Thursday, December 23, 2010

University church



Hannam University was founded in 1956 by American missionaries from the Presbyterian Church (USA). So the school has been run based on Christianity. There are two organizations for implementing the school’s ethics. One is chaplains’ office and another one is university church. Today, I am going to talk about University Church in Hannam University.
            Hannam University Church was established in March 1979. The church has been working on school mission since it was started. The church supports faculty Bible studies as well as the students’. Also, the church backs up students who have a bad financial situation by offering houses near school. Not only does the church do mission work at the school, but it also makes an effort to conduct a mission trip to Thailand. This happens every two years, and the church gives financial support to students who want to go on the mission trip.
            Because University Church revolves around a group of university students, it makes sense that compared to other churches, there is a large number of students in that age group. The university group is implementing many big events of the church. One of them is the mission trip to Thailand. Through the mission trip, university group members grow spiritually and some of them even become missionaries. Moreover, for school mission, university group members offer tea and snacks during mid-terms and finals in front of the library. Through service, the members put what Jesus said in the Bible into practice.
            The church has a service every Sunday morning at 10 am. During the service, there is time for young disciples. In 2010, the Presbyterian Church (USA) dispatched three young adult volunteers, Jenny, Katie, and Becky, to Hannam University. Every Sunday, they come to University church and give a youth sermon to the youth group.
            One Hannam university church member said, “We hope that many university students who don’t know about Jesus will learn who He is and what He did for us, and our church and university students group want to help them understand Christianity.”

--Soo-Min Kim

Monday, December 13, 2010

Oh, my beautiful seu-seung-nim

This man, Dr. Yong-hun Lee, is one of my favorite people. He is a lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at Hannam University. It was in 2006 that I first met him in class. My friends and I were surprised that he is a handicapped person with cerebral palsy. I couldn't accept how such a disabled person would teach students at a university. There was unconscious prejudice against the physically handicapped inside of me, which I never knew I had. After a short while, however, I greatly regretted my preconception. He was a well-prepared, brilliant and passionate instructor. Not only was his teaching method concise, but he tried to lead his students to the right path. He was a nice and humorous man who had a heart for students. He was a TEACHER. Thanks to him, my understandings about English linguistics have been broadened, and it inspired me to come to a graduate program. He encouraged me so that I can do it.  Now, I am studying with him at a graduate school and I see him offering as many academic opportunities as possible to me and my classmates. It is a big joy to learn from him.  

Unfortunately, most people, if not all, still have a biased view about the handicapped. I think this appearance-oriented society also makes us judge others by the outer image we look at. However, through my experience with Dr. Lee, I came to realize that there are just those who have less comfortable bodies than us. I reflected on my silly prejudice. Through him, my eyes got opened wider. What makes us us is what we have inside, not outside. There also have been so many disabled in the world that had made a significant contribution to our world, such as Steven Hawking and Helen Keller. He is my Steven and he is my Helen. I really want you to see Dr. Lee and have a chat with him. In five minutes, you would have a totally different view about disabled people. He is a true seu-seung (an honorific Korean word for teacher who leads students like shepherd) in Hannam.

-- Yeseul Park

Sunday, November 7, 2010

An outsider's point of view

Hi! I'm Becky, 22 years old, from the U.S. Right now, I'm more than two months into my one-year stay in Daejeon, where I'm doing volunteer work teaching English at a children's center. I live at Hannam University, where I take Korean classes, but I am not a full-time student, having already graduated from college back in the United States. And today, I'd like to share a little about my experiences as a foreigner living in South Korea, for any overseas exchange students who may be interested in coming to Hannam.

So far, I'm happy to say that my experiences with the Korean people have been very positive. Many people have shown me great kindness and concern, trying to make me feel welcome in a new place, and I'm so very grateful for that -- it isn't a gift that I take for granted. However, I would be lying if I said there were never struggles to understand each other -- and I'm not just talking about the language barrier.

Because Korea has what is called a "high-context culture," people communicate directly and expect you to infer things -- a fact I'm still getting used to. I'm used to a society that is all about efficient information exchange; in America, you are supposed to spell out the most important things (who-what-where-when-how) right away. You get to the destination as quickly as possible. But in Korea, it seems like it's more about the process of getting from point A to point B.

Either that, or conversations will happen in a roundabout way: you'll ask someone a question, and they'll consult with everyone else they know first before getting back to you. Which isn't necessarily bad, but it can be confusing when you thought that the issue only concerned the two of you.

Where I'm from, information sharing also happens mostly on a need-to-know basis. But after coming to Korea, I quickly learned not to tell people things that I didn't want everybody to know. During my first week here, I was sick and throwing up. Later, when I was feeling better and got back to normal life, I was surprised to find that everyone and their grandmother (yes, and people I didn't know, too) knew the details of my illness . . . despite the fact that it only affected a couple of people. I think that this kind of behavior also points to the community-oriented, high-context nature of Korean culture.

