In this blog post, I’ll summarize my experiences and lessons learned, focusing on my academic efforts and club activities during high school, examples of consideration and cooperation, as well as the reasons I chose the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting at Anyang University and my career plans.
Academic Experiences and Reflections
During my freshman year of high school, while preparing for performance assessments in various subjects, I keenly realized that my presentation skills were lacking compared to those of my peers. While my friends delivered their presentations relatively confidently, I would shake violently and struggle to find the right words when it was my turn, which was very frustrating for me. Eager to improve this, I enrolled in an after-school public speaking class offered by my school.
The first class wasn’t immediately focused on presentation practice. First, through vocal exercises, the class focused on helping me objectively recognize how my pronunciation and voice sounded to others. We repeatedly practiced consonant and vowel pronunciation, reading sentences aloud, and dialogues, then recorded ourselves to listen back. When I compared the recordings I made alone in the classroom with those I made while presenting in front of others, I realized there was a significant difference in both pronunciation and delivery between the two.
Once I clearly recognized this difference, I began to participate more actively in class. The lectures were structured around two main approaches: one was news anchor-style vocal exercises using news scripts, and the other was theatrical speech using English scripts. Through the practice of reading in Korean like a news anchor, I learned the importance of pronunciation accuracy and delivery, as well as how to speak flexibly so that listeners could easily understand the content.
In the English theatrical speech exercises, I learned how to breathe life into a conversation through expressiveness and the use of dynamic intonation. By practicing both approaches simultaneously, my anxiety about public speaking gradually diminished, and my skills improved to the point where people around me began to compliment me on my presentations. Above all, through this speech class, I was able to systematically strengthen my vocal projection, pronunciation, and expressiveness, which helped me overcome my fear of public speaking.
Major School Activities and Reflections
During my sophomore year of high school, I joined the video production club. I hadn’t been involved in any specific club activities before, but since my friends at the time were creating and actively participating in clubs, I decided to join them. While I did consider college admissions to some extent, the main reason was that the club brought together friends interested in video production who were actively engaged, and the experience was very rewarding.
In the club, about ten members studied the basics of video production together. We learned how to operate camcorders and cameras for filming and had opportunities to handle professional equipment firsthand. We also experienced the entire production process—from brainstorming sessions to writing storyboards, planning shoots, and managing schedules—while striving to acquire the necessary knowledge by referring to online lectures.
During our brainstorming sessions, all members actively shared their opinions, and we agreed to collaborate to create creative and original works. We primarily tackled two types of projects: short films on public interest or everyday topics, and promotional videos or commercials advertising specific products or services. For the short films, each member was free to choose their own topic and produce their own project.
I decided to focus on a current social issue and investigate the problem of illegal dumping in front of our apartment complex. I filmed the sites of illegal dumping piled up under utility poles and streetlights, then edited the footage to highlight the severity of the problem and call for a solution. With the help of my club members, we collaboratively completed the video and submitted it as an attachment to a formal complaint filed with the district office.
Shortly after submitting the complaint, I witnessed the area being cleaned up and transformed into a flower bed, which made me truly realize the impact of the video. Although my editing skills were lacking at first, they gradually improved through repeated assignments, and as a result, I gained the confidence and motivation to take on the challenge of producing external promotional videos.
Examples of Consideration, Sharing, and Cooperation, and My Reflections
Starting in the second half of my sophomore year, we began producing school promotional videos and festival promotional videos in earnest. Producing promotional videos was a major project requiring the cooperation of all club members, and it became an important part of our club’s development.
At the school’s request, we filmed videos to promote the school, and we also submitted entries to student advertising video competitions.
For the school promotional video, we set aside a full semester to develop a detailed plan. We set the goal of creating a video that would look impressive even after being posted multiple times on the school website; to achieve this, we cast models for the shoot and carefully considered a production style that reflected the latest trends. To capture scenes of students moving freely through the school’s spaces, we planned their routes and researched filming equipment and editing techniques.
Since the filming process required special effects and editing skills, we studied the relevant techniques separately and, when necessary, sought advice from video clubs or film production groups at other schools to refine our editing. These consultations and requests for help were instrumental in enhancing the quality of our final video.
The completed school promotional video was produced with a dual focus on both external use and student engagement. It received high praise from the school’s supervising teacher, was posted on the school website, and garnered the attention and recognition of the entire student body. This experience led to a larger opportunity: the production of a promotional video for the school festival. Utilizing animation and CG, the festival video was created in a format where cute characters introduced the festival, successfully driving high student participation.
Through this process, I learned the importance of collaboration, how to respect each other’s roles, and the communication skills necessary to complete a project. It was a meaningful experience to take on our respective roles with a sense of responsibility, ask for help or learn from others where we were lacking, and work together to achieve the team’s goals.
Efforts and Preparation Related to Motivation for Application and Career Plans
I naturally began taking an interest in Anyang University around my sophomore year of high school. It was a school I was familiar with, having seen it often since childhood because it was near my home, and above all, the fact that the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting offered education in broadcast production and directing caught my attention. Through my experience with video production activities in high school, I naturally decided to pursue a career in journalism, broadcasting, and public relations.
Personally, through producing investigative videos on current affairs and collaborating with my club to create promotional videos, I experienced firsthand the impact that the medium of “video” has on people. Watching the videos I created gain exposure through the school’s website or external organizations and actually bring about change made me realize that conveying messages and making an impact through video is deeply rewarding to me.
My dream career is to become a professional producer of advertising commercials—more specifically, a producer who oversees both planning and production. I am more interested in the role of a producer, which goes beyond simply directing a shoot to include generating ideas, creating storyboards, and managing the overall production process. I believe advertising production has a unique appeal distinct from film, as it encompasses the entire process from planning and directing to production.
Once I enter college, I plan to systematically learn the fundamentals of directing and production through the Journalism and Broadcasting Department’s curriculum, and actively participate in the practical training and projects offered by the school to build my professional skills. I also intend to acquire various relevant technical skills, expand my network through external field experience, and cultivate the planning abilities and leadership required of a producer.
As such, my high school speech classes and video production experience had a significant impact on shaping my career path and inspired me to set a goal of laying the groundwork to grow as a producer through more specialized study in college.
