Joyful and Pleasant, a Huge Festival of YHIMS

On October 17^th, our school had a huge festival called “Raonjena(라온제나)”. The word Raonjena(라온제나) means joyful and pleasant in Korean. Additionally, it was the third school festival since Young Hoon International Middle School started. To begin with, the festival was divided into three parts which were Club Presentations, Raonjena, and Students’ Talent Show. This festival is one of the most important school activities because it is the time to show all of the things that the students have done in a year during their club activities. Every student worked hard in their club activities for Raonjena. Also, there were various events and activities such as making CornyDoll 코니돌(the project that makes dools with socks to help others who are in poverty), sports games, Write Here Write Now, and bazaars. Diverse performances that students made and composedby themselves were prepared.

Raonjena started by sending up balloons. Every student and teachers wrote their wishes on the balloon. As the students of YHIMS sent up their balloons or their wishes, we all hoped that the wishes would come true. By sending up the balloons, Raonjena started in earnest. Right after this event, the students took turns and did their Club Presentation for two hours. At this time, students had a chance to show what they had done in their club. Every club did a good job and students watched and experienced other clubs. Each club had their own presentation, so the topics were varied. This made other viewers enjoy them more. Also, not only students but also teachers came to see the students’ clubs. Students could get along with teachers by Club Presentation. Although two hours wasn’t much, we all had fun preparing for this event and being part of the festival. It was a good experience for both students and teachers.

After Club Presentations, we had Raonjena. At this time, there were school bazaar, Raonjena, and other activities. Raonjena was planned by the student council, so there were lots of activities that the student council made such as “Finding the name”, “Face painting”, “Winning the Student Council”, and “Sports Games”. Many students liked it and they enjoyed these events. Also, in the bazaar, there were many useful things. One of the favorites was corner that sold food, student liked it a lot. Many parents came and made food. Not only was there a food court, we all shared together in bazaar. There was an activity called, “Write Here, Write Now”, too. During this time Students read the poems and writings that students created by themselves. Lastly, the Talent Show started at 3pm. It took place in the gym in the Auditorium. Many students and teams prepared for the Talent Show in the school festival. The Talent Show was a time to express their talents such as singing and dancing. Also, there were two performances that students prepared. First was the performance of the English musical club ‘어린훈이’. ‘어린훈이’ is Young Hoon’s club that makes musical. The musical was about the importance of friends. Musical was very interesting and every student focused on ‘어린훈이’s’ performance. The second performance was dance club, Visuall’s performance. Visuall is a very famous club in YHIMS. Students really liked Visuall’s performance. Students enjoyed watching and participating in the Talent Show. Additionally, this talent show was the time to release YHIMS students’ stress from the performance assessments, homework, and exams before.

YHIMS students had a great time at Raonjena. Students flew balloons for the first time, and many students said it was a great experience and they would like to do it next year as well. Most of the students said this year’s Raonjena was better than last year. Raonjena is held once a year, so students were sad about having to wait another year for the next Raonjena. YHIMS students are already waiting for the next year.

김효은, 고애진, 오수정 (Grade 8)

The Truth about Syrian Refugees

After the body of 3-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan washed up on a beach in Turkey, many refugees are appealing to international society and various sympathetic public opinions have arisen. Europe has been dealing with a lot of immigrant issues regarding refugees due to its geography and Syria’s political problems. The Syrian refugee problem has been receiving attention because it is on a large scale, a level that never has happened before. The people of Syria are moving to Northern European countries, not due to political issues but simply to survive. According to the UN Refugee Agency, out of approximately 23 million Syrians, about 12 million are refugees and are searching for new homes. The rest are continuing their tough lives inside Syria. Due to the difficult situation in Syria, Europe and several countries are feeling pressured.

