@Minjok Festival on July 17th, 2012

One thing I envy my friends about is that most of them learned to play at least one musical instrument as a child. Some learned to play the piano, others know how to play the violin. With consistent practice for several years now, they possess enough talents to play difficult pieces of music. Some of them play in the school orchestra and visit local institutions to play for the elderly. I have even seen one compose a new song.


Unlike my friends, I didn't learn to play any musical instrument when I was young. Running about the town playing with my brother and his friends was the best way to spend my time after school. I guess I was not interested in learning one. Sadly, I was still keeping distance from learning an instrument when I became a middle school student. I had troubles reading scores in the music class, and the only instrument I could play was a recorder.

Sungha Jung

Then, on one day when I was in the second grade, I happened to watch a video of a young Korean guitarist on Youtube. His name was Sungha Jung, and the performance was absolutely fantastic. He played 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' by Green Day in a 'fingerstyle' version. I didn't know what it meant then. But Green Day being one of my favorite bands, I greatly enjoyed his style of playing. It was amazing to see a child move his hands with so much dexterity and confidence.

Then I was even more shocked when I searched his name on Naver and discovered that he and I were the same age. The video completely blew my mind, but at the same time, left me regretting, 'What if I started learning an instrument like him a few years ago?' When I came to a realization, it took me no time to decide to start learning an instrument. So I bought a guitar.

A fascinating thing about the guitar is that it can be used to have a good time with others. One person can play the song and other people can sing it along. In these types of situations, you strum a series of chords with a guitar pick. However, I decided to try something different. Fingerstyle guitar playing. Compared to a traditional way of playing, it is unique in that the player can play melodies without singing. Also, it's not usually played with other instruments, enabling people appreciate the true guitar sounds. In addition, I'm not a good singer, so I don't have to worry about ruining a song.

aLaska Finger Picks

Instead of guitar picks, fingerstyle guitarists use their bare fingers to pluck guitar strings. I can say from my experience that fingers do hurt a bit at the beginning. But after a few days or so, I got calloused fingers and felt less pain. However, Some fingerstyle guitarists use special devices called fingerpicks or a thumb pick. They are mostly made of metal or plastic, and allows the player to produce clearer sounds than fingers. I bought a thumb pick and three fingerpicks manufactured by aLaska, but I don't use them right now because they're uncomfortable. I plan to use them when I get better.

I decided to learn to play the guitar by myself, so I had to look for resources on the web. I obtained helpful information and tabs on a Naver fingerstyle cafe and free introductory lessons by Ulli Bögershausen on Youtube. Ulli is a German guitarist and a mentor of Sungha Jung. I liked his lessons because he repeatedly emphasized the basics. So, every day when I came back from school, I practiced basic techniques and drills for 30 minutes. Even though the progress was slow, I kept my patience. As a result, I was able to play 'Silent Night, Holy Night' for the last year's Christmas. It wasn't perfect, but my family liked it anyway. I was proud of myself.



It's the beginning of a new semester, so I don't have time to hone my skills right now. But when the winter vacation starts, I will begin practicing again. Hopefully, I will improve a lot and play in front of my friends.

Hi everyone!
Welcome to my blog.

My English name is David because my favorite soccer player, Ki Sung Yueng, has the same name. I'm into many kinds of sports including soccer, baseball, and tennis. (I only played tennis twice when a friend of mine taught me how to play it, but I love it.)

I love listening to rock music. K-Pop is not really my cup of tea because the lyrics is mostly about love or breaking up. Instead, many rock bands I have discovered wrote about how to live a life and what life entails. Not only that, rock music has powerful and energetic melody which helps me with relieving stress and get refreshed. Some of my favorite bands are Weezer, the Fray, and Oasis. Recently, I have become a fan of a British  Rock Band called Blur.

In a retrospect, last semester here at KMLA was a thrilling experience. I met wonderful friends and teachers, and I explored some new fields of studies. Of course, it was not all beautiful since living apart from family was not easy for me. Also, I was under great pressure to keep up with my studies. There were many talented and hard-working friends who sometimes left me frustrated.

However, I realized that the most important thing is to set up my own plan and pursue it at my own pace. That's why I want to improve my English speaking and writing abilities this semester. Reading and listening is a bit easier, I think, because all I need to do is understand the passage with concentration. On the other hand, speaking and writing requires me to express my own opinion and to communicate with other people. I started learning English when I was in an elementary school, but I still have trouble coming up with an appropriate word when I try to speak or write in English.





So, my goals for this semester is getting more fluent in speaking and writing in English. I believe the only way to achieve fluency is just use English as much as I can. Therefore, I will do my best to actively participate in the class activities and try to do all of my assignments. (and keep EOP as well)