In this blog post, I’ll outline a sample personal statement focused on my academic experiences, school activities, and volunteer work during high school.

Writing about Academic Experiences and Reflections

During high school, I was particularly interested in the Korean language subject. In the calm classroom atmosphere, I was able to build both basic communication skills and general knowledge, and through the four activities of writing, speaking, listening, and reading, I developed a desire to express my thoughts more clearly.
To this end, I focused on broadening my general knowledge by reading texts from various fields, and in my sophomore year, I took an advanced course in reading and writing, where I encountered works by experts in science, art, culture, history, and language. A major benefit was being able to expand my social and general knowledge by learning new concepts.
The reading class was conducted in three stages: first, independently reading and interpreting the assigned text; second, presenting my thoughts and opinions on the text by dividing them into arguments and supporting evidence; and third, engaging in discussions based on the presented opinions and creating final reading projects. This process served as training in organizing and communicating my thoughts.
I found the process of creating diverse forms of final projects particularly engaging. By broadening my expression methods—such as writing reflections, collaborative essays, group newspapers and reports, expressing thoughts through drawings and images, and adopting formats like news articles or letters to the author—my writing skills improved, and my ability to organize my thoughts concretely also grew.

Major School Activities and Reflections

Since my first year of high school, I have been active in the Culinary Research Club. Although I didn’t originally have a particular interest in cooking, I joined at a friend’s suggestion. The club was filled with students who enjoyed culinary knowledge and research, so we participated in various external activities and competitions.
Through club activities, I studied the properties of ingredients and learned how to use cooking tools. In particular, I developed an interest in healthy foods and natural diets, so I personally developed various menus, such as raw food dishes incorporating seven grains and vegetables, cereal made from grains and dried fruit, meat-substitute dishes using tofu and seafood, and bagels with various ingredients.
I researched raw food to the point where I could eat it for breakfast myself, and the bagels turned out so well that I could bring them to my friends as snacks. Initially, I only knew how to use a cutting board, knife, and microwave, but through club activities, I learned how to use an oven, blender, and electric rice cooker, which helped me improve my skills.
After more than a year of activity, we formed a team and participated in a culinary research competition. After researching recipes, timing cooking processes, and holding numerous meetings, we won the Excellence Award for a natural, healthy diet featuring tofu and seafood. The systematic research and collaborative experience gained during the preparation process became a valuable asset.

Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Collaboration, and My Reflections

We decided to pool the prize money from the cooking competition to mass-produce the menu we had developed and share it with the community. We chose the elderly residents of a nursing home as our recipients and held numerous meetings to create soft foods that would be easy for them to eat while also being beneficial to their health.
We decided to exclude spicy or hard ingredients and make bread fermented with yeast. Cultivating the yeast ourselves was a time-consuming process that required careful attention, but we poured our hearts into it, thinking of the joy it would bring the seniors. Together with my teammates, I selected ingredients for the dough using the yeast we had cultivated. We made the dough with traditional ingredients like soybean paste, sesame seeds, carrots, and pumpkin, then diversified the fillings with Imsil cheese, red bean paste, and cream cheese, tasting each version to decide on the final product.
When I visited a local nursing home with about 50 loaves of bread to distribute, I felt immense joy and a deep sense of pride as a volunteer. Through this activity, I learned firsthand the importance of responsibility and consideration by collaborating throughout the entire process, from planning to production and distribution.

Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans

Through a reading class that covered promising future careers, I developed an interest in the field of community sports. I realized that community sports can contribute to personal health management and improve the quality of life in local communities, which naturally led me to explore related career paths.
As I toured universities and gathered information on community sports through my older brother, my determination to enroll grew stronger. I was more interested in exercises aimed at improving basic physical fitness and managing daily life—such as gymnastics, yoga, and stretching—rather than athletic skills focused on competitive sports. Additionally, through my participation in a cooking club, I gained knowledge about healthy diet management, which led me to feel that the field of community sports aligns well with my aptitudes.
Once I enter university, I plan to thoroughly study the theory and practice of community and social sports, and increase my hands-on experience by learning the rules of various ball sports and other physical activities. I also aim to develop the ability to plan and operate programs that promote physical activity while engaging with local residents.
After graduation, I hope to work in administrative roles at organizations such as the Community Sports Association or the Recreational Sports Association, where I can communicate with local residents and play a role in promoting their physical activity. The communication skills, planning and collaboration experience, and understanding of healthy diets that I have gained through reading and club activities will be of practical help in preparing for my future career.