dennyssampler
Dec 31, 2008
Undergraduate / 'Go-Stop and Korea' - Pomona Supplement [2]
Prompt: Although it may appear to the contrary, we do know that people have a life beyond what they do to get into college. Tell us about an experience you have had outside of your formal classroom and extracurricular activities that was just plain fun and why.
In my hand I held the card, the key to robbing all of my father's money. Although I knew of the consequences I would face, I knew I had to use the card. Without any second thoughts, I flicked the red Japanese flower card onto the floor, matching each card, and winning the game with a sixteen point advantage. As I flashed my huge grin towards my father, he laughed and raptly (wrong word?) hit me on the head with his knuckles.
This scene describes a tradition in my family, as well as other Korean families. During the Lunar New Year, my family gathers at my house to celebrate a new year full of hard work, success, and self-improvement. We feast on delicious Korean barbeque and rice cakes, perform traditional bows to the elders of the family, and play fun games. However, my favorite part of this annual family gathering is playing Go-Stop.
Go-Stop is a Korean Card game played with Japanese flower cards, which are also called Hanafuda in its Japanese origin and Hwa-to in its Korean origin. The object of the game is to match certain cards and certain matching combinations award different points. Based on the point advantage at the end of the game, the loser usually pays a sum of money. (add this info as side notes to my descriptions of the specific event rather than a separate paragraph?)
Although Go-Stop has its origin from centuries ago in Feudal Korea as a gambling game, the elder players often lose on purpose to the children. Similar to the Chinese tradition of the elders giving money to the younger generation, Go-Stop is a way for the elder families to give the younger generation an amount of money in a fun way. But Go-Stop is not my favorite part of the family gathering for this reason. (Reword?)
Go-Stop brings my family together in a way like no other. It opens up the identity behind the harsh, reserved faces of my grandparents and all family conflicts are gone as we sit in a circle around a tiny deck of seemingly insignificant cards. This game also lets me embrace my diversity and identity as a Korean-American. In between both words of traditional Korean values and the volatile world of American culture, Go-Stop is a means of expressing myself to the fullest. Go-Stop is also a means of stealing money from my father also. To me, this combination of family bonding and gaining money is the meaning of "plain fun".
Prompt: Although it may appear to the contrary, we do know that people have a life beyond what they do to get into college. Tell us about an experience you have had outside of your formal classroom and extracurricular activities that was just plain fun and why.
In my hand I held the card, the key to robbing all of my father's money. Although I knew of the consequences I would face, I knew I had to use the card. Without any second thoughts, I flicked the red Japanese flower card onto the floor, matching each card, and winning the game with a sixteen point advantage. As I flashed my huge grin towards my father, he laughed and raptly (wrong word?) hit me on the head with his knuckles.
This scene describes a tradition in my family, as well as other Korean families. During the Lunar New Year, my family gathers at my house to celebrate a new year full of hard work, success, and self-improvement. We feast on delicious Korean barbeque and rice cakes, perform traditional bows to the elders of the family, and play fun games. However, my favorite part of this annual family gathering is playing Go-Stop.
Go-Stop is a Korean Card game played with Japanese flower cards, which are also called Hanafuda in its Japanese origin and Hwa-to in its Korean origin. The object of the game is to match certain cards and certain matching combinations award different points. Based on the point advantage at the end of the game, the loser usually pays a sum of money. (add this info as side notes to my descriptions of the specific event rather than a separate paragraph?)
Although Go-Stop has its origin from centuries ago in Feudal Korea as a gambling game, the elder players often lose on purpose to the children. Similar to the Chinese tradition of the elders giving money to the younger generation, Go-Stop is a way for the elder families to give the younger generation an amount of money in a fun way. But Go-Stop is not my favorite part of the family gathering for this reason. (Reword?)
Go-Stop brings my family together in a way like no other. It opens up the identity behind the harsh, reserved faces of my grandparents and all family conflicts are gone as we sit in a circle around a tiny deck of seemingly insignificant cards. This game also lets me embrace my diversity and identity as a Korean-American. In between both words of traditional Korean values and the volatile world of American culture, Go-Stop is a means of expressing myself to the fullest. Go-Stop is also a means of stealing money from my father also. To me, this combination of family bonding and gaining money is the meaning of "plain fun".
