Applying to an American University of a South Korean Descent - Essay Example

Applying to an American University of a South Korean DescentBeing of a South Korean descent and applying to an American university is not short of a strange thing to do. But ever since I have been young, I have been somewhat a social anomaly, I always thought differently and worked differently from other people my age and that is why, I believe, I deserve a place at your college because I know what it is like first-hand to be different and discriminated against, and for once, I am asking for positive discrimination.

My life has not been ordinary to say the least. As soon as I came of age, I had to serve in the Korean army for 2 years, and for most men my age, that was a time of pride and elation. I, however, felt nothing of the sort. Now, let me clarify, I love my country and there is little I would not do to protect it from external influences, but at that age, when I looked around and saw illiteracy and poverty, I felt that the country's true enemies were not Russia or China, I felt it was illiteracy and lack of education that we should have been fighting against.

Needless to say, those 2 years, albeit having taught me a lot, in my eyes were 2 years wasted. I come from a religious family, and ever since I was in middle school I volunteered at the local church and helped in organising mass and proceedings, and so was directly in touch with priests and hence, felt very, very spiritual from a very young age. In addition, naturally, in church, I met all sorts of different people and I noticed something, most of the people that attended regularly were the ones shabbily dressed, the ones that were from lower class homes, and I felt that they were approaching God as a last hope, as a sort of escape from their miserable realities and once more, I was struck by my country's misfortunes.

During this time, I grew more and more pensive and made a decision to travel and see anything other than misery and depression. So I travelled with my family to North Korea, Asia and America. And the more I travelled, the more confused I became. It was mainly the class divisions of society which puzzled me. Here I saw people with no food to live off, there I saw people who had more cars than fingers. This disparity embarrassed me, and my focus towards making a change has grown since. I am looking for a good education at an esteemed university, because I believe it will give me the right channel through which to emanate my strengths and that opportunity at this time in my educational journey is invaluable.