Smiley face

:) -> :)
:) -> :(

So the converse does not work between some people.

Love stories...Love Story (Segal, 1970) & Cinema Paradiso (Tonatore, 1988)

Love stories do not have to be mutually exclusively cheesy and touching.

If I were to ever look back at the last week as a special one out of my entire college career, I would call it a week of "back into classics" - whether it be for movies, modes of thinking, or experience.

Nurtured by Love by Suzuki

To merely "want" to do something is not enough (87).

One must be able to put things into practice (88).

It is only doing the thing that counts.. I shall acquire the habit of doing what I have in mind to do (88).

Even small tasks should not be neglected, but completed right away (89).

"If you try it, you can do it" (91).

"Unhappy are the thinkers" ... because thought is often just idle thought, and does not include self-correction. What is the use of pouring repentance on repentance? Too much thought makes thought meaningless, and finally we get so we reject thought altogether. Self-examination not accompanied by change isthe same as not putting into action what we think of doing (90). 

The sooner people realize their mistake, the better. The more the situation is changed, the nearer the human race will come to happiness (107).

"Talent is not inborn, it has to be created" (36).

Talent education (Talent Education Research Institute), Shinichi Suzuki

What would be there, in "Elizabethtown?"

Not a movie review, because I haven't seen the film.

But the snapshots alone are so fascinating enough!

Elizabethtown (Crowe, 2005)

*Picture source: Elizabethtown official movie site

Post preview! Translation of a Korean poem, "님의 침묵"/"Silence of the Beloved"

님의 침묵

한용운 

님은 갔습니다 
아아 사랑하는나의님은 갓슴니다 
푸른 산 빛을깨치고 단풍나무 숲을 향하여 난 
작은 길을 걸어서 차마 떨치고 갔습니다.
황금의 꽃같이 굳고 빛나던 옛 맹세는 차디찬
티끌이 되어서 한숨의 미풍에 날려 갔습니다.

날카로은 첫 키스의 추억은 나의운명의 
지침(指針)을 돌려놓고 뒷걸음처서 사러졌습니다.
나는 향기로운 님의 말소리에 귀먹고 
꽃다운 님의 얼굴에 눈멀었습니다.

사랑도 사람의 일이라 만날 때에 미리 떠날 것을
염려하고경계하지 아니 한 것은 아니지만
이별은 뜻밖의 일이 되고 
놀란 가슴은 새로은 슬븜에 터집니다.

그러나 이별을 쓸데없는 눈물의 원천을 만들고 마는 것은
스스로 사랑을 깨치는 것인 줄 아는 까닭에 
걷잡을 수 없는 슬픔의 힘을 옴겨서 
새 희망의 정수박이에 들이부었습니다.

우리는 만날 때에 떠날 것을 염려하는 것과 같이
떠날 때에 다시 만날 것을 믿습니다.

아아, 님은 갔지마는 
나는 님을 보내지 아니 하였습니다.
제 곡조를 못이기는 사랑의 노래는 
님의 침묵을 휩싸고 돕니다. 

I worked on translating one of my favorite Korean poems, "님의 침묵"/"Silence of the Beloved" with my friend, Aly, who wanted to translate a text in an unfamiliar foreign language into English for her translation workshop assignment. I'll get the fully translated version with all the sounds, nuances, and messages taken into account on my blog as soon as it gets done. 

But here goes a little bit of preview for the post about the translation experience!

The Korean word, 님 (pronounced as nym) in the title and repeated a lots of times throughout the whole poem, was one of very important vocabulary to be dealt with but also quite difficult to be translated into English because this simple single-syllable word, 님, could make scores of implications. It is a word referring to somebody in a superior position or someone whom you love or admire in a very polite way. It also sounds archaic and romantic if you call a person you're in love with by this word, and normally you don't in everyday conversation especially in modern times. We finally made it to give it a possibly closest-meaning English word, the beloved - here it should be also noted that the whole poem speaks of someone/something unspecified but kinda directed at a certain person/object, so allowing the addition of a definite article, the. 

So please stay tuned for another fun post about this translation work that turns out more and more interesting and fascinating. 

*Image source from a Japanese movie, Rainbow Song (虹の女神, Kumazawa, 2006)

**Poem text from a naver cafe site

포브스 미국 대학 순위/한국 황색 저널리즘 Forbes ranks the best US colleges - but misinterpreted by Korean yellow journalism

Forbes has become a new post for ranking the best universities and colleges in the United States, aiming to downplay the traditionally prestigious rankings by U.S. News and World Report. Forbes, unlike U.S. News, makes a compiled list of both universities and liberal arts colleges for the rankings based on the following five criteria collected by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity (CCAP):

1. Listing of Alumni in the 2008 Who's Who in America (25%)

2. Student Evaluations of Professors from Ratemyprofessors.com (25%)

3. Four- Year Graduation Rates (16 2/3%)

4. Enrollment-adjusted numbers of students and faculty receiving nationally competitive awards (16 2/3%)

5. Average four year accumulated student debt of those borrowing money (16 2/3%)

It was not only stunning but also almost shocking that Swarthmore College was ranked #4, ahead of most of the Ivy League universities except for Princeton (#1) and Harvard (#3) because, you know, Swarthmore has no reputation among Koreans and even some Americans. To address the creditability of Forbes rankings, Forbes is a world-recognized financial and business magazine that has a long history of publishing lists for a diversity of issues ranging from "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women" to Richest People of the World. But Forbes hasn't had a foot in the door of ranking the best colleges until this year. Nevertheless, it still can't be bullshit or rubbish because it's Forbes.