The cause of the Syrian refugees is the civil war in that country. Before the war, although it was a dictatorship, Syria was quite a safe country. However, after the civil war occurred the domestic situation became unsure and the country became a base for the Islamic State. In the Syrian government, the Al-Assad family has been in control for about 45 years. Currently, the government has a worse impact on Syrians lives than IS does. The reason is that IS only targets specific people; on the other hand the Syrian government targets areas where antigovernment people are living. There are a total of three structures of conflict existing in Syria; between Sunni and Shia, dictatorship and anti-dictatorship and, lastly, a fight regarding supremacy between international countries involved in the Syrian crisis. Syrians living near Damascus are suffering because of the Al-Assad government and those living near Raqqa are having hard times due to IS. Since most of Syria is not safe at all, many people are moving from their homes for survival and this created Syrian refugees.

France, Germany, and the UK are the major countries taking responsibility for accepting the refugees in Eastern and Western Europe, which is geographically close to Syria. Northern and Southern Europe are looking carefully at the Dublin Regulation, a European Union law made in 1997, that determines the EU Member State responsible for examining applications of asylum seekers seeking international protection within the European Union. This law states that people searching for another country to live in must apply for permission in the country they first entered. Germany was against allowing the refugees to come in, but then it abruptly changed its policy. The Germans now show their active will to accept the Syrian refugees. Germany offered the European countries a quota system, however, Eastern Europe countries refused it, stating that there would be no end to the war and no end to refugees, so they wouldn’t accept any. Lately, Europe’s recent condition is very confused due to various protests run by people who oppose Germany’s opinion.

The war in Syria, now in its fifth year, has drawn sharp attention to the Syrian refugees who are in desperate need of shelter. Many Syrian refugees have been left homeless and have nowhere to go. It is the right thing to give a hand to those refugees, and countries have the moral obligation to do. People should be helping out others who are in need and those who desire help. It is easy to say to Europe, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and several other countries to accept the Syria refugees however; those countries will have to undergo the consequences which include both economical and political problems during the process. As refugees from various countries appear, many countries are closing their doors to them coming in. Korea is only accepting 3 Syrian refugees yet they are suffering through discrimination leading to hardship. The best solution, and the only solution left is to deter the dictatorial Al-Assad forces and stop the international fight regarding power. People are suffering because of the civil war and IS, and we should lend a hand and protect Syria’s future; the children.

이선민, 고애진 (Grade 8)

Comfort Women

Comfort women are women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army in occupied territories before and during World War Ⅱ. The name “Comfort women” translates to the Korean term Wianbu (위안부). Many people think that Comfort women are only in Korea. However, Comfort women are a very serious problem all over the world. Specifically, this article will go to talk about Korean Comfort women. The Comfort women problem is one of an infringement of human rights. Nevertheless, lots of people don’t think that it is an important and serious problem.

Approximately three-quarters of comfort women died, and most survivors were left infertile due to sexual trauma or sexually transmitted diseases. Beatings and physical torture were common for them. Comfort women were taken by the Japanese through deceit. Japanese said that they would introduce jobs and work for them, or they said they would make people work in the factories. However there were many people who were kidnapped by the Japanese. After Japanese took women to the Japanese service club, they beat and hit them. One Comfort woman said if the Comfort women said “No”, the Japanese beat them more. So, the Comfort women didn’t have freedom to talk what they wanted to. Also, because the Comfort women were young and weak in those days it was too intolerable for them. Actually, many women wanted to commit suicide, too. Nonetheless, they couldn’t die. The Comfort women were under the control of Japanese. This was totally abusive of human rights.

The Japanese, surprisingly, are showing an irresponsible attitude toward this problem. But also, the Korean government is not showing a clear position. In March, 2014, a US-Japan summit was held in The Hague in the Netherlands. South Korea has announced that they accepted the position due to the change in Japan’s attitude toward Comfort women. However, the Japanese government said Comfort women issue and the ROK-US-Japan summit has no relationship. After that, President Park Geun-Hye said there was “considerable progress” from the Comfort women issue in an interview to the Washington Post last June, the final stage of negotiations. Then the officials and the press in Japan denied the interview of President Park. Rather, it’s very surprising that Korea’s attitude suddenly softened. All of this is making confusion in the Korea-Japan relationship and the Comfort women problem.

