My Religion

I am a Christian and my whole family is Christian. We go to a church called Onnuri, where my father works as a minister. Onnuri church is one of the biggest churches in Korea and it is all around the world; many in the U.S., Japan, China, some countries in Africa, and much more. Onnuri means 'all nations', and it is a Korean Presbyterian church which is twenty-five years old, and has more than sixty-thousand members. My father's mother's father, my great grandfather was also a minister. Before the Korean war started, he built a church in North Korea. I'm the fourth generation of Christians in my family. We believe in the Old and New Testaments and the ten commandments, we celebrate Communion and Baptism, and much more. I got baptized when I was a baby. Our church baptizes not only the babies and teenagers, also the new members of the church.

Percy Jackson and The Olympians

The Lightening Thief, The Sea of Monsters and The Titans Curse by Rick Riordan are the books that I read so far in the series of Percy and the Olympians. The first one, The Lightning Thief, which I read last year for school was one of my favorite books, so I came to read the second and the third book. The series is basically a fantasy based on Greek mythology, about a kid named Percy Jackson, who is a son of Poseidon, the god of the ocean, going through many adventures with his friends. Kids like Percy, who are children of the gods, are called half-bloods or demigods, because they have mixed blood of mortals and immortals. All the half-bloods, including Percy, have ADHD and dyslexia because of their natural born personalities of heroes. They are out there in the world, and monsters from Greek mythology like Cyclopes, Medusa, Hydra, etc... are trying to kill them. Normal mortals can't see the monsters and the weapons that the half-bloods use because of the mists that blind them. Camp Half-blood Hill is a place where the half-bloods can be safe and are trained to be heroes. It has a barrier that blocks the monsters from attacking the camp. The god of wine, Dionysus, is the director of the camp and a centaur named Chiron takes care of the camp. Dionysus hates and doesn't care about the kids and the camp, unlike Chiron. Mt. Olympus, where the twelve gods have meetings and councils, is located on top of the Empire State Building in New York. The three strongest gods, who are; Zeus, the god of sky, Poseidon, the god of sea, and Hades, the god of the underworld, had promised not to make any more babies after World War II, (which occurred because of their powerful children trying to take over the world.) But Zeus and Poseidon broke the oath and had Percy and Thalia. Other gods; Ares, the god of war, Hermes, the messenger of the gods, Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge, Apollo, the god of the sun, Artemis, the goddess of the moon and hunting, Dionysus, Hera, the goddess of marriage, Aphrodite, the goddess of love, Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and Demeter, the goddess of nature, are also strong. They argue a lot and are always watching and observing Percy and other heroes, how they are doing and growing up.
The friends of Percy are; Annabeth, the daughter of Athena, the goddess of wisdom, Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, the god of sky, Grover, who is a young satyr, and Tyson, who is a cyclops. Annabeth is wise and thoughtful, and helps Percy a lot in dangerous situations. Thalia is a strong and brave girl, who has a great leadership, but she is afraid of heights, despite the fact that her father is the god of sky. She dresses like a punk. Grover is a funny boy, who is trying to find Pan, the lord of the wild, as a duty for being a satyr. He likes to play pipes and can talk to nature. Tyson, who is one of the sons of Poseidon, is a friendly and kind (not like the other cyclopes), one eyed monster. He is the half-brother of Percy and he is now working under the sea, making weapons for his father, since he has great skill in making things, because he is a cyclopes. Luke, who was once his friend, had betrayed them and the Olympians and joined evil Kronos. Luke is the son of Hermes, and has grey hair and a scar on his face. Kronos, the Titan Lord and his army were coming to life again.
The point of view of the books is from Percy Jackson. His real name is Perseus Jackson, which is a name of a hero in Greek mythology, who slayed Medusa. Percy is a brave and bright kid, who usually talks sarcastically to his fiends. I guess he has a little bit of a sense of humor. Since he is the son of Poseidon, he can breathe underwater, talk to horses and fish, control the water, and can do many other stuff that Poseidon can do. He uses Riptide, a sword that turns into a ballpoint pen, and a shield that can turn into a watch, which Tyson made for him, for his weapons. The mood of the story changes a lot during the book. Sometimes it is very serious, dark, and mysterious, because the book is dealing with serious Greek mythology, but a lot of characters say a lot of jokes, and sometimes they are funny. A prophecy says that when the children of the big three gods, Zeus, Posiedon, and Hades, turn sixteen, they become so strong that they can end the war of Titans and Olympians by defeating the Titans, or kill all the Olympians and become the god himself or herself. This is the reason that they made an oath not to have any children. So Kronos is keep trying to turn Percy and Thalia to his side because they can be strong enough to defeat the Olympians. But Thalia joins the 'Hunt' with Artemis right before her birthday, which means she becomes immortal and stays at the age of fifteen forever, so they think the Percy is the only prophecy. But the story gets interesting, because they found the children of Hades, Nico and Bianca di Angelo. But unfortunately, Bianca dies during the quest and Nico gets really upset at Percy because he promised him to protect his sister, so he runs away from the camp. I think the series will get more complicated and interesting.
You can learn a lot about Greek mythology while you are reading the books. The books tell some stories from the myth, and the monsters and gods have the same looks and characteristics from the myth. What I like the most about the series is the way the author combines the very ancient mythology with the modern world. I think all teenagers would really enjoy and like the series. Once I started to read, I couldn't let go of the book easily. I can't wait to read the next books in the series.

