[English] 8/4 Topic for the 2nd session

Useful Expressions

1. He stood me up. “그가 날 바람맞혔어.”

To stand somebody up: To deliberately fail to meet somebody you have arranged to meet, especially somebody you are having a romantic relationship with.

2. My mouth is watering. “ 군침이 돈다.”

One’s mouth is watering: Thinking about or looking at delicious dishes, one’s mouth gets wet with saliva.

 

3. Stay the course! “ 그대로 계속가!”

To stay the course: To continue to do something that is difficult or takes a long time until it is finished.

 

4. Just my luck. “ 난 참 운도 없지.”

Just my luck: Used when something unlucky happens to someone.

 

5. I’m not a half-assed person! “ 난 어설픈 놈이 아니야!”

Half-assed: a) insufficient or haphazard; not fully planned or developed

         b) incompetent; lacking sufficient ability or knowledge

 

'Death with dignity' to be allowed next year

B : That's the order of the day. 

* order : 일반적 경향, 풍조, 유행 (If a particular way of behaving or doing something is the order of the day, it is very common.)

[출처] 굿모닝팝스표현(92) 보통 있는 일 (황인영 영어 카페) |작성자 뮤직n꾸기

A : Will we finish work at 5:00 today?

B : That's the order of the day.

 

* order : 일반적 경향, 풍조, 유행 (If a particular way of behaving or doing something is the order of the day, it is very common.)

[출처] 굿모닝팝스표현(92) 보통 있는 일 (황인영 영어 카페) |작성자 뮤직n꾸기

A : Will we finish work at 5:00 today?

B : That's the order of the day.

 

* order : 일반적 경향, 풍조, 유행 (If a particular way of behaving or doing something is the order of the day, it is very common.)

[출처] 굿모닝팝스표현(92) 보통 있는 일 (황인영 영어 카페) |작성자 뮤직n꾸기

The government will soon propose a bill to recognize the right of terminally-ill patients to die with dignity as early as next year. The bill, if enacted, is expected to allow patients and their next of kin the right to decide whether to keep using life support equipment to prolong life.

 

The patients’ signed will may be used to determine whether to pull the plug on a patient with a terminal condition. If they are unable to make a decision without guardians, a hospital will likely decide through a pertinent committee.  

 

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Wednesday that the bill will be drafted using the guidelines of the National Bioethics Committee (NBC).

 

“The bill, if approved by the National Assembly, will only cover terminally-ill patients,” said Kim Seong-deok, a medical doctor and chairman of the presidential committee, at a news conference.

 

Life-sustaining treatment refers to the use of life-preserving technology and machines, such as respirators. However, the committee said that general life-sustaining treatments, such as reducing pain and providing nutrients and water, cannot be stopped on request from patients or their families.

 

The committee recommended that patients submit documents from their doctors for life-supporting treatment to clarify their intentions. If patients do not provide any documentation, testimonies of more than two family members will be accepted in place of written documents, the committee said.

 

Currently, there is no law related to life-sustaining treatment. Due to the lack of a legal framework, such treatment has often been the cause of legal disputes between doctors and family members of terminally-ill patients.

 

The committee’s decision reflects a Supreme Court ruling in 2009, which approved a petition from the family of a comatose 75-year-old female patient, surnamed Kim. The Supreme Court approved the removal of respirators from Kim because she expressed the wish not to receive life-sustaining treatment before she lapsed into a coma.

 

Observers say that the late Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan had a positive influence on public awareness about the right to die with dignity because he faced his death naturally at the age of 86 in 2009 by refusing any life-support. The committee consists of 20 members — seven science experts, seven from ethic and religious groups and six  government ministers — to reflect a wide range of opinions on bioethical issues.

 

Questions

1. Do you agree with the death with dignity? Why or why not?

2. Do you know the difference between the death with dignity and euthanasia(안락사)?

3. There are two types of euthanasia- voluntary and involuntary. Suppose that you are suffering from a chronic disease, which is causing serious pain; and there is little possibility of living. In this case, would you let youself go of euthanasia or just die with dignity?

4. Do you think hospitals provide fair treatment to everybody without discrimination? If no, why?

 

SESSION 2
 Sexual harassment cases rock top private university

 
 The country’s leading private university is in hot water amid lingering charges of sexual abuse that have gravely damaged its reputation. Police announced Wednesday that they were investigating a Korea University student for sexually harassing some 19 women, most of whom attend the same school. The news came only months after the university fired a professor who was accused of sexual harassment and misconduct.
 
The 25-year-old male student, whose name was not revealed, is accused of secretly taking photos and videos of women at locations such as the campus grounds and lecture rooms between 2011 and March 2013. He is also believed to have sexually assaulted intoxicated female students. The case first came to light after a friend of the suspect found a CD-ROM in his room containing images and videos of the women, and reported it to the university. The school filed a complaint with the police of Seongbuk-gu, northern Seoul.
 
Police have secured his computer hard disks and will soon question the student, who is currently taking time off from school for his compulsory military service. The university apologized Wednesday to the female students and said it would no longer tolerate any form of sexual harassment. “We’re considering severe punishment, including expulsion. We will decide following the police investigation,” an official from the school said.
 
