Wonpil Lee/ Interview Essay/ Tue 1pm

A Cup of Interview: Teach You Teach Me

"This job is not only a great opportunity but also a real challenge," said my cousin Yu-son who recently became a college instructor.

             Yu-son has three identities: a product planner of a food company, a graduate student, and a college lecturer on food and nutrition. She is the most positive and energetic person I know. I do not understand where the endless energy comes from.

Sometimes she visits me without a notice and asks me for a cup of my great hand drip coffee. Then I give it to her and ask her for a reward. Give and take: a great virtue in this capitalistic society.

This interview was also the reward: I gave a cup of coffee, and she gave me some answers. By the way I realized an important truth through the interview. When a person teaches someone else, the person also learns something.

             At the first time she thought it could be meaningful when her professor suggested she take charge of a course this semester, so she readily accepted the offer. Because she has a lot of teaching experience in her former job, she was not so worried about the lecture itself.

She prepared the first lecture thoroughly even if she was very busy due to her company tasks and graduate school's assignments. She was confident about her successful debut.

However, when she got out of the lecture room after the first class, she realized, "I'm sunk." It felt as if the students had not really wanted to improve themselves. Especially, their monotone facial expressions made her nervous. They hardly responded her talk and just stared at their smartphones. She briefly described her debut, "It was a disaster. I was prepared, but they were not prepared."

            She changed the strategy. First of all, she decided not to give too many assignments. Besides, she tried to develop a rapport with her students and waited for their emotional preparation because she thought they might have less confidence. As a result, the students began responding much more positively and asking some meaningful questions about the course's contents to their lecturer.

I laughed aloud and said to my cousin, "You were probably too threatening, so their tails were between the legs." She answered, "You're right. A student came to me and said she was afraid of me at the first time because of the stern look on my face." Then Yu-son comprehended that her facial expression, way of speaking, and even posture can heavily influence her students as well as the contents of her teaching. She also realized that she should smile first to make students smile.

She said, "They accepted my knowledge after we were familiar with each other." Now, her students attempt more challenging assignments without a murmur as they know their lecturer is trying to help them. In other words, my cousin and her students accept and embrace each other.

After that, her professor suggested she take responsibility for more classes next semester. Although she did not decide whether to accept the suggestion due to lack of time, she would like to continue leading this one class; through the teaching process she is also learning something new.

"By teaching I can organize my knowledge more clearly. In addition to this, there are emotional communications with students, which restores my tiredness, exhaustion, and emotional draining," said my cousin with a smile.

Yu-son teaches her students, and she gains benefits. Likewise, I gave her a cup of coffee, and I developed a good understanding. When we give something, we usually think we lose it. No. It is not true. When we give something, we receive something more valuable. 

