Baseball Legend Lectures at Woosong

Students lined all the way outside the library auditorium to see one of Korea’s all-time baseball stars. Park Chan Ho, current Hanwha Eagles and former Major League Baseball pitcher gave a special lecture in front of a packed-house October 25th. As seats filled, students stood and sat in aisles to get a glimpse this very successful athlete and businessman. Park summed up his coveted baseball career as it began with the LA Dodgers at just 21 years old. He had spent his glory days in Los Angeles, setting a Korean record, winning 124 games in Major League Baseball. Chanho Park is the envy of many baseball players in Korea. The lecture went on...

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Model UN held at Woosong University!

The 18th National Model United Nations Conference (MUN) was held at Woosong University on July 4th through the 7th, in 2012. This contest began in 1995. The United Nations Association of the Republic of Korea (UNROK) hosts it and it is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). The conference has provided university students with direct experience for international cooperation and diplomacy negotiation. This year’s contest had 459 participants from 66 universities. It was comprised of 4 committees: participants on committees 1 and 2 had to speak in English whereas participants on committees 3 and 4 could speak in Korean....

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Unforgettable China

About 30 students who received good grades on the TOEIC Test Contest held twice a year at Woosong went to China on July 30th. We stayed there for a week and we had a good time. On the first full day of the trip, we went to the Gate of Heavenly Peace and the Forbidden City. The Gate and The Forbidden City are both symbols of China, so they were very crowded. “They remind me of a Chinese movie called Curse of the Golden Flower, said John, one of the lucky Woosong students on this special trip. “I was really surprised at the huge, massive historical gate.” We also went to big, amazing Shanghai Qufu where we learned about Confucius's life. ...

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Busan International MOTOR SHOW 2012

On May 25, the 2012 Busan International Motor show kicked off at BEXCO in Busan. This was a great opportunity for Korean people to experience a motor show and to learn about more than 170 cars and 22 automobile brands, coming from all around the world. This year’s theme was The Voyage of the Green Car Across the Ocean. The majority of the countries all around the world have studied how to protect the environment from carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and so on. Now more than ever, it has become essential for companies in many fields to pay attention to such global issues. The show’s organizers anticipated that more than 750,000 people would...

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How to Enjoy a Baseball Game

Do you like baseball? After Korean Baseball League's opening game in April, lots of baseball fans are heading for baseball stadiums. If you have time, visit the Hanbat Baseball Stadium and see a Hanhwa Eagles game. I'll tell you how to enjoy a baseball game. Step 1. Enjoy with your friends or family. Usually, you go to a baseball game with friends or family. You probably wouldn't go by yourself or with strangers to a game that you're not interested in. It is always best to enjoy the time you're spending with your friends or family. Step 2. Stroll around the baseball stadium. Baseball stadiums often have plenty of exhibitions. Hanbat Baseball...

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Finding Something to Believe in, in Korea

One of the most frequently asked questions by Chinese international students who are new in Korea is: “How can Korean people be so religious?” To those who are puzzled, the biggest surprise would be that a few Chinese people become Christians or Catholics after staying in Korea for years. When Korean people are questioned about their religious views, they, on the other hand, are the ones who are puzzled. They think these questions are simply as silly as questioning the existence of human civilization. As a matter of fact, religious culture has dominated society, including China, for a long time throughout human civilization. However, the reason...

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A Clean Campus:The Face of Woosong

As I walk around the Woosong campus as of late, I have found that the litter on the street is disgusting, unpleasant to look at and, what’s more, smells terrible. The situation on campus is a little better (given the endeavors of the Sol Police), but not by much. On the other hand, all kinds of dirty things like cigarettes, spit, and even vomit litter the streets surrounding campus. In particular, student residential areas are being blighted by trash and stink. On the threshold of summer, I am seriously concerned about the horrendous smell of hot trash that can only become worse than it is now. The area around Jayang-dong is, strictly speaking,...

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Countdown to the London Olympics

  The 30th Summer Olympic Games starts on July 27th and lasts for 17 days. It is the biggest sporting event on the planet with 10,500 athletes and millions of spectators. As is tradition, 8,000 inspirational people will carry the Olympic Flame as it journeys across the globe, ending on July 29th in this year’s host city, London. The scheduled 2012 Summer Olympics will make London the first city to have hosted the modern Olympiad Games three times. London has hosted the Olympic Games on two past occasions, in 1908 and 1948, with the third planned for 2012. Last summer in the Beijing Olympic Games, Korea placed 7th overall. Korea hopes...

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The Lady with the Lamp Lights up Woosong University

On 31th of May 2012, the 2nd Florence Nightingale Pledge ceremony was held in Solbridge for incoming undergraduate students, in Woosong’s nursing department. The Nightingale Ceremony, named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, embodies Nightingale’s noble spirit, respect for life and her love of humanity. To acknowledge this special occasion the following dignitaries attended the ceremony: President John Endicott, Seongkyung kim (chairman of Woosong Foundation) Kang-Yi lee (the chair of Daejon nurses Association), Rchard T. Knowlton (Deputy commander for nursing at 121St Combat support Hospital) and Dr. Sharon Boni (Dean, School of...

