Both sides of design.

   I am a graphic designer. Graphic design is very huge and interesting part of design. Design is compose a lot of part, for example fashion, product design, car design, editing, UI (usual interface), BI (brand identity) etc. Especially graphic design is biggest part of design. As you know, advertisement, book, name card, brochure, booklet all of these are included in graphic design. Design looks very impressive but It also very hard. How come? I will talk about both sides of design.

   Have you ever seen "The devil wears Prada" or "A single man" ? It shows bright side of design and designer. They are really fancy and their life is interesting. As a result, it is true. But it allows the only few people. Only 1-2% designers are very popular and influence. Sometimes they campaign for world peace or against the war. I think it is one of most effective way to solve worlds facing problem. However, It is totally hard. When I was working in design company, I couldn't sleep 2-3 days a week. Everyday I worked with computer, I saw my monitor 24hours. It made me very weak. I had gone hospital to get an IV every couple weeks. But biggest problem isn't it. Most dark side of design is stress. Design needs the most creative item and market wants newest item also. We can find good example from early death of designers

   Nevertheless, I love this job. Making something creative is really fantastic. I can handle main theme in my work and make ingenious thing. Most of all, I feel thrill and excitement after working. Sometimes my advertisement displayed on billboard at main street of  Seoul, the book published with my name. I want be famous designer but it is not the only reason. I want be effective designer for world and people.

Power of religion.

   The real power of religion came from weakness of life. It is not a fantastic miracles, not great achievement, not supernatural pleasure, but honest positiveness. So many christians want to get God's power for his or her life to conquer trouble that they face and trust God's presence. Experiencing spiritual phenomenon, like speaking in new tongues, watching illusion, healing disease, furthermore getting solved difficulty of life mysticly gives them conviction. Of course, It is not wrong desire to seek God's miraculous work. But the focus of Bible is not marvelous sign in believer's everyday life, but the strength to say "Yes" to most harshness of everyday life. 

   The meaning of trusting God is smiling to the end in the name of God. Because to the people who trust God's helping in everyday life, Any hardship can't subvert them, any suffering can't overcome them, and any ill can't discourage them. They have just little hope that God will guide their life all the time; this little hope is as strong as any wonderful miracle to them itself. So they are not seperate their life 'hard' and 'easy', or 'sadness' and 'pleasure'. All in life is only 'positive'. Like sun's light shining in the dark cloud, these people are seen more powerful in the weakness of life. I think that's the real power of Christian religion.

   "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strengh." (PHILIPPIAN 4:11~13)


It comes from one of my diary.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

   Do you like spicy food? Which spicy food is your favorite? According to some survey, spicy food makes your body healthy. Especially almost Korean food is spicy and hot. Korean use special sause, named 'Gochujang', is made from red pepper. 'Gochujang' and 'Gochugaru', which is powder made fron red pepper, are really popular material for Korean food. Famous Korean food for example 'Kimchi' also use 'Gochugaru.' Can you imagine how spicy they are?

   Spiciness is not taste. It is feeling, something like painful. However it makes people's feeling flash. When we eat spicy food, we sweat and tear then after eating  we can feel very cool. In Korea, we have many proverb of spicy food. The most interesting one is "spicy and hot food is good in summer." Usually we eat or drink cool things in summer but cool food makes our body hot. It is the reason of that proverb. Every year I eat hot chicken soup for my health. 

   Actually I'm not good at eating spicy food, even though it is Korean food. I often go to the Korean restaurant with my Canadian friends. I introduce Korean food and recommend to try that, but usually they can eat better than me. I am really weak at spicy and hot food. Can you eat spicy food well? You should try it. It guides you to new world.

Jinx?

      Have you heard about Jinx? If so what is your jinx? Jinx is a type of curse placed on a person that makes them prey to many minor misfortunes and other forms of bed luck. One of the most obvious examples is "Curse of bambino". Some people have their own jinx. Especially there are lots of jinx in sports.

   The Curse of the Bambino was superstition for the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86years from 1918 to 2004. It began after the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in the 1919. Before selling, Red Sox had been one of the most successful baseball team. They had been winning the first World Series and getting five World Series titles. But ironically after selling, they went without a title for almost 100years, however Yankees became one of the most successful team in American sport team. This jinx has broken up at 2004 World Series.

