it is getting hotter and warmer.it seems that the summer is already beside us.
I hope that everybody keeps good health and good conditions.
warming up questions
Teacher's day is around the corner. The reputation about teacher is changed a lot comparing to the past. there's old saying "Don't step on the shadow of teacher" oneday teacher was more important
than parents.
1)In the summer the hot and humid weather almost kills us what is your own method to overcome the hot weather?
2) when you look back your school days, was there any teacher who influenced your life or your thoughts?
3) what was your react after you were hit by your teacher ?
As a teacher what do you think of students between the past and the present in terms of characteristic of students or attendance of class etc.
4) what is the most good way to show the appreciation to teacher?
Underwoods to Leave Korea After 119 Years
By Soh Ji-young
Staff Reporter
The esteemed Underwood family, which has lived in Korea for four generations, will leave their adopted country after 119 years of devoted service.
Members of the Underwood family gather for a photo session during a ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Seoul Foreign School at the Seoul Grand Hilton Hotel on Oct. 19, 2002. They are, from left, Thomas Underwood and his wife Jennifer; Horace H. Underwood; Carol and her husband Dick Underwood; Horace G. Underwood; Peter Underwood and his friend. Courtesy of Donga Ilbo
Horace H. Underwood, the great grandson of Horace G. Underwood, founder of Yonsei University and Saemoonan Presbyterian Church, plans to return to the United States with his wife this coming October.
``I think the Underwood family did all the service that we could for Korea across four generations, ’’ said Underwood, 61, executive director of the Korean American Educational Commission. He also taught English in Yonsei for many years until leaving the podium in March of this year and currently serves on Yonsei University’s board of directors.
He said that it is time that he left Korea to join his children and grandchildren in the U.S. but added that Korea will ``remain in the heart of his family forever.’’
Underwood first came here when he was three years old and save for his university years and U.S. Navy service, has lived the rest of his life in Korea. With his departure, his brother Peter Alexander Underwood, 49, who works at a private consulting firm, will be the only Underwood remaining.
The Underwood family’s special relationship with South Korea began when first generation Horace G. Underwood came here in 1885 as an early Presbyterian missionary.
His family firmly set root in Korean society and pioneered the development of Korea’s modern history in a wide range of fields such as education, religion and Korean- U.S. ties.
Horace G. Underwood began to teach physics and chemistry in Korea’s first modern hospital the Kwanghoewon, and in 1915 founded Chosun Christian College, otherwise known as Yonhi College, the predecessor of the present Yonsei University.
Following the footsteps of his father, second generation Horace Horton Underwood taught education at Yonhi College after studying in the U.S. but died in 1951 during the Korean War (1950-53) from a heart attack. His wife, Ethel Van Wagoner, was shot to death by communists in 1949 in a terrorist attack.
Their first son, Horace G. Underwood, who was named after his grandfather, faithfully continued his family’s legacy by teaching English at Yonsei and heading various educational institutes and U.S. organizations.
After the Korean War broke out in 1950, he reenlisted to the U.S. Navy to aid Korea in times of trouble, and served as a senior interpreter during the Panmunjom Armistice negotiations during the Korean War in 1951. He passed away in January at the age of 87.
While still alive, he often expressed his special affection for Korea, saying, ``Although I might look like an American on the outside, Korean blood flows through my veins.’’
The junior Horace G. Underwood, as well as his father and grandfather, have all been put to rest in their adopted country at the Seoul Foreign Cemetery in Mapo, Seoul.
[EDITORIALS]To the Underwoods: Thank you
The Underwoods have served the Korean people for four generations, founding, managing and working for Yonsei University. Now, the Underwoods are to say good-bye to Korea.
Horace H. Underwood, the executive director of the Korean American Educational Commission and the fourth-generation Underwood, will return to the United States with his wife this fall. The couple said that the Underwoods have done all that they can for Korea.
The family donated the university to the university foundation, and the couple have even given their private house to the foundation. Mr. Underwood initially declined the request by the university foundation to serve on the foundation's board of directors, but was obliged to accept after it insisted that one of the descendants of the founder must be included.
Watching the family practicing the spirit of returning all personal possessions to society, we feel immense respect for them.
