First prize
essay Question : Write a personal introduction letter to your future employer. You can choose a story about your past working experience or about your studies. Explain why you would be a good employee and why the company should hire you. Describe your energy, enthusiasm, and skills.

I'm writing this letter to a principal to a private high school in order to ensure my employment as an English teacher in a couple of years. In my middle school days, English was regarded as one of the boring knowledge-based subjects like history. So I was not that interested in it and made no special efforts to get ahead. But a dramatic change took place when I met a totally different teacher of English in the first grade of high school. He was very innovative and revolutionary in teaching English in some aspects compared with other teachers I had been under tutelage for three years. Firstly he always taught English through English giving out an air of confidence. At that time, I was amazed at the proficiency of English and the fact that a Korean could have such a perfect command of the foreign language. Secondly, he wanted us to interact with each other in English by designing a variety of group work with seating arrangement changed. These days, group-work can be observed in any of the language class room but it seemed refreshing in the educational context which focused mainly on preparing for a series of exams. Thirdly, he praised me to a sky high for my writing in front of the whole class every time he had a chance to proofread them thereby boosting my sense of confidence in English. And at the end of the semester he commented on my knack for the language with a strong recommendation that I be a teacher of English in the future.
That's why I made up my mind to be a teacher of English. From the experience of meeting up with such a great mentor, I had no choice but to fall in love with English. I’ve put forth a lot of effort to be the best at least in English and not to fall short of the great expectation of my mentor. My efforts never stopped even when I was in the army. During the training session which meant complete quarantine from the outside, I had to read a Bible written in English until the end of the terrible period. It was my savior ensuring me continued exposure to English. And for the period of military service, I could build up a large repertoire of English expressions and vocabulary by memorizing several books from cover to cover. Since the honorable discharge from the army, I have been poring over many books dealing with the various issues in the field of linguistics, teaching methodologies and educational psychology. And I have gained a plethora of pedagogical implications I’m planning to implement in an actual classroom if hired as a teacher in your school.
Now, I'll describe my own philosophy of English education. I think the primary function of a language is to make people communicate each other within a speech community for the purpose of the maintenance of social bondage. In a sense, I will focus my teaching on rather than on the grammatical analysis of concocted sentences. My students will be likely to enjoy speaking in English instead of getting stressed out under the pressure of abstract grammar and terminologies. With the rapid spread of English as an international language, we don't have to be excessively obsessed with perfect accuracy anymore. In my class, students will be free to use the foreign language with their Korean accent as an expression of their cultural heritage. So they will never be disappointed at their pronunciation that is clearly distinguishable from the native one because they will get to view English as an instrumental medium of international communication not as an invincible academic goal for mastery. And, my students will be intrinsically motivated to use English beyond the classroom setting without the fear of being laughed at that’s my ultimate goal. I'm trying to achieve in your school
To sum up, I do not think a letter of introduction will assure you of my teaching capabilities, enthusiasm and other specific qualifications in detail. But I have been doing my utmost for about six years with a vocational sense of mission. I'm confident in teaching English in English within the framework of the current theoretical trends while satisfying the institutional and administrative needs. In other words, I’ll stick to my own philosophy of English education, allowing for a considerable leeway to cover the requirements from the school authority. If you hire me, you will never ever regret this great choice.

 College of Education - English Education, 02
 Kim Jun-gu

Second prize
essay Question : Write a personal introduction letter to your future employer. You can choose a story about you past working experience or about your studies. Explain why would be a good employee and why the company should hire you. Describe you energy, enthusiasm, and skills.

"I can do everything in God!" has been my motto for many years. I have been trusting this saying and trying hard to make my dream come true. To be a news reporter has been a long wish in my life since I was a main announcer in elementary school. I was very happy that I could deliver news to many students.
I'm delighted that I have a chance to introduce myself to yow and apply for a job in your company. I believe WMBC TV is one of the most prestigious and powerful television broadcasting in America. I'm sure my experiences and knowledge will contribute to WMBC TV. Let me talk about my past working and travel experiences, and my studies.
To be a news reporter in WMBC TV, I thought an English ability was essential. Consequently, I chose to study English at university and studied very hard. Furthermore, I studied International Relations as a minor major because I thought good journalists show know about the current international issues and historical back grounds very well. With my passion to be a news reporter, I could get a dean's scholarship each semester.
My effort to be a good English speaker continued working as an intern in a famous English consulting company in Korea. I helped organizing English camps three times which were held in Chung-Ang University in Jeju Island and in Guam. I assisted foreign teachers to teach young school children English, and taught them English too. Also, I was in charge of recording a film and taking photos of the English camp held in Chung-Ang University. I'm skillful at recording, talking photos and editing. This ability will help me to collect news materials and report. Through organizing the English camps and helping foreign teachers and kids I've learned not only English but also how to deal with various people. This experience will help me to work in harmony with other English-speaking people even though I'm a Korean. My enthusiasm to learn and experience new things never stops. I volunteered for an interpreter in '2004 Seoul International Women Leaders Summit'. It was a good opportunity to meet successful people such as CEO of Microsoft, ambassadors and successful business women. Because I want to interview many successful people in the future, it was really worthy.
In 2005, I went to England to work with disabled people and elderly people as a volunteer. I chose to work for others rather than just studying English because I assumed that it's very important to know weak people's life and understand them to be an open-minded new reporter. I stayed in London for a year helping them to eat, wash, do outdoor activates and many other things. I worked with eight British who taught me a lit how to support them and to settle down in England. I tried very hard to make my clients' life better. Through many team meeting and supervisions, I learnt to express my opinions wisely and deal with various situations. When I was in London, I gad tours through a studio of BBC and ITV. To see real news making process was fascinating. While touring, I pondered on my dream to be a news reporter. I was sure that dream made my heart beat!
I also went to Winsor Castle not to see Charles and Camilla's wedding parade but to see many news reporters from all over the world. I could observe CNN news reporters interviewing people and reporting news in front of camera. I imagined I became a news reporter who would go all over the world to report good and quick news.
Furthermore, I could have a chance to talk with many journalists, and one reporter from People Magazine interviewed me for my opinion towards the wedding. I asked the journalists how I needed to prepare a good news reporter and got their signatures. This experience motivated me to study harder and experience new things. I'm truly enthusiastic about being a news reporter as my experience tells. To broaden my horizon, I traveled a lot when I was in England. I traveled across the U.K and went to France, the Netherlands Italy and Switzerland. To see the new world was exciting and I took a note on different and interesting things about each counties. Taking a good note is a key factor of being a news reporter. Traveling many countries made me more open-minded. There exists various people, culture, religion and foods.
Before I came back to Korea, I took the IELTS(International English Language Test System). It has four parts to measure one's English ability; listening, reading, writing and speaking. Especially I got the almost highest score in speaking, so there would be no difficulties to report news in English.
After coming back at university in Korea, I studied hard with new inspiration. I could get a chance to work in the Korea Times which is the oldest English newspaper in Korea. I worked there as an intern for tow months and worked on two articles. One of them was about dancing helpers who dance in the street to inform of newly opened stores. They are called "doumies", I interview over ten doumies to know about their real life. The article revealed their life; how they started, how much money they make, what difficulties they have, etc. I put on my sprit and energy on that article, and the article took one whole page in the Korea Times. It was also chosen the most read article during a week.
If you choose me as a news reporter in WMBC, yow will see a viewing rate go up because I will put my spirit and true enthusiasm on my report. I'll do my best for honor and distinction of your company. Thank you.

