『Who Moved My Cheese?』- Dr Spencer Johnson

If you do not change, you will become extinct.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you find new cheese.

In the story of ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ there are 4 characters which depicts or in a better word, ‘symbolizes’ the people in our society. People who think they are living a perfectly good life. Sometimes, we may act like ‘Sniff(mouse)’ who sniffs out change early, or ‘Scurry(mouse)’ who scurries and hurries into action, or ‘Hem(little human)’ who denied and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse, or ‘Haw(little human)’ who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better!

             The four characters live in a maze, two paired together and every day, they look for a cheese to eat which represents the happiness and success. One day both groups establish routines around their daily intake of cheese at ‘Cheese Station C’, slowly becoming arrogant in the process. One day Sniff and Scurry arrive at Cheese Station C and find that there was no cheese, but not surprised. Noticing the cheese supply lessening, they have mentally prepared beforehand for the inevitable task of finding more cheese. Later at that day, Hem and Haw arrive at Cheese Station C noticing the same thing that there was no cheese. The humans have counted on the cheese supply to be constant, and so are unprepared for this event. After realizing that the cheese is gone they both started to wait for the cheese to appear. Later, Haw finds himself that waiting will get him nowhere and decides to look for the cheese but Hem continues to wait.

             This short easy to understand story gives us a great impression about which character is representing you. I was more like Hem who waited for the cheese to appear. I have realized the change around me but I was afraid to accept the change and be part of it. If it is not the way that I have been, it’s hard to try. I’m always afraid of what might come out while I’m going forward. But by reading this book, I realized that the most foolish kind of people is the people who wait forever for the world to be like you. There is also a quote ‘The squeaking wheel gets the grease’. It means that if I don’t go for the new cheese, I would never get a thing. Only the people who try will get what they deserve.

            In this story, the characters are faced with unexpected change. Eventually one of them deals with it successfully, and writes what he has learned from his experience on the maze walls. I hope I discovered for my self how to deal with change, so that I could enjoy more of my ‘New Cheese’!

『Animal Farm』-George Orwell

1. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.

2. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.

3. No animal shall wear clothes.

4. No animal shall sleep in a bed.

5. No animal shall drink alcohol.

6. No animal shall kill any other animal.

7. All animals are equal.

This was the point that all animals were meant to be treated the same. These were the commandments that all comrades meant to obey. This was the start of the 'Animal Farm' but no one knew that it would turn out to be like that.  

           The story of Animal Farm is just like its title. Well, not really. It is about animals but the animals in the book don’t seem like the normal animals that we could think of. To be straightforward, this book is satirical novel. It is meant to satire the Soviet Union. How they were cruel to innocent people and how much people had an effect by Stalin with his background supporters.

           I will first briefly summarize the story. The animals in Manor Farm were treated carelessly by the mean farmer Jones. One night, old male pig Major leaves his dying wish. Not exactly wish but a look to the future. He says that there will be a revolution in Manor Farm so all animals should be prepared. After Major’s death, animals including the leaders snowball, Napoleon, and squealer, get ready to fight. Finally animals banish Jones and change the name to Animal Farm. This was the beginning.  Snowball then throws an idea that animals should build windmill in order to get electricity for the winter but trapper Napoleon steals this idea and banishes Snowball.  From then Napoleon becomes a dictator. The first windmill collapses by strong wind, the next one collapses by Jones but animals don’t give up on completing the windmill. Finally when the windmill was finished, no animals' lives have gotten better except for the pigs. That night, pigs invite over other farmers and have a party but by looking from the outside, the animals couldn’t tell which was which.

           In the story, every character symbolizes each different things. Firstly, The old Major satires Marx and Napoleon symbolizes Stalin the dictator. Other animals like horses, and chickens represent the innocent people who do not know what’s really going up there. Not only is this about the Soviet Union, this is also representing the Nazi and Hitler. Like this, George Orwell wished to teach the nowadays’ people by simply replacing the most important characters to animals.