In my experience, Koreans also tend to ask a lot of personal questions. Total strangers will ask you: Where are you from? How old are you? Do you have a boyfriend? Why not? In my culture, this would be seen as rude, but in Korean society it is perfectly acceptable.

Speaking of age, that is a much more important factor here than it is in the U.S. Relative age is one of the first things that gets established in any relationship, because in Korean society, you are supposed to respect people who are older, if only by a little bit. Even after two months, I'm always being surprised by how much weight age is given. Just the other day, in one of my classes, I had to break up a fight where one little boy was viciously punching another in the chest. When I asked what had happened, I learned that the younger (by a year or so) boy said something teasing to the older one, which might not have been such a big deal, except that it violated the junior/senior relationship. So, the older boy got upset and started attacking him.

There are also many little things that happen here that you just wouldn't see in the U.S. For example, there are different gender dynamics. Here boys hold other boys' hands, or walk with their arms around each other's shoulders, whereas usually my culture's loud disapproval of homosexuality dissuades men from acting too familiarly with each other, lest they be seen as gay.

Or, for another example, I still can't figure out the Korean attitude towards what is appropriate for women to wear. Even this late in the year, with winter quickly approaching, girls around campus are wearing itty-bitty short skirts and baring an awful lot of leg. However, they all have very high necklines on their shirts, not showing even a hint of cleavage or shoulders. Even the hottest weather, back in August, I never saw even one girl in a tank top, either. Apparently one is considered appropriate, but the other is not?

Also, on a practical note for those of you packing to come to Korea: you may want to bring lots of deodorant and, if you're female, tampons. For some reason, these two things are very hard to find in the stores here! I think with the tampons it is because they are considered sexualized objects. You can find every hair product known to humankind, but you have to search high and low for those two things.

Just in case you get the wrong idea, let me repeat: I am having a wonderful experience in Korea so far meeting kind and friendly people! But when entering another culture, there is always bound to be some culture shock as you slowly discover what different values people have and struggle to adjust to them. And it may seem strange to you, but in the end, that is exactly why I would recommend this experience to others. Too many people around the world -- and especially, I'm ashamed to say, in my own country -- are convinced that there is no way to do things but their own. In my opinion, all of us could benefit from expanding our horizons a little and learning from what others have to teach us, and for me, Hannam has been a great place to begin that journey.

-- Becky Francisco

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Meet the Writers

Yeseul Park: I am a graduate student in the English department of Hannam University. I study linguistics, in particular phonetics, the study of the sounds of human speech. I like to communicate with people and share the love of God with them. Be blessed!!

Soo-min Kim: Howdy! Welcome to Hannam Madang :D I'm Soo-min. I am studying Global Communication & Culture at Linton Global College, Hannam University (HNU). I am originally from Daejeon where HNU is. I hope you guys who are exploring another part of the globe enjoy our school blog and find out what's going on this campus. Thank you and God bless you.

BoRa Kim: My name is BoRa. I'm from Daejeon. I'm studying communication and culture in Linton Global College. I like taking pictures, and I like traveling.

Vicky/Jihye Lim: Hello. I am Vicky. I'm Korean and my Korean name is Jihye Lim. I'm a Linton Global College student. I'm from Gongju, which is a historical city!

Becky Francisco: I'm a college graduate from the U.S.A. I majored in linguistics and studied Russian and Japanese. Right now, I'm in Korea for the year, studying the Korean language at Hannam and working at a children's center in Daejeon. I hope you enjoy our blog!! Thanks for reading!
From left to right: Yeseul, Vicky, BoRa, Soo-min, Becky

Hannam dorm life


What do you think about dorm life? You probably think it is a free and fun life, don’t you? I have been living in a dorm for about five months. My dorm life is very exciting, and it is full of memorable experience. In Hannam University, there are three different dormitories. And I am staying in the “new” dormitory, so I’ll tell you about my dorm life.

The new dormitory is a 10-story-building. Four students live in one room which has a toilet and a shower. Although living with three other people is less comfortable than being in my own home, there are some exciting things. For instance, dancing secretly, eating midnight meals, and watching movies with the sound turned up loud. Other fun things are coming into the dorm at 11:00, sleeping in another room, and meeting your lover on the stairs. In particular, the 11:00 curfew is a really big deal. If you want to have a party, and if you miss the 11:00 curfew -- and 12:00 last time when the door opens -- you have to choose an all-night party, which earns you some demerit points which harm your chance to stay in dorm.
 
