미지센터의 청소년 국제교류이야기

            

The 24 sheep sculptures were lined up along Times Square, in an unorganized line.

           As a Korean who lives in New York, I took a bus to an outdoor art exhibition in Time Square. Called 'The Time Square Show 2011' in Manhattan, there were many artworks displayed in Times Square. The exhibition was from March 2 to March 7, and I was able to go on the last day of the exhibition. The show's purpose was to show the works of various artist in the United States as well as Manhattan. When I looked for the description of the artworks, most of the works only had the names and the studios they were produced from. The main feature work was the only one that had a description along with the artist's name. 

Kyu Seok Oh's Counting Sheep was the only work with a description complementing the artwork.

                  “Counting Sheep”, by Kyu Seok Oh,included 24 sheep sculptures that were lined alongside the walkway facing the New Year Countdown ball. Mr. Oh currently resides in Queens of New York City, and had held numerous exhibitions in Japan and the United States, including the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (1988-2006) and the Harlem School of the Arts (2006). Counting Sheep was part of his Renka Project, which the sculptures were made from steel wires, covered with white paper shells that looked similar to plaster. The description stated that this work was inspired when Mr. Oh wanted to contrast the flashing neonlights with the soft, light bodies of the sheep. According to his statement in his website (www.kyuseokoh.com), he “wanted to create something light, bright, andlarge that would juxtapose against this background [neon lights]”.

I interviewed several bystanders, many of whom gave positive reviews. When I asked one of the bystanders about what impression did the sheep give out, he said that “Although the sheep sculptures have no eyes, they look like they’re looking around curiously.” Another stated that “they gave mean impression that they were wandering aimlessly, while trying to escape thejungle of concrete and neon signs.” Most of the people stated that the sculptures suited Times Square. “Just like the description says, you know, it’s like the sheep are absorbing the noise and the lights,” said a British tourist visiting New York. “I want to fall asleep just by looking at it,” joked another.

 Nevertheless, there were many who thought that this exhibition was significant for the Korean community. “It’s an honor to have a Korean exhibit his work in the center of the world,” said Hanna Oh, an art student from Columbia University. Many Koreans in the United States feel that this is a major step towards Korean art in the United States, and hopefully future works will leave New Yorkers sheepish once again.

Until 1980s, Korea and China had very limited interrelation due to ideological struggle. In late 1980s, finally, Korea and China have opened up their doors and started the relationship that had been long suspended. Nowadays, China has become a highly important partner of Korea for both geopolitical and economic reasons. Furthermore, people’s effort to actively engage in each other’s culture improved the relationship between the two countries. A group of Koreans living in Shanghai, China, sought the way to contribute to both the betterment of relationship between the two countries and spread of Korean culture, which resulted in the establishment of Han-Geul Hakdang.

Photo taken by Jae Hyun Kim, Used with Approval

 
          Han-Geul Hakdang is a non-profit organization that aims to offer Korean education opportunities for Chinese people in Shanghai. Han-Geul Hakdang was established in September 2004, with collaborative efforts of resident employees, housewives and teachers from Shanghai Korean School. As it developed, Hakdang not only educates Chinese Korean, but also introduces Korean culture by holding Korean festivals and cultural exchange activities; it annually holds Korean festival that consists programs for making Korean food and playing Korean traditional games.

           Fortunately, I had an opportunity to participate in a Korean lecture class in Hakdang as an assistant. Even though all the teachers were voluntary, their enthusiasm for teaching was outstanding. I was responsible for reading out loud each Korean word clearly and gradubg vocabulary test that the students just had taken. The result of vocabulary test was not that great, but Chinese students, who just have begun studying Korean, were trying their best to pronounce each Korean word clearly. Furthermore, the students were amused when they found the similar pronunciation among few Korean and Chinese words. The Lecture lasted for only an hour, but at the end of the class, students were delightfully repeating few Korean phrases like AnNyeongHaSeYo, hello, and GoMapSeumNiDa, thank you in Korean.

           Currently, the classes are being held in offices generously provided by Korean Chamber of Commerce. Lectures are being instructed by volunteer teachers and assistants, while classes are divided based on students’ level of Korean fluency and their needs. New students are being admitted on every January, and Hakdang also grants certificates for students who reached certain level of Korean fluency.

 There was an ISWEEP science fair held in Texas. There, I have presented a project that tested on miniature houses to see which plants does its function of cooling and heating the best. There were three different plants used in this experiment; Sedum, English Ivy and Winter Berry. These were all succulent plants meaning that they store massive amounts of water in themselves. Therefore, the water doesn’t evaporate which will not take heat away from the house. This keeps the house warm during the winter. Also, plants in general have roots that tie tightly with each other. These protection of soil will keep the house cool and prevent the sunlight from heating the roof too much.
 
