in common in three cases? What do you think it is on walking people’s free hand, and the right hand of car owners, and something student are doing at library? Smartphone! Smartphones have become indispensable with our lives. It is obvious that smartphones have made our lives more fun and productive and nobody will ever disagree with that.

However, have you ever heard of miraculous medicine that is applicable to anyone in pain and free from side-effects? No, there isn’t such a thing as panacea. Apparently, nowadays people are so into the smartphone world that they seem to see nothing but good things about smartphones. People with cold should take pills for cold, not for cancer. If you take pills for cancer, it would be financially overburden to you. Also patients with any disease should not take a certain amount of pills, and it should not be overdosed. These three metaphorical statements are the reasons why I stand up on the opposite side of people applauding smartphones.

Thanks to developed functions of smartphones, smartphones are considered ‘mobile office’, and hours of work is kind of extended unofficially and it is very much annoying for many people. Imagine that you are finally off the day and your fun loving wife or husband and children are waiting for you. Then, you go through all the traffic war on the road and arrive at the entrance of Heaven. At the same time, you get e-mails from boss saying that you have to make a presentation or come up with some kick-ass ideas or bring the boss reports that look impossible to finish tonight. What choices do you have? No other choices, just jump on working. When you have finished, your cute children are asleep, and your wife is looking pissed off. Don’t freak out yet. it’s not that it happens today only, but it will happen endlessly. Happy? It really is the true meaning of the ubiquitous world, isn’t it?

It is either unreasonably expensive to use smartphones or unwanted service for some people. A couple of days ago, I got to watch news on MBC saying that KT had terminated its 2G service. KT has adopted a very special win-win strategy, and it will boost our economy. What a wonderful news is this? So we can use 3G and LTE(Long-Term Evolution) more comfortably. It’s like stressless driving  on empty high way. Wow, it’s truly amazing. However, What about previous 159,000 KT 2G users? Of course, they need to use 3G or 4G cell phones as of the announcement day. 2G users on the edge of cliff are literally forced to buy unwanted expensive smartphones that some of them don’t even know how to use properly. Oil price goes up, bus and subway fares increase, electricity, and gas, I can’t even finish listing all those things whereas our salary stays the same. It’s just great.

“As Apple grew, we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me. As visions of the future began to diverge, our board of directors sided with him. At 30 I was out.” Steve Jobs said in the commencement at Stanford in 2005. Smartphones are supposed to bring productivity to us. And it is true that they have brought efficiency and productivity to the world, and yet it is partially true. In reality, as the statistics show, almost 80 percent of employees and students use SNS, shopping, and games on smartphones during the time they are supposed to focus on work or study. I can’t wait to work in a company where I can spend most of the time sneaking out with my smartphone, and have fun during working hours, and still take salary from the company.

Admittedly, it is nice to carry around cutting-edge technology in my hand, and I can do pretty much everything with a smartphone. However, it is hard to see people with the exact same life style. We are all different and priceless and should be treated as importantly as possible. Therefore, that KT made the decision of 2G termination with no compensations at all fiercely pushes many people into a corner. Moreover, we need to be aware of the difference between using smartphones wisely to be able to remain efficient and productive and being addicted to using them resulting in high possibilities of putting ourselves in stressful situations or less productivity which is supposed to be the other way around.

Everyone wants success. And I want it either. Who can say he or she doesn’t want it? If so, what is success? Money? Honor? or power? To be honest, let alone two things, honor and power, I want to be economically succesful. I mean, I want big money. Weirdly, people seem to consider money as a negative thing although they want to get it if there is a chance. The money can not be the only reason of my life, but it can be stimulus for me to be succesful. With money, I want to do many things. That would be buying a car and house or supporting my future family. I really know it well that how miserable the life without money is because I had experience the life before. I don’t go back to the days.

Time is over! Thank you!

There is a popular adage that says, “Life begins at forty”. Simple truths about life are expressed and popularized by proverbs or sayings. However, people interpret these in many different ways, normally depending on their experiences. I assume that the reason why the saying goes like this is because people in their early days usually only see what’s in front of them, and don’t know much about life resulting from the lack of many life experiences. However, I disagree with the statement because of three reasons.

To begin with, people already experience life as soon as they come into the world. As individuals go through the normal process of growth and development, they are already experiencing life. This includes gaining knowledge and understanding about the environment and people around us. Life is an endless process of doing ordinary activities, accepting responsibilities and accomplishing tasks. Like I said, not a single person has the exact same life style and way a person thinks and behaves. Ask yourself with a question like this. What’s the specific criterium when life begins? It is really hard to say only the specific time like 40.

Another point is that saying that “life begins at forty” is like saying that everything before that point is not life. People experience changes in life. One stage flows to the next without people even noticing it. However, as people grow and mature, they become more apprehensive of what the next stage of life will bring. Fears and questions are raised up. They are afraid of getting old and ask themselves if reaching a certain age is the end of youth. Others might start thinking of missed opportunities and might become regretful of the decisions they have made. These make people re-evaluate their lives, but it doesn’t mean that this is the point where their lives began.

Final view point of mine is that the saying “life begins at forty” applies more to males than females. This is the time when most men experience mid-life crisis. Doubts about their physical and emotional capacity emerge. These psychological problems urge them to relive the days of their youth. They fear getting old since they believe that this might be the end of some aspects of their lives, including love and adventure.

In conclusion, people have different life styles and thoughts about many things and see things differently. Sometimes we see things that others don’t really see or see them but don’t want to accept that they have seen them. The meanings of proverbs also differ from one person to the next. The moment a person takes his or her first breath is the moment when life begins. Turing forty is only another stage in life that people must face with courage and hope for the future.

I want to be successful in many parts of my life. Of course, if some people think up the word in their heads, theiy will think about fame or momey. howeverI think the word, success, includes many things, such as love, family and friends including fame and moy. Fame and money can be measured easily with specific standard. However, in parts of family and love, it is very hard to classify them. It is not a matter to be seen to eyes.For the reason,I think being successful in love and family is more difficult than in fame and money.

5 mins is over. Thank you for reading.