The laundry
 Other places in the dorm are the laundry room and the public toilet. Since this dormitory has no rest room, we use the laundry room as a play room. The laundry room is both our dining room and meeting room. In the laundry, we dance and talk and talk, and eat some cookies. And the public toilet is source of the tissue which is used in the private toilet. We don’t like to buy tissue using our own money, so we take some tissue from there. 
The toilet
Lastly, this dormitory’s hot place is the terrace. The terrace is made of wood, so you can feel comfortable there. So, you can see many lovers at night on the terrace. But you should be quiet there, because it is connected with the Global House where foreign professors live. That place is a smoking place, also. Because the dorm rules forbid smoking in the dorm, you should smoke outside. If you are found smoking in the dorm, you should prepare to pack.
The terrace
According to the dormitory rules, if you get 10 demerit points, you can’t stay there anymore. It is a very important thing, so you should not overlook the dormitory rules and should observe them. I knew a person who was in this situation, so I know that it will be really hard work for you. Therefore, the only thing that you can do is to watch your demerit points!

When I first started living in this dorm, I was very nervous and uncomfortable. But, after I adapted to dorm life, I realized that there is no place that gives us the same chance of making close friends, sharing useful information, and increasing the time spent on campus. And I can experience new culture and learn how to socialize efficiently. Once you’ve lived in a dormitory, you can understand what I’m saying. Listen up, boys and girls! Here is a dorm where you can get a memorable campus “dorm” life.

-- Vicky Lim

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

School festival

In Korea, from middle school to university, students study hard at ordinary times and enjoy their freedom to the fullest at the school festival. During the festival, a lot of events are organized and offered. On October 27th, Hannam’s festival began. The motto of the festival is “Good, Better, Best.” It means “we challenge ourselves and become different in a good way. The atmosphere of the campus started to get more excited. The festival ran until October 29th.




During the festival season, one of the most interesting events for students is the performance of famous singers. This time, Seven, Rainbow, Geomy, Ruby, Mighty Mouse, and 4men came to our campus and sang amidst hearty cheers. Hundreds of people were gathered and united as one. Sweet music touched hearts of the people packing the square.


Plus, there was special event zone which gives opportunities for students to experience various activities. There was a booth which is made for collecting money to help people who suffer from malaria. This picture shows sweet messages which deliver hope and love. Right next to this board, volunteers were making hotteok (a delicious, chewy kind of snack which is stuffed with brown sugar) and trying to sell them for fundraising to help Africa. It was very touching that most of the festival events are held just for fun, but this event was really impressive.


There were also other booths for getting your nails done and getting your hair cut. It was good chance for girls to get their nails done for free. Pastel-colored nails made every girl feel great. Plus, in Korea, trimming one’s hair is quite different from place to place. Some beauty salons which are famous or located downtown have high prices for trimming hair. However, this event booth also gave chance to get a free hair cut from professional hairdressers. These two booths were mainly crowded with girls who were interested in getting a makeover.



Besides this, Superstar H, a singing competition (similar to the famously broadcasted TV show ‘Superstar K’) was also part of the festival. If you didn’t attend this time, don’t worry. It’ll continue next year. The more years pass, the greater ideas come true.


A lot of events were successfully and safely organized. The hidden heroes of the Hannam festival were the Marine Corps who controlled and managed traffic. Without them, the three days would have been out of control. Also, I want to give a big hand to the student body of Hannam, who managed all of these events.

-- Hyojae Lee

Friday, October 22, 2010

It's Daejeon


Hannam University is located in Daejeon which is the fifth largest city in South Korea. Daejeon has well-connected transportation since it’s in the middle of South Korea. It takes to 50 minutes to get to Seoul by KTX train, and two hours to get to Busan.

There are also several places to go:

Because Daejeon is the ‘Silicone Valley” of Korea, there are many science exhibits to enjoy. Try visiting The National Science Museum which has some exhibits and displays about science.
You can observe the solar system, stars, moon, galaxy, and nebula in Daejeon Observatory.
You can enjoy your time in the Expo Science Park near the Expo Bridge and Hanbit tower which are all symbols of Daejeon. This park offers hands-on interaction with science experiments, not to mention robots!
The Currency Museum near Kaist University has coins from the Korean dynasty, modern coins, medals, postage stamps, Christmas seals, as well as coins and currency money from around the world. If you go there you can get to know the history of currency, and the history of banknotes.
EXPO bridge
Kumdoriland is one of two amusement parks in Daejeon. It is located near the Expo Park, across from the symbol bridge of Daejeon.
O-World is the second amusement park and the second largest zoo in Korea. It has roller coasters, great food, and a sculpture park among many other things. 
Near Chungnam University you can find Yuseong. There you can enjoy the natural Hot Springs Spa. There are many hotels in Yuseong area if you intend to stay overnight.
The Daejeon Museum of Art
If you love the arts, visit Daejeon Cultural Art Center and Daejeon Museum of Art, which are located near the Daejeon Government Building in Mannyoungdong.
 