Before reading this book, I didn’t really think about Soviet Union or its dictatorship but now it stir my mind and made me think about it more deeply. Nowadays, countries in the Middle East are causing or maybe still preparing for revolution. Some countries just had a revolution and some are having revolution. Some has won their revolution and changed their country just like the Animals in Animal Farm. The World is changing in Middle East but there is always a chance of becoming dictatorship again as to Animal Farm. So I think the citizens in those countries should look after their revolution in order steer them in the right direction or else, there will be another dictator.

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

Unhyun palace...운현궁

           Today for Marie Story I went to Unhyeon palace. I have a cold but I had to walk in the cold weather. I don't understand why Marie Story chooses inside like museum whe the weatheris warm but always chose outside heritage like palaces when the weather is cold and bad. Anyways, according to teachers, Unhyeon palace is a personal house which belongs to Heung-seon-dae-won-gun and it's not even a palace but people just call it palace. In Unhyeon palace, the last king of Joseon dynasty, king Gojong lived with his wife Queen Min in his youth. The Palace had many rooms(?) named Noan-dang, Norak-dang, Iro-dang and ext. Noan-dang means 'living comfortably in old age' and is also men's living area. Heung-seon-dae-won-gun used this place to meet guests and discuss political issues. He also made hanging board using Kim jeong hee's letters. What about women's living area?? This place was called Norak-dang. This is in center and it's the largest building. Queen Min stayed in this area to study and have lessons but Heung-seon-dae-won-gun passed away in this place too. When I first got to Unhyeon palace, I thought that it was too big to be a person's house and I thought I would be very happy to live in a house this big. Even though I'm sure being a king and queen would be annoying, I wouldn't mind living in a house like Unhyeon palace but if I did, I would have made the walls higher so no theft can come in. Palace was somewhat beautiful and very educational but because of the bad weather, it wasn't the greatest heritage that I learned so far.

Gyeong-un Palace

My Opinion

When we were walking around Gyeong-un Palace, we heard about a queen getting locked up in a building for 6years. After hearing the story, I thought that many traditions and the view of women changed a lot.

          In the past, women were treated as a property of men so they controlled women but in nowadays, women have independence and freedom to men. We can do whatever we want to do because women are equally viewed by men.

           Furthermore, women didn’t get enough education in the past because lots of men thought women didn’t needed to be smart, they just needed to be good wives but this changed over time too. Many women now are smarter than men and more women are leading the world. For example, in Brazil, they just elected first women president which means that more women are on the top of the world.

           Not only the views of women but also some traditions have changed over time. In Joseon dynasty(조선시대), all people wore Han-bok(한복) but now, people only wear them in special days, holidays or special events such as weddings. Even though lots of people don’t wear them very often, I think traditions like this will be remembered forever because most people think of Han-bok(한복) as a proud thing.

           Although the society is changing in Korea rapidly, I hope our tradition never gets forgotten and hurry for women!!

Natural history museum

My Opinion

           If human beings could control evolution, would it be a good chance to control it or not? If you have the power to do so, would you? Personally, I believe controling evolution would not be a good idea for our human beings.
            Evolution have been happening for millions of years and it's still happening in our everyday life. Eventually, evolution comes and it happens even though we don't realize it happening. So even if we don't control evolution, soon or later, it will happen no matter what. Evolution happens naturally so we shouldn't try to touch them.
            Furthermore, human beings are npot a perfect creature. Everyday, we make mistakes and learn from them. but changing evolution to make a better human beings is not something to try. We should not sacrifice people on something that has more possibility of getting worse. The new form of humans might bring more lethal diseases not having any cures. Controlling evolution will be a great mistake that humans have ever made.
            There are a lot of profits and benefits that we could earn from controling evolution but this is not the kind of issue where people make mistakes. It's not something to trial error. So I think even if we have the ability to, we shouldn't control evolutions.

The National Museum of Korea

▣ The land of Korea 우리 땅, 우리 역사의 터전 한반도
The Korean peninsula is located on the far east end of Asia. It is located between China and Japan. It is about 1,000kms (621 miles) long and 216kms (134 miles) wide. Mountains cover 70% of its land. Korea is divided into two separate countries, North and South Korea.

