When you have limited time, sometimes you think about the necessity of liberal arts courses. So when you are focusing on difficult major classes and activities for employment, elective classes are put to one side. However, through an elective course, you can break away from your monotonous daily lives and learn new fields with unconventional thinking that you haven't done before. So, let's talk about elective courses that you must take as a Sookmyungian before entering society.
1. <For Those Who Want to Think in a New Way>
(Park Seoyoung, Department of Public Relations & Advertising '21)
I recommend Professor Park Seungeok's "Value Conflict with Diverse Society" elective course. If you are generally interested in social issues or social phenomena, this class will fit well, and if not, it will be an experience of thinking from different perspectives on social issues. Through this course, I was able to grow a lot internally. I could think about whether my values or the things I have argued so far were logical. In addition, it made me look back on the process of building values and various thoughts. By doing that, I had time to think about everything from a different perspective. The reason why I was able to do this was it is not a rote teaching method. In the mutual exchange classes, the professor showed an attitude of respecting all the students' thoughts, and students had time to discuss with each other. I think it's a class that contributes well to building the values that you need to have as a student before graduating. Through the class, you can practice facing your thoughts and values head-on, thinking from a different perspective, and understanding. If you can't take this class, I recommend that you read the professor's book, "Value War: Why Do We Live in Different Worlds?"
2. <For Those Who Want to Know About Korean Heritage>
(Kim Haewon, Division of Law '21)
In the second semester of 2021, I took a memorable class called "Understanding Korean Culture." Through this class, I was able to get to know the culture of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine. Overall, the lectures consist of theory and related videos. First, the background of dates and places are identified and explained in categories such as Palace Culture, Listed Funeral Culture, and Record Culture. Since the professor also showed scenes from dramas and TV programs using actual cultural relics to supplement, I could feel the vividness of actually visiting there in addition to learning from the theory of the lectures. For example, when a drama related to court ladies recently aired, I was amazed by the information about court ladies that I had learned in this class. I think that showing the historical dates and records in class makes it easy to understand the history based on dramas. Perhaps because of the composition of this lecture, it was so valuable that it made me want to visit Korean cultural heritage sites. In addition, you can get a chance to review what you have learned with the review quiz, and you can check your understanding of the lecture through two exams. I don't think it is just me who felt this way. So, if you want to learn Korean culture properly, I recommend this lecture.