Lee Jungha/Oral interview/TUE 5,6

- Living as Someone's Fan -  I think that the most people around the world have experienced longing for celebrity on TV in their childhood. Or maybe some people are still having fallen in love with him or her until now. I also like many male celebrities and search them on the internet, wondering their age, what shows they showed up, whether they are dating with someone or not, etc. But some huge fans usually do more than that. And my friend is one of them.  I met Minkyung when we were middle school students. At that time, several boy bands were really popular among girls. Students carved their favorite member's name on their wooden desks and elaborately decorated their school supplies with bands' pictures. I was also big fan of boy band called TVXQ that were composed of five members. But after they broke up, I lost my interests. But all students was crazy about boy bands, Minkyung was interested in a ballad singer who was not so popular among girls. So my friends used to tease her with her mature sensibility. But she didn't care about us at all. She has remained as a huge fan of that singer until we graduated the high school. And through 5 years so far, even if her favorite singer has been changed, if she got into something, she was deeply possessed with that.  Therefore I chose her for my interview because she keeps her balance well between her own life and at the same time, being a huge fan of singers. So it was not difficult to get honest answers to my questions. I wanted to know the effect of being a huge fan of someone, and how the fans think about themselves and what they feel through fan experiences, and so on.  We met at a cafe near the Konkuk University because she had to go work as a part-time after the interview. As she and I are very close friends, I knew about her fan life up to a point. So I carried out the interview focusing on her feelings more and recent experiences that I haven't heard before.  She has gotten into a Korean rock band recently. When I asked about her that singer's state, her face was not very good. According to her, that band is having trouble with their agency, so their album has not been released yet, even though recording had finished a long time ago. But she added some. "Of course I'm sorry that we fans can't listen their new songs. but it's okay because their previous songs are enough much for me to enjoy. I never get tired of those songs. And band members will be happy if fans wait calmly".  And I noticed that there is a fan network that is formed through some websites. Fans share the information about the singer and discuss on certain topics related to the singer or songs. Several band members sometimes sign up to the website and have a conversation with fans. A year ago, one of  members has invited a fan for dinner and still get in touch with the fan. Fans and singers both feel comfortable to each other because they can gather with the common interest. On special occasions such as TV show or concerts, they organize the small group from themselves and collect some money to prepare snacks or presents for the singer. When I asked her it's a wasting as we are still students but singers earn money by themselves, She said that "Others may think like that, but singers went through the hard time because it's hard to be get popularity in Korea as rock band. Korean still have prejudice toward rock band. And even though we collect some money, it's absolutely not much. We can pay as our please."  "When is the hardest time to fans in general?" I asked. Then she kept thinking a while and answered. "There are two cases. At first, fans are affected by the singer. So if the singer is in a bad condition, we feel in the same way. But as I said earlier, if fans get tired, singers will be more tired. So we just wait and see until situation gets better. We fans don't want to bother singers because of our trivial mind. And the second, sometimes people whisper that being a huge fan spoils our life and it's a wasting of time. But I don't think so. I met many people through an experience being a fan, and most of people live their own lives well. We can control our life. Of course, being too much addicted is not good. But I think talking behind our back is also wasting their time."  When I asked her when the happiest time was while you live as a fan, she recollect an experience that she met the main vocal after the concert. She got a signature and shook hands. And she added that she feels happy when band members enjoy the stage of other singer in some rock festival, because they are fans of other singer, too. So it's pleased to see band members do the same reaction when they were the seats for the audience.  While the interview was carried out, her eyes were bright and she answered passionately. I really appreciated her. As she said above, sometimes people worry about huge fans, thinking that they don't do right things. But to some people, living as someone's fan gives life to them and inspire them with happiness. It can be precious memories. I'm not a big fan of someone now, but as I have felt the same feeling with her, I can understand her. And I envy her that she has something that she get into deeply. Living as a fan is good, I guess.

yeonsoo seo/ interview/ tues 1pm

I interviewed my close friend whose name is David. I knew him at college two years ago, so I don’t know much about his childhood life. So, I interviewed him about how his childhood was like. When I asked him about his childhood, he told me several episodes remembering how he was silly and foolish but innocent.

 

The longest answer that I got was his childhood in the church. He smiled himself as he said he was such a pure and innocent boy.

“Usually, kids thought of their toys as their friends when they were little, but in my case it was a blanket.”

His first memory of child hood was spent in church where my father was a preached.

“I always carried long blanket because it made me warm and I just liked it”

One day, he walked with that blanket into bible class with his brothers. When they taunted me for bringing blanket, he left there and went by furnace which was warm.

“Here is funny part. My blanket was caught on fire and everyone stumped on fire. After that, I found only tiny piece of my blanket…..”

He thought of his blanket as his friend, so he said he carried that blanket everyday even after the size of blanket got small.

 

The shortest answer that I got was his day he spent after school. He said he often rode a bike with his friend, Chris, who lived next door.

“One day, we wanted to ride a bike in the opposite way of our home”

He said, suddenly it started to drizzle, but his friend, Chris said to go further a little bit more.

After that, it started to pull down rain, and the sound of the rumble of thunder was getting louder.

“We were so scared that we worked a pedal like a shot bolt. As soon as we got home, we even didn’t say goodbye to each other and went inside home. That day was crazy.”

When he told this episode, his eyes got bigger, and his voice tone also got high saying he was really scared that day as a kid.

