Reflection on Game and Abortion

We talked about two topics today.
One was about game industry and the other was about abortion.

I think that shutdown law has many loopholes, so it should not be implemented for several reasons. Young gamers use their parental IDs to log in, so it is no use making such a law. Moreover, any kind of government intervention will affect huge loss in gaming market of Korea. Some prominent Korean game developers are turning their eyes to overseas market because of the strict regulations on game.

I think abortion should not be allowed for the following reasons.
Abortion is another form of murder. I believe that baby has its own dignity and life at conception. Legalizing abortion can lead to the idea that life is not so precious. What's more, abortion is bad for women's health and may leave repercussions on their life.

When I watched a video of my own, I moved a lot, so it was distracting.
My facial expressions were also so weird. I will try to be as calm as I can and speak clearly next time!

Featured Report: Shutdown Law

Hi! I just uploaded an article for next Tuesdays class. I hope you enjoy the class!

Class A
Week #14 Discussion Topic
Korea’s “Shutdown Law”

Study Article: http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2014/09/02/south-korea-eases-rules-on-kids-late-night-gaming/
Questions
1. What kinds of games did you play in the past? (or are you playing now) Please share interesting game stories of your own.
2. Do you think the link between playing games and the reality is closely related?
3. If you were a CEO of NEXON, what kinds of games would you make to have a competitive edge in the market?
4. Do you think shutdown rule (which forces kids under the age of 16 to stop playing online games) is reasonable? Discuss your ideas with your classmates.

Reflection on Cat Lady

We talked about juvenile crime yesterday.
There are many people who argue that children should be protected even if they commit crime.
On the contrary, I think children should be punished fairly in accordance with their crime. Why do people always talk about the little children, not the victims?
Why do they forget about who really suffers the most?
Protecting children and keeping them in the small world only aggravates the situation.
Children, of course, are not fully mature, but they are taught not to hurt others from the very early stage of growth. I read a recent article that even children who committed a murder went to a jail for punishment in the U.S.

We should protect the people who were sacrificed by the perpetrators.
This is why I think children should not be forgiven because of their ages.

Reflection on terror

I express my deepest condolences to the people of France following the terrorist attacks in Paris. Violent extremism continues to happen across the world. Nothing can justify their violence. We need to find the root causes of the terrorism in order to mitigate the conflicts. Refugee issues remain, but many European countries enacted a law to restrict Syrian refugees. At the same time, dispatching ground forces will be another daunting challenge. In this sense, enhanced support and constant international cooperation are needed to address these problems and providing official development assistance should not be cut. Terrorism only hurts the citizen and must be stopped. 

Reflection on voting ban

I believe prisoners should not be given the right to vote for several reasons.

First, we should focus more on the rights of the victims than prisoners.
The most basic rights should be secured to protect the most vulnerable people in our society. The prisoners already stripped of other people's precious rights.
It refutes the idea that voting ban infringes on the human rights of prisoners.

Second, too much money could be wasted
when the government allows voting for prisoners.
I think it is wasteful and the money should be used more wisely for education that promotes the ban of the second crime or protects the victims.


For above reasons, those who are in prison should not be allowed to vote for the sake of victims who suffered from their crime.

Reflection on Korean history textbooks

1. Is it wrong or right for a government to publish a history textbook?
It is wrong for a government to publish a history textbook because
such action is another kind of dictatorship and government-led policies can distort the history
and even exclude important historical figures from the textbook.

In addition, the government should listen to our voices and conduct a poll among
citizens for revising its contents. Pressing ahead with the plan is not fair in terms of
teaching the right history for our students.

2. Do you think the new history textbook is going to be made by balanced views?
It will be made with distorted views by arbitrary decisions of the Korean government.

3. Young students should learn about historical figures who fought for

our independence and those who suffered from the compulsory labor and sex slavery.
The government may change the contexts in the textbook, but it cannot change the history or the fact.

Reflection on 'Meok bang'

1. Have you ever watched any 'Meok bang' shows?

I've never watched a show where a person gorges on food before a live camera,
but I enjoy watching 'Tasty Road'.

Two famous reporters visit famous restaurants and make a review on it.

2. What do you think about this Meok bang syndrome?
Nowadays, many people want to have personal time
and communicate one another through social networking services.

This shows that people hangout less than before and want to spend time alone.
I also like to drink a bottle of beer by myself  at my place.

3. Do you think this is related to our economic or social conditions?
It is closely related to economic and social conditions.
People tend to focus more on eating itself rather than to enjoy the real taste of the meal.
As we suffer from the economic crisis, we find relief in the very basic needs like eating.
Economist also reported that the cause of the food-show craze in Korea
comes from people's anxiety and insecure state of mind. The food show itself offers us vicarious satisfaction.