During the dark days of Korea, the Underwoods brought light to the Korean people. A young missionary, Horace Grant Underwood, came to an impoverished Korea, giving up his dream of going to India. Witnessing the fall of the Joseon Dynasty under the pressure of neighboring big powers, he helped Koreans keep their national spirit by establishing schools, Christian societies and the YMCA.
During the Japanese occupation, Yonsei University served as the birthplace of Korean studies and became a spiritual center of the people.
The Underwoods experienced the same suffering as their neighbors did. Horace H. Underwood, a son of Horace G. Underwood, lost his beloved wife in 1949 by a terrorist act by the Communists.
Because of their 119-year-long love and friendship, we have become a proud member of the world community. We can now return their love to others. As the Underwoods did for us, we can care for people in impoverished and troubled countries.
We have to make sure our descendants remember them and appreciate what they did for us. We solemnly express our gratitude to the Underwoods, who have cultivated endless love in our hearts.
[Thoughts of The Times] Noblesse Oblige in Korea?
By Choi Tae-hwan
Would you imagine that an old businessman, a president of a medium-sized company group who donated a great deal of money, more than 300 billion, for a scholarship association could be called a model of "Korean Noblesse Oblige"? When asked "What makes you act like this?" he quoted one of the well-known phrases of a drama, "Business is not for business profit but for raising man."
Would you imagine that congressmen are rarely home, working and sleeping at their offices in the Capitol so that they may work hard for their voters by saving time as professional legislators? How can the congressmen of the U. S. stay up a night and sleep on a sofa in offices because they have don't have enough time to be an expert on legislation activities? A congressman, eating hamburgers and drinking for their breakfast in the morning, drives a small car with dents and scratches without a driver, eating a hamburger and soft drink on the way to the Capitol for his main duty, voting for legislation, just like a businessman in Korea. What about Korean national assembly members?
The diversity of corruption and immorality of Korean politicians in connection with the sons of the Presidents of Korea forces one to think of the real meaning of "Noblesse Oblige," which is duty and responsibility in accordance with social rank and honor. What is the real role of social leaders in our society? How about the role of class leaders, mayors, lawmakers, prime Minister, as well as our president's role in society?
St. Paul is considered one of the most distinguished scholars of philosophy and Old Testament law. He changed his name from Saul (meaning most distinguished person) to Paul (meaning humble) after his vision of meeting Jesus Christ. Isaac Newton as the one who established a cornerstone of physics as we know it today, left us with the unforgettable saying, "It's former scientists' achievement that enable me to be more far-sighted and advanced than others and to make a great contribution to scientific development." Newton's modesty makes it possible for us to think of the fact that whoever can be humble can serve others with duty and responsibility.
"You are the leader of our class, I know. But could you do your weekly duty for our class?" Two years ago, I asked the leader of my class, who I thought had excellent leadership ability, not to be exempt from the class's weekly duty. It is usually taken for granted that elementary, middle, and high school classroom leaders are exempt from their individual school responsibilities, such as classroom cleaning, so they can enjoy their privilege of supervising their classmates' activities and informing teachers of friends' wrongdoings. She undoubtedly accepted my suggestion and made efforts to set an example by serving her classmates as their leader, which made it easier for all to be in good harmony under her leadership.
A few years ago, why did the news that the Prime Minister of Great Britain paid the fines for his traffic violations shock Koreans? How about Korean social leaders' role in society? This year we have been very disappointed to read of many social leaders, such as politicians, businessmen, and entertainers' involvement in scandals of their children's exemption from military service by means of corruption and bribery. Korean social leaders have an unfortunate tendency to take advantage of their privilege of power, wealth, and honor, not as a symbol of service but of authority. I am sick and tired of assembly members' physical and verbal violence in the National Assembly Hall instead of having meaningful and constructive discussion. Each year a variety of politician corruption involving embezzlement and bribery frustrates us with despair and rage. What causes social leaders to abandon Noblesse Oblige?
It is regretful that flexibility and connections, rather than regulations and principles, are likely to play a key role in a successful life. It is said that our old Korean scholars placed a stress on the spirit of Seon-bi (scholars) called cleanness and honesty, rather than power, wealth, and authority, even if one was poor. Our ancestral scholars thought of the spirit of sacrifice as such an important factor that they took responsibility for the people and their history by accomplishing their duty as social leaders.
Let's think of the lesson of the Rome where "the spirit of social leaders played a key role in the progress and regress of the history of a country." Shakespeare said, "A rotten Lily smells worse than a rotten weed." Can Korean national assembly members be professional politicians like American politicians who devote themselves to legislating for citizens.
