GGHS 박유○

2019 Winter Personal Essay

GGHS 2019 Winter - Team 7

"If you want to participate in a global camp this winter vacation, bring your application by tomorrow."

I remember how I saw this announcement on the school board and thought...‘Well, there will be the global camp again in our school. As I remember a first global camp I joined last summer vacation was really hard. It was not easy to sit in front of a computer for 12 hours a day to investigate, translate and post topics on Wiki. But as hard as it was, I found it interesting and I am proud of this step I took toward reaching my goal to investigate the subject related to my career, the Biotechnology researcher, in relation to events of the Goryeo Dynasty.

I wanted to feel that feeling again and get deep knowledge related to my career, so I immediately decided to apply for this winter global camp. During checking the subject of the global camp, I slowly took a look at 10 topics to find a topic that covers 'science'. And at that time, the phrase 'natural heritage of Ganghwa' caught my eye. Furthermore, under the title I saw words like 'mudflat, sea, mountain, etc.', and realized that there are many things I could do with this subject. So I chose it because I can relate it to my favorite subject such as researching about renewable energy which I’ve learned in science class or finding out about biodiversity conservation. As renewable energy is one of my favorite part of science, I have quite a bit of knowledge about it. I know that renewable energy includes solar energy, geothermal energy, ocean energy and bioenergy that can be recycled or converted into renewable energy. It is known that Ganghwa uses most of this types of renewable energy. Biological diversity, which is most relevant to my career, is divided into three levels: genetic diversity, species diversity, and ecosystem diversity, and it is an ultimate source of life. It is also an essential resource for maintaining life support systems such as humans and ecosystems. Conservation of biodiversity is important in terms of conservation and resource management.

With these background knowledge on the subject of my choice, I started the global camp with anticipation. After orientation that was conducted in the seminar room, we went to the ‘club room’ on the third floor and introduced ourselves. Finally my turn came, I said my hobby is playing games because I like it so much, and my future dream is to be a Biotechnology researcher.

Then it was a time to divide roles. Firstly, I investigated the 'living creatures in the Ganghwa mudflats' among the biodiversity parts, and secondly, I created a script for the video used for the presentation. After the division of roles, we came to the computer room and began to research data. Contrary to what I thought, there was not much information about living in the Ganghwa Mudflat. But I tried to find information about five living things: Manila clam, Sand crab, Globular ghost crab, Surf clam and Barnacle. And by researching it I found out many interesting facts.

For example, Manila clam, as Koreans usually call it “Bajirack” has this name because of the clapping sound "Bajirack Bajirack" when scraping on the mudflats. Also, the number of Sand crab is decreasing greatly due to the reclamation project. I felt like I became more intelligent person because I could learn this new information. It was good to know about livings on the mudflats of Ganghwa. So I finished my research on this part and started writing a script for the video. We decided to make the video with the ‘Pokemon Go’ concept. There were two parts of the video: the first, in the beginning, is designed to explain why we find Ganghwamon, and the second, at the end, was compiled with lessons to help us think about biodiversity preservation once again. After finishing my part of the work, I decided to write down the conclusion of our activities with my friend. Despite a bit of trouble with a friend, fortunately it seemed like we'd made a concession to each other and made our relationship stronger.

In the morning after school classes, we went into the presentation hall. Our presentation order was 10th. It meant we were going to present our topic at the end of the event. So our goal was to go down with a splendid finale at the end of the presentation. After listening all team's presentations, it was our turn. I couldn't remember the script that I memorized so hard before, and my mind went blank. But I clearly remembered the moment how our team finished the presentation and our last words saying all together on the stage. There was our team’s slogan - "The more effort, the more green!". It was made by our group, and the pride that we made it all together made me feel good.

After we got off the stage, Ms. Marianna, teacher of our team told us how she felt about the project and how it was amazing to work with our team, and I got a little emotional. It's not been a long time since we met, but we had to say goodbye. And it was time to announce the final results. Frankly speaking, when Lyndsey announced a team that got second place, I thought our team would not win the award this time. But suddenly we became a winner and took first place. We were so happy because first place became an award for all our hard work. After all, we went to the place where we first met to say goodbye.

