CNN Notes – Corrective Rape

 

In Mr. Johnson’s class, we had a chance to watch CNN news and take notes.  There were many interesting topics that were covered, such as modern slavery, search for lost baby, accusations, and so on. However, one of the most interesting was about corrective rape.

The word ‘corrective rape’ gave me an impression that rape was practiced in some parts of word by men in order to correct women’s behaviors. As I searched for definition, it said, “a criminal practice first seen in South Africa, whereby lesbian women are raped by men, sometimes under supervision by members of their families or local communities, purportedly as a means of “curing” them of their homosexuality.”

This issue was far more serious than I had expected. The picture above is a woman Eudy Simelane, a member of the South Africa women’s national football team and a vocal LGBT-rights activist in South Africa. She was gang raped and murdered in KwaThema, Gauteng. Two of her four assailants were ultimately convicted.

A November 2008 report by the NGO ActionAid and the South African Human Rights Commission reported that corrective rape is a serious problem. However, not many people know of the severity of this issue. If this issue is left unsolved, many women will have to suffer and get no compensations for just being lesbian.

As a KMLA student, I felt that there is a need to address this issue. To change the world, we need to given attention to the people who are neglected and help them. I am ready to post more writings regarding this issue and let everybody know about it.

 

Military Intervention in Syria

   I was given a topic, “THBT the “international community” should support the opposition in Syria militarily, as done in Lybia.” I was one the opposition side. Whether international community should intervene in Syria militarily is a controversy today. Such disequilibrium lies on the key point that military intervention is viewed as the best way to some people, but as the dangerous way to others. As an opposition side, I raise a question whether military intervention is really the best way we have.

First of all, military intervention causes more causality. The government says that military intervention will save people’s lives. Do you really think sending troops of soldiers, tanks, bombs, and such horrible weapons to Syria will save people’s lives? No. The government has failed to prove that the number of casualty when there is military intervention is lower than the number of causality when it does not happen. There is a counterexample, which is Rwanda Genocide that happened in 1994. Just like in Syria, its people were against the current government, and because it was getting more serious, UN conducted a mission which is called United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, and as the process went on, UN conceded that during process, act of genocide has been committed. Unfortunately, number of death has been up to five hundred thousand Rwandans. This example clearly shows military intervention can worsen the problem.

Also, the government side says as if international community will be able to put forward its actions without any inner conflicts. However, currently many countries are showing opposition to participating into this action. For example, in the case of UN, its countries such as France, Turkey, and so on are strongly opposed to this plan. Not only that, even one of its leaders, secretary general Ban Ki-Moon described the use of deadly weapons as unacceptable, therefore disagreeing to military intervention. Not only that, NATO secretary general said very clearly that NATO has no intention of intervening in Syria in any way. I’m excluding any form of intervention.” Let’s say that you are in a group, and that group wants to do something that you do not want, and it is not just you yourself, but several members, what would happen to that group? I would also emphasize that participating in military aid means sacrificing hundreds of lives of its country and tremendous costs. You will see why this can only lead to more conflicts between countries within international community, and their actions would not be effective when military aid is taken, because they are not united as a whole.

Lastly, the government thinks that the military intervention will be effective by only looking at the case of Lybia. (The government only considers the results in Lybia, which were death of Quadaffi. However, the death of Quadaffi was not made possible thanks to aid invasion, but rather to civilians. Even if we accept that international community reaped success in Lybia, the government’s statement that it will also reap success in Syria is utterly false. This is because Lybia and Syria are totally different. For one, as explained before, Syria has far much more influence in the Middle East and it is far more related with Arabian countries such as Iran, Lebanon, and Palenstein. Also, it has far more strong barracks.  Invasion aid to Syria will cause far much more mess than in Lybia. In the case of Lybia, there was an approval from UN commission and also support from inner countries for military intervention, but Syria does not, and this was explained before.

I understand that there are people dying in Syria.

I understand that there are blood, poverty, and horror in Syria.