 

The interesting response was when I asked him who gave him motivation or inspiration when he was little because I didn’t know he was so passionate about art.

“It was definitely my brother. He was such a talented at art. He always encouraged me to keep putting effort in art. I often just started at him while he was making some artwork”

He looked very proud of his brother, and I told him that I want to see his brother’s artwork someday.

 

Park Hyeonbae / Interview Practice / Tue. 1-3 p.m.

 Interview Practice

Interview on My Friend

200801424 Park Hyeonbae

 

I considered carefully whom to interview, because there were few persons whom I could ask for interviewing around me. It was hard to arrange the time to interview my friend because the time we both could match was very confined. Anyway, I and my friend could finally start the interview. We met in a café. It was long time no see.

 

We started the conversation with some general talks about the recent condition of each other. Then I moved to the interview, with representing my appreciation for attending the interview to my friend. He was a little bit curious about and interested in the interview. I started to ask some questions.

 

First, I prepared the subject to be career, so I asked him to tell me about the recent career or job. He said that he was working on his university as a scholarship student who worked for the university. At the same time, he was also teaching some middle school students; actually, his major is Korean language education. I thought he was managing things very well. In fact, according to his additional information, he was an after-school instructor in a middle school. I wondered how he could get the position, so I asked. Then he answered me that there was a program helping the educational connections between colleague students and middle schools, by Samsung. So he applied to the program, and he was accepted after an examination and an interview. He said it was a kind of a voluntary activity, but he would get paid either. He added a comment that he was lucky because he didn't have to suffer from money problems thanks to the jobs he was doing. He said he could concentrate on his study. I congratulated him on his well-flowing business.

 

Then I asked what things he was preparing for his future. He, who is majoring in Korean language education, wanted to be a formal teacher. So he planned for that. After this semester, he will pour all his effort into a teacher certification test. He said it might be as long as 2 years, to get through the test because it's very hard. Actually, he was saving his money for the period of the preparation for the test, to concentrate on all about the test, intending even not to do any job for the money. His determined decision was rather impressive to me. To add additional information about him, the finance of his family is not good. Also he loves his family a lot. So he's struggling for his family. I think there are few people who are honest and sincere like him nowadays.

 

After the interview, we continued the conversation more, and had a dinner. It was very good time to see my friend who I couldn't meet often, and to hear the good news from him. I wholeheartedly hope that his wish come true and his life keep going smoothly like this moment.

Lee Seung-Hwan / Task 5.2 / Tue 1 p.m

I interviewed my friend, who is a freshman majoring in economics in HUFS currently. He went to same high school with me, and as I went to HUFS, he prepared the exam once again. After one year, when I became a sophomore, he entered HUFS. I asked him about how he likes his major and if he has a specific plan to have a job which is relevant to his major. I also interviewed about the hardships he faced during studying economics.

 

1. What did you learn about interviewing?

 

I learned that interviewing should not be so mechanic. I mean, it just doesn't go like I ask prepared questions, and the interviewee answers completely inside that frame of the question. Interviewing should be like having a conversation between two people. Some answers can stray from the original question, and some new questions can be created, but that's okay. Comfortable atmosphere and flexible questions could generate more useful and long answers. If you just read some prepared questions, and just wait, the interviewee will end up with just few sentences. You should communicate with the interviewee.

 

2. What question got the longest answer? Why?

 

The question about hardships arising from studying economics got the longest answer. It must be because he got many hardships through studying his major. One of main hardships he mentioned was that economy changes depending on the society. He said it is not a standstill study. He had to adapt many things he learned to the flexible, completely changing society, and he experienced many hardships for that.

 

3. What question got the shortest answer? Why?

 

The question about how he like his major got the shortest answer. He just answered he like his major, and he came to like his major. At first, he didn't like economics so much, but as he studied more and more, he came to like it. Honestly, when someone loves his or her studies, the reason is simple. It is just because he or she likes it. Maybe the preference of choosing what to study is relevant to that person's inborn preference. I like English, and I can hardly tell why. I just like it. Therefore, that's the reason why that question generated the shortest answer.

