Archive for 9월 2012

[Random Post] Crush

By | Published 2012/09/27



It was two years ago and I was a second grader in middle school. It was the first day of the semester. I stepped into the new classroom, but I could recognize only few in the classroom because classmates are all mixed up into different classes every year.

As you know, everyone is feeling kind of nervous and awkward on the first day. So boys gathered in one side of the classroom, and girls were standing on the opposite side. I also stood among the group of boys, which was the comfort zone for me. And I was looking around in a sneaky way, to find out if there are more people I know. Then I caught the eyes of one girl. You see, I wasn’t one of those popular kids in middle school. I didn’t talk to girls unless I really had to. During the break, I prepared textbooks for the next class, while other kids played and talked in groups. A typical image of an Asian kid.

But there was something special about her. Yes, she had big eyes, and was good at dancing, that she performed in school festival. She was so popular in school that even seniors knew her name. But the most beautiful thing about her was that she did little hair flips from time to time, with her long, slightly curly hair. Whenever she did that, my heart skipped a beat. It gave me a feeling that I’ve never felt before.

On the next day, I found out that I wanted to know more about her. And somehow, I still don’t know why, I wanted her to know about me. So I looked for ways to have a conversation with her but my ambitious goal came to frustration every day. She was always surrounded by her friends and unfortunately, I didn’t have enough courage to talk to her first. The idea of doing that in front of other friends was just embarrassing. So one time, I stayed late intentionally to talk to her after cleaning the classroom. Finally, it was just me and her in the room. I took a deep breath, and turned around to face her. But just when I opened my mouth, I heard another person’s voice. There was a friend waiting for her to go home together.

Sometimes, it was not all female friends surrounding her. And it was worse than seeing her with other girls because it gave me a thought of her having a boyfriend. Every time I saw that, I felt jealous and angry, but I didn’t dare to make a move because I was too shy. Instead, I posted lyrics of a song on Facebook. The song was ‘Maybe’, by Secondhand Serenade. One part of the lyrics went like “I was wasting all of my life just thinking of you. So just come back we'll make it better” It was definitely the most embarrassingly emotional Facebook status I’ve ever updated. I deleted it now, so you won’t find it on my profile anymore. But it was intended as a secret message of my feelings towards her.

Surprisingly, during the break on the next day, she played that song with her electronic dictionary. At first, I was like, ‘hey, I know that song!’, and soon, I realized that I posted its lyrics and thought ‘hey, maybe she likes me too.’ Not considering the possibility that she liked the song.

Anyway, time passed, and it became June. Until then, I exchanged simple hellos and goodbyes with her, but not a real conversation. Then one day, the homeroom teacher told the class that she is immigrating to Canada. Tomorrow. ‘She’ meaning the girl here. I was shocked, and blamed myself for not being a man, but being a dork. I thought tomorrow will be my last opportunity to express my feelings before she leave. So I promised myself to talk to her. I didn’t want to miss the last chance. But just in case I get too nervous and wet my pants, I wrote a letter about what I liked about her, how I felt when I first saw her, and so on.

Finally, the day came, the day that will remain a precious memory of my teens forever. After all the classes were dismissed, she stood in front of every classmate and bade farewell. We all clapped and wished a safe trip. Some girls cried a bit, but I was anxious to find the right timing to take a shot. So I quickly left the classroom and waited for her in a hallway. When she came out of the door, I grabbed her hands from behind, calling her name. I said, “I love you.”

There was a moment of complete awkwardness and silence as if she didn’t understand what I just said. We just stood there for about five seconds without moving or saying anything. Soon, I realized that I was still holding her hands, and that my friends were gathering around us, some chuckling. Feeling embarrassed, I quickly pulled out the letter from my pocket, put it in her hand, and ran as fast as I could for home. Holding a girl’s hands in the middle of the crowd. WOW. What was I thinking?

After a few days, I got Facebook messages from her, and she said that she that we had better stay as friends. She also said she will probably go to a college in Canada or the US, and is not thinking of coming back to Korea anytime soon. So I just replied, “Okay, well, take care.”

