Red Lips and Popcorn

A Collection of Essays by Sixteen Daejin University Students

Daejin University
Department of English Language & Literature
Fall 1999


About the Writers

An In-shik ("Joanna").  When you first look at her, you can imagine white snow covering a big field. But in some places there is grass coming out to see the world (cute freckles). She studies all day, week, year long, but she sleeps in her free time. If you want to meet her you have to go to the library, classroom, or the Humanities Building study room to find her. Instead of the comfortable white snow you see on the outside, a strong, adventurous and wide mind is waiting for you. She wants to run into the wide world to learn new languages like Japanese with a blank sheet of paper. If you are thinking that she is a shy person you will have to look again. (By Kim Hui)

Chung Soon Young ("Meg").  I would like to introduce you to Meg. She wants to live a passionate life in two ways. First, she likes mountain climbing. I think her legs are strong, because she likes to climb. In general, girls don't like mountain climbing. But my fixed idea that girls are well-behaved is broken by her. Second, she admires Hong Jung-Ook who wrote the play "Seven Acts, Seven Scenes." She would like to resemble his life which is to serve. She calls it passion. Her hope in the future is to manage a big farm in the suburbs, because she likes animals and will raise pigs and cows on her farm. (By Kim Seong-Rok)

Do Jin.  Jin is my classmate. Though I think he is like Mr. Bean, he is handsome. I think that he seems like a reflective person, because when I talked to him in class he was very shy. Anyway, he is older than me, but he is a junior because he changed his major from Mechanical Engineering to English this year. He did not have an aptitude for his major because he hated mathematics, so he was determined to change it. He said that he wants to be an international advertiser, but he doesn"t know English well, so that is why he wanted to major in English. (By Kang Seon Mee)

Jang Yu-jung ("Jessy").  Jessy is noble, calm, pure and shy at first, but also is a very active, interesting and versatile person. She really hopes to be a person who has a personality like Scarlet in and Melany in Gone with the Wind at the same time. Therefore when you see her at first, she looks as though she is a Korean traditional standard woman who is noble, calm, courteous and homely. However, she prefers jazz dancing, American popular songs, swimming, badminton and body building. Still she is in the race to make her wonderful dream come true. Even though she is under construction, I am sure that she will become the beautiful woman she wants to be. (By Kim Young Man)

Jung Yu Kyoung ("Audrey").  When I heard her nickname, actress Audrey Hepburn came to mind. I got the impression that she is a little bit of an academic woman through her taste in movies. Here is more decisive evidence: her dream is to be a professor or translator. According to what she told me, she feels shy in front of strangers. I guess her shyness has some relation to her taste in movies. But I still remember her tone of voice and eyes full of confidence when she talked about her dream. (By Kim Beom Hei)

Kim Hee Jung ("Sailormoon").  I'll tell you about a girl who is a sailor from the moon. But first of all, you should guess who she is, so now listen up. Physically, she¡¯s good-looking with big eyes as well as white skin like a snow princess. She's pretty tall, too. Her nickname is "Sailormoon" which was the most popular name among Japanese animations. Because of her eccentric nickname, students often laugh and persuade her to change it whenever a professor calls on her. However, it hasn't been working so far. That's why people think she's kind of stubborn, but I don't agree with them. Personally, I believe she is a warm-hearted person, because she always looks at me with a smile. That's Kim Hee Jung. (By Kim Jung-Mi)

Kim Hui.  I'll introduce Hui, who is majoring in Daesoon Religious Studies. When young, she had lived in America for over ten years so she speaks English pretty well. Sometimes, her friends and I are not so sure what she means because she is confused between English and Korean. Hui doesn't like everyday patterns so she tries to find a new thing to do every day, such as eating new food, going somewhere, having a party, etc. Even though she looks very brave and aggressive, during her presentations, she blushes due to being so nervous. Every classmate thinks it's very interesting. Having quick wits, she makes every student in this class laugh a lot. She is a laugh-maker. (By An In-shik)

Kim Hyun Jin ("Jina").  Hyun Jin is an active girl who enjoys drinking with her friends. But I think drinking will kill her, regardless of the reason for which she drinks. Of course, she can have a more active personality by drinking with her friends. But I think she must not drink too much for her health, because she was admitted to the hospital for a stomachache a few years ago. Fortunately, she met a woman doctor who helped her to have more confidence and courage in life. So she soon recovered thanks to the woman doctor, and after that, she has respected the doctor until now. (By Park Changhee)