And I also understand that measures must be taken to help them.

What I do not understand is that that measure must only be military intervention. Other solutions abound for us, such as giving direct aid to them, or going through mutual agreements, or weakening the power of the Syrian president. They can be our solutions to the disequilibrium in this debate.

Samuchim (Samulnori in KMLA)

Korean Minjok Leadership Academy’s Music Festival was held on 19th, November. Every 16th waver participated in the festival. This covered many genres like Samulnori, rock, jazz, musical, hip-hop, chorus, and so on. I played Samulnori, as I was in a club called Samuchim.

The word ‘samuchim’ has a meaning, that is hard to explain in English. It can be translated as ‘sorrowing’ or ‘having a grudge’. It is related to Korean traditional feeling, ‘Han 恨’, which also means sorrow or resentment. Although, its meaning might be ambiguous, it is clear that this club’s goal is to express our traditional music and feelings by being absorbed in Samulnori.

As a member of this club, I practiced a lot. I sacrificed every studying hour for practice. There were times when I were not happy. There were times when I regretted applying for this club. However, I, as well as other members, kept patience and waited until the performance day. All those efforts paid off.

Our show was truly magnificent. The whole crowd applauded after it ended. Many teachers gave praises, as well. Mr. Johnson said that he saw many Samulnori shows, but this show was the best of many he has seen. Mrs. Kang also added, “I think Samuchim was the best of all shows!”

I’m really happy to be a member of this club. I am, and always will be a guy who loves Samulnori.

Nella Fantasia

Nella Fantasia (In My Fantasy)

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto

Li tutti vivono in pace e in onestà.

In my fantasy I see a just world,

Where everyone lives in peace and honesty.

Io sogno d’anime che sono sempre libere,

Come le nuvole che volano,

Pien’ d’umanità in fondo all’anima.

I dream of souls that are always free

Like the clouds that float

Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro,

Li anche la notte è meno oscura.

In my fantasy I see a bright world

Where each night there is less darkness.

Io sogno d’anime che sono sempre libere,

Come le nuvole che volano.

I dream of spirits that are always free,

Like the clouds that float

Nella fantasia esiste un vento caldo,

Che soffia sulle città, come amico.

In my fantasy exists a warm wind,

That blows into the city, like a friend.

Io sogno d’anime che sono sempre libere,

Come le nuvole che volano,

Pien’ d’umanità in fondo all’anima.

I dream of souls that are always free

Like the clouds that float

Full of humanity in the depths of the soul.

True Teacher

 

Albert Einstein once said that “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” It is no wonder that the teacher’s role does not only include just giving students information. Rather, teachers should have following qualities; ability to teach in a way that includes lots of student participation, a personality to teach in a way that every student feels comfortable as well as excited during the class.

 

First of all, school teachers should be able to adopt a student-oriented teaching method. Indeed, if a class is student-oriented, there should be no students dozing off, and lessons should be based on students’ ideas. To make sure every student stays awake during the class, the teacher must be able to ask lots of questions to students and gives incentives such as refreshment to those who take part in well. Also, using auditory and visual materials that can arouse students’ interest is important. The teacher should also think of creative ways so that students are leading the class, such as giving discussion topics and guiding them to learn from their classmates. To give an example, there is a Chinese teacher, Mr. Hwang, in KMLA. He asks students to be teachers. In other words, each student has a 10-minute presentation that covers what students are going to learn for today, and teacher just gives short feedbacks. He also thinks that every student should participate during classes so he gives bonus points when students ask questions as well as answer them well. Give this, you will see why there is famous saying “The greatest sign of a success for a teacher…is to be able to say, “The children are now working as if I did not exist.”