That’s how I felt something called love for the first time, and how it ended. A few months ago, she changed her Facebook relationship to “In relationship with ~”. A few days ago, she said she had been going out with him for 200 days. But I’m happy for her as long as she’s happy. I have my own life too and will find my significant other sometime.

I think it was a learning experience to me, and gained an important lesson. If you love someone, tell him/her that you do, before it’s too late. Regardless of what he/she says, it’s important that you expressed how you feel. If I didn’t say those three words: I love you, I would still be regretting. So again, make a move. It’s worth a try. 


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[Revised] In Class Writing #1: Personal Narrative

By | Published 2012/09/14

Essay Title: Computer Games and Family Relationship


Steve, my brother, is two years older than me. When I turned nine, my family bought a new computer. Since then, playing computer games became Steve's one and only hobby. When he came back home from school, he sat in front of the screen and hit keyboards until he went to sleep over twelve.

I could sense that mom hit the ceiling when I sat at the dinner table one day. She called Steve more than three tines, but he kept playing in his room. She called again. I noticed her voice grew sharper, but only silence came through the door in reply. It seemed like he built an imaginary brick wall around him to pretend that she was not there. Mom untied her red apron and went into his room. Oops. Now he was in big trouble.

She came back to the kitchen with Steve following her from behind, grunting. Then, she turned around, held up a CD in her hand, and broke it into precisely two pieces. The cracking sound filled up the room, soon making the whole house deadly quiet. Steve stood still with his mouth open wide. I did exactly the same.

After what felt like millions of years, mom pointed at Steve's school bag in the corner and said to me. "David. I want you to throw out your brother's bag. Throw it away in the big garbage bin outside the apartment. Otherwise, I'll throw out yours." Steve started to cry. I picked up the bag and ran for the door as fast as I could. I didn't want to look at my brother crying. I just couldn't.

The outside was already dark with only few streetlights greeting me. "She is overreacting. How can she be so cruel?" I thought as I walked helplessly towards the bin. When I arrived, I wavered. I clearly remembered what she told me to do, but I could not easily do it. After a moment of hesitation, I put the bag next to the bin, and hurried back home.

Mom was doing the dishes in the kitchen when I came back. I could hear Steve trying to stop crying, but his efforts were all in vain. Since mom completely ignored my existence, I headed to where my brother was sobbing. He was lying on his bed with his face buried in the pillow. I sat next to him to pat his back. "She won't be mad for long," I said in the most comforting voice I could make, but it proved to have no positive effects whatsoever. I suddenly felt incompetent.

A few minutes later, mom called both of us from the living room. We sat around the table, facing each other. Mom took a deep breath as if trying to control her shaking lips. Then, she opened her mouth. "I'm really sorry Steve……. And you too, David……. I didn't want to do it, but I had to... for you." She burst into tears as she finished talking. Something hot was coming out from my eyes. Soon, I found all three of us were crying together.

When I often bring up the memory of the incident, we all start laughing, wondering why each of us had to be so upset. In retrospect, mom did it not only for Steve, but also for me, dad, and herself. She chose to be a mean devil in order to maintain a peaceful family.

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[Monthly TOEFL Essay #1] Send your love through rice cake

By | Published 2012/09/07


Essay Prompt:Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples.

Send your love through rice cake


Word Count: 539

Maintaining strong relationships with neighbors was crucial when farming was the biggest industry in Korea. Families had to exchange help as agricultural machinery was not available back then. Therefore, the custom of sharing food when moving into a new community emerged in an effort to get close to others and continues until today. In my opinion, other countries would greatly benefit by adopting the convention of food sharing for three reasons.

First, a person can quickly adapt to a new community by sharing food. Something to eat combined with a brief chat is a handy way to introduce oneself to neighbors. In this way, one can create a sense of security and belonging, which reduces time needed to regain stability in life. For example, I delivered a lump of rice cake when my family moved to Ilsan seven years ago. Thought of going door-to-door and ringing a doorbell of complete strangers frightened me at first. To my relief, however, the neighbors were kind enough to accept the gift and smile back. It was a delightful experience that I found people in the apartment friendly and make a pleasant first impression to them.