Midterm Topic-Early English Education

I would like to talk about early English education based on my experiences. While many parents believe that their children will fall behind in school if they do not have early English education, I believe that students can learn second language after they are used to speaking their native language. There are some problems that are ineffective for learning foreign languages in the Korea education context.

First, Korea’s English education is basically focused on grammars and comprehensive reading including memorizing whole lists of words. The English textbook covers conversations that are not commonly used in daily conversations in the English speaking countries.

Further, if children learn English too early, children have less chances of learning Korea’s culture and history. Learning English at an early age of course makes it easier to pronounce properly and learn faster, but it does not mean children can speak English fluently. I think that good English ability comes from good Korean language ability.

Many parents send their children overseas for studying English. There are many good opportunities to learn English in Korea with the media, but they have the pressure to do so because others do it. Students can learn English in Korea with a wide range of programs, so parents should not necessarily have to follow what others do. Some students are good at speaking English from the very start, but others may accelerate their speed after they enter school. No push for hurry.

In my case, I learned English from 3^rd grade (elementary school), but it did not help me. When I entered middle school, I saw a lot of English dramas and watched good videos through You Tube. Reading books that are written in English also helped me to improve my English abilities. I may not be good at speaking with good pronunciation, but I can clearly speak to convey meanings. That is just enough. 

Reflection on Gun Control

I would support for 'gun control'.

First, the number of accidents caused by armed terrorists using guns is

smaller than that of misguided use of guns.

Second, I think that gun control did not prevent the U.S. crime effectively.

In case of the U.S., however, it is very difficult to make

a legitimate rule of law on gun control due to its politic issues.

Without breaking off the close relationships between politicians and the gun lobby,

resolving its complicated issue will be challenging.

word

Reflection on 'Top interpreter reveals life in translation'

1.     Did your thoughts on being interpreters ever change before and after the GSIT course? How it changed?

I thought it would be totally impossible for me to interpret things, but I came to learn that I can do the job if I put my tireless effort and mind into it. Of course, it will be very demanding to be a professional interpreter.

2.     What do you think are the challenging parts in interpreting?

The challenging part is to interpret with proficient Korean language ability. English-Korean interpretation (or translation) gives me a pressure to convey meanings in a perfect way. Further, understanding Korean is sometimes harder than English. Notwithstanding its challenges, the beauty of interpreting would be a huge sense of accomplishment if you did a good job on the work.

3.     Requirements to be an interpreter of any government officials

Formal attitude, good-looking, confidence, professionalism, calmness

Interpreters working for the government also should be careful of not disclosing any secret information. They should be neutral and speak in a consistent manner.

Reflection on China's World War II military extravaganza

Question 2.

If I were a citizen living in Beijing, I would feel proud of my country.

China still has a lot to solve till it achieves a vibrant democracy and justice,

but it made remarkable economic growth in a short period of time.

Military power is the real power of one country,

so I would be proud of my country.

Question 4.

Korea has to protect its own country by deterring any provocations from North Korea

and establish secure military system with reforms to fight against strict military

bureaucracy.

Question 5.

China will have more radical reforms in manufacturing and IT,
but I am not so sure about its way to transparent government.

Refugee (Reflection)

In the class, we talked about refugee issues.

I did speech practices on refugees this summer, but

I briefly covered it, so do not still know much about it.

I had the chance to think about the roles of Britain and Germany from my perspectives.

Countries with power, resources and fund should take the lead

in solving refugees issues with proactive action.

Also, for a question, 'Should Korea accept more refugees?',

I would answer that Korea government should be very careful

about accepting North Korean refugees because I see

serious military issues erupt in recent days.

The assumption behind its provocation may be acceptance of former

soldiers, officers and even chief in commander from North Korea. (just my guess)

Further, Korea has such weak security system that military secrets could leak to the enemy. I wish the government could use its tax more wisely for the sake of our nation's peace.

I do not want any excessive humanitarian aid to North Korea.

We need to call for tighter controls on accepting refugees in Korea.

eurozone crisis

http://business.financialpost.com/news/economy/eurozone-crisis-hollande


It is an interesting article because

1. 'Grexit' and new bailout plan regarding Eurozone appear a lot in recent news.
Eurozone crisis led to a serious unemployment issue just like in Korea.

2. I do not know much about economy, so I want to study it further.

3. It well describes the economic crisis in eurozone in an easier way.

Discussion questions

1. What was the problem that first caused European economic crisis?

2. Why Greece is at the center of the problem?

3. How does it differ from the U.S. financial crisis?