The digital odometer of my bicycle showed I had cycled 5610 km. This is the result of my six months’ traveling from July 2008 to January 2009. I looked back upon my travel in China before entering Vietnam and thought about the pathway I had run and what I had learned during the travel.When I climbed to the top of Mt. Baekdu in the Chinese northeastern district, I thought of the present and future of my country. Also, I could find traces of ancestors who lived under Japan’s colonial rule from 1910-1945. I could also look back on the old days of my country when I met Joseon tribes who are Korean
Why do voluntary work?I am now in Ireland doing voluntary work, and I'm the first Korean volunteer in the Simon Community. Whenever I do volunteer work, I learn a lot of things such as humility and being a socially responsible adult. Six months ago, I determined to make a contribution to international society, through approaching the new world and building international friendships through my voluntary work. What am I doing?The name of my volunteer organization is the "Simon Communities of Ireland", which was established by an Irish charity, and it provides a range of services for adults affec
Challenges make life energizing. It gives us much courage to do anything we face in life. As a member of “Korea Youth Expedition,” I explored Norway for 18 days during last summer vacation. Korea Youth Expedition, organized by the Korean Alpine Federation, is not so familiar to most university students, but it aims to breed global leaders with high global dreams and hopes. This year, ‘Korea Youth Expedition’ sent its members to five areas: Alaska, Ladak in the Himalayas, Tasmania in Australia, Ruwenzori in Uganda, and Norway. I went to Norway with the captain, Um Hong-gil. Until last year, it
On October 18, 100 days had passed since I started my bicycle trip. Just before I covered 4,500kms across China, I had an unexpected traffic accident. The accident happened 5km before Shenzhen, which is a city near Hong Kong. When I crossed a street in Shenzhen, a car didn't turn on its indicator when it turned right. I couldn't avoid the situation. I had already experienced another similar accident before this two months after I started my travel. When I traveled near the northeastern districts of China, my bicycle and a passing taxi, which disregarded a signal, collided head-on. Unlike the p
I returned to Korea on August 11 after one month of my two year world bike trip. The reason that I came back to Korea was due to a problem regarding my visa extension. When I went to China, I already knew that China had strengthened its control over foreigners and restricted visas because of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. That situation made me so uncomfortable because I couldn't extend my visa in China, resulting in my return to Korea. When I stayed in Korea for a week, I prepared for my visa reissuance and tried to make up for the insufficiencies of my last tour. Then, I left for Qingdao, China,
Last year, I went for a semester abroad to the University of California, Irvine, U.S.A., through the support of Keimyung's Semester Abroad program (students of the colleges of Humanities, Social Science, and International Studies who participate in this program can study abroad for one semester). The memory there still lingers in my mind even after one year has passed. The public security of U.C. Irvine was good. One day I realized I forgot to lock my door when I went to school. As soon as the class was over, I ran to my house in a rush but nothing had happened. Unlike New York, which has a hi
Jang Jong-soon graduated from the Department of Korean Painting in the College of Fine Arts, Keimyung University. She held her second solo exhibition in KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) Daegu in August 2008, and her paintings have also been exhibited at the Howe Gallery in Vancouver, Canada. She is also a member of the Korean Fine Arts Association. The Gazette interviewed her and asked her some questions. 1. I know you majored in Korean painting but you draw Western paintings. Do you have a reason for this? Paintings are fascinating by themselves regardless of genre, so what sort of material w
At the end of April, my first semester at Eastern Michigan University (EMU) was over. I felt time flied like an arrow. I was studying finance at EMU. In this article, I would like to share a few interesting things that I have experienced here.The first thing is the Daylight Saving Time. I still remember I had a hard time fitting myself to the time change. Most areas of the United States start at 2:00 am from the second Sunday in March. It begins from the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday of October. It means time will be reset one hour earlier than before. Resetting the time was