 Planting these plants definitely have a massive effect in saving the costs of air conditioning and heating.The plant that was represented as most effective was Sedum because it was a succulent plant with more water storing capacity which means that it can store massive amounts of water in the roots compared to the other plants to even survive in the desert. 

The reason I started this experiment was because of the concern that our earth is going to get destroyed. Like in the movie 2012, a disaster due to Global Warming could kill all of the mankind and bring end to this world. Therefore, we all need to keep this in mind and come up with some other way that we could prevent Global Warming from proliferating. 

 Then, what is Global Warming and its effects? Why are people conducting these experiments and putting so much effort into it? Global Warming is a phenomenon that occurs when earth’s hemisphere is destroyed by the CO2 released by human constructed machinery including automobiles, refrigerators, heating devices and air conditioning. The sunlight shines strongly through these holes in the hemisphere and therefore causes earth to overheat. By Global Warming, glaciers in North and South Pole melt down and some countries like Maldives will drown due to excessive amounts of water melted from the glaciers. This might not seem very devastating to us who is not the natives living in Maldives but it definitely will affect most of us soon or later. 

Everyone as a citizen inside the earth has to gather strength and effort in order to prevent Global Warming from advancing any further. There has also been a research done by Michigan University if green roofs save excretion of CO2 by decreasing heating and air conditioning prior to the Science Fair research project. The result was that plants on top of the roofs do cool down the houses and warm the houses depending on the outside temperature. 

Other than these experiments, there are many more experiments being done to protect our earth and to save the human kind from becoming extinct over time. Everyone should take action in the way they can to save the earth even by walking instead of driving cars. These issues are the ones that bring everyone on the earth as one and we should all help prevent this cause. 

 Of course it is not very easy for the students themselves to do such experiments to save the earth. However, that is what ISWEEP is for! ISWEEP ables students to show what they have researched in front of the judges who are experts of those category. This competition is held every year in Texas and international students are also eligible to attend. You have to register the topic of your experiment in detail first and the organization informs you if you can come to the Texas competition or not. When you get qualified for the Texas competition, you go and you can earn medals at the same time show other scientists what experiments could be done. The website for this fabulous competition is http://www.isweeep.org. This is a wonderful way to contribute to the earth. Everyone should try submitting their work to this. 

 

 

2011 January 29^th, in KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency), there was an event for VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea) member students. The name of the event was called ‘VANK World Changer Education’. Such forum is held for the first time ever, but will continue to educate VANK students about contemporary global issues frequently from now on. 330 middle and high school students’ passionate minds to bring a better change in the world heated up the cold room. Students realized MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) were the challenges for young generations to solve.

 

MDGs are eight most imminent conundrums of 21^st century, of which should be solved upto certain level by 2015. “Some problems are a little bit more influential to our lives than others. However if you were to become a world changer, you should care them all.” , VANK leader Park Gi-tae said.

VANK leader Park Gi-tae introducing a Moroccan intern in VANK

 

Some people question the effectiveness of United Nations. ICUNIA (Information Center for UN and International Activities) representative Kyung-Soo Kim  told the students “OCHA(UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) makes sure that relief goods are handed out to every single corner of rural areas. This is one of the practical actions that nothing else but UN can accomplish.” And also, “There are so few Koreans working in international organizations. Your chances are big. Try before you give up. But first, be an expert in your expertise.”

Frankly, many students looked partially relieved to know their English did not have to be perfect to work in UN. With their passionate minds, respectable English proficiency and expertise on a particular section, they were already a part of UN.

ICUNIA (Information Center for UN and International Activities) representative Kyung-Soo Kim being introduced at the beginning of his lecture

 

Lastly, KOICA Global Village Project Assistant Jung Sunghoon gave a speech about ODA(Official Development Assistant). ODAs are various forms of aids given by developed nations or its governments to international organizations or developing nations purely for their benefit. The aid is never limited to financial aid, but also includes technological, humanitarian aids. South Korea is the only country to no longer receive the aid but give the aid. But there are problems to unconditional ODAs. Recipient countries may no longer be able to stand up for themselves without the aid, making them heavily dependent on the aid. Their governments are easily corrupted, and modernization / democratization are delayed. ODAs may help recipient countries temporarily, but if they are not used properly, it does more harm than good.

 

KOICA Global Village Project Assistant Jung Sunghoon giving a lecture about MDGs and ODA.

