PHOTOGRAPHED BY LEE  HYUN-KYUNG

HAVE YOU ever heard of the idiom go jin gam rae*? It means that sweetness comes after bitterness. In other words, nothing in life is for free. One must go through the bitterness of adversity before one is to gain the reward of sweetness.

September is the start of a new semester. The new undergraduates underwent many sleepless nights to gain admission to this elite university. There is no eternal bitterness. Most freshmen will enjoy their first real encounter with freedom. Like being able to set your own schedule. Or partying hard well past midnight. Or joining a new club. But this is not all what college life represents. These souls will have to shoulder the responsibilities that come with being a Yonsei student. Like attending all your classes on time. Or finishing that 2000-word essay in the wee hours of the morning. And of course, finding an internship or job. But all these hard works will pay off in the end.

Sweetness and bitterness. They each lead to the other. Do your best this semester, and then reward will follow.

*Go jin gam rae: The idiom consists of Chinese character ‘go’ that refers to bitterness, ‘jin’ that refers to go, ‘gam’ that refers to sweetness, and ‘rae’ that refers to come; this implies that sweetness will come after bitterness goes.