 College of Foreign Languages - English, 03                                                Jeong Yeong-eun 

THIRD prize
essay Question : Some young men today want to be better parents to their children that the parents in previous generations were to their children. What are your feelings on this issue? Write as essay explaining how to be an ideal father/mother.


Some young men today want to be better parents today than the parent in previous generations. It is true that every parent wants to help and take care of his/her children. However, there lies conflict between parents and children nowadays. It's because the cultural and social aspects have changed greatly over the last several decades. Before young people were born, in the 70s and 80s, our parents were working hard to let our country recover from the after effects of Korean War. They were obliged to work hard and obey their parents and employers. As a result, Korea could prosper and take a big part in world economy. The culture and society have also changed since then, and that is the cause of generation gap these days. Parents treated children like they were treated by their own parents, and those children grow up thinking something needs to change.
On my personal case, I have been deeply affected by my father. My father, abiding by the rules in old days, is quite stubborn and persistent. He believes men are superior to women, and so he has not treated my mother very well. In fact, I have seen my parents fighting to the dangerous level in my younger days. The atmosphere of my house was stone cold after the fight. Finally, they had to get divorced, which was somewhat anticipated by my instinct. My father's emotion got sharper after that, and I had to bear his harsh words and behavior. I still had to study all day at home since I was a high school student. My father was so obsessed about me studying hard. I had no other choice but to study. I had no hobby at all and even if I had one, I couldn't dare spend time on it. It felt like I was a toy and he was controlling all over me. The pressure has decreased when I entered the university, but I still have to get his permission to do something big. I understand that he wants me to grow well and become somebody. In fact, all the relatives have their eyes on me since I'm the very first son. I know he cares about me and does not want me to make a wrong choice. However, I strongly believe that the way to support me doesn't have to be like this. There can be a better alternative of raising a child right. I have learned it myself and I will try to use it on raising my own child someday. The most important thing is to talk with the child. No matter how busy I am, I will frequently have a conversation with my child. Thatvs the only way I can understand his/her trouble and pain. No doubt I will be of great advisor for him/her. That's attributable to my own experience of not having much time discussing with my father. Although I'm going to give advices and unconditional support to my child, I am going to let him/her make a final decision or choice. He/she is the one who knows what he/ she is really good at, not his/her parents. He/she will be arranging his/her own life plan and follow the path. That's the best way to get the greatest feeling of accomplishment and not blame anyone else incase things don' t turn out as well. Another lesson I would like to give my child is a wide range of knowledge in diverse fields. Young people usually study the same subjects before entering university. The truth is that even university education is narrow-focused and does not offer enough lessons about life, society, and human. I am going to provide my child with a lot of essential points in living one's life. It is going to include history, society, world culture, philosophy, economy, psychology, business, and many more. I'm not going to give my child all these books to read, but use interesting ways to make him/her knowledgeable person. I might tell him/her stories myself or give videotapes or CDs. The point is to give creative and rational insight about life. It will help my child understand the world and hopefully determine his/her future career early. I truly believe giving interest in wide range of field is more helpful and humane that merely textbooks. Lastly but of great importance, maintaining my family happy and peaceful is a must. My wife and I should first stay in perfect harmony and do not give bad influence to our child. My child would certainly be more active and positive in a happy family. Children are apt to follow their parent's language usage and behavior. These are the lessons I've learned in my life so far. We young people are the future parents who are going to raise the prospective leaders of our country. If we train our children better than how we were treated, our society would be much better off. The future lies on our shoulders.

College of Business Administration - Business Administration, 01
Im Chang-gyun

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