/MIZY Youth Reporters, Cho Rok Lee

             On January 15^th, the communications officer for the UN Governance Center, Mr. Kim Jeong Tae gave a lecture during the MIZY Youth Reporters’ orientation. Mr. Kim has written many books, including Story wins Speculations and The Design for the 90%, which have helped, and is still helping, the youth to see the world in a different view. During the lecture, Mr. Kim stressed the importance of “paper power” in our information-based society and the ways in which the MIZY reporters can benefit from it.

             For next year or so, the newly recruited MIZY reporters will be writing articles on global interactions; to help them set some kind of guideline, the MIZY center invited Mr. Kim Jeong Tae on the MIZY Reporters Orientation Day. Having benefited from writing, Mr. Kim explains why’s for and how’s to writing using the following key words: paper power, publication, and search.

Paper Power:

“I can conquer the universe with 24 soldiers; they are the alphabet letters.”

             What powers does the paper have? What powers does the writing have? Well, according to Benjamin Franklin, he could conquer the universe with writing. This might be a little extreme, but Mr. Kim’s assertion is not much different. He says writing is one efficient tool in persuading the world, making the world see what you see. However, not all writing buys the hearts of the others. According to Mr. Kim, meaningful “stories” do the job right; but to write these good stories, you need much preparation, and here “reading” comes in.

             Mr. Kim says that reading is like filling a large jar, “You gradually fill up the space with the knowledge obtained through reading, and when the last drop of knowledge falls into the jar, the contents overflow. The overflowing pool of knowledge splashes on other people, and thus, the process of ‘sharing’ your knowledge begins.”

             Hence, it is not the reading process where the core power of paper lies; instead, it is the “sharing” part. Until now, it was you who were informed and persuaded by the writing of others, and the next process is for you to inform and persuade the others with your knowledge. Mr. Kim brands this next process “publication”. Publicizing does not refer to the process of formally producing a piece of writing, but it refers to the simple process of “making public what is private”. Thus, you may be young, inexperienced, and your stories might not be about the hot issues of today. Also, you nonetheless have all the right to “publicize” your stories. Through many steps of publicizing, you familiarize yourself with writing, and gradually develop skills for meaningful and persuasive writing.

             Mr. Kim gives his own experience in publicizing as an example. He has had many “publicizing” experiences. He first began his writing in his church pamphlet. Like most others, he initially found writing publicly a difficult task. But as the weeks passed by he started to express freely his ideas in the hope to practice revealing is ideas into words. With this experience as the foundation, he tried many writing tasks from then on, such as publicizing a book about life in the Korean army, working as a student journalist, and working in a publications company. Those practices have led him write a book in just few weeks, like in the case of Story Wins Speculations.

             The final keyword Mr. Kim stresses in writing is “searching”, on the internet.

             “Almost everything can be searched these days on the internet. What is searched is what is reliable and interesting. So, you should use this side of searching as a means to revealing and sharing your stories to a large audience in short amount of time. Nothing else can be an easier start to the journey of persuading the world”

             And this is where the MIZY reporters come in. The reporters have been given the chance to reveal themselves. As reporters, we have the duty to write meaningful and informing articles. We could simultaneously make this a chance to practice publicizing ourselves.

             Reporters who have heard the lecture were greatly inspired by the heartfelt advices of Mr. Kim Jeong Tae. Jae Hee, Choi(17), one of the English-reporters commented “The lecture was helpful for me in settling myself in the place of a reporter. I was a little anxious before, but now I plan to write articles that readers find easy to approach and understand, all the while developing myself with the repeated practices in writing.” Also, Korean-reporter Yong Min, Seo(17) said “I learned very much from the lecture, and look forward to writing articles that can represent the many advices the officer gave to us”.

/MIZY Youth Reporters, Ji-won Choi

 Judy Blume, the children book writer of all time, speaks of her love

“Over the 40+ years I've been writing I've also written for adults, but I always come back to young people.”  
                                                                                                                              -Judy Blume

Judy Blume is one of America’s most-loved writers of all time; especially for the younger generation. She has sold over 80 million sales of novels including books such as the Fudge series, Are you there God, it’s me Margaret, Blubber and etc. Without Judy Blume, lots of young readers may be still complaining about how boring reading is. Today Judy speaks of her love for the younger generation and the passion for her writing.                                                               Photography credit to Sigrid Estrada              1. What has driven you to write so many books especially for young adults/children?

