Two Fads inside CNU

By Gi Yong ho, Tribune Reporter

  There are common features between the volunteering and civil servant fevers. First, both of them are very popular among CNU students nowadays and second, they are also both related to current employment problems.
  Since the foreign exchange crisis of the IMF period, Korean society has focused on real growth based on efficiency. A lot of companies were forced out of the market then because they lagged behind in terms of performance. This also left innumerable workers without jobs. A few years on, although Korea has fortunately recovered from the crisis, the prospects on the job market do not show any signs of improving. This has been a lingering effect of the crisis and is why unemployment is one of the most serious problems in our society.
  Having finished over 10 years of primary and secondary education, it’s natural for most young people to enter university. Initially, they might want to enjoy the romantic atmosphere of university life. However, before long, they are forced to realize the bitter reality of the frozen job market. CNU students are no exception. Nowadays, over 30% of CNU students want to be civil servants. So, they prepare for the exam, regardless of their original major. This is a real problem, as the implied effect is that a university education is not useful to students. If this situation becomes any more widespread, some people will probably start casting serious doubts on the function of universities. What happens next? Nobody can be too sure.
  At the end of last summer’s vacation, the 5th Gwangju International Film Festival was successfully held with the help of volunteers. According to the Chondaeshinmun, over half of them were from CNU. In addition, several conferences like the APEC meeting, which was recently hosted in Gwangju need lots of student volunteer staff. Volunteer work is a very praiseworthy undertaking, so, shouldn’t we give these students a big round of applause? However, on the other side of the coin, nobody can deny the fact that volunteer experience is a big help later at job interviews. The altruistic aspect of doing voluntary work seems to have disappeared.
  If everyone goes to one side, a huge imbalanced can be created. Therefore, the tendency to pursue stable work may retard the dynamic power of our society. And the potential of emerging entrepreneurs, physicists, novelists, artists and so on may be sacrificed to the desire for a secure job. As a result, the balance of social constituents will be disrupted.  In addition, people also need to reconsider the true reasons why they apply to do voluntary work. In this way, both of these fads in CNU, will not be seen in a positive light by a credulous society, but for what they really are.

What Are You Studying Now and For What?

By You Jung sang, Tribune Reporter

   After undergoing a 12 year institutional education, the student enters university, a place which supposedly fosters intellectual ability, in the pursuit of higher education. Following the primary and secondary educational systems in Korea, we are accustomed to a cramming method of teaching and learning. On finally being university students, we have the chance to accumulate social experience, develop discussion skills, acquire professional and academic knowledge, and eventually to realize our potential for self-development. However, when we look around CNU these days, these issues seem nowhere to be seen. This is because we are too busy preparing for public service exams and TOEIC tests instead of pursuing self-improvement and enjoying the liberal life of campus.
No matter how much the world changes, it can not be denied that the essential functions of a university should include the fulfillment of academic pursuits and the enlargement of our overall view of life. 
  However, recently, university students no longer care about these goals. Instead, they focus on finding a stable job after graduation. “Due to continuing economic downturn, the job market has frozen. While big companies can offer good job security and welfare, small to mid-sized ones fail to measure up in comparison. That’s why many people prepare for exams to be civil servants and employees of large-sized enterprises. But injudicious preference for stable jobs is nothing more than the squandering of national resources,” said Lim Kwang-su (senior, Faculty of Applied Chemical Engineering). Bae Kyung -cheun (junior, Dept. of Environmental Engineering) remarked, "Now the uncertain fear on the future is spreading in Korea, resulting from an unstable society. On analysis, the reason for students’ indifference to the studies they are majoring in is because that they can obtain the minimum graduation requirement without any great difficulties. So, preparing job applications is more beneficial than pursuing a major. Except for some specific departments, studying English is better for getting a job than doing a major.”
  Lee Ki-young (professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering) said, "The reason why students are indifferent to studying a major is because of concentrating on preparing for public service exams. The public service is virtually the only area where jobs with a fixed retirement age are guaranteed. To counteract this situation, we need to make the workplace more stable by adopting a salary peak. Neglecting one’s major results is lowering the quality of education and consequently, is a national loss.”
  This is especially true of intellectual elites who may lead Korea in the future and of university students with a creative spirit. It is a serious problem when these people forsake their dreams for the desire of a secure work place. University students are expected to have progressive outgoing attitudes with challenging spirits. Today’s society needs competent people who will lead Korea into the future. If this trend of settling for a secure work place becomes any more popular, universities may face an identity crisis. Whether applicants have university degrees or not has no bearing on public service examinations. This trend can cause damage of huge dimension not only to individual self-development but also to national competitiveness. It is laudable that students should seek out their calling in life and then strive to achieve it in order to make that life worthwhile and meaningful.