 

Secondly, a kind and affectionate personality is required to create a warm class atmosphere. An instructor in school should give attention to every student to make students feel they are all part of their class. By not only giving knowledge, but also helping them in every aspect of their lives, students eventually feel grateful for their teacher. A strong-build bond is created between students and teachers. This special relationship is really important because teachers are like parents in school. The teachers should be the presence that students always can ask for help, even if it doesn’t deal with academics. There exists a teacher in KMLA, who is a perfect example of this. He is Mr. Johnson, an English teacher who doesn’t forget to smile all the time. During his class, he is humorous and always makes both students and the teacher laugh together. When we laugh together, we cease to be young and old, master and pupils. We become a single group of human beings enjoying the class. Because of his charming personality, every student thinks of him as a father who they can always look up to when they are in difficult situations.

 

Education is not just a means of transferring teacher’s knowledge to students. Whether the true meaning of education can go further or not depends on the teachers’ qualities. If teachers can lead the classes with all students listening carefully, freely speaking their ideas, and also giving them comfort and happiness, education would be something that can effect students in every aspect for the rest of their lives.

Can’t Believe…

(You have been admitted into Korean Minjok Leadership Academy.)

I remember seeing this on 8th, November, 2010.

I couldn’t believe already one year has passed.

Looking past, there has been many things I learned.

Some of them were from my mistakes.

I’m sure I have become a better man.

Ulala Session

Before reading this, I strongly recommend that you watch this video.

This is a video from one of Korean TV programs, Superstar K. This program is exactly like American Idol. Currently, 9 contestants survived the harsh audition. As you might have guessed, one of them is this team named Ulala Session.

No one would disagree that their performance was spectacular. It won great praises from judges as well as fame from Korean people. This show gave me even greater impressions; so huge that I couldn’t concentrate on studying for mid-term which is now only 5 days left. 🙂

First, the song was great. Some might had known this song before watching this. It is “Open Arms.” The lyrics are as follows;

Lying beside you, here in the dark,

feeling your heart beat with mine

Softly you whisper, you`re so sincere,

how could our love be so blind

We sailed on together, we drifted apart,

and here you are by my side

So now I come to you with open arms,

nothing to hide, believe what I say

So here I am with open arms, hoping you`ll see

what your love means to me Open arms

Living without you, living alone,

this empty house seems to cold

Wanting to hold you, wanting you near,

how much I wanted you home

But now that you`ve come back,

turned night into day, I need you to stay.

I have never seen such beautiful and well-written lyrics like this. The title “Open Arms” may symbolize  true love or tolerance towards everyone. Not only the lyrics, but also the melody even adds greater beauty to this song.

However, what has made this show even greater lied on the team, Ulala Session. Ulala is a Korean expression of great joy and happiness. This relates to their perspective towards singing and performance. They, united as a whole, always work towards making a show that would entertain and touch us. Readers would definitely see this when watching another show of Ulala Session.

Furthermore, there is one more thing that adds to this team’s uniqueness. Their leader, who stands 3rd from left to right, is suffering from cancer. (This answers why he has a little amount of hair, as you might have noticed.)  His cancer is currently at the fourth stage or the final stage. This stage is where the severity reaches the top and the survival rate reaches lowest. This aroused so much sympathy from the audience as well as awes in that the leader does not seem weak on the outside. The leader once said on his interview, “After the audience finds out that I am suffering from cancer, I hope nobody would ask me, ‘Are you okay?’ That’s because I AM okay. I have no problems. I am and always will be ready for tomorrow.”

Ulala Session is definitely a team I am for out of all 9 contestants survived to this date. I love their voices, dances, and performances. However, even more, I just love their existence and grateful that they are here on Superstar K.

Change the World

“Why does economics exist when it fails to solve current economic problems?”

This was a question Muhammad Yunus raised. He was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2006, as well as an economics professor. He witnessed the Great Famine in Bangladesh that happened in 1974, and decided to solve this problem by using his economic knowledge. What he did was to found his own bank, Grammen Bank, which was totally different from others in that it lent money to the poor with fewer restrictions. This allowed more financial assistance to the poor.