All Koreans! Let's throw off this yoke of power, authority, and honor and keep service, sacrifice, responsibility and duty of mind to pave the way for a democratic society! Fathers, Presidents, Chairmen, Parliamentarians, President! Let's give back their sense of moral of Noblesse Oblige by keeping in mind what the meaning of Noblesse Oblige is.
** The writer is a teacher at Kukje High School in Kwangju
Children Without Hope
Growing numbers of youngsters in Korea face poverty and despair
Ever since the 1997-98 financial meltdown, the gap between rich and poor Koreans has been growing, absolute poverty has been increasing, and many of Korea's children are paying a high price.
A 16-year old boy was found dead on the streets of Daegu recently. He had committed suicide by drinking poison.
Police reports said that his mother had left home and that his father was suffering from cancer. Their family had been struggling through hard times since the father's business failed in 1998, leaving the family in poverty. The youth killed himself after doctors told him that his father had only two months to live.
The foreign exchange crisis created a new type of poverty in Korea. Unlike the nearly universal poverty in the post-war Korea in the 1950s and 1960s, most poor families today were struck down by the 1997 crisis and have been unable to get back on their feet. Also, unlike the "poor but determined" families of the past who had the strong family values to seize opportunities as Korea began to develop, today's poor families are often marked by an absence of those values.
For example, financial problems have not increased their determination to give their children a good education. Poverty has tended to make parents less interested in their children. The children are disillusioned and isolated from society, and show little interest in improving their circumstances.
"Quitting school to go work at a factory to support a drunk father and street-vendor mother is a story only of the 1960s," said Shin Myung-ho, the deputy director of the Korea Center for City and Environment Research.
Poverty has marked many children, affecting them physically, mentally and emotionally. Many have been abandoned by their families. Those who are still with their parents often suffer from a short attention span and problems in school. Parental negligence can also lead to loneliness; then depression and distress lead to more chronic diseases.
All Alone
At the end of last year, about 1 million children were living in poverty in Korea. That was about twice the figure in 1996, before the financial crisis.
A survey of 406 children attending public study rooms around the country showed that 40 percent had parents who were divorced, separated, or dead. Financial difficulties, such as credit delinquencies, have led to more abandoned children.
Between 1998 and last year, 57,000 children were abandoned by their parents or relatives and put into orphanages or other welfare centers. That is a huge contrast with the situation from 1990 to 1996, when the average number of abandoned children was about 4,000-5,000 per year.
The number of undernourished children also shows the impact of poverty on Korean youth. Last year, more than 16,000 children received food rations from the welfare ministry. Separately, the ministry provided lunch to 305,600 students from low-income families. At one public study room in a poor neighborhood, one out of three children said that they had had to skip meals.
Hye-su, 12, lives in an orphanage in Seodaemun, a district in northwest Seoul. Her past four years have been tumultuous. When her parents were divorced in 1999 and her mother left the rest of the family, her father quit his job because of the shock of losing his wife. He took Hye-su and moved in and out of several motels before leaving her at his sister's house. She tried to get along there, but her aunt and uncle eventually sent her to an orphanage. No one knows where are parents are.
Like Hye-su, more than 10,000 children were abandoned by their parents last year, or about 28 per day. Poverty and unemployment were the reasons for abandoning almost half of them.
"Most of the children who came here last year were from families that were ripped apart because of credit card debts or other financial difficulties," said an orphanage director who did not want his name used. According to the welfare ministry, the second-biggest reason that children were abandoned was births by unwed mothers. Poverty and illegitimacy were cited as reasons for over 85 percent of the abandonment.
And the age of the children being thrown out by their parents is decreasing every year. At the Seoul City Moving Welfare Center, children under the age of 13 accounted for 46 percent of all the wards there in 1998, but in 2003, about 93 percent of the residents were under 13. Several sociologists blame the ease of getting a divorce as well as increasing poverty for the rise in the number of "disposable" children.
‘We Don't Need Education'
"I quit school because I hated it. The teachers are probably glad I quit."
"Future plans? There was a time I wanted to be a soccer player, but now, no one asks my dreams."
The comments were from high school and middle school dropouts, 10 of whom were selected by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea for in-depth interviews about their current situations and aspirations.