Crazy in the Civil Service: Is this what students want  to be?

By Hur Jung, Guest Reporter

  The dictionary defines the word civil servant as a public official who is a member of the civil service. Civil servants work on behalf of the government and country. There are many types of civil servants:  public service educational employees, police officers, fire-fighters and so on. In most of the civil service exams, the recent competitive rates were about 100:1 at most. So lots of people consider these exams as Gosi or equivalent to bar exams. They therefore, are very difficult and competitive and require a lot of preparation. Lee Duk-hwa (a counselor, Jeonnam Gosi Academy) told me that tens of hundreds of university students have enrolled in this academic institution and roughly 20% of them come from Chonnam National University (CNU).  Students from Chosun University make up about 30%. He added, “I think this phenomenon results from the current unstable job market and the economic recession. Even if the Roh administration announced its strong intention to create more jobs, I’m sure this trend would continue for the next 5 years, at least.”

What Makes Students Apply to Civil Service Exams?

  The Tribune interviewed students who are studying for the civil servant exam to find out its advantages or the factors which attract so many of them to it. These can be listed as follows:

1. Stable Job Seeking
  

  Of course, the wage of a civil servant is much lower than that of those who work for big corporations and private firms. Bong Eun-ha (junior, English Lang. & Lit.) says, “Conglomerates such as LG, SAMSUNG and SK pay a lot more but after their forty-fifth birthday most employees are forced to retire. On the contrary, civil servants can hold onto their positions until they reach the national retirement age.” As she pointed out, that's the main benefit of it. Most applicants for civil service jobs also list this as the main benefit.

2. Fringe Benefits

 Civil servants can receive several kinds of fringe benefits. They can educate their children without paying for it out of their own pockets. Instead, the government foots the bill. Moreover, they can receive certain loans from the government with relatively low interest rates.

3. Fixed 5-Day Working Week

 Many companies nowadays adopt a 5-day working week. However, some companies can arbitrarily change this. On the contrary, civil servants are guaranteed a 5-day week.

4. Demands of Family Members

  Being advised to be a civil servant is one of the reasons why students prepare for the exam. Their parents, in particular, make them apply for it. That’s why they put more importance on stability than on wages or other benefits.

5. Comfortable Job Conditions

  Most civil servants’ tasks do not “involve brain surgery.”  In addition, due to piece rate work the salary system can often work out to be more beneficial. Some civil servants do physical work but this is nothing more than just a few percent.  

6. Weak Willingness to Fulfill Dream

  While there are many students who want to be civil servants, there are others who do not have any defined set of goals. This latter type of student often just copy the example of their peers and blindly follow them into the civil service, which was revealed in the recent Internet survey results (see http://www.jaed.co.kr).

  The reaction of CNU students to this civil service fever is varied. For instance, Jung Ji-sook (Geology, junior, Geology) says, “There's no stable job except for civil servants and youth unemployment rates are increasing significantly, so the best way to get a stable job is to become a civil servant. Moreover, the civil service is seen as a rewarding job because you are working for your country, Korea. The fact that more educated students want to be civil servants means the Korean government is getting a smarter and smarter supply of employees.” On the contrary, Min Sung-min (sophomore, English Lang. & Lit.) raised a question, “If every student wants to be a civil servant, where will the revolutionary entrepreneurs like Lee Kun-hee or Jack Welch, or great scientists like Hwang Woo-suk, come from?”
  Ironically, while many students say that they want to be civil servants because of a lack of jobs at the moment, many mid and small-sized companies strongly claim that they lack a decent supply of labor. It might be an idea for students to broaden their choices.