   Recently, other famous jinx had broken up. It was “Lyon jinx” that made from Real Madrid soccer team. As you know, Real Madrid is the World famous soccer team, but they had weakness for Lyon, which is popular soccer team in France, in the Champions League. Real Madrid was lost for 7 years by Lyon. Looked at objectively, Real Madrid is stronger than Lyon. They have more world top class players and also have more winning experiences than Lyon. However they lose all the time during 7 years. It couldn't explain without jinx, but it also broke.

   Sometimes jinx makes us weakly. If we faced something wrong situation, we thought 'it is my destiny' and gave up very easily. Besides, bad situation always bring another bad situation. But we have to know, sometimes we make that situation ourselves. We can control our problem. Finally jinx is broken. Make our way by ourselves.

Saving our friends.

   Now, we have to think about environment. Over the last century, the nature was developed pretty much by human. It brings high quality of human life and pollution at the same time. There is no doubt that we had many problems to sort out. One of the most important problems is the 'Animal Extinction'. Can you imagine how many animals have disappeared? I only recently discovered that some of our most beautiful birds and animals are just about to be extinct.

   Scientists think that some animals have died out because of the changes in climate. But we also think about why climate changed? It is because of air pollution and global warming. Global warming is the most urgent environmental problem the world is facing. Most of animals were influenced by climate directly. The polar bear is an example of the effects of global warming. They lost their habitat, because of the melting glacial. Besides many sensitive animals are effects by changing climate.

   Several nations have enacted laws protecting endangered wildlife. Poachers are killing the animals in a large numbers steadily, because some unique animals are sold very high prices. People make traditional medicines for health and stuffed animal for looking. For example, the elephants are poached for their tusks.

   Well-known NGO (Non-Governmental Organization), Greenpeace is campaigning lots of project. For example, "Save the Whales" posters abound. One of my final goals is Making project design group for reminding people about saving extinct animals. Sometimes we say, "Animals are our friends" Now we should move to save our friends.

Egon Schiele

    
   Have you seen this picture before? or have you heard 'Egon Schiele'? He was an Austrian painter.He was born in Tulln on the Danube. As a child he attended the school run by the 'Stift Klosternenburg'. His arts teacher recognized and supported his talent. In 1906, he applied at the 'Kunstgewerbeschule' (school of arts and kraft) in Vienna, where Gustav Klimt has once studied, and they worked together. Schiele was affected by him a lot.

   Some view his work as being grotesque, erotic or disturbing, focusing on the sex, death and discovery. Usually he focused on portraits of others as well as himself. In his later years, while he still worked often with nudes, they were done in a more realist fashion. He also painted tributes to Van Gogh's 'sun flowers' as well as landscapes. The Leopord museum, Vienna houses perhaps. Schiele's most important and complete collection of work, featuring over 200 exhibits.

   I like his line of picture. It is very rough and tough sharply also. It makes me risky and feel dangerous. He usually drew himself. It looks he had a huge self-confidence. He always proud himself and his pictures. Sometimes I was consoled of his picture, because of that reason. His picture also has warm color. I was influenced by him, when I was drawing.

up - Egon schiele 'self portrait'
down - my work

Are korean guys always shy? No.

   Men and women use different language, but not too much in my country. We don't have specific masculine and feminine words. Unlike women, men would rather speak strongly to others. You know? They also speak a lot when they with their men friends. People usually think women are more talkative than men, on other hand, I think men also talkative. They just zip their mouth up during strange situation.

   I have been here for 7 monthes. I have had many friends who are from veriaty contries. I also had many Korean friends. My first impression of Korean is "Absolutely shyness". They never talk to stranger first, even thought to other Korean. However, I can find my first impression was totally wrong soon. Sometimes They are really talkative. 

   In contrast to women, men speak alot of their interest only. Most of Korean guys served the military, so one of our most interest is about military service. For example, two korean guys, who never have met before, meet in same class. Can you guess what are they talking about? They will talk about military service after their greeting. I am sure. However Korean women hate that, because Korean guys also talk about military service to women. We have a joke about that. "Korean guys only talk about 3 things. Military service, soccer, soccer in military service"

   In Korea, my friends and I were talk a lot when we meet. We could talk almost 5-6 hours. I don't know what did we talk about maybe military service or soccer. Men and women's topics are totally different, but we should know that men also talkative sometimes.