The crowds flock to the balloon festival.
Daejeon is known for its family entertainment and vibrant sense of community. You can find many festivals happening here year-round; festivals such as science festivals and a balloon festival every year. This year’s balloon festival was held recently on October 16~17, 2010. Many people came to the festival to take a hot-air balloon ride and play with water rockets, air rocket, and kites. Sadly, due to the wind, many people couldn’t ride the balloons. There was also an international food festival happening on the balloon festival grounds. People could enjoy trying different international foods, as well as hanging around for Daejeon’s 1st Annual Rock Festival that began at 7pm that evening. The most beautiful part of the night was the ‘Night glow show’, the fireworks and the candle balloon. The sky was lit up in true Daejeon style!

If you want to do more than just imagine the amazing things this city has to offer, come visit us!

--BoRa Kim

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Sports Day!


The LGC girls play kickball.
 In Korea, from elementary school to university, there is a "Sports Day" every year. Students are split along with the class and compete with other classmates. However, in college, because there are a lot of students, each department organizes a sports day. Each department has several majors, and each major competes with the others.

On Oct. 7th, there was a sports competition between the law department and Linton Global College. As I mentioned above, the competition is held by each school department, but Linton Global College, which only has two majors and a small number of students compared to the other departments, joined up with one of the small departments' sports competition.

There were several games at the competition that were only for boys or for girls, and some that were for both genders. For boys, there was soccer, basketball, and foot volleyball, and for girls, there was dodgeball, kickball, and girls’ free throw. For both genders, there was tug-of-war, jump rope, seven-legged race, and relay. Most people at the event said that the most exciting games were the ones with both genders.

LGC students cheering on their team.

But the most interesting part of the sports competition was food. Each team cooks for their players at their bench, and it cheered up both players and supporters. Sun-bo and Hye-jin from LGC said, “Even though we are not playing the games, we are enjoying today because we also can be a player by cooking and cheering them up.” Usually, students made buchimge, Korean pancakes, and some say that the real charm of the sports day is eating buchimge while cheering up the players.

One of the goals of the sports day is improving the teamwork of the group. Asian cultures usually give priority to the group rather than the individual, and this is true for Korean culture, too. Hannah (LGC) said, “It’s a good chance to show how each team has good teamwork.” Also, each team has a unique uniform. Most interviewees said that they really like their uniform, and it enhances the feeling that they are part of a team and representing a group. Jun-taek said, “Because of the uniform, I can easily tell who is in my major. There are many students in the law department, so that it’s hard to know each other."
Jun-taek, from the law department.
For foreign students who come from western countries, the sports day was a new cultural experience. Rachel (LGC, exchange student from the U.S.), who is from Western Carolina University, NC, U.S., said, “It’s good chance to be out of the class room,” and added, “My university doesn’t have anything like this. After seeing the sports competition, I want to go back to my university and tell the leadership about this, and see if we can start something similar.” Moses (LGC, exchange student from Uganda), who was a number one runner and led LGC to win the all-around championship, said that it was interesting that the sports day is supported by the student council, not by the university, even though it’s such a big event.



--Soo-min Kim

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Welcome to Hannam Madang!

Hi everybody! And welcome to Hannam's new English-language blog!

What is this place? Well, we started this project as a way to share information about Hannam life and culture with students who are thinking about coming here in the future. While the official Hannam website has a lot written on it, there is nothing on that site that really captures what daily student life is like here. And that's something important to know for anyone considering making it their home.

Let me explain the name. "Madang" is the Korean word for the courtyard in front of a house. We thought it was a good name because a madang is a place for people to gather and greet each other, and that's what we want this blog to be, too. Please share your stories and your experiences with us!

Over the next weeks and months, we'll be talking to people around campus, taking pictures, and more. We want to hear about what makes Hannam special to YOU the students. What is your life like here? What do you love about it? What challenges are there for you?

We'd love to interview both Korean students and foreign exchange students and get many different perspectives. Those of you from abroad, what is it like living in another culture where you may or may not understand the language and be able to talk to people freely? How does Korean university life differ from what you know back home?

And, last but not least, you should know that the articles, interviews, and stories we post here are not the entire point! Hopefully they can become starting points for discussion and sharing of opinions.

I hope this blog becomes a place where we can capture a snapshot of Hannam life! Your thoughts, opinions, funny stories, or even just questions will all help this blog grow, and in turn, help others learn about Hannam.

If you're interested in talking to us or have an event or topic you think we should cover, email us at hannam.yav@gmail.com. Don't be shy! We'd love to hear from you!