The school in May fired a business professor for sexually harassing students. He also allegedly took photos of women in short skirts with a camera hidden in his wrist watch.
 
Two years ago, the school was also the target of public outrage after a group of its medical school students was charged for sexually assaulting one female student on a trip.
 
Meanwhile, the sports community is also mired in sexual harassment allegations lodged against a national weightlifting team coach. Oh Seung-woo, 55, is accused of sexually harassing female weightlifters while offering them massages after training. Oh denies the allegation.
 
 The Korea Weightlifting Federation said it would bar him from entering the national training center while the case is under investigation.

 

Questions

1. What do you think is the reason for frequent sexual harassments happening in the country’s leading private universities?

Why do you think sexual harassment occurs among friends or acquaintances?

2. Do you think women, to some extent, contribute to sexual harassment? (e.g. Clothing that is too revealing)

3. What should be done to prevent sexual crimes on an individual and government level?

4. Do you think Korean society is safe from sexual crimes? Why or why not?

  

SESSION 3

'Koreans are not racist'   Koreans can be close-minded to issues of race and culture, but they know it and they want to learn, says the head of a foundation that helps multiethnic children here.   Yang Chan-wook, chairman of the Movement for the Advancement of the Cultural Diversity of Koreans (MACK) — told The Korea Times that Korea is not a racist or prejudiced country, but a country going through change.   “Racism is usually based on hate — Korea is nothing like that,” he said. “It is like Koreans have been ingrained in this way of thinking of ‘one blood, one people.’ But there is enlightenment. Koreans know they have been ingrained in this way and they are now saying “let me learn.”   “If you have that attitude to change and be aware, you can’t be a racist person.”Yang and his foundation aim to get Korean society to embrace its own diversity.   “We focus on the diversity of Koreans — anyone with a mixed heritage. And we help Koreans accept them,” he said.   Like many MACK members, Yang is mixed-race — part Korean from his mother and part African-American from his father. He prefers to go by his Korean name rather than his Western name, Gregory Diggs.   The 38-year-old took over the foundation in 2010 and is a member of a five-strong team of volunteers. Their work includes conducting mentoring programs and fundraisers for multicultural schools.   Korea is becoming an increasingly multiracial nation. According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 168,583 multiracial children live here as of 2012. And the Ministry of Security and Public Administration said Korea has 220,687 marriage immigrants as of last year.   Yang suggested Koreans need a change of attitude and identity rethink, and for there to be inclusion for people who want to be Korean. “There needs to be an attitude change in Korean society,” he said. “There needs to be a rethink of what it means to be Korean. And I think this will eliminate a lot of problems — it will create a society that accepts this change in identity.   “There needs to be inclusion for those who want to be Korean and who identify with Korea more than their home culture.” Despite his work with multicultural schools such as the Amerasian Christian Academy in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, Yang believes segregated education is not a long-term solution.   “We support them, but we don’t want that in the long run,” he said. “Separate but equal does not work, America has proved that. Separate but unequal is what it is.” The segregation of school children in Korea is what first led the recently appointed MACK president Frank Brannen to work with multiethnic Koreans.   “I thought all multicultural children attended Korean schools, but then I learnt that wasn’t the case, so that is when I got involved,” said the 32-year-old, adding, “In some aspects for student’s futures, I don’t think going to multicultural schools is the way forward.”   Many Korean school children have never encountered “multicultural” children, explained Barren, adding that MACK had done surveys of Korean students and found they had no knowledge of multiculturalism because they had no students from multiracial families in their classes.   “I went to one class and asked the students how many of you have multiethnic friends, and they said ‘we’ve never seen one before,’” he recalled. But Brannen, who like Yang has an American father and a Korean mother, acknowledged some students prefer multicultural schools to regular Korean schools.   “Lots of students have said if they went to a Korean school, they would get profiled by the school, harassed, and the school wouldn’t know how to handle them,” he said. “Multicultural schools accept everyone, which is definitely a positive.”   Cindy Lou Howe, a Korean-American who recently directed a documentary on the experience of multiethnic children in the Korean school system, agreed segregated schools are not the way forward. (She is a former vice-president of MACK)   “While it’s important to create safe places for multiethnic students, superficial half-measures or creating a systemof segregated schools are not the answer,” she said.   However, Yang — who is leaving Korea to study for his Ph.D. in the U.S. — also applauded the Korean government.   “I’ve been back in Korea for the last 10 years and I’ve seen incredible changes. Whether some people will argue they are doing it for show or for serious reasons, there is at least something being done,” he said.    “I want to give Korea a lot of credit for what they have already done. But there is always more that can be done.”

 

Questions

<Before discussing…>

“Race”의 정의: Race is a classification system used to categorize humans into large and distinct populations or groups by anatomical, cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical, historical, linguistic, religious, or social affiliation.

1. Do you consider youself a racist? That is, are you against certain race?

2. What does it mean to be a Korean? How would you define a person with Korean nationality?

3. How do you feel when you see foreigners on the streets, in restaurants or attractions?

4. Children are known to be less judgmental than adults. Then do you think children can better embrace kids from multicultural family?

5. The rate of international marriage is soaring. What do you think about it? What kind of impact does it have on Korean society? Have you ever thought of getting married to a foreigner?