Suicide of Former President of Korea

On May 23rd, Korea's former president, Noh Mu-Hyun, committed suicide in the morning, by jumping off a cliff. The place was in his town, Bongwa town, which is a town that represents himself. Noh was a president from 2003 to 2008. Many Koreans hated him for doing a poor job as a president. He and his wife got a double eye-lid surgery at the same time when he was in power, which made my family laugh. He was accused of corruption and recently, he was summoned to the court. When he was in power, certain businesses became really successful, his brother used the connection to make himself rich, and his wife accepted money from a rich businessman, and used the money for her family, and for their children in the States. The newspapers of the U.S. are saying that he only took graft of $6 million but this is not true. That money is the only money that his wife sent to her son, and actually Noh was accused of taking much much more money than that. The bodyguard who was at the cliff with Noh says that he asked for a cigarette and then jumped right off the cliff. This was very surprising news for Korea and some people are demonstrating in the streets with candles, which I think is bullshit. I knew that many people hated Mr. Noh because of his bad decisions but now, when he died, suddenly people started to demonstrate. The political party that Mr. Noh was in, is using this event to criticize and attack the president and his party, which I think is a very immature and stupid thing. I think no matter what happens to someone, he shouldn't kill himself, and it is a private thing and his fault, not the president's party's fault. Nowadays some Koreans are demonstrating too often against the government. When Korea brought in the beef from the U.S., they demonstrated which I think is a very stupid thing. I know that it is unfair for our Korean farmers but, without importing the meat, we can't sell our cars, cell phones, and other products to them to make a fair trade. I know that some people who are protesting are real, who really disagree about the U.S. beef, but I think there is an organization that is manipulating or encouraging them to do the demonstrations, that is against the present government of Korea. I mean where do they get all the same candles, same clothes, and money for the demonstration? If I was one of the farmers, who is having difficulty caused by the U.S. beef, I would find another way for living or think of a solution, rather than protesting to the government, which makes our government weaker and distracts the government from other problems, like our economy, North Korea, etc.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The book is about a boy named Jonas going through an extraordinary life in a strange community in the future. This community is made up of a Chief Elder, the Committee of Elders, and the people. The Chief and the Committee of Elders choose everything in the community. They choose the babies name, the jobs people get, who will marry who, and all kinds of rules. In this community, there is a punishment that is called 'release', which is killing people when they break the rules or get too old or if the babies are not healthy. Jonas, a kid who is turning twelve soon, experiences weird feelings and experiences. In this community, the people can't see any colors, they only can see white and black. Also, the family members have to have a father, a mother, a girl, and a boy. All the people's activities are watched by the Elders, there is no closed door at all. The day of the ceremony of Twelves, when the Twelves are assigned their jobs by the Chief Elder, Jonas becomes The Receiver. The Receiver is the only job in the community that receives memories from The Giver.

