Hi guys! here's my personal statement for GKS-G. I will apply for a master's in Cultural Anthropology major.
I am just wondering what is missing or too wordy in my essay. Thank you very much for giving me your wonderful advice :)
it fits the 2 pages max requirement.
Personal Statement
Throughout my life, I grew up questioning culture. My father is a civil servant who focused on culture and religion, therefore my family instilled in me a passion to study culture and anthropology. When I was younger, I used to accompany my father to work, which taught me about the many ethnic groups of northern Thailand and introduced me to a wide range of diverse cultures and social contexts. Aside from that, my family pushed me to attend a Buddhist Sunday School when I was 11 years old. What I learned at Sunday Buddhist School was more than simply dedication. I also learned about the Anthropology of Religion and the Archaeology of Religion.
My first interest in Korea was sparked by the Korean historical drama "Princess Ja Myung-Go" (2009). At the age of thirteen, this drama inspired me to study the culture of a new area. After seeing this, I wanted to further my understanding of Korea by conducting my study on the legend of Prince Hodong and Princess Nakrang. My study in this narrative has assisted me in understanding the evolution of the Three Kingdoms era as well as the utilization of historical data from Samguk Sagi.
I am curious for knowledge of a variety of subjects, so my educational background is quite diverse. I graduated with a bachelor's degree from xxx University's Department of History. And this year, I'm setting to graduate from xxx Open University with a second bachelor's degree in film. When I was a sophomore in history major, I became interested in Korea again after I studied the Modern East Asian History course at my university. This subject has attracted me to learn Korean since I wanted to learn more about Korean culture. My curiosity has led me to start studying Korean on my own through drama, film, song, K-variety, and K-beauty channels on Youtube. Since then, my passion for Korean has begun to permeate my daily routines. Until one day, I got to know about the Korean Government Scholarship on the website. I am motivated to get this scholarship. In order to have a better understanding of the language and culture, I enrolled in a three-week course in Korean and Culture at Seoul National University's Language Education Institute in 2018. I intended to apply to this program to gain student experience in South Korea. This experience taught me how to adjust to new circumstances. It also taught me how to improve skills such as working in a team with foreigners, improving my Korean and English, being more responsible, and having better time management. Learning the Korean language in that environment made me understand a more in-depth Korean society. The experience of living in such stark contrast to my life in Korea has given me a larger perspective of the world as well as the capacity to adjust to a foreign culture, which every international student must-have. As a result, I feel this experience will advantage my graduate studies.
While I studied in university, I had a strong interest in both Korean and museology. I participated in the Local Museum Management Project: object registration and exhibition at the xxx Museum, yyy Temple, zzz Province, which helped me learn about museum management in a methodical approach that minimizes difficulties such as environmental issues, photographing museum artifacts, preparing a database for the registration of museum artifacts from the xxx Anthropology Centre (Public Organization), and Interacting with people in the community to learn about the local history. Furthermore, I was a staff member at a national academic conference such as the 11th xxx Humanities Research Forum "Exploring Aesthetic Dimensions in the Humanities" which allowed me to learn about the management of research papers and academics, as well as the presentation of anthropological and history. In addition to my studies, I am the primary chair ball athlete (a popular sport in Thailand that is comparable to basketball) of my major in university for four years, during which I learned about sportsmanship and acceptance of the outcome.
My undergraduate thesis focused on understanding the political role of South Korean students in the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Movement against a military dictatorship. I became curious about the role of students because, since the 1960s, students have played a significant part in the movement that has changed politics, the economy, and society. In 1980, college students, particularly students of xx University, were considered one of the most important political main actors in the Gwangju Uprising. While conducting my study, I discovered an issue of regional inequality that had caused people in the Honam region to revolt regularly in the past, such as the Tonghak Rebellion in 1894 and the Gwangju Student Independence Movement in 1929. This is the main reason why I wish to deepen my research by taking a master's degree in Honam Culture Research Class (호남문화연구) at xx University. As a result, I believe that studying at the Department of Anthropology at xx University would be ideal for me.
Importantly, my desire to pursue a master's degree in anthropology was bolstered by my work experience. I worked at the local museum as a museum officer for a year after graduating from university. I was in charge of teaching visitors and numerous organizations about local history, as well as maintaining and presenting museum artifacts and collections. When I went to Korea in 2018, I had the opportunity to visit the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History and the War Memorial of Korea. I was very impressed with the Korean museum exhibits. As a result, I applied some ideas to the local museums where I worked. I worked as an Education Assistant at the Religion, Arts, and Culture Department of the xxx Provincial Administrative Organization a year later. I was assigned to work in the Plant Genetic Conservation Project Under the Royal Initiation of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (RSPG). I had to work with 17 tribes in northern Thailand that live in ethnographic villages to learn about their way of life and ideas about producing plants for cooking and medicine. I grew more acquainted with the hill tribe people's way of existence. Working taught me about anthropological reality, history, tribal relationships, customs, rituals, gender roles, and attitudes. Currently, I am working as a Learning Assistant in a large secondary school. My primary responsibility is to supervise and develop pupils in all areas, including academics, economics, and behavior. I took a history class with my students one day. That day's topics are on Korean history and culture. Following the session, the students asked me to teach them more about Korea, which renewed my desire to apply for the GKS scholarship in 2022. I also suggest this grant to my students who want to apply for an undergraduate scholarship in the future. I resumed my Korean studies at Liberal Arts Lifelong Learning Thammasat University after deciding to apply for a scholarship this year.
Lastly, based on the foregoing, I believe I will be an outstanding candidate for this program. I want to study at xxU in South Korea for three main reasons. The first reason is that I want to do extensive research on the people and culture of Honam, and xxU is the region's most advanced research and educational institute, there are also Honam Culture courses. Second, as a social science and film student, I'd like to join a '필연' group formed by the Department of Anthropology to watch films for research purposes because the movie can show aspects of culture in a short time. Finally, the university places a high value on international students. CNU University has students from various countries and supports international students from study to graduation, including organizing activities related to international students in terms of language, culture, and local communities, such as International Day. Living in international society, in my opinion, it allows me to learn about other cultures and languages in addition to practicing Korean and English. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the unique cultures of more countries while forming connections with my fellows. I hope to be able to realize my dream of fluent speaking Korean and becoming a bridge between Thai and Korean culture.