Homeless in Hawaii(Hawaii life②)

     Homeless is social category of people without a regular house or dwelling because they are unable to acquire, maintain regular. Or they suffer from hunger, poverty or adequate housing. Actually the definition of homeless is varies from country to country, or has different entity even in the same country or region. When I hear the word, I also remind homeless as persons who sleep in a public area or private place not designed for use as a regular sleeping accommodation for human.

     So, are they have a culture as their own? I think the answer is Yes. When we read a book 'written in the sky', we can find something similar among the homeless.

     First, their behavior styles. Homeless people move around alone but sometimes they make a group and hang out together. They look for their shelter with each other.

     Second, the food. Actually, homeless people have no enough money to buy foods or support their meals. So they look through garbage or useless article. Sometimes they recycle things which is well preserved. They also get new food from soup-kitchen from time to time.

     Third, clothing they wear. Homeless people usually wear rags. There clothes had been mended so many times, so it was beginning to resemble a patchwork quilt.

     Fourth, the religion. It seems they don't have any religion. But some of them are go to the church to pray or read bible on the bench when they are bored.

     To sum up, we can find these four things in common with homeless people. So I think the homeless also have a culture as their own!

My precious friend of my life in Hawaii :) (Hawaii life①)

     “If you could get at least three true friends, you have accomplished everything in life.” It is one of the old sayings about “Friendship” in Korea. Fortunately, I already made three friends in here, Hawaii. I can proudly say that they are truthful to me and will accompany me all my life. What I would like to talk about is one of them. Her name is Danica. She has a bit of a cranky personality and always acts differently than everyone else. During this time, she taught me not to judge by its cover and she always had my back in difficult time.

     Danica and I met at the Ohia students housing where now I live in now. When I saw Danica first, she looked so weird. It was as if she was continuously glaring all around with her small eyes. Also, her cynical face with dark curly hair and quiet mood made me uncomfortable around her. But most of all, from her boastful way of speaking and too much confidence, I never thought she would be my good friend. The atmosphere in our room was not conducive to her and everyone ignored her. For some time, I didn’t even talk with her just like the others except the time when I really needed to.

     But as I got many chances to know Danica, I felt that she was not so bad unlike I thought before. And after I opened my mind more, I also realized that she has a warm heart and most of the things she said finally appeared as reality. My preconception faded away little by little. Then, we became real friends.

     Now I am face to a lot of anguish of heart, but she is with me even if the world becomes so dark for me. A friend is one of the most valuable things for me along with love. Many years will pass and numerous things will change, but the old saying will remain “a friend is important for a person’s life”, and I learned it from my experience with Danica. I hope we continue to depend on each other and enjoy the days together all our lives.

Cyber bullying in Korea

     Cyber bullying is a serious problem in Korea. In recent years, many famous entertainers have killed themselves after being harassed by groundless and malicious comments from anonymous netizens.

     The recent suicide of actress Choi Jin-sil is fueling the debate about the need to regulate cyberspace. According to accounts by Choi's family and acquaintances, Choi was driven to take her own life largely as a result of cyber-bullying. She was greatly disturbed by internet postings that connected her to the death of another actor, Ahn Jae-hwan, who had committed suicide less than a month earlier. Ahn apparently killed himself because he was insolvent and the internet rumor mill depicted Choi as one of the loan sharks he owed money to.

     Distraught by the slanderous internet postings, Choi asked the police to investigate the matter and a securities firm employee was arrested. However, the damage was already done and Choi, who is said to have suffered from depression, gave up on life.

And early last year, a young singer and an actress also committed suicide after suffering extensive verbal abuse on the internet.

     Now as then, calls are being made to change the internet culture in this country. It is unfortunate that Korea, one of the most wired nations in the world, is under siege by netizens who use the anonymity offered by cyberspace to commit cyber bullying.

The Blue House said that it would draw up a new law against cyber defamation and expand the mandatory use of real names on the internet.

 

     Actually, the public mood is ripe for a discussion of the cyber bullying on the internet. Internet users, portal operators, internet service providers, educators, legal experts, sociologists, psychologists should take part in discussing how to deal with this negative aspect of the internet.