▣ The Ice Age 빙하 시대
The first human beings began to walk upright and communicate about 3 million years ago. During the time of the Ice age, people lived in caves.
The world’s sea level was much lower than it is now. And, Korea and Japan were one land.

Hand Axe 손도끼
The first tool of mankind was made of stone. Ancient people hunted animals using stone. The hand axe was commonly used for hunting.

▣ Neolithic Period 신석기 시대
After the ice Age people began building houses and living together. They also started to live near the sea or fresh water. During this time, they fished and farmed for their food.

★ Comb-Pattern Pottery 빗살무늬토기
During the Ice age, there was not enough food. Therefore, they did not need pottery to store food. However, as food became more available, people made pottery to store and cook their food. It was made using water, soil, and fire. Many comb pattern potteries from the Neolithic period were found around Amsadong.

▣ Bronze Age 청동기 시대
During the Bronze Age, people became more advanced. They made bronze daggers instead of stone knives. The blade and grip were made
separately and then combined. This is unique and quite different from
China.

Dolmens – How dolmens were made 거대한 고인돌은 어떻게 만들어졌을까요?Dolmens are the tombs of the leaders of tribes. First, the big stones were dug up. The stones were then moved into place using logs. After putting in the supporting stones, the gap between them could be filled with soil.
The capstone would be placed on top, and the soil was removed.

★ Why did they use such huge and heavy stones for tombs?Goindol is a tomb that can usually be found in the Bronze Age. But did everyone use Goindol? No, only the chiefs or leaders of a clan or tribe could use this style of tomb and the rest of the people used ordinary style
tomb.

★ Why they have to do it such hard way?Goindol was symbol of power of a man. The stones used for Goindol can only be moved by hundreds of people so that show how powerful the leader was. So, bigger stones mean bigger tribes.

▣ The Founding Myth of Korea 고조선 건국신화
A lo ng t ime ago, Hwanung, the son of heaven ruled the people. There lived a t iger and a bear. They wished to beco me human and prayed everyday to Hwanung. Hwanung called them and gave them garlic and mugwort. He told them “You can beco me human if yo u only eat
garlic and mugwort for 100 days in a cave.” The t iger gave up after a litt le while, but the bear stayed and became a beaut iful wo man, called Ungnyeo. Hwanung took Ungnyeo for his wife and she gave birth to
a son. The y named him Dangun and he later established Korea. Gojoseon was the first kingdo m of the Korean peninsula.

▣ The Three Kingdoms 삼국 시대Goguryeo 고구려
Jumo ng established Goguryeo in 37 B.C. According to a legend, Jumo ng was born from an egg. He was very good at archery. He was named ‘Jumo ng’ meaning “expert archer.” In the 5t h century, Goguryeo was the mo st powerful nat io n in Northeast Asia. King Gwanggaeto “The Great” was a brave co mmander. He defeated many nations. His son, King Jangsu, made a stone to mb for him. It is as high as a three-story building.
King Jangsu ruled the largest territory in Korean history.

Baekje 백제
In 18 B.C., Baekje was established in Wuiraeseong, by Onjo. He was the son of Jumong. Baekje moved its capital to GongJu due to the invasion
of Goguryeo. Later, they changed the capital to Buyeo. Baekje had a close relationship with Japan. Baekje sent scholars, monks and artists to Japan.
Bronze Incense Burner (백제금동대향로) National Treasures No 287 This incense burner was from a temple site in Buyeo. It is a good example of Baekje’s delicate art. This kind of burner has not been found anywhere else in the world. The phoenix on the lid represents the sky. Animals and plants on the body represent paradise. The dragon on the base epresents the sea. Gold crown ornament (금관장신구) A beautiful crown ornament was found in the tomb of King Muryeong in Gongju. King Muryeong was loved by his people because he tried to help the farmers. Including this item, 17 other items from the tomb are regarded as national treasures.