 

4. What question led to the most interesting response? Why?

 

I asked him "If you were to go back to your high school days, would you choose economics again as your major?" Then he replied, "I can't really tell. However, if I still know the fun that economics can offer me, I think I will choose this major again." Seemed like he really likes his major.

Jung Do Young/interview/tue 1pm

My interviewee is a girl named Aktorgyn Balbekova from Kazakhstan. I met her through language exchange program, meaning we teach each other our mother language. Though she's from a country far away from Korea, she doesn't appear to look much different, She has long, shiny black hair with ruddy complexion. She is quite young, only 19 years old, and looks so with her innocent looking eyes. She came to Korea to study Korean, which is intriguing.

"So, what is it about korea that has got your attention, Aktorgyn ? " I asked.

Her eyes moved upwards, thinking. Then she answered, "Everything. Korean dramas are very popular in Kazakhstan, and I like korean faces and their culture. And the language sounds so sophisticated."

" I'm flattered to hear that. And how's Korean food suiting you?'

" Good, only I am muslim , I can't eat pork so the choice is somewhat limited."

I was a bit surprised, not only because she was the first muslim I ever met, but also because without pork, which is the essential ingredient in Korean food, thing were going to be a bit tricky for her. I moved on to next question.

"Is learning Korean difficult?"

"Yes, but I think I have learned a lot ever since coming here. I think I can handle daily conversation quite easily now. What I really want to learn is to make my speech as smoothly and naturally as possible. I want to learn phrases and vocabularies Koreans actually use like 'Daebak". I guess textbooks wouldn't help much in this, " I laughed a bit at the thought of a foreigner using such expression.

" Yes, I will teach you that kind of expression everytime I can think of it. But I think your korean is very good already. I want to speak russian well just like you do with korean. Any advice? "

" Watch dramas like I did. That is the most easiest and funniest way to learn. Watch "grandma" for instance. It's quite easy to understand and you'll love it"

"Thanks for the perfect advice. I was wondering, Doesn't koreans find your name a bit difficult? I mean, it is quite long actually."

"Yes they do and my korean roommate call me "Ari", which I think it's quite cute. Now that we are on this matter, would you like to have a russian name too?

"Oh yes ,that sounds fun and what would that be?

"Valeriya"

I thought it was lovely, and a bit reminded me of ballet. I expressed my enthusiasm and than moved on.

"What do you do in your spare time?"

"Other than attending my classes and doing my homework, there is quite a lot of spare time. I don't know what to do with them actually."

"I think it's important to socialize with Koreans as much as you can during your visit. Like you are doing right now."

"Yes I agree..."

we went on talking for sometime, and after having a meal together we parted, promising to meet again. There is still much to know about her, but that was a basic outline of Aktorgyn.

Wonpil Lee/ Task 5.2 at p. 148/ Tue 1 pm

5. Freewriting: I interviewed my cousin who became recently a college lector.

What did you learn about interviewing?

- I learned that the comfortable atmosphere is very important for efficient interview. If the interviewee feel stressful, he or she won't tell anything meaningful and valuable. Then the interview will be a useless thing.

What question got the longest answer? Why?

- How about your work? This question got the longest answer because she is a rookie and thus, has a lot to talk about. Perhaps she thinks these days a lot about her new job.

What question got the shortest answer? Why?

- When I asked the interviewee why she decided to work in teaching area, she gives me the shortest answer. Because she did not predict that she will teach in a college, she did not have so many to say.

What question led to the most interesting response? Why?

- What kind of student do you like? She, a rookie, does not like smart students who have already a lot of knowledge about the subject of her lecture. She thinks it could be dangerous because they may not accept her new idea. She prefers students who have no special idea about the subject she teaches. My cousin asks her students to be curious enough to accept new ideas.

6. Discussion

What things will you try to do when you interview someone more formally?

- I'd like to prepare more thoroughly next time in order to get more meaningful results.

What will you try to avoid doing?

- This time my interview was too informal and too private. It turned to a private conversation eventually. I'd like to avoid such a situation.