Based on statistical studies conducted earlier, the commission said that modern children were quitting school for different reasons than those of earlier generations. "Unlike in the past, poor children don't quit school because they are poor. They quit because they have been neglected by their family, school, and society since they were young and don't feel a need to attend," the commission's report noted.
Those who do remain in school tend to fall behind because of poor study environments at their homes. You-hyun, 12, lives in a moldy motel room with his parents. There is barely room for the three of them to lie down.
"He used to be real smart, but his father's bad drinking habits have made the boy more violent," You-hyun's mother said. "As you can see, he can't study at home. There's no room for a desk or chair."
Such children who do make it past middle school often have few choices of schools other than vocational or technical high schools. While 38 percent of low-income children go to those high schools, only 13 percent of children from higher-income families do. A recent case study by the human rights commission said that the average high school student studies 10 hours a day, but that students from poor families spend about seven of hours a day working.
A lack of private education opportunities, in a country where formal school curriculums are not sufficient to prepare for college, also has an effect on children's studies. Of 288 elementary school students from poor families, only 21 percent said they attended a hagwon, as those private supplemental schools are known here. The national average, as announced by the Korean Educational Development Institute last year, was 83 percent. "In a poor neighborhood with about 1,800 households, only one child, if any, goes to a regular four-year college," said Lee Hwa-jin, a social welfare worker at the Seongsan Welfare Center.
Diseased Bodies, Diseased Souls
Poor sanitation and poor nutrition usually accompany poverty, which in turn leads to low productivity and a continued poverty trap. For 11-year old Chang-hoon, this vicious circle is difficult to escape. He lives with his 68-year old grandmother in a small, windowless basement room.
Although he should be in the fifth grade, he tests at a kindergarten level, the aftermath of a high fever that was not properly treated in his infancy. His father, who lives on the streets, has tuberculosis, as does Chang-hoon. His great-grandmother also died of the disease.
The public day-care center survey showed that 36 percent of the children attending had no washing facilities in their homes. These children generally ate irregularly, and depended mostly on instant noodles and other fast food.
"Children come in with scabies, a result of sleeping in unsanitary conditions. They also have skin diseases that could be prevented by simple washing," said Seo Won-pil, a volunteer doctor. If physical disease does not affect these youngsters, then mental or emotional ones often do. Mi-jung, 12, has shown signs of depression for five years. "I hate that I'm not rich. I hate having only kimchi and eggs to eat with my rice," she complained.
Mi-jung's father is a plumber and her mother is a sales clerk at a department store. The family has hundreds of millions of won in credit card debts. No one has seen her smile for the past few years.
Depression, anemia, low weight and dental cavities are some of the frequently seen ailments among children living in low-income families, the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs said.
Outlook
Other developed countries have programs for children living in poverty ― Japan's Angel Plan or Head Start in the United States are examples. Japan has focused on the problem largely because, like Korea, it faces an aging population.
The European Union has recently started to use the term "social exclusion" instead of "poverty" because absolute poverty has been reduced drastically there. The EU philosophy is that poor children can best be rescued not by providing food, but by programs that recognize their social and economic problems.
In Korea, the annual budget for programs for poor children is only 96.9 billion won, woefully insufficient to address the needs of 1 million children. Most of the cash support finds its way into adults' pockets. Because of this lack of government oversight, many social workers believe that interest and care can do good even if money can't.
"We shouldn't put all our hopes in social welfare facilities," said Moon Hee-yeon, a welfare center employee. "We have to care about those children. Before the kids quit, schools should not give up on them."
"These days, children just run away," Mr. Shin added. "It is important to plant dreams in them."
main questions
noblesse oblige - duty and responsibility in accordance with social rank and honor.
1) we have been very disappointed to read of many social leaders, such as politicians, businessmen, and entertainers' involvement in scandals of corruption and bribery.
we can't not find the noblesse oblige anywhere. underwood family is good sample to keep the noblesse oblige. also underwood family will bid farewell this country this fall leaving their property.
how do you feel after reading this articles.
2) if you are enough rich , what are you going to do your property ?
will you give the property to your child or give it to the your nation?
3) many children are srffering from their parent's violences.......
many parent hit or beat their childern for educational purpose.
what do you think of child abuse?
if you find out the neighbor who hit their child what will you do ?
To make the poor to escape from vicious circle, what should we do for the poor ?