Like this, Comfort women are a serious problem, but most of the people don’t know about this issue and nothing is really being done for the Comfort women. To help the Comfort women, the first thing we need to do is to have more attention on the Comfort women in Korea. Comfort women don’t want something big. They only want a true apology from Japan, a firm stance of the South Korean government, and more attention from people in Korea.

김효은, 신새하, 오수정 (Grade 8)

By 이다은 (3-2) The week after the Midterms was different from any other week compared to last year’s. A new program was planned and it is so-called ‘Field trip of History and Culture.’ Although third graders had several choices for the field trip, students were unanimous in their opinion to go to Jeonra province, located in the far south of the Korean peninsula. Before the trip, YHIMS teachers spent long amount of time to check whether the hotels were safe and clean enough for the students to stay. Students thoroughly appreciate our teachers’ selfless devotion, and this allowed YHIMS to have a safe and marvelous trip. The trip was from May 6th to 8th, and it was also the first time for YHIMS students to go to a field trip for more than two days. Five classes were separated into two groups, A and B, respectively. Each group had a different schedule, and as class 1 and 2 were in the B group, this article will follow the schedule of Group B. The 5-hour car ride was quite tiring.

As soon as YHIMS arrived at Goksung, students tasted delicious meat that was cooked over charcoal fire. The tender meat seemed to alleviate students’ headache they had to overcome during the long car ride. Goksung Train village is known for its beautifully decorated village that contains numerous types of flowers. Some students rode the ‘Rail bike’, and they were having a hard time since they had to work on the pedal in order to go forward. It was a perfect place for students to take pictures with their friends. Goksung Train village contains both traditional and modern features, which made a good tourist attraction. Since students did not have enough to time to visit Haenam Ttangkkeut village, they went straight to the Bosung Dabeach Condo. Students from Class 1 and 2 enjoyed the beautiful sunset and appetizing dinner. On the second day, students had to spend quite a busy day. In the morning, YHIMS students went to Haenam Ttangkkeut village, and this village is named after its location, which means southern most part of South Korea.

The monorail was expected, whereas the walking course all the way down to the ground was definitely unexpected. The wooden stairs were slippery and there were some chasms between each wooden piece. Despite all these complains, students experienced the beautiful sight that can only be seen by walking the wooden stairs all by themselves. Haenam Dinosaur Museum was quite crowded due to YHIMS students. It was easy to see students who were taking pictures in front of the massive dinosaur fossil and students doing their group mission. Although it must have been hard to put all the good memories in one piece of paper, students must have kept those memories in one part of their heart. Humorous picture on the left also shows how the exhibitions are even compelling to dinosaurs that lived in the far past. Bosung Green Tea plantation was a perfect place for YHIMS students to make magnificent pictures and memories. Not only was the souvenir store was wonderful, but the plantation itself was luminous due to the warm sunlight. Taking a picture in the midst of the plantation proved the superb scenery that attracted many visitors, also from the overseas. Groups doing projects on Bosung Green Tea plantation were busy taking panoramic pictures of the whole sight. Some women actually cultivating Green Tea seemed traditional. Students realized the imposing grand view of the plantation and they also enjoyed trying Green Tea ice cream and green tea chocolate. The next morning students visited Suncheon Bay Ecological Park, and the size was so vast that students were not able to walk around the whole park. There were many visitors from other schools, but YHIMS students were very thoughtful since they did not throw away trash anywhere chat loudly.

They had a very good manner of preserving the environment. In the field of reeds, students were softly walking trying not to step on the reeds. YHIMS students took spectacular photographs that seem like a model photography. Once again, many people were impressed by YHIMS students’ manners. Jeonju Hanok Village is the most famous tourist attraction in the countryside of Korea. Despite the big crowd in the village, Young Hoon students experienced the beautiful mix of tradition and modern features. The village had many Korean-style markets that sell Grilled Cheese that originates from Imshill, a famous cheese production area. Korean traditional restaurants had many specialized food that differentiates the region from other places. The natrual mix of modern and tradition did appeal to many people including the YHIMS students. Long trip back to Seoul was demanding for YHIMS students. Despite this challenging ride back to Seoul, this year’s Historical and Culture Field Trip turned out to be a success that will always remain in the students’ mind, which will be a pleasant memory to reminisce.