The Giver is a wise man who helps the community by the knowledge of the outside world, when new problems come. During the training, Jonas feels pain, happiness, sadness, and other feelings that we feel and realizes that the people in his community don't have any feelings. When he asks The Giver about the truth of the release one day, The Giver shows Jonas a ceremony of release that was taken by his dad. He had to choose one of the twin babies and when he chose the lighter one, and injected a fluid into the baby's head, he died. Jonas watched all of these shocking things about release through a screen. Then he decides to run away from the community, to the "elsewhere" that may not exist. Jonas doesn't want to live in a community that is fake and doesn't want to live with people who are like robots. He makes a plan to escape with The Giver and he finds his way to the "elsewhere".

I think this is a very interesting book because it shows a very different world from our world and it allowed me to imagine about what would happen if I am one of this community. It makes you think more about our feeling and makes you fall into the book.

The Ecosystem of African Savanna

The African savanna is a large open spaced area with a lot of trees and grass. Many varieties of animals such as lions, cheetahs, leopards, hyenas, antelopes, gazelles, elephants, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, etc live there. The grass and the trees are called producers, which are the organisms that get food by themselves from the sun. The food chain in the savanna is; the lion, which is the tertiary consumer, at the top, the zebras, antelopes and other primary consumers, that eat plants and gets eaten by the lions, are at the middle, and the plants or producers are at the bottom.

Korean Education vs American Education

Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea every year. That’s no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.” President Obama said recently (“Obama Lauds Korea’s Education of Children” Korea Times, 3/11/09). He may not know that South Korea has thousands of academies, after-school academic programs. Actually Korean students study many more hours per day than American students. The Korean education system is completely different from the American system. Almost every student goes to a private academy after school, beating is allowed, test scores and national exams are the only things that the colleges look at for admission, and memorization is the main form of learning. In the United States, students have a lot of freedom, beating is not allowed, schools make students more creative, there are fewer tests, and no national exams. Compared to the Korean system, the American system is more flexible, creative, and less strict. Some Americans, including President Obama, think that American students should follow the Korean education system, which forces students to study much more and makes the test scores the most important thing in their lives The American education is better, however, since it makes the students think creatively and gives them more freedom to learn.

Korea has many national exams and the most important one is called ‘Su-Neung’, the college entrance exam. This exam is only given once a year, so high school students only sleep 4 hours a day and spend most of their time studying for it. “College entrance exams determine seventy to eighty percent of a person’s future. It’s a sad reality. But you have to acknowledge it; otherwise you hurt your children’s future,” one of the Korean parents said (Choe, Sang-Hun, “A Taste of Failure Fuels on appetite or Success” New York Times, 8/13/08). In Korea, if you don’t go to one of the top five or ten colleges, your life will be miserable. Colleges only look at the students test scores and school grades for admission. Since the exams and the tests scores are the most important things in a student’s life the academies were created. There are thousands of after-school academic programs that make the students study more and make them prepare for the tests and national exams like “Sue Neung.” Also they teach students advanced math, English, Korean language arts, science and much more than the schools. Ninety percent of Korean students go to academies. If they don’t go they will fall behind and their test scores will be lower than their peers. The average student goes to about four to five different academies after school and returns home at ten or eleven at night. Then they have to study for tests and do homework, which leads to lack of sleep. The Korean education system is based on memorizing the right answers; there are no creative projects or writing. The schools and the academies force the students to memorize and memorize. To get a high score in school tests you only have to memorize the answers to the questions. In academies they force the students to memorize about two hundred English words a day. The cruelest thing about the Korean education system is that the teachers are allowed to beat the students. It is not like just hitting a student; the teachers actually beat up the students by punching, kicking, and sometimes hitting them with bamboo swords. Students are often hospitalized as a result. I have experienced these situations in Korea and they are no fun at all. We are like slaves memorizing words and studying for tests only to get into a good college.

