The course is open for first-year undergraduates at Gachon University. Since it is a compulsory lecture, most of the students might have already completed it or are currently taking the course. The lecture explores what writing is, what is important in writing, and how to write well. The interesting fact is that writing lectures are required not only at Gachon University but also at other universities across the world. Why do universities nationwide insist that students need to practice writing? Professor Jieun Jeon who teaches the Writing by Department courses at Gachon University answers this question in the interview below.

1. Could you introduce yourself to Gachon University students? Hello, my name is Jieun Jeon. I am currently teaching the course at Gachon University. I majored in Korean Language and Literature and have been teaching writing and fundamental humanities courses here at Gachon University and other universities.

2. Why do you think practicing writing is important and necessary for university students? Over the ten years, I have taught students at the university, and observed consistent changes in students’ values and distinctive features. I especially felt radical changes in the tools and ways that students use to express, record, and communicate their thoughts. However, one thing that does not change is the intrinsic desire to express, record, and communicate. Occasionally, I have seen students saying they have trouble in writing and don’t want to write, but at the same time, continually logging into Kakao Talk and Instagram. These interesting observations made me question whether the students truly dislike writing or simply are not aware of the desire to communicate and be acknowledged. From this perspective, practicing writing is more necessary at a time when the ways and amount of communication have increased. Apart from all these, writing is the path to developing myself. As writing is something anyone can do and wants to do, training to write better is essential to making a ‘competitive me’. I think during university, which is a phase before entering society, the various training in ‘all aspects of communicating’ is important.

3. Do you have any goals for education? I teach my classes with the hope that students find their own thoughts and values. In a way, education helps students to fit in and get along in one fixed standard and community. However, it has been proved that students who enter Gachon University are already remarkable members of the community and social individuals. Therefore, I teach students hoping students live their lives not according to ‘being like somebody ’ or ’ doing as what somebody else said ’ or ‘trying to satisfy other’s standard’, but according to their ‘own’ criterion that they chose independently. From time to time, I tell students thought is a wrong thought’ and that not thinking about anything is worse. I teach that thinking about an idea that only I can come up with, rather than following other’s ideas is real competitiveness.

4. Do you have any past experiences or events that have influenced your current teaching? I haven’t had any specific happening or experiences. However, I do think I have been positively influenced by many professors who taught me. I can remember professors who waited for me patiently, and allowed me to think, perceive, and understand on my own, rather than trying to impose their ideas and values on me. Having become an educator myself, I have realized that the hardest thing in teaching is waiting for students to find their paths by themselves. However, looking back, thanks to those professors who patiently waited for me to develop my perspectives and directions, now I can teach students with the education goal I mentioned in the third question.

5. What do you think is the most important element in writing? Choosing one factor is difficult, as many things are important in finishing one piece of writing. However, if I had to pick one, I would say ‘distinctiveness’ is the most important. Writing something that someone else can’t substitute is more important than writing better than anyone else. After all, writing might be a formal process of showing ‘who I am’. While using correct sentences, attractive structure and logical development are important in the process of writing, these elements are ultimately a means to support expressing ‘myself’. Therefore, I believe originality and distinctiveness are the most important things in writing today.

6. Is there a memorable experience or writing of a student you recall from the past courses? Since a writing course is not about finding a fixed answer, every course and writing assignment is special and memorable. Sometimes I feel like I am peeping into students’ private inner worlds, which is quite cautious. Yet, many students bravely talk about their personal stories in their writing assignments. One student wrote about their experience of bullying during high school. Interestingly, the student chose to write about the experience of violence from the perspective of a bully, not a victim. After the course was finished, the student emailed me saying that writing about an experience they had initially labeled and dismissed as painful helped them realize they don’t have to keep it as a wound. The student also said this realization gave them the courage to move forward to the next stage. Occasionally, students mail me about the strength they gained through writing after the semester is finished. Perhaps I also gain the strength and courage to move forward thanks to these emails.

7. Do you have anything you want to say to students about writing? Many students think that technical aspects play a large part in writing, and some are just naturally good at writing. However, this is not true. From my experience of teaching, I have noticed that the desire to write well is directly proportional to the outcome. Most students who have just entered the university don’t show significant differences in writing skills regardless of their major. However, when I receive assignments, there is a huge difference between the well-written writing and others that are less so. The students who hand in high-quality writing try to concentrate in class to understand what makes good writing and strive to write well. The fact that effort brings good outcomes may seem obvious, but some results and evaluations are not directly proportional to the effort. There are often areas where innate capabilities surpass efforts, and many think that writing also needs an innate talent. However, interestingly what I find every semester is that the will and ambition to write are more important than anything in writing. So honestly, the hardest thing for me in class is to help students develop determination. Maybe having this ambition might be an innate ability. To conclude, one clear thing is that if you have ambition and try to develop your skills, you can do well in something you wish to do, including writing.

8. Is there any writing activity you want to recommend to students? These days, students already do a lot of activities and live a ‘productive life’. This might sound obvious and boring, but I want to tell students that reading is more important than writing many times. To write one piece of writing, you need to read a hundred books. Nowadays, without me having to ask students to write, students write various posts on social media daily. The frequent sentence I say in class is that ‘the reason we write is not to simply write many, but to write well’. I think expanding the views and thoughts by reading good writings is more important than writing a lot. Ultimately, writing relates to ‘reading’ in the end, but I think the best way of practicing writing is to make a habit of reading interesting books whenever possible.

9. Beyond your job as a professor, do you have any future aspirations or goals you would like to achieve? I like the students at the university. But to be precise, it is the youth of the students that I enjoy being around, not the students as a group. If I have a chance in the future, I would like to teach humanities to students both inside and outside of the university. Although South Korea has a high percentage of university enrollment and generally provides a high quality of education, I think there are still a lot of youths excluded from education. Finding one’s thoughts, point of view, and own life is important when you are young. Life is not about finding the ’correct answers’ that suit