The fifth Young Hoon students will always miss this trip after we graduate from Young Hoon International Middle School. Truly, the students will treasure the field trip they had gone with their friends, classmates, and teachers.

By 김태연 (3-1)

On May 19th, the second YHIMS and DWIMS sports competition was held. This competition is held to compete and be in a close relationship between the two international middle schools in Seoul, which are YHIMS and DWIMS. After the first match in 2012, there could not be another one because of many problems in and out. In 2012, the first match, YHIMS won almost every game. This year, because Dae- Won is in charge of the match, we could acknowledge that there were many track and field games. YHIMS was weak to the games compared to Dae-Won which has a track and field team in their school. However Young-Hoon’s students did their best, and even the students who did not participate in the games cheered for the students who did and upgraded the mood of the competition. In Korea-Yonsei University’s competition, there are 6 games; soccer, baseball, basketball, rugby, ice hockey, and cheering competition. The cheering part is the pride of one’s university and there is no more happiness than winning the cheering game. This is same to us. Although we lost many games, we never think that we lost because our students learned true sportsmanship. The mood between our students, led by the cheering leaders was strong enough to overcome the number of games that we lost. Despite the wrong decisions by the referees and the loss of many games, it was good to see that our students cheered for the YHIMS players when there were good chances, and encouraged them when there are sad and bad

situations. Also it was good to see that we cheered hard not minding about the rain. Young-Hoon students

became one in the cheering part. YHIMS students really thank the cheering leaders and the student council for making excellent dances for a long period of time. Kim Young Hoon, Park Chan Woo, and Jeong

Kyeong Jin, who are in the student council said “By leading the students, we could learn many things such as leadership. However, it was really hard to control all the students in YHIMS.

We could learn that we should work harder to control a lot of people.” We hope that next year, YHIMS show a stronger performance to DWIMS.

BY 이선민 (2-2), 신주희 and 한채형 (2-4)
​​Q What was the reason you wanted​ ​to become a teacher? What was your​ ​motivation?

A To make the world a better place. After​ ​college I got a job at a bank. It wasn't long before I didn't like this kind of work, because it wasn't really helping anyone. So I decided to go into education.

Q What is your philosophy of education?

A Teachers need to guide students​ ​​into learning for themselves. The most​ ​important thing is creating an environment​ ​​where learning, positive thinking, and dreaming are encouraged.

Q How did you feel when you came to​ ​YHIMS?

A When I arrived, I was overwhelmed by​ ​the desire to learn among students. The way our students always try and do there very best has been inspiring.

Q What are the differences between other​ ​schools and Younghoon?

A I was teaching at a rural school. We​ ​only had 80 students, so it was a more​ ​familiar atmosphere. Students at YHIMS​ ​have stronger motivations to learn than​ ​any other schools I’ve taught at.

Q What do you think about teaching​ ​International Studies?

A I feel privileged to be able to have​ ​an opportunity to teach students at our​ ​school. It is my hope that I can instill upon​ ​them the curiosity​ ​about the world around them,​ ​and​ ​a​ ​desire​ ​to achieve their goals.

 March 11th 2015

12 Teachers from Singapore paied a visit to YHIMS

For the first two weeks of March, Grade 7 will have orientation instead of regular classes.

They will take level tests from the foreign teachers and have HR time with both of their foreign and Korean homeroom teachers.

This is to give Grade7 students a brief idea of how school system works and time to adapt to the new environment.

From March 2015, We have three new foreign teachers.

1. Allan Ward - International Studies

2. Lois Kim - Mathematics

3. Matthew P.Clancy - International Studies.

Welcome to all the new staffs and to the beginning of the new year.!