The United States does not have such a thing as national exams that the government makes that every student has to take. There may be some exams that every student has to take in a particular state, but not as important as exams in Korea. Students in America don’t get huge tests that count for fifty-percent of their grades. They might have some quizzes and a few tests rarely. There is one huge exam called the SAT. It is almost the same as ‘Sue-Neung’ but, many people don’t have to take it and it’s much shorter and easier. Also the SAT is just a part of the requirements for most college admission, because every American college looks at the students’ talents other than test scores and grades. Many colleges look at the students’ athletic abilities and other interests. An article from ‘The Boston Globe’ says, “So the committee often goes beyond the numbers and takes an in-depth look at personal qualities and talents” (Peter Schworm, “Looking Beyond Grades and Scores” The Boston Globe, March 22, 2009: 1-3). So students don’t get into a good college simply because they have a high SAT score. Also students can take the SAT more than six times in a year so they have many chances to get a good score. The schools think the creativity of the students is one of the most important things. They don’t make the students just memorize the answers but make them think more about problems and questions, form their own opinions, and make them think creatively. Also the teachers give them creative projects that require drawings and creative writings. The students in America have a lot of free time. They don’t have much homework or many tests compared to Koreans, so they can do sports, music, part-time jobs, have enough sleeping time and time with friends. So the American kids are more relaxed and have little stress. There’s not any kind of beating allowed in schools or families in America. If a teacher even gives a small physical punishment, they would lose their job. The American students are not afraid of the teachers. The worst thing that a teacher can do to a student is to send him or her to the office. If the parents beat their children, the government can take the kids away from the parents. So there is a very low chance to get beaten up because of test scores or homework. I have experienced the American education system too, and I had more time to hang out with my friends and play sports. The American education system taught me that the numbers on our tests are not all, and thinking more and stating our opinions are much more important than just memorizing the words and answers.

I have lived in both Korea and the United States, so I have experienced the education system of both countries. There are many differences between their education systems but the biggest difference is the way of teaching the students. In Korea, the teachers make the students memorize and memorize again. I memorized a hundred English words each day once because it was the academy’s homework. But, after one month I forgot them all, so it was useless and a waste of time. In the United States I had to memorize a few words but mostly the teachers made us read, write, and discuss more than memorizing. While I was reading books, I began to know the words in the book automatically. Also I used the words while I talk to my American friends so they stayed in my brain for a long time. Every Korean learns English by memorizing thousands and thousands of words, but they can’t have a conversation with an American because they don’t practice speaking. So they only know a lot of words but can’t use them properly. The Korean students study much more than the American students not only because they have longer school days but they go to academies after-school for about five hours. Also the Korean students study harder because they have much more homework and exams than the American students. But the strange thing is when the students from Korea and America go to college; they are all in the same level somehow. Sometimes the Korean students know less than the American students even though they spent much more time studying than them. It is much easier for the American students to get into a good college because they have a lot of chances to improve their score on the SAT. But the Korean students have only one chance to take ‘Su-Neung’. Some kids have a mental breakdown or commit suicide when they can’t go to the right college. “Among young people ten to nineteen, suicide is the second most common cause of death, after traffic accidents” (Choe, Sang-Hun, “A Taste of Failure Fuels on appetite or Success” New York Times, 8/13/08). Also beating is allowed in Korea but it is illegal in America. Often the parents and teachers beat the kids if they get a bad score on their tests or forget their homework in Korea. The beating makes students very anxious and nervous about the tests and some kids try to get good test scores only to avoid beating. I had been beaten by my mom and my teacher and it makes me feel really bad. Sometimes I don’t even know the reason why I was beaten. I was one of the kids who tried to get good scores on the tests to avoid beating. When I came to America no one beat me and it made me free myself and expose my feelings. I learn more in America than when I was in Korea because I read more books and do more creative work here. Also I get to talk with my American friends and have more chance to talk in English, my English gets better and better and I learn more words. Also there are a lot of chances to have your recreation time with your friends and play sports. In Korea you can’t have these chances and the ways of learning English because you can’t change the education system that exists.

The students can learn more by following the American education system than the Korean education system even though the students who follow the Korean system spend much more time, and get beaten while they study. The American education system teaches the students to think creatively and gives them more freedom. In these ways, the students are able to express, share, and discuss their thinking and feelings freely. This leads them to be creative and makes them think more about the problems that they have. The only thing that the Korean education system does is make the students memorize. In this way, the students quickly forget what they learned because they are just studying for the test, not for themselves. Also the strict teaching makes the students close minded, and stops them from showing their thinking and feeling to others. They are not creative because they only have to memorize things, rather than thinking beyond the problems. The American system teaches the students more important things and the things that they need in their life, and the Korean education teaches the students only how to get good scores on tests. So the American education system is much better than the Korean education system.