Secondly, sharing food is an appropriate starting point for establishing solid relationship with neighbors. It presents a precious opportunity to become acquainted with and bring win-win situations in the long run. To elaborate, making friends with other members of the community is of significant value in that it offers a reliable source of help. For instance, you will hesitate little when asking a neighbor to take care of the house during the vacation if you find him trustworthy. In addition, there is an inevitable possibility of small or large conflicts even though there are basic rules and manners for living in the same area. Nevertheless, keeping close relationships with other people in the district would make it easier to deal with the problem or even prevent it from happening with mutual understanding.

Last but not least, food sharing can lead to a discovery of new friends, thus enriching someone’s life. Giving out food is not only a way to announce that you are new in town, but also possesses an implied request of becoming friends. For example, my mother found out that my friend in the same class lives one floor below while giving out rice cake before. Then, they often shared thoughts on various topics over a cup of coffee and started to go jogging together. Right now, my brother and I attend boarding schools and my father is working abroad in Kuwait. So it is reassuring to know that my mother has someone to open up mind to and have a frank discussion. A lot of people these days live each day without expressing their emotions much and fail to pay attention to valuable ones around them. Hence, sharing food can introduces new relationships that will improve life satisfaction.

To sum up, food sharing when moving into a new neighborhood is a custom worth adopting by other countries. It entails several advantages: facilitate adaptation to a new community, help build relationships with neighbors, and introduce new friends. With a little preparation and a radiant smile, it is a successful formula to living a harmonious life.

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[Random Post] Joy of not understanding

By | Published 2012/09/02

I can only understand Korean, English, and a little bit of Spanish. If the lyrics are not written in those languages, there is no way I can understand what the song means. However, I enjoy listening to a song without knowing what the singer is singing about. It's a little adventure because I can guess what the song might mean.  I can even make up my own meaning of the song because everything is up to my imagination.


For example, this is the music video of Hoppípolla, a song by a post-rock band from Iceland Sigur Rós. It shows several old people walking around the town, doing silly and childish things. They ring someone's house bell and run away, kick a post box, and throw water balloons at one another. At first look, I thought the song is making fun of adults who still act and think like  kids. I also thought it could mean people these days are too busy to pay attention and show love for important people around them. They rarely make have fun and relax.

The name of the song, 'Hoppípolla' means 'jumping into the paddle in Icelandic. The band's bassist Georg Hólm once said in an interview on the meaning of the title as:


"We like to play with words a lot, put two words together for example, and make a new word out of it. It means jumping into puddles. It should be two words but it's almost like a name now. The lyrics describe an atmosphere, a memory or something, like being a kid jumping into puddles, falling down and getting a nosebleed, getting back up... It doesn't really matter when you're a kid."



It may differ from person to person, but his words make me think that the song is not serious at all. Rather, it seems like the band wanted to make more 'emotional' impression. On top of that,certain parts of the lyrics are not even Icelandic, but written in 'Hopelandish', a language created by the band's songwriter, Jón Þór Birgisson. Some people might say that this way of listening to a song is too 'simple' and requires absolutely no thinking. However, I believe it's a fun activity that encourage imagination, improve creativity, and replenish basic human emotions (such as happiness) that people these days take for granted. 

In addition, I can focus more on the how the words sound rather than their meanings, which allows me to just enjoy the feeling of the song and have fun. In other words, I don't have to sit down and try to figure out what the singer wanted to say or what is the hidden meaning lying underneath the lyrics.


This song is 'Sie ist in mich verliebt' by Fertig, Los!, a German Indie rock band. I came across this song when I was playing FIFA 07 on my computer a few years ago. Just like my encounter with 'Hoppípolla', I had no idea what he's talking about. But the song was really bright and optimistic, which made me feel very jubilant. In fact, the title of the song is translated as 'She has fallen in love with me', and the video is about the love between a boy and a girl.

Another thing about the 'joy of not understanding' is that I can get a taste of other foreign languages. It's quite fun to try to sing along or just pronounce a word. It's also  fascinating to find out similar words between languages, look how letters combine to create a word, and discover unique pronunciation. For example, a German word 'subtil' is 'subtle' in English. Spotting these little differences is one thing that adds more fun to this activity. If I could learn more languages and listen to these songs later, it would be more entertaining.

So instead of listening to your favorite song over and over, why don't you try some 'exotic' ones?

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