In this blog post, I will present a polished version of the personal statement originally written for an application to the Department of Korean Language and Literature at Kyungpook National University, naturally refining the content across three sections: academic experience, campus activities, and examples of consideration and cooperation.
Academic Experience: Learning by Comparing Modern and Medieval Korean Grammar
My favorite subject in high school was Korean grammar. I took it as an advanced course in my sophomore year and studied so hard that my grammar textbook was filled to the brim with notes. Of course, I also enjoyed Korean language and literature, but the content of the grammar textbook suited my aptitude perfectly. While most of my classmates generally disliked grammar, I didn’t view it as a dry subject. It was a subject where, if approached with interest, one could become fascinated by the systematic and logical nature of language.
Although the grammar textbook primarily covered modern grammar, it also addressed medieval Korean grammar. Since modern grammar involves analyzing the structure of sentences we use daily, I was able to become familiar with it through extensive practice and solving exercises. On the other hand, medieval Korean presented difficulties due to unfamiliar vocabulary and orthography, much like learning a foreign language. When encountering a medieval Korean sentence, I would first translate it into modern Korean before analyzing its structure; since the characteristics of the sentence structure and grammatical content differed from those of modern Korean, I needed to study them anew. So, I began looking up and memorizing words from the textbook using a medieval Korean dictionary.
Once I had mastered a certain number of words, I was able to interpret sentences. To identify the differences in sentence structure and grammatical features, I decided to study by comparing them with modern grammar. When conducting this comparative study, I prepared a notebook summarizing the grammatical content of both languages. I wrote down the two sets of content separately, placed the notebooks side by side, and studied by connecting them one by one. For example, since the way nouns and particles combine differed between the two languages, I organized and compared this aspect separately. Through this comparison, I discovered many commonalities and was able to understand the historical evolution of the languages by identifying clear differences. This was particularly helpful during the actual exam, as there were questions requiring me to identify both commonalities and differences.
School Activities: Practicing Pronunciation and Scripts Through the Broadcasting Club
Ever since I was a child, I nurtured my dream by watching news anchors on TV. While I liked their polished appearance, what impressed me most was how cool it looked when they used the Korean language correctly and pronounced words accurately. So, I made an effort to use our language and writing correctly and to write grammatically precise sentences, which naturally led me to study Korean and grammar diligently. My Korean grades improved as much as I studied, and my affection for the subject grew.
I practiced a lot by imitating announcers to ensure my pronunciation was accurate. By imitating them, I was able to practice effectively, and as a result of that preparation, I passed the audition and became an announcer for the broadcasting club. I took pride in my role as an announcer for the broadcasting club. I was the main announcer in charge of the lunchtime broadcast, and it made me feel proud that so many friends knew my voice and my name. So, I practiced my pronunciation with even greater responsibility, striving to deliver the content with a clear voice.
The broadcasting club included male announcers, scriptwriters, and sound technicians. Broadcasting in a studio equipped with professional audio equipment, I felt a sense of happiness as if I had already become an announcer. As I continued my activities in the broadcasting club, my dream and goal of becoming an announcer became even more solid, but I realized that the profession of an announcer required much more behind-the-scenes effort than I had initially imagined. It wasn’t enough just to pronounce words correctly. Since the lunch broadcast wasn’t a professional news program, it was sufficient to accurately convey school news and stories, but my role extended beyond the lunch broadcast to include hosting school events and election broadcasts, among other tasks.
When hosting events, I had to thoroughly understand the procedures and practice repeatedly to avoid making mistakes. I paid particular attention to the election broadcasts, as they required me to coordinate with a male announcer and deliver lines in a back-and-forth exchange. Since election broadcasts were aired to the entire student body, any mistake could reflect poorly on the broadcasting club. Therefore, to ensure I wouldn’t embarrass my seniors, I spent a long time preparing by reviewing and revising the script with my writer friend beforehand. I practiced the entire script with the male announcer, focusing particularly on parts that were lacking or where my pronunciation was weak. By rehearsing the script repeatedly, I memorized it without needing to look at it, and I was able to speak naturally while looking at the camera, as if the words were just coming to mind. Thanks to this thorough preparation, I consistently received positive feedback and learned the lesson that practice is the only way to succeed.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation: Planning Various Events for Hangul Day
Our Broadcasting Club and the Library Club joined forces to plan a Hangul Day event. I met with the Library Club students in advance to discuss the event details, and I proposed a “Golden Bell”-style event featuring quizzes on the Korean language and literature. My suggestion was selected as the Broadcasting Club’s representative idea, while the Library Club proposed creating Hangul-themed designs for T-shirts and book covers.
At the end of the meeting, we decided to implement both ideas. Since the main theme had been decided, we agreed to collaborate across departments when selecting the details. We divided the entire student body into two groups to prepare for the Hangul design event and the “Understanding Our Language” quiz competition, and I was in charge of creating the detailed questions for the quiz competition. For the design event, preparations were complete simply by ordering colored pencils and white T-shirts and preparing drawing paper for the cover designs. However, since the quiz competition was for the entire student body, the content had to be rich and a large number of questions were needed.
Although I came up with the ideas, it was difficult to create all the questions on my own, so I worked with my team members to produce them one by one. Since we planned to use a “Golden Bell” format, we decided to develop at least 100 questions. We divided the tasks among ourselves to create questions on basic topics related to Hangul and King Sejong, the characteristics of the Korean language, the unique features of Korean literature and classical literature, and the authors and contents of modern literary works. We drew questions from high school textbooks, using internet searches only for the final ten questions to adjust the difficulty level. Thanks to our collaborative efforts, we were able to host a Hangul Day event that attracted a large turnout, and as organizers, we felt a great sense of accomplishment.