Crispin: At the Edge of the World

The book called “Crispin: At the Edge of the World” by AVI, tells a story about the mysterious and exciting adventures that a boy called Crispin goes through. The book is during the medieval period of English history, at 1377 A.D. The genre of the book is basically mystery and action. There are a lot of secrets that the characters don’t know and don’t tell, and there are a lot of fighting scenes between soldiers. Crispin, the main character, is a brave, young, and very religious boy who is an orphan. He travels around England with Bear, who is a juggler who is like a master, teacher, and a father to Crispin. He is huge, bald, red bearded, wise and strong. Aude is an old, weak woman who helps Bear when he was wounded. She is not a Christian but she is nice, helpful, and knows a lot about medication. Troth is a young girl, whose age is about Crispin’s, who follows and supports Aude. She has a twisted mouth that makes people think she is cursed, which makes people avoid and hate her, but she is kind and knows a lot about medication like Aude. Dudely, who Crispin meets at France, is a cruel, evil, and sneaky man, who uses Bear, Crispin, and Troth to steal a treasure from a village.

The story begins as Crispin and Bear are getting attacked by an archer, who thinks Bear has betrayed the John Ball’s brotherhood, a secret group of rebels. Bear’s left arm gets wounded from the attack and he gets sick. Crispin and Bear run away and meet Aude and Troth. Aude and Troth cure Bear and provide shelter and food for them. When Bear was recovering from his injury, Aude gets killed by the people who live in a village close by, because she is not a Christian. Bear, Crispin, and Troth flee to a town called Rye. The archer who attacked Bear comes to the town with his friends so Bear and his crew flee again. This time they escape by sea and arrive at Brittany, France. There they meet Dudely, a leader of a gang of thieves. He forces them to join his gang. There’s a treasure in a village that he has wanted for a long time, so he uses Troth and Crispin to steal it while he, Bear, and his gang fights with the soldiers. Another very dangerous and exciting adventure begins!

Tangerine by Edward Bloor

This book is about a family that lived in Houston, Texas who go to Lake Windsor Down, Florida because of the father's job. Paul Fisher, the youngest member of the family and a seventh grader, is the narrator of the story. In Lake Windsor, Paul's family goes through many conflicts and problems. To list a few, Paul's new school sinks into a sink hole, his new best friend's brother gets electrocuted, Paul gets kicked out of his soccer team, and his brother goes to prison at the end. The book talks about how a family should look like, sports in American culture, the difference between rich and poor, and teenagers growing up. I liked this book because there are many things going on in it that get connected to each other as the story goes on. Also each event is unique and interesting. The only thing that I dislike about this book is the story goes too slow.

Creative Writing: Seedfolks the fourteenth member

I am Darwin Thomas and I was born in Burundi, which is a very small country in Africa. I had three older brothers and two sisters. My parents were farmers, growing peppers, and our life was getting better and better. When I was fifteen a huge flood washed my sister and the farm away. We became poor. Two of my brothers were shot in the street, and my remaining sister and brother went to Bujumbura, the capital, to make money but they never came back. I went to Bujumbura to get a job when I grew up. After seven years of struggle, my wife died and left me with a son named Eddy. My parents were dead after two years. I spent all my money to get a ticket to America.
Now I’m thirty-five and the life in America is not easy. I still couldn’t find any job. My son and I slept in the subway for a while. One day my mind exploded with rage, thinking about the past, starting to hate this world. I drank a lot of beer and passed out. Next morning I found myself sleeping next to my son with a load of cash and a gun in my pocket. I was scared that I might have done something bad. I heard that a Korean woman, Sae Young, who runs a dry cleaning shop, was robbed by a tall, muscular, black man with short curly hair and big nose and eyes. I knew that it was me. I went to a church that day with my son and cried all night. I cried because my life was so difficult, I hated myself for robbing a shop, and I felt sorry for my son.
A minister came up to me and prayed for me. I started to live with the minister and work at the church. I cleaned the church and took care of the church’s garden. My life became easier. Time passed and I have my own garden in the community garden. I grow chili peppers there because I like hot and spicy food and my parents also grew peppers. I combined a very hot chili pepper with a different kind and made a super hot chili pepper. I saw an Asian woman in the garden, I knew she was Sae Young. I swore to pay back the money that I stole. I started selling the super hot chili peppers to farmers and restaurants. The people loved them and I got a lot of orders from many different places. Now I started to see a spark of hope.