From the first day I was back early to Swarthmore for the international orientation, we discussed and chatted about the Forbes rankings spread more publicly through one of Swat gradutates' facebook page. Not only were the other Swarthmore students impressed and thrilled by the honorable recognition, but also were Koreans proud to hear the news. And even a couple of Korean students told me that these rankings were also reported in a major Korean newspaper, Chosun Ilbo. I was personally so glad to hear one of the prestigious journals of Korea cover the article, expecting that it would inform many Koreans ignorant of liberal arts colleges as a whole, let alone Swarthmore College, of the strength and competitiveness of the under-recognized schools. 

However, Korean journals were so biased and unjust as to drive me to write a post about them immediately - what a yellow journalism. All the major newspapers, stubbornly equipped with chronically obsessive consciousness of ostentatious reputation, just wanted to capture only a part of the fact that they want to show to the public. Most of the newspapers including one from Chosun Ilbo gave an exclusive spotlight on the fact that Princeton topped the rank published by Forbes, followed by Cal Tech and Harvard. Though the Forbes rankings could cast a fresh perspective on the best colleges in the U.S. in the Korean publics and especially those considering getting a U.S. college education, Korean journals were preventing the cultivation of the unorthodox attention on the lesser known liberal arts colleges. 

Chosun.com/조선일보: 미(美) 대학 순위 프린스턴 1위

Donga.com/동아일보: 포브스 “올해 美 최고대학은 프린스턴”

Hankyung.com/한국경제신문: "올해 美 최고대학은 프린스턴"[포브스]

Koreadaily.com/USA 중앙일보: 올해 최고 대학은 프린스턴' 포브스 선정

When I searched on Google with key words such as "포브스 대학 순위," They didn't cover at all how less famous liberal arts colleges like Swarthmore, Williams, and Amherst got ranked high above many Ivy League universities. By emphasizing that Princeton is the number one university, along with Harvard as one of the top threes, Korean journals mislead the readership to believe more firmly that only the famous schools like Harvard and Princeton are great and worthwhile to go to. In this manner, Korean media don't give just credits and honor for the top-ranked liberal arts colleges - especially Swarthmore, Williams, and Amherst, three of which were also ranked on the top of the list made by U.S. News and World Report - and misguide the prospective Korean students to make not the best choice. 

U.S. News: 2009 Best Liberal Arts Colleges 

Korean journals disavow their media responsibility by turning away from viewing the very broad and true picture of a fact and highlighting only a superficial bit of the whole fact to manipulate the public or reinforce an orthodox belief/myth. This mishap is not new in Korean journalism, though.  The Metropolitician, an enthusiastic American blogger about the inside of Korean culture and nationalism, posted about the DMC press conference where DMC of Run DMC was prompted to give an answer that Korean media wants to hear from an American public figure about the importing of beef. 

Remember, no matter what, we just care for the truth. 

P.S. Also if you're rank-conscious, you should be aware that Swarthmore ranks 6th on the "High school counselor rankings of liberal arts colleges."

High school counselor rankings of liberal arts colleges

P.P.S. I also came across an interesting post about the Forbes college rankings while searching on Google. Georgia Tech, ranked 501th by Forbes, Korean students who go to the school got so angry that they jotted on the website for Georgia Tech Korean Student Association how meaningless the college rankings were.

Tips for 유학 생활/Staying abroad: Calling home 미국에서 국제전화 걸기

I am opening a new section of columns dedicated to introducing skills and tips for those who study away from their native countries for whatever programs to start off and sustain a better, more on-goally life. I just had my first year of staying in the United Sta tes last year as a college freshman, and got a lot of help from my sunbaes, friends, and professors for settling in these strange but somewhat exciting surroundings in a suburb of Philadelphia, PA. But as I come across many freshmen who have mostly the same questions I had when I just freshly entered college, I realized it's quite important to compile all the useful tips and skills that many people have orally passed over to the underclass people.

The first column would be about "Calling home."


There're several ways to call home to Korea if you stay in the States (Sorry but I don't know if the following also works in other countries.)

1. Offline International phone card

Buy an international phone card at a nearby college bookstore or on the Internet, and dial the number specified on the card using any phone connected to a domestic phone line.

2. Internet phone

One popular choice for Koreans to make international phone calls outside Korea is using an Internet phone. "My LG 070 Internet phone" seems to be the most widely used as well as a cheap brand they can resort to. Basically you join the Internet phone service provided by My LG 070 and take the phone machine out outside Korea with you - it will work everywhere the Internet network is connected. Then even if you stay in the States, you can make calls home to Korea paying the same amount of fee for making Korean domestic calls. But if you want to call someone in the States, then you'd make international phone calls though you're in America.

3. Online International Phone Cards with 이지다이얼/EzDial

The method #3 here is the one I am using now, which one of my good friends told me about. I purchase a card online, and the site shows you more than tens of different providers for 21 countries (United States, China, Japan, Australia, Canada, Philippines, England, etc.). They also show the comments of users of each service provider so you can make a wiser choice for your own. I chose a service company named "AT"/에이티 because it seemed to offer a cheapest price for the same good quality of calls. I also recently found out that I can make international calls to other countries, say England, which makes me so happy because I can call one of my best friends in London! Yay! Dial the number specified on the web page for the service provider you chose, using any wired or cell phones available in the States.

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