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Most Teenagers are Affected Negatively by Skinny Teen Pop Idols in Korea

The bad effects of skinny idol groups have been growing recently. Teen pop idols are increasing in popularity at a fast pace in Korea. Moreover, most of them are composed of teenagers who are respected by their peers. One problem is the bad effect on teenagers who see the idols with skinny bodies and beautiful faces on the TV screen. Teenagers always struggle to shape their body to be slimmer and go on harsh diets to be like a doll. Furthermore, they depend on medical treatment as well. However, most teenagers will judge the idols by the way they look, not by the tough course which they‘ve been through. As a result of this atmosphere, a number...

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Young People React to 20-year-old Making Trouble on the Subway

Nowadays, the unsavory actions of young people have come to induce equally immoral actions from certain elderly characters such as a woman who bombards others with rough words, a smoking woman, and a woman who takes stimulants. They are doing wrong to one another, damaging each other. One such recent case happened on a subway. This incident happened on Feb 27th, 2012. A young woman crossed her legs, but it upset the person sitting next to her. An older woman nearby said, "Don't cross your legs because you do damage to others." After the older woman spoke, a younger woman was infuriated and shouted at the old woman. The old woman was embarrassed,...

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The Jisan Rock Festival is coming soon! (Web Exclusive)

The weather is getting hotter and hotter these days. Looking for somewhere to cool off? Then, How about going to enjoy some awesome music? I recommend you go to the Jisan Rock Festival. At the Jisan Rock Festival, you can feel free from the city’s busy schedules and noises. And you can also enjoy camping at the Jisan Rock Festival, if you choose a three-Day ticket with camping included. This year, they have a fantastic line up! Coming on Friday, July 27th: RADIOHEAD, THE BLACK SKIRTS, KIM CHANGWAN BAND, LOWDOWN30, BUSKER BUSKER, BLACK BAG, ACHIME, ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE IMPOSTERS, M.WARD, JAMES IHA, COMMON GROUND, and PETERPAN COMPLEX. On...

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Music Spotlight: April’s at Brickhouse

On May 16th, 2012, an up-and-coming new rock band performed for an audience of about 50 people at a local Eunhangdong bar called Brickhouse. Herald staff writer, Kim JiPil was lucky enough to catch up with the band before the show and talk to the band. The following is an interview with Kim JinSeok, leader of the band. Q: What is the purpose of your performance here? A: We’re here to meet the visitors’ satisfaction, but the most important thing is that we are here to enjoy playing, and I hope you guys enjoy. This time is the last performance for me, because I am going to quit the band to study more. Q: When and how did you form this band?...

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21st Century Witch Hunting: Lady Gaga’s Concert and a Religious Group’s Reaction

Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” surely triggered the fanaticism of 45,000 people. On April 27th of 2012 in her very first world tour concert, Lady Gaga made sure that her watching fans left satisfied with her exceptional performances in Jamsil Olympic Stadium Complex. The number of people who bought tickets to this event marked the second highest after Michael Jackson, and this clearly reflects her influence in South Korea. However, not all people were welcoming her arrival. Soon after she arrived, the South Korean government suddenly raised the rating of the concert to "above 18." Right before the concert started, many Christian groups including...

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Movie Review: 500 Days of Summer

“It’s not a love story.” This is the warning shown at the very beginning of the movie. It’s not a movie that makes you want to cry or makes you feel romantic. The only thing important was that love does not come with rules. 500 Days of Summer represents a simple love story in a totally different way. Here is the normal part of this movie. Tom (Joseph Gordon) met a girl who did not believe in love, Summer (Zooey Deschanel). The poor boy who always believed in the purity of love believed that this girl was there only for him. Without any surprise, they started a relationship in the usual manner. Starting with excitement, their relationship became...

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Are Social Networking Sites Having a Bad Effect on Society?

“Do you want to enhance your language skills? Why don’t you join the social networking world? There are lots of people from other countries,” Cora, a Woosong University student, said. Cora’s daily routine includes logging onto social networking sites, like Facebook, every day. In the morning, she checks her messages as soon as she gets up. When she comes to school, she connects to her Facebook account and posts comments on her friends’ pages or visits other peoples’ blogs. Cora usually sits in front of her computer networking with her friends or updating her pictures and other information. She is a typical young person in Korean society. She...

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What is Real Beauty? (Web Exclusive)

Everyone wants to be a beautiful person, even me. Today, I think about “What is real beauty?” because people I know say, “Nowadays you look fat. You have to lose weight.” So, I wear clothes every day trying to look nice. This is stressful for me. My mom says, “You are always beautiful. Don't lose courage.” But, my older sister says, “You have to lose weight and have plastic surgery like me.” My sister said it as a joke. Suddenly, I had some questions: What is real beauty? Why must everyone be beautiful? Does real beauty mean using diets or having plastic surgery? Is inner beauty real beauty? Today, I think there are some real social issues...