This global camp was really fun, and it was great to have a chance to learn more about the natural heritage of "Ganghwa" where I’ve spent most of my time. Also, I learned how to develop a sense of cooperation with my friends and realized that if I work hard at everything I can achieve it. Lastly, I felt good because during this camp I could learn how to deal with problems wisely while living in a dormitory with my friend. Therefore, I could learn a lesson about community life and become a member of society. Through this opportunity, I wanted to learn about the natural heritage of Korea, not just the natural heritage of Ganghwa, but also the natural heritage of the world. I wanted to explore natural heritage, to study where it is possible to install new and renewable energy facilities, and also study what efforts should we make to preserve the biodiversity of the Earth. Based on this idea, I plan to write a small thesis at the second grade by studying biodiversity of the entire country. And then I will write my thesis based on my biodiversity research when I become a university student. So I think through the global camp I could start dreaming bigger than before.

2018 Summer Personal Essay

My Essay

Topic : Medicine of Goryeo (the epidemic of Goryeo)

Hello. My name is Park Yu ○ and I'm 17 years old. Let me tell you about my essay for the Global Camp.

In fact, after finishing my first semester in high school, I got so depressed that I didn't want to do anything. While thinking about where to go for summer vacation, I found an application for a global forum camp. After I saw the application to this camp, I kept thinking whether I should apply eventually. Should a third of the short vacation be spent at school, which is only two weeks? Should we increase the knowledge and valuable experiences rather than just playing during the vacation? My mind was confused by all these thoughts. Meanwhile, I heard from a close senior that participating in a global camp is a really good experience and I would never regret participating there, so I made up my mind to go to the camp.

At the Global Issues Forum Camp in commemoration of the 1,100 year of Goryeo, I chose the topic 'Medicine of Goryeo' because my dream is to become a dermatologist that is very closely related to medicine. In order to become a doctor, I have to know how the diseases were cured in the past, and I chose this topic because I thought it would help me to grow up. In fact, I have announced about the Joseon epidemic in Korean history class after the final exam. I wanted to learn about the epidemic of Goryeo when I was researching the Joseon Dynasty. So I chose this topic for this reason, too.

Since the investigation is so vast when we started with just the medical science of Goryeo, we have begun our investigation by dividing it into the fields of 'the medical history of Goryeo' and 'the epidemic in Goryeo'. I took over the section on infectious diseases and researched the treatment methods of them, the medical institutions responsible for them, and the types of infectious diseases based on historical facts. I investigated the diseases and their treatment methods that I described in the ‘Emergency Remedies of Folk Medicine’, and the interim institutions that were treated in reverse, such as relief guides, jilin and malaria.

I had a really hard time finding the material because it was not only short, but mostly in Chinese characters, which was not exactly what I was looking for. I know that in Goryeo Dynasty diseases were cured through treatment that they would be a contrast, stretches ‘Emergency Remedies of Folk Medicine.’ I found out that the 'Emergency Remedies of Folk Medicine' is not the medical book for ordinary people and it was not included in the books for the general public, but for the ruling class, which had been promoted in Ganghwa Island. This meant that hangovers and alcoholism were treated as emergency diseases and that ordinary people were presenting gold as an ingredient, the fact that he recognized the body odor and appearance as a disease.

Therefore, although it was not what it is today, I thought Goryeo people used a scientific way to heal people. But it wasn't like this. Back then, people were more religious when they were trying to solve the causes of the disease. And they did not use the same science to find the cause of the disease, but they tried to cure it by kicking out demons out from their bodies or holding rituals. They also tried to deal with epidemic in this vain way. These methods of the Goryeo Dynasty are said to had gradually improved with the move to the epidemic scientific solving through the efforts of Ji Suk-young of the Joseon Dynasty to import the poll, a type of vaccination law.

As time has passed and technology has advanced, we have developed a logical and scientific method of treating diseases, and now we have incurable diseases. Based on past experience, it helps the mankind to develop medical technology. I have suffered atopy, an incurable disease, since I was young, and it has affected my career path. I know how difficult the disease is, and how difficult other incurable diseases are. I would like to become a dermatologist and develop medicine for diseases that are the most problematic in the world, free of charge in developing countries, and we can develop our country through trade.

In this global forum camp, I was able to work together with my seniors and friends to develop cooperation.I was also able to improve my English skills in translating technical terms. I was proud and pleased to proceed with my team's task asking questions and getting feedback from the English teacher. The global forum camp's experience will be used as a springboard to a brilliant future. If I have such an opportunity in winter vacation, I would like to show my progress by working harder than this time. I would like to thank teacher Lee Myung-hee, native English teachers, and many of the people who helped make this camp.