▣ Gaya - The Kingdom of Iron 철의 왕국 - 가야Gaya was a confederacy of small kingdoms in the Nakdong river valley.
Though Gaya existed for about 500 years there is little known about Gaya.
Gaya was famous for its iron making. Gaya exported iron armors and  ther weapons to Baekje and Japan.

Shilla 신라
Shilla was established by Park-hyeok-geo-se in 57 B.C. According to a  egend, he was also born out of an egg. The capital of Shilla was Gyeongju for a thousand years. Therefore, the whole city is like a museum. In 2000, UNESCO included the Gyeongju Historical Areas in its World Heritage list.
Golden Crown Of the ten golden crowns in the world, eight are from Korea. Out of these, six are from Shilla, and  two are from Gaya. They were decorated with shapes of deer antlers and tree branches. These shapes symbolize Shamanism. The Shilla crowns weigh more than one kilogram.

Vessels 기발한 조각상 모양 그릇
This is a pair of vessels in the shape of master and servant on horseback.
There are holes in the chest and rump of the horse. We guess that they were used as kettles. We can see Shilla people’s costume, weaponry and
horse equipment. The master is wearing a hat, armor and a sword. His horse has a saddle, footrests and a horn-shaped ornament on its forehead.

▣ Unified Shilla 통일신라
Shilla joined forces with Dang and defeated Baekje and Goguryeo. But later Dang also wanted to rule the Shilla kingdom. After 9 years of fighting, Shilla unified the three kingdoms and removed Dang. This Unified Shilla time period was the Buddhist cultural peak. Many monks went to China to learn about Buddhism. Many temples were also built.

▣ Balhae 한민족의 나라 - 발해
Balhae was established by Daejoyoung in 698 AD and recovered the former territory of Goguryeo. The capital of Balhae was Sanggyeong.
Balhae was the last Kingdom when Korea ruled part of the Manju area.

★ Balhae and Gaya
What do you think about the nation on the Korean peninsula throughout history? There were Gochosun, Goguryo, Shilla, Goryo, Chosun… but
there were also had Gaya and Balhae, they were also part of our
Korean history. It is important to remember the incredible bronze skills of Gaya and also the inheritance of Goguryo by Balhae. Especially Balhae is very important for bridging the gap between Goguryo and Goryo. The huge territories ruled by Goguryo are part of China today. Even now China is trying to manipulate history and take Goguryo and Balhae as their own history. The great spirit of Goguryo that ruled Manju and China is definitely our precious history that we should protect.  Bulguka Temple and Seokguram grotto was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.We guess that kings only wore them during special occasions.

War Memorial of Korea

Since the foundation of our first kingdom, Gojoseon, many countries have attacked Korea more than 960 times. Sometimes battles were won and other times, lost. However, Korea still has its independence, own
language and culture.

Great Victory Against Sui China 살수대첩

In the 5th century, Goguryeo was a powerful nation in Asia. Sui China attacked Goguryeo with 1 million soldiers but Goguryeo defeated them.
The Sui Emperor was so angry, he sent another army of 300,000 men and attacked Goguryeo’s capital. The army was lead by a famous general, Wu
Jong-moon. Goguryeo also had a great general, Eul -ji-moon-deok.
He planned a brilliant strategy. Eul-ji-moon-deok did not fight hard with Sui on purpose. He made the Sui army tired. The Sui army ran out of food and finally decided to retreat. The Sui army reached the Sal-su River.
The water level looked low. When they crossed half way through the river, Eul-ji-moon-deok opened the dam. Most drowned and only 2,700 soldiers survived. This is one of the 3 greatest victories in Korean War
history.

Who were the Hwarang? 화랑은 누구인가?

