Observing the Universe through the Eyes of Korea- Director Par Il-hung.

 

 

The Russian small space craft (SSC) satellite to be launched in October this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Russia’s first man-made satellite, will be using a semiconductor telescope made in Korea by a team directed by Ewha’s Professor Park Il-hung (Physics).

The micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) telescope has been praised by scholars as a strikingly novel idea. But the principle is simple once you know it. Instead of one reflecting mirror, the MEMS telescope gather light with millions of micro mirrors that move under control of electronic chips under every mirror. Together, they work like compound eyes of insects to focus on and track any materials in universe. 

Park’s has contributed in the promotion of space science for his invention allows scientists to examine phenomenon of extreme lightning. Extreme lightning has recently received attention from the scientists to expatiate its procedure and cause, but since it occurs in exorbitant speed and between the upper layers of atmosphere, observation had been difficult with the telescopes today. Taiwan also launched its satellite last 2004 attempting to observe the phenomenon, but eventually failed due to the problem in the satellite. Therefore, if Park’s semiconductor MEMS telescope for extreme lightning (MTEL) do succeeds in examining the phenomenon, Korea will be named as the first to unveil the mystery of extreme lightning.

“Having been invited as the key partner of Russia, which is recognized for its best space science worldwide, is a meaningful opportunity to display the potential of Korean space science--an achievement that our newly invented semiconductor telescope has earned,” says Park.

                           But Park’s road to success was not smooth. “I was spotlighted by the media and world famous scholars when I gave the first presentation on micro mirror technology in 2003. However, I had to spend the next 2 years in vain because the government would not believe that this was realizable research and rejected my request for funding. But even when everyone denounced my project  as absurd and unfeasible, I still followed my dreams and constantly visited the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of National Defense to persuade them by substantiating my results by myself,” says Park. 

Park also advises students to follow their dreams. “If you have an ambition that you are dying to fulfill, don’t ever give up no matter how painful the process is. The more painful the struggle is, the sweeter and more meaningful will be your success,” said Park.         

Final objective of director Park and his researchers is to invent a 1-meter sized compound telescope composed of millions of micro mirrors, and innovate the current technology to see beyond the limit of thirty thousand years— the very beginning of the universe.

 

 

 

 

 

Choi Yoo-sun, Youngest Panelist Ever at Davos

 

When you examine the number of students assigned per classroom, you will discover that Mozambique accommodates 70 students in one cramped room while Switzerland only has 12 in a class. Without equalization in education, there can exist no globalization, said Choi Yoo-sun (International Studies, 4), in her presentation as a youth representative at the Davos World Economic Forum in January.

Choi, 22, received applause at Davos for her idea of forming a global fund for education to address the task of such equalization and has since been receiving attention from the major Korean dailies and broadcasting stations. Much of this media attention focused on Chois English fluency and the fact that she is the youngest panelist to have talked at the Davos forum.

However, Choi says the skills she has acquired at such a young age are wholly a byproduct of her continuous practice and effort. Choi especially credits her experience as a member of the Ewha Debating Society (EDis), where she was an octo-finalist in the 13th All Asian Championship. My years as an active member of the EDiS enabled me to perceive the world in a whole new light--each and every competition I competed in provided me moments of inspiration and a new set of challenges and goals, Choi said.

Choi frowns at the mention of a media report calling her a genius of eloquence. When I first started debating, I couldnt talk on the podium for more than two minutes, though everyone was required to give seven minute speeches. I had no idea what I was doing. In the first debate tournament I participated in, my team ranked 56th. Is there a magical formula? Is it just pure talent? No. At the end of the day, I think it is passion, persistence, practice and prayer that eventually win the game.

Choi also notes that, the night before presenting her idea of  global fund for education to the Davos forum, every one of her teammates practiced a lot, videotaped themselves practicing, and practiced more and more till their eyelids dropped and could barely drag their feet to the bed.

Some have criticized Chois idea of a global fund for education as an old idea that hasnt worked. However, Choi says the idea is being developed and that her team is looking into participating, or at least writing a paper to submit to British prime-ministerial candidate Gordon Brown for a donors conference which is to be held in late April in Brussels. Ideas similar to ours have been out there for a while, its just that no one has actually stepped up to say, Ill do it! We werent there to wow the audience with an idea that would win us a Nobel Prize but were selected to go to Davos to ask the world leaders to put their words into action, says Choi.

Choi picks passion as the number one priority in college life, advising Ewhaians and newly incoming students of Ewha to follow their desires and not worry about failure. She says that spending time worrying about what youre going to do after graduation or how youre going to mend grades that have been forever plastered on your report card is worse than futile. Spend your time doing things that you can do! Most importantly, engage yourself in different activities and find out what lights you heart while focusing on what you think will give you life-long inspiration, says Choi.

 

 

 

 

The Stella McCartney of Korea, Designer Song Ja-in

 

For fashion designers, opening a showroom is regarded as a direct route to advancement in foreign markets. Showrooms dont merely sell brand items but hold presentations and give foreign buyers and media a chance to evaluate the designers works.

Fashion designer Song Ja-in (97, Sculpture) ambitiously plans to open her own show room in New York in 2007, hoping to make her overseas debut in the city known for its rigorous evaluation of fashion. Song, a renowned trendsetter with the nickname of Koreas Stella McCartney for her young and modern clothing styles, is staking her dreams and most of her effort on this chance of penetrating the foreign market.

Song, who studied abroad in Parsons School of Design, a top fashion university in the United States, made her debut with her 2004 Spring Spa collection and established her own brand, Jain by Jain SONG in the same year. After becoming a favorite designer in the Galleria and Lotte department stores, which represent the latest fashion vogue in Korea, she went on to compete against prominent foreign designer brands on Wizwid, an online purchasing site for brand-name goods.

Behind the dazzling spotlight, however, lay seven years of training as an assistant designer for the company Ultimo. I started from the bottom just like everyone else and did all the sundry duties and errands as an assistant designer. Even though the company was owned by my mother I was not privileged.

Reminiscing about those laborious days, Song says, Becoming a designer is not always about genius and talent. I want the public and students who wish to be designers someday to look beyond the brilliant illumination of fashion shows and note the importance of patience and sincerity when evaluating the world of designers.

Song also emphasized the importance of enthusiasm, rather than talent, based on her experience of working with students who applied for assistant positions. She said that most students immediately fled when they were asked to do hand works rather than drawing fancy designs. I advise students of at Ewha to conduct themselves through many diverse experiences with patience and sincerity during their college years. Such experiences, whether fruitful or not, will become of great help when you are actually out in society. No one starts from the top. Just like the saying goes, practice makes perfect. You will discover yourself standing on the summit of your dreams when you have completed all the other miscellaneous duties, says Song.

Song says her ultimate goal is becoming a fashion designer who can always be proud of her work rather than becoming a perfect artist. We all have particular favorite outfits among the scores of clothes in our closets. I truly wish my designs will be the very favorites of the public of every nationality, says Song with a sparkle in her eyes.

 

저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지