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Yeosu EXPO 2012 (Part 3)

The Yeosu Expo was an issue before its opening because of Korea’s desire, the Kim Yu Na effect, and many people’s help. We looked forward to holding the Yeosu Expo for a long time. This year was the result of many years of preparation; it was time to show the world. I, personally, eagerly looked forward to it because I mostly have lived on the land. Therefore, the ocean is an interesting topic to me. When I visited the Yeosu Expo, I got three impressions. First, the Yeosu Expo was very informative and unique. They introduced the world’s best knowledge and technology related to the Expo’s theme-- “The Living Ocean and Coast;” and proposed ways...

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4th Annual Together Day Festival

On a beautiful, sunny day-- May 5th, 2012, from 11AM to 5PM, there was an international event called the “4th Together Day Festival,” which took place at Daejeon’s Expo Park. The purpose of this event was to bring together local citizens and foreigners. There were a number of booths for each of the countries. Each booth provided amusing and creative activities for visitors. In the Korean booth, people could try pounding rice cake dough with a traditional giant hammer-like tool. In the USA booth, there were many beautiful pictures that portrayed nature in the United States, which were quite different from that of Korean ones. In the Indonesian...

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How Sexism Affects Me as a Woman

What is sexism? Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is defined as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; or conditions or attitudes that foster stereotypes of social roles based on sex (Wikipedia). Sexism is always an issue. As Korean society has changed, people’s perceptions have improved. However, sexism still remains a problem. For example, Korea public institutions such as government, schools and companies have high-ranking positions filled mostly by men. Also, in the mass media, especially in movies, women are often described as a temptress, using their beauty or sexuality not their intelligence or ability....

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International Gathering of Chefs in Daejeon

The World Association of Chefs Societies’ (WACS) Biannual Congress in May put Daejeon on the international stage this year by bringing chefs, future chefs, and the public together to experience cooking as both an art and a science. The event also gave Korean culinary students a chance to showcase their national cuisine to visitors from over 20 countries. WACS Vice President Hilmar Jonsson described WACS as an “excellent opportunity to promote Korean cuisine.” He also admitted that Korean food was “too spicy for me.” Woosong student Son Jung-min, who visited WACS, said the event was a great opportunity for everyone. “I saw a variety of food...

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TianJin Harmony: The Old and the New

Have you ever heard about one of the thousands of cities in China called “TianJin?” For Koreans, this is not as familiar as other cities. Although we may not have heard about the city in high school textbooks, lectures in history class, or TV documentary programs, Tianjin is a central and historic trade city--one of four major harbor cities in China. In 1858, China entered into a treaty with four countries (Russia, U.S.A., U.K., and France). Since the treaty took effect, the city has changed its lifestyle to a new way of living, and it showed quick economic success. Moreover, there are many Korean residents who have established their businesses...

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Our “Fast Food” Culture or This is Too Long to Read

Have you found that you get used to reading information which is getting shorter and shorter, whether it be a blog, Twitter or Facebook? Is long information becoming increasingly unbearable to you? We grow bored reading long and serious articles which in fact provide food for thought; on the contrary, we prefer those short articles which can easily amuse us. That’s the impatient atmosphere the Internet world brings us. Maybe we can call it “fast food” culture. It represents the phenomenon that people want everything faster and faster but pay less attention to the value inside. Just like fast food… it is yummy and can make us full in a short...

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Restaurant Review: IL Mare

Let me introduce an Italian restaurant named Il Mare. It’s located behind Time bookstore in Dunsan-dong. The food there is delicious, the interior is modern and tidy, and the servers, including all the staff of the restaurant, are very nice. When I went to the restaurant the first time, there were too many people, because my guest and I were there on the weekend. So we had to wait to be seated, but the line alone proved this restaurant had great food and service. On my second time to go to the restaurant, my guest and I went to the restaurant on a weekday, so we didn’t have to wait to eat our meal. When you get into the restaurant, the first...

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Woosong Culinary Takes Top Awards in World Chef’s Competition

Woosong culinary students won 27 medals at a major international culinary competition held in Daejeon in May. The awards included one gold medal won by third year university student Lim Jae Hoon, and 13 silver and 13 bronze medals won by 20 university and college students collectively. The competition was part of the World Association of Chefs Societies’ (WACS) Biannual Congress, which has an 82-year history. In addition to the awards, the five-day event gave Woosong students the opportunity to meet and share ideas with professional chefs and other culinary students from over a dozen countries and all over Korea. Woosong students began training...

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Yeosu EXPO 2012 (Part 2)

Most Koreans are filled with anticipation of the Yeosu EXPO 2012. The Yeosu Expo provides an opportunity to enhance the international community’s awareness of the function and value of the ocean, share knowledge on the proper use of the ocean and recognize the need for cooperation in the marine sector. The Yeosu EXPO has a good purpose, but there are some problems. One problem is the International Pavilion, which is one of the most popular attractions. The International Pavilion is comprised of exhibitions from countries in individual national pavilions and booths. However, some countries did not prepare well and some pavilions only want to...

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