I need to be involved in creative projects. That was true even when I was in school.  It was when I was out of school, married with two babies, that I realized I needed to find creative work.  I missed the excitement, missed the energy, missed that feeling of wanting to jump out of bed in the morning and get back to my project.  I was physically sick a lot in my 20's.  But once I found writing the illnesses magically disappeared. 

I don't think about writing books for children vs. writing for young adults, or even adults.  I go with whatever story is inside my head and demands to come out.  I think of characters rather than plot.  This isn't right or wrong, it's just the way I work.  I have a connection to young people, maybe because my memory of my own childhood is so strong.  I've always identified with young people.  It never occurred to me, when I began to write, to write about anything else.  Over the 40+ years I've been writing I've also written for adults, but I always come back to young people.

I think novelists are interested in everything, too, but mainly in people.  I'm a people watcher, an observer, a listener.  This has always been true.  Even as a young child I made up characters inside my head.  I invented stories about them but never wrote them down. 

Before I start a book I keep a notebook -- I call it my security blanket -- because I could never face a blank screen, or a blank page.  This way I'm less scared about starting.  I've got my notebook filled with ideas, characters, and scenes.  This is where I am right now.  I left a novel that I'd just started two years ago, when the opportunity to film Tiger Eyes came along.  Yesterday I took out my notebook.  I think I'll soon feel ready to begin again.  And that's good, because I'm happiest when I'm writing, even though I might tell you it's torture (and sometimes it is).
 

I try not to sign a contract for publication until I've finished the book.  That way I don't have the pressure of deadlines.  For some writers, deadlines are essential.  Without them, they'd never write, or never finish.  But this is how I've always done it and it works well for me.  One time I decided I needed the pressure of deadlines so I signed a contract for a series of four books -- The Pain & the Great One series for younger readers.  And it worked okay.  I did what I had to do.  But I wouldn't want that kind of pressure for this novel that I'm trying to write. 

I feel my responsibility is to write the best, most honest books I can.  I owe that to my readers.

I'm hoping I get to do more of the same.  Writers tend not to retire.  We write until we can't.  I still have stories to tell and characters to create. 

Thanks for your very thoughtful questions.  Morning is my best time for writing -- but you see, I'm answering emails instead.  That's because it's so hard to get back to writing a book.  But now that my notebook is next to my computer, now that I can see it every day, I know I'll be getting back to that novel very soon.

This interview has been done by e-mail through the MIZY youth reporter MinKyung Kim and Judy Blume.

             On 21^st of January 2011, MIZY Youth Reporters gathered for the first time at the Seoul Youth Cultural Exchange Center (a.k.a MIZY center) for the orientation. Total fifteen students were selected through a competitive process. Because some live overseas, only eleven reporters appeared on the orientation day. The meeting was very meaningful to the reporters. The orientation was separated into three sessions: a welcoming ceremony, activities, and job trainings.

Welcoming Ceremony

“The orientation ceremony provided me both hope and responsibility. The responsibility of becoming a journalist suddenly came upon me hard, and put me on my nerves.”

             The orientation began followed by the celebration of the admission of the MIZY Youth Reporters. Then the team manager Won Jin Lim introduced the MIZY center. According to her, the center is operated by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO under the auspices of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It is a specialized organization for understanding diverse culture. She also stressed the role of the “MIZY Youth Reporters”. The members should learn to tell stories in perspectives of both MIZY members and the youth. As the pioneers of the MIZY Youth Reporters, we promised to continuously capture insightful, useful, and interesting moments around our lives.

Activities

“As we got to know each other through Ice Breaking and self-PRs,

the awkwardness started to melt and I felt a bond among the members.”

            

             The first activity was called Ice Breaking. Through the activity each member had time to introduce herself and learn about others. Soon the awkwardness in the atmosphere disappeared.

             Next, the members had discussions on our future plans. We selected the team, Korean article, and English article managers respectively. Then, every reporter chose specialized article subject; the topic varied from environment to art. The members will write monthly articles according to their topics.

 

Job Trainings

             Finally there was a lecture by Jeong Tae Kim the press agent for the UN Governance Department. His lecture was on “How to Become an Influential Person.” He tried to break our prejudices on a successful or influential person, and advised us to start from what we can do now. Furthermore, he encouraged us to try our best.

            Though it could have been a tiring day, it was an apt start for the MIZY Youth Reporters. We met each other, planned for our future challenges and realized vital factors to becoming successful reporters. We hope to both fulfill our goals of providing useful information and learn to become more mature reporters.

“I feel very fortunate to be given the chance to participate as one of the MIZY Youth Reporters.
 I expect to see myself grown more mature when I look back at the end of this year”

/ by MIZY Youth Reporters, English Articles Division