The Hwa-rang were an elite group of young men in the Silla Kingdom.
They were sons of royal families or noblemen. Originally, they gathered to study and practice martial arts. They were good at archery and very brave. Later, many Hwa-rang became warriors like General Kim, Yu-shin.
They had five rules:
1. Loyalty to the country
2. Be good to parents
3. Trust friends
4. Never retreat in battles
5. Don’t kill anything without reason

Mongol Invasions 몽고의 침략

The Mongol Empire was the largest kingdom in world history. They invaded Goryeo first in 1231 and attacked Goryeo six more times until 1254. At that time, the ruling class of Goryeo did not have enough power to keep the country. They ran away to Ganghwa Island. However, the people of Goryeo did not give up. A brave army called Sam-byeol-cho kept fighting to the end. Though Goryeo resisted for about 40 years, they
eventually lost control to the Mongols. The people of Goryeo had to wear Mongolian costume. The Goryeo prince was forced to marry a Mongol
princess. Goryeo was free from Mongolian rule during the King Gongmin’s time. During the Mongolian invasion, the people of Goryeo made “Pal-man-Dae-jang-gyoung”. Otherwise known as the Tripitaka Coreana.
It is Buddhist text on 80,000 wooden blocks. They wanted Buddha to save the country.

Imjin War 임진왜란

Japan attacked Joseon in 1592. This war is known as the Imjin War or Hi-de-yo-shi's Invasion. The Japanese army had muskets and the Joseon
soldiers only had bows. The Japanese reached Han-yang (modern day Seoul) within a few weeks. Many houses were destroyed and thousands of people were killed. The war lasted seven years. The Battle of Haeng-ju is one of the battles during the Imjin War. While men fought the Japanese, women helped men by carrying rocks in their aprons. After this battle, Haeng-ju-chima (apron over the skirt) became famous.

Admiral Lee and the Turtle-ship 이순신 장군과 거북선

Admiral Lee, Sun-shin was the war hero. He won many naval victories against the Japanese navy. He predicted the war and prepared the military. He made the first ironclad ship in the world. It was called the turtle ship (Geo-buk-seon). The ironclad made ships safe from fire attacks and it could destroy Japanese wooden ships easily. A major battle took place at Han-san Island. He destroyed 66 enemy ships out of 70. 40,000 Japanese naval forces out of 55,000 died. None of the Joseon ships were destroyed and only 18 Joseon people died. The final battle took place at the No-ryang Shore. He also won the battle, but he got shot. He said “Keep waving the flag and don’t tell anyone of my death”

Smoke Signal Station 봉수대

The Joseon people used smoke signals (Bong-soo) for long distance communication. The Bong-soo looked like a chimney. When a soldier saw an enemy attacking, he fired the Bong-soo. Smoke was used in the daytime. Fire was used at night.

The smoke signal of Bong-soo
1 smoke – normal condition
2 smokes – the enemy is preparing for war
3 smokes – the enemy is near the boarder
4 smokes– the enemy crossed the boarder
5 smokes – it is time to fight


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My Opinion


      The topic for today was war and battles. Therefore I went to the war memorial of Korea. It's totally out of my interest but at least I learned many things. Korea had been attacked so many times by the foreign circumstances and there were also many wars where Korea it self fought with other parts of Korea. Even with all those wars, we still have our country Korea, indepenence, language and culture. I can't imagine us using Chinese or Japanese or even Mongolian. I'm very proud and glad that our ancerstors protected out country.
      First, in Sal-su battle known as 살수대첩, we won thatnks to  was Eul -ji-moon-deok's brillian strategy. It was obvious that we could't win against the Sui China by actually fighting. Even though I think it was a little bit a sneaky attack, we won.
      Second is Mongol's invasions. The Mongols invaded Goryeo several times and eventually made us wear Mongolian custumes but in gmin King's time we were released. It's very good that they released Goryeo because I really don't want to be a monolian. :) 
      The last war is Imjin war. Imjin is very famous in Korea for admiral Lee Sun Shin. He made his famous last words "Don't tell anyone of my deathㅠㅠ" then died. He also made turtle ship which really looks like a turtle.
       Today was rather fun even though I'm not very good with history and remembering wars but now I feel very proud of this country and that I better know more about my land. I hope someday, I could go back to the War memorial Center with a foreigner and explain about wats and battles that I learned today.