Kim Jung-Mi ("Leon").  Although she is conscientious, cooperative and optimistic, she is a really slow girl. She not only always speaks very slowly but also moves her body slowly. So she has many nicknames. Whenever she talks with her friends, it is necessary for them to have much patience. She is a mysterious girl. As I told you, though she is very slow, she is never late for class and does not submit reports late. It's really mysterious. How does she have enough time to do homework even if she must need more time than anyone else? Let's resolve this mystery. (By Kim Hee Jung)

Kim Seong-Rok ("Ricky").  I think he has been on vacation until now, because he continually said, "Oh, tricky question. I don't have any idea." Ricky! Get up and answer. Ricky is outgoing now, but before he entered the military service, he was introverted and shy. I think military service was his hero. He likes rock music so I guess this affected his hairstyle. Now his appearance is so free. He wants to serve humanity because he likes to help other people, so if you have a problem, ask Ricky. Maybe he will help you. He likes to go to church, and his greatest passion is church. He teaches children about Jesus, and he often goes to camp to teach and learn about Jesus. He doesn't hate anything, so I think he will serve humanity well. (By Chung Soon Young)

Kim Young Man.  He is the oldest man in this class, but his nickname is "Young Man" because his real name is Kim Young Man. What we heard from him the first time was, "Nice to meet you, brothers and sisters." Though it made us laugh at that time, in fact, he is a really pious Christian. So, he values spiritual things much in every side rather than physical things or appearance, and he drinks juice or coke instead of alcoholic drinks even in a bar and brings the Bible to school. His dream is to learn many languages, and above all, the languages of poor countries, so he wishes to be a bridge between those people and our nation. He wants to teach Korean and English to them. So, he has been to the Philippines and Turkey alone to meet people and learn their culture. I think he is a venturous and right-minded person. (By Jang Yu-jung)

Lee Hyun Bok ("Kevin").  He comes from chemical engineering, I often see him sitting in the reading room except for his class time. His name is Kevin. "I must study harder than other students," he tells me, because he changed his major last year. He is the champion of table tennis at Daejin University. "But I haven't played that for some time because of my busy study," he tells me. His lucky and proud thing is that he met his girlfriend. "She can understand and support me when I was in the army or now," he also told me that happily. We have the same dream--to work in an international trade company, so we both take the composition class this semester to improve our English level. (By Yin Yong Mei)

Myung Jae Sub ("Eddie").  He likes baseball and riding on motorcycles. He goes to a stadium to drive a motorcycle so he drives carefully always. He admires the pitcher Park Chul Sun, whose nickname is "Phoenix Park," because he got over a disease and played the game earnestly. When he played beginning baseball, he was overstrained, so he was badly hurt in the waist and the shoulder. Then he went to America for medical attention and he came back to Korea. But he relapsed while he played a game, so he retired from active life. So Eddie can't see him on the field now, but he still admires him and wants to make a model of him. However, he can see Park Chul Sun on TV, because he is in a coffee commercial now. (By Seo Mi Ra)

Park Changhee.  It is a great pleasure to have an opportunity to introduce Park Chang Hee to you. She transferred from a two-year college to our university and we got to know each other one year ago at Daejin University. I became acquainted with her, because we used to talk to one another on our way home. She is slow of foot and she talks slowly, so she looks like a baby. She would like to change her habits. She makes every effort to be quick in motion. I like her because she is a sweet girl and it just seems like she is always doing something nice for someone. Like this, she was influenced by her parents. So she looks up to them as her masters and she loves her parents best. (By Kim Hyun Jin)

Seo Mi Ra.  Mi Ra likes puppies so she bought one five months ago. His name is Jae Rong-i. She bought a male because females are more expensive. He is orange, cute and lovely. Jae Rong-i barks when a bell rings. Now he has become a part of her family. One day Jae Rong-i was so sick so it hurt Mi Ra's heart. I think she felt a mother's love at that time. Mi Ra stayed at home this summer to play with her pet. Now she is supposed to buy another to be Jae Rong-I's friend. (By Myung Jae Sub)

Yin Yong Mei ("Lotus").  She is a wonderful woman who comes from China. We call her Lotus. She is 28 years old, but she looks very young. She is most proud of her job before coming to Korea. She was an electronics teacher in Harbin for five years. She hopes that she will be an international manager. That's why she came to Korea to study English. She says if she could change her age, she would want to be two years old, because she thinks that she needs more time for her hope. She loves sleeping, watching TV, and climbing mountains. She hates to drink, because she saw a lot of students who were drunk. We have the same dream. I hope that I meet her in the future. (By Lee Hyun Bok)


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