No one can condemn this booming civil service market. It is quite natural for undergraduates to seek a secure job. While stability might be the most important factor in attracting students to the civil service, some less ambitious students, as we have already mentioned, tend to apply for it because of pressure or influence from parents or other students.
To sum up, the Tribune would like to suggest the following: First, if you decide on something, then try as hard as you can to see it through to the end. Second, if you fail to pass the civil service exam, please don’t get frustrated. There are many other exams and much more possibilities out there. Third, try to pass exams as quickly as possible. Many applicants suffer more from the severe pressure of studying as they get older. Finally, find out what you really want to do. You don’t have to follow the ways of others, if these ways do not interest you.

  Tribune interviewed Kim Jae-woong (sophomore, Japanese Lang. & Lit.), who is preparing for the civil servant exam right now.

Q: How and when did you make your mind to be a civil servant?
A: To be honest, I was not interested in becoming a civil servant until last year. But, as you know, the unemployment rate is skyrocketing at the moment, with no sign of easing up in the next few years. While searching for a stable and easy job, I finally made up my mind. Moreover, it’s a relatively well-paying job.

Q: Are your parents in favor of or against your decision?
A: Of course, they support me. Especially my father, who encourages me a lot. He regularly tells me about friends who once worked for private companies. Unfortunately, most of them were forced to retire when in their 40's. In addition, my mother always keeps her fingers crossed for me.

Q: There are some difficulties while preparing for the civil servant exam. What causes the most trouble? 
A: Absolute 'psychological oppression.' Many applicants including myself are under heavy pressure. Sometimes, this kind of pressure is harmful to both my physical and mental health.

Volunteer Work Boom in CNU

By Kim Mi Jung, Guest Reporter

  This year, the 5th GIFF (Gwangju International Film Festival) was held from August 25 to September 4 in downtown Gwangju. It is notable that about 300 volunteers worked at this film festival and over 50 percent of them were CNU (Chonnam National University) students. Most students applied to this festival to be volunteers. Park Ji-su (senior, Dept. of French Lang. & Lit.) said, "This is my second time to do this voluntary job. I had a great experience from participating in this festival.” This year, the competition to be a volunteer was higher than any other year in spite of the increase in number of volunteers.

Why Are CNU Students Eager to do a Voluntary Work?

  Why do the students want to be volunteers? There may be a lot of reasons. The main reason is that they want to increase their chances of getting a job. It seems to be a kind of a trend nowadays. Lee Su-eun (graduate, Dept. of Applied Plant Science) remarked, “Volunteer activities could be essential towards getting a job. So the original objective of voluntary work i.e., to do society some good seems to be forgotten. It reminds me of the volunteer activities I did when I was in middle and high school. In those days, I just participated in the activities to obtain good grades and even some friends of mine designed false certificates, stating they had done some voluntary work. No matter, we didn't feel guilty at all." Some students tend to participate in all types of festivals to get an opportunity of work experience even though these activities are in no way related to the major they are studying.

What Does Volunteer Work Mean to College Students?

  Jung Rin (graduate, Dept. of German Lang. & Lit.) asserted, "I agree that many students participate in voluntary work. From these works, we can learn a lot of things that we don’t learn at school. These activities are helpful to broaden our horizons on life and to gain relevant experience.” But there is a problem that some people, who just want to get work experience, don’t, tend to do the work sincerely. Some students tend to consider voluntary work as easy or as duty that they don’t have to be responsible for. Also, students tend to avoid difficult jobs. They want to find work which is popular and easy task, rather than doing harder work such as caring of children in orphanages or the aged in nursing homes. 
  It is true that of late many university students work as volunteers. Voluntary work is rewarding not only because we can get a lot of experiences from the work but also because we have to make plans before applying for it. A sense of responsibility is vital to do voluntary work so as to have a positive effect on both the student volunteers and the people who need them.