This is just what I want to do. I as a student interested in an economics, believe that current economic issues such as poverty are due to flaws in financial systems. The biggest flaw is that banks do not lend money to the poor with low credits. The banks have an excuse that the ones with low credits are less likely to pay back money, but this excuse cannot be justified when this is the main culprit that leaves poverty unsolved and the lets the poor be poorer.

Solving this problem is only possible when a new system with different rules is implemented. Just like Mr. Yunus, I want to change this world by founding my own bank that does not fear to take the risks to lend money to the poor. Some say this action is stupid and just a waste of money. I want to ask them, “Then how can you explain the fact that reimbursement rate of Grameen Bank reached 99% when other banks failed to reach even half?”

Everything is possible with passion to start something different and creativity to develop new ideas, and so is my dream to change the world.

Friendship in Trouble

A friend who borrowed 20000 won from me is not giving it back. Currently I feel very uncomfortable. I feel sorry to ask him to pay back the money, but also upset at him.  I then thought about whether borrowing money from a friend can harm friendship or not. While it is true that true friendship may stand the test of money, I believe borrowing money from a friend is not beneficial to friendship. For one, it can cause discomfort between you and your friend. In addition, it can jeopardize friendship, especially when the amount of money involved is large.

To begin with, asking a friend for money often leaves uneasy feelings. Indeed, the monetary favor asked is least welcome to anybody regardless of whether is large or small. It is no secret that money is such a sensitive issue even among close friends. Accordingly, if your friend asks you to lend money, it can be embarrassing to you. Even after you decide to loan money to him, you are reminded that you lent money to him and your friend keeps thinking that he owes you the money until he pays it back. As this is a matter of pressing concern, it does harm to the relationship between you and your friend. Therefore, borrowing money from a friend is uncomfortable with you as well as your friend.

It is also true that if your friend does not meet a due date, it can put you in serious trouble and danger. This is especially true when he owes you a substantial sum. It could be your college tuition, security deposit for your new house or shop, which you have collected for years. Then, it is not just a matter of borrowing and lending, but that of legal responsibility. In this case, the friendship remains at stake and the trust between you and him will be seriously undermined. Given this, money trading between friends can risk the friendship, when a large sum is involved.

All in all, borrowing money from a friend can harm the friendship. Not only is it embarrassing to both the borrower and the lender, but it can also cause unexpected problems between friends. After all, money can buy everything, but not friendship.

Mineral Scarcity

When I was given an assignment to write down ten topics, I hesitated for a while because there were so many topics that I wanted to write about. For example, I was interested in business and corporate management, tempting me to choose topics such as corporate social responsibility and successful marketing strategies. Not only that, I also wanted to write about my hobbies, such as music and movies. However, the topic I chose at last had nothing to do with any topics listed above.

The topic I chose is mineral scarcity. For more details, I would write about why mineral scarcity is a world-wide problem and how it can be solved. There are 3 reasons why I thought this topic is the best out of all 10 topics.

First of all, mineral scarcity is a world issue. I am very interested in world issues. This is because I believe that world issues such as global warming and terrorism require attention from everyone, especially students in KMLA who dream to be global leaders. Mineral scarcity has even greater importance in that it is an issue that is not only serious but also unrecognized by other people.

Second, as I choose this topic, I will have a chance to go over various solutions. By comparing and contrasting pros and cons of each solution, I would be able to find what the best solution might be. By explaining why that solution is the most feasible, I would be able to show the world the key for solution. This could be linked to changing the world, the theme we discussed in class before.

Third, this topic is familiar to me. When I had Mr. Moon’s class in first semester, I had a chance to make a presentation with my classmates about rare earth minerals. As I prepared for it, I realized the severity of the problem the world lies in due to scarcity of earth minerals. Thanks to this, it would be easier for me to gather further information regarding this due to my background knowledge.

In conclusion, I would like to choose mineral scarcity as my topic for the essay. Not only is it a global issue that needs solutions to be found out, but also it is familiar. Therefore, I am confident that I would be able to write an accomplished essay about this topic.