Cherishing What We Have 

   LAST MONTH, Korea achieved a brilliant feat in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, ranking 8th in the total medal count, and 7th in the medal standings, out of 204 participating countries. During the Olympic period, many Korean citizens rejoiced together over Park Tae-hwan’s gold medal in the Men’s 400m Freestyle swimming, and cried together watching the Korean Women’s Handball team being defeated in the semi-final by a matter of a second. All this came under the name of “Korea”, or “our country” as Koreans usually call it.

   Every so often, especially when international events like the Olympics or the World Cup are being held, our patriotism unites us together, and we feel pride about our country, that we are Koreans. However, most of the time, many do not seem to feel pride in what is ours. We hardly feel the presence of our loved ones when they are around us; all the same, we do not cherish what we already have and what is ours.

   This month’s Cover Story introduces the Korean alphabet, hangeul, which recently came into the spotlight for its potentials as a design element. We hope readers will rediscover the preciousness of our own language by reading the article.

 
Nah Noo-ree (Editor-in-Chief)
annals@yonsei.ac.kr