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The 8th Charity Flea Market-WeAJa

On the 14th of October, WeAJa Charity Flea Market was opened in 4 areas of the nation (Seoul, Busan, Dajeon and Jeonju) with the theme of 'Sharing makes the economy strong! The earth strong as well!'

The Seoul Market was opened in Seoul World Cup Stadium North Plaza and the opening ceremony commenced the event at noon. Along with host representatives, there were many visitors to share the meaning of this event.

Flea Market

Throughout the whole North Plaza, there were numerous booths that sold products from different social enterprises. This was a great chance for promoting valuable products and introducing visitors to unique ideas. A large booth named 'Beautiful shop' sold coffee and other drinks made from fair-trade ingredients. The booth was organized by 'Beautiful Coffee', a Korean fair trade organization.

Other booths included unique dolls made from re-cycled materials. One social enterprise, 'Yonzdoll' explained that all of their products are made of materials that were collected from thrown away garments. Another enterprise named 'Touch for Good' filled their booth with neat bags made from used banners. Visitors learned the environmental contributions of these social enterprises.

Apart from social businesses, student voluntary groups participated in the flea market as well. Whimoon Boys High School's voluntary group, Doongwoori, opened a market of 100 handmade recycled notepads and 800 re-used goods. From 2010, this group has participated in the WeAJa Seoul Market and donated the profit to the Seoul Daecheong Welfare Center for the senior citizens who live alone. I had the chance to hear some words from the 2012 Doongwoori's leader, Kim Woo Jin.

The WeAJa Charity Flea Market did not only offer its visitors with valuable goods but it also encouraged participants to take some action to help poor nieghbours and save the planet. With participants of different ages, all gathered together to celebrate the idea of 'sharing'.

Fashion answers cultures

        We all derive to look good, but we all have different ways to look good.

           People from all over the world have different eye and skin colors. Even though we all look different on the outside, people all derive the same purpose-good-looks. In order to look good, the first thing that most people concentrate on is fashion. With the start of the windy weather in October, fashion across the world is changing in a fast speed. In Korea, from October 22~28^th, Seoul Fashion Week, a global fashion business event held by Seoul City to show the fashion of the upcoming season. Also the New York Fashion Week was held last month. People all want to look good. However, each culture has their unique way of looking good.

           Out of the many people in the world, who are the most interested and sensitive to fashion? As a person who just has passed one’s own teenager years, one has no doubt that the answer is teenagers. Teenagers are very sensitive and aware of what kind of clothing their friends wear. As there are Fashion Weeks in each country of the United States and South Korea, the clothing style also differs. Therefore, the styles of teenagers are different in these two countries.

Let’s take a look at the daily fashion differences of the teenagers from the United States and South Korea.

Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station

In search for eco-friendly resources and undiscoverd organisms, scientists have turned to the mystery terrains of Antarctica. Within the land where it has not yet been affected by human touch, countries of the world seek to construct stations to embark their novel research. With the name of 'Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station', Korea is planning to construct its second research station near the Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica. After a national vote, the station was named after a Korean historic figure named Jang Bogo who swept pirates off the coast in the Shilla Dynasty.

From 1st of August 2012 to 5th of August 2012, a 5-day exhibition was held in COEX to introduce the up-coming Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station. The exhibition included booths that showed 3-D video clip models of the station, the practice of the Antarctic research and the history of Korea's appearance in the Antarctic terrain. The following are some major booths that introduced the new research station to the visitors.

1.The footsteps of the Polar Research

This booth contained information of Korea's continuous efforts and results of polar research. A large timeline was pictured on the wall that pointed out some important dates. For example, in 1978~9, Korea embarked its polar research with the South Pole Ocean Krill work. Soon after on 17th February 1988, the first Antarctic research station of Korea, Antarctic King Sejong Station(남극세종과학기지), was constructed. In April 2002, the Arctic Dasan Station(북극다산과학기지) was built and subsequently, in 2009, Korea's first research icebreaker, 'Araon-ho'(아라온 호) was introduced.

2.A land of mystery, Antarctica

With models of different animals living in Antarctica, this booth introduced the natural environment and the ecological resources of the Antarctic. Along with rare Antarctic animals, there were displays of meteorites discovered in the region.

3.The Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station (1)

This booth showed a 3-D model of the Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station that is planned to be completed in 2014. Through this model design, visitors were able to form an abstract thinking of how the design will look and get a more realistic experience with the 3-D effects.

4. The Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station (2)

This booth contained life-sized models of some features of the Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station to introduce the special characteristics that the new station has.

-A duplicated heat insulation tube

Regarding the extreme temperatures of the Antarctic, freeze-resistant heat rays and urethane foams were used for the special manufacture. Eventually, pipes that are exposed to out-door environment can be protected from freezing to burst.

-A safe plant company

With 98% of the terrain covered with ice and an average temperature of -34 degrees, plant farming is impossible in Antarctica. However, the safe plant company balances the light, temperature, water and fertilizer in order to produce plants in any climate or area. The safe plant company wil provide fresh, safe vegetation to the Antarctic Scouts who only had frozen vegetables to feed on before.

-A triple windshield

To handle the extreme cold temperatures of the Antarctic, the Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station minimized the external areas and applied a triple windshield to limit the energy loss.

-A sewage disposal facility

In order to protect Antarctica's pure environment, a sewage disposal facility has been imported to re-use the waste water in the research station. The sewage disposal facility will apply a high-tech method of construction using internal circulation to create reusable water.

-A special wall and floor system

Acknowledging the extreme climates of the Antarctic, modular walls and floors have been selected to optimize the field construction in Antarctica. As a normal construction does not fit with the cold temperatures of the Antarctic, fabrication is completed in Korea and building materials are transported to Antarctica. Also, such walls and floors are designed with materials that are resistant against fires and noises for the safe and comfortable living of Antarctic Scouts.

-Facilities that have an efficient use of energy

The Jang Bogo Antarctic Research Station has a wind generator that uses the strong winds of the Antarctic climate as its energy source. This power plant is not affected by the wind direction and it can reduce the emission of carbon dioxide along with the fuel usage. Also, all lights within the research station are made with LED bulbs for energy saving. To add, LEDs do not require replacements and such eco-friendly method of lighting do not have any harmful materials such as lead or mercury.

Other than these booths, others provided recent researches of climate changes to awake the consciousness and the will to take action. Also, visitors had the chance to experience activities that were related to Antarctica. This meaningful exhibition allowed its visitors to develop a good understanding of the new research station and the special facilities it holds. Regarding the efforts that are being put into the construction, this exhibition gave a chance for people to realize the importance of research stations in the polar region.

We Need More Scientists

Photo credit to WCUIC

"We need idol stars, but what we need more are scientists." This is a famous quote from a recent Korean commercial. In this commercial, the need for more scientists is publicly presented to the viewers. Scientists are experts in the field of fundamental science. Lately, however, young people have shown a preference for majors such as business administration, medical science, and public administration—majors showing utilitarian characteristics. The Education, Science and Technology Committee revealed that the majority of International Science Olympiad winners chose to attend medical school. According to the Dong-A Daily News and staffing agency Incruit Corporation, thrice as many companies gave special preference to business administration and economics majors this year as compared to 2010. These majors are obviously preferred by society and individuals. As the interest for certain kinds of majors are on the rise, interest in other majors has been waning. The majors that are less popular are in the field of fundamental studies.

There are many types of fundamental studies. World Class University (WCU) is an organization that focuses on the fundamental sciences. WCU focuses on research studies and invites elite foreign researchers and scientists to Korea. The 2012 World Class University International Conference was held on September 14. The primary purpose of this conference is for international scholars to share their research developments. The secondary purpose is to support the dreams of young students who wish to grow in the research field. During this year’s conference, 200 middle and high school students had the opportunity to meet Nobel Prize laureates and receive educational advice from them. To learn more about students’ aspirations to become contributors to the international community, the following is an interview with Dr. SeongYong Ahn from the Research University Promotion Team at the National Research Foundation of Korea.

            The 2012 World Class University International Conference emphasized the importance of the fundamental sciences. By sharing their knowledge and experiences with scientifically advanced nations, Korea hopes to learn the importance of fundamental sciences and research.  Not only should people concentrate on the fundamental sciences, but they should also emphasize basic studies such as the humanities. It is welcoming news that WCU is trying to reinforce the importance of the fundamental sciences through such events. The future of Korea’s fundamental science development is in the hands of the next generation. Who knows? Perhaps one of the student participants may end up becoming the first Korean Nobel Prize laureate in the sciences.

Seoul International Youth Film Festival

About SIYFF& Opening Ceremony

Established in 1999, the Seoul International Youth Film Festival is an annual film festival for discovering and supporting talented individuals and developing various culture programs through media. Through the SIYFF, there is an aim to introduce new world’s coming-of-age films, provide media education for future generations and expand the media culture base for domestic and international youths. The SIYFF targets 20,000 people from 40 countries and this year, it opened its 14^th film festival from August 23^rd (Thu) ~ 29^th (Wed). With various categories, the Seoul International Youth Film Festival screened 141 films of 41 different countries.

The opening ceremony was held in Inchon Memorial Hall, Korea University, on August 23^rd 2012. On the red carpet, some famous Korean filmmakers and actors such as Im kwon Taek(임권택), Lee Joon Ik(이준익), Ahn Sung Ki(안성기) and Ha Jeong woo(하정우) showed up. With a great number of people, the ceremony really did look like one of the world-wide film festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice International Film Festival. Young filmmakers who had taken part in the festival also appeared on the red carpet, crowded by many cameras and flashlights.

Soon after, the opening ceremony commenced with a performance of ‘풀림 앙상블’, a new-age music group. After the congratulatory message, the opening film, ‘Kauwboy’ was screened.  As a

movie made in the Netherlands, the film impressively pictured a boy’s growth in a lonely environment.

Screening Program

The screening program of SIYFF was categorized into different groups. Such groups included Kid’s Eye, Teen’s Eye, Strong Eye, Competition 13+, Competition 19+, Pyeong Chang Special Olympics Program and Clermont-Ferrand Kid’s Special Program.

Kid’s Eye program

This section targets preschoolers, lower grades and their parents to show 13 feature films and 14 short films. Such films are shown to be critically acclaimed or internationally recognized. Short films are divided into two sections, Kid’s Eye Shorts 1 and 2. The former introduces mainly animations while the latter introduces adventures and the lives of children.

Teen’s Eye program

‘Teen’s Eye’ section is devoted to teenagers and mainly focuses on the lives of teenagers in different countries as well as the problems they are facing. This section introduces 15 feature films and 7 short films. Some themes that films have are secretive first love, teenage stereotype, school bullying, etc.

Strong Eye

This unique section introduces 14 feature films and 7 short films that have the characteristics of R-rated films. Films of this section contain themes of sex, drugs and violence. This section aims to allow teenagers to communicate with adults by seeing films which show their reality.

Competition 13+

This section is composed of films which are made by teenagers of 13 to 18 from Korea and other countries. Consisting of 14 Korean films and 10 foreign films, the young directors talk about stories of their lives through their own filming techniques.

Competition 19+

Competition 19+ contains films about kids, youth or maturation. This section has 10 Korean films and 10 foreign films which are mostly about kids, maturation of young adults and multiculturalism.

PyeongChang Special Olympics Program

With the support of the United States Embassy in Korea, SIYFF created a PyeongChang Special Olympics section to wish the success of the Special Olympics that will be held in 2013. This section includes films which deal with the success of disabled individuals.

Clermont-Ferrand Kid’s Special Program

Among the unique and fascinating short films of the ‘Kid’s Section’ that the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival provides, SIYFF has selected 23 shorts for children and youths.

As a teenager myself, it was an interesting experience to see films that were made by directors of my age. Since the films related well with my life, it was easy to get focused and sympathize with characters’ situations. Seoul International Youth Film Festival provided its audience with great and creative films and it gave a great chance for intelligent individuals to present their works to the public. Through SIYFF, more and more youths who wish to succeed in filmmaking will be able to take a closer step toward their dreams.

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How to participate in SIYFF

-For filmmaking participation

1. Register on the SIYFF homepage. (www.siyff.com)

2. Send documents related with the film in a CD with a DVD copy to the address below.

 -For film judging participation

Register on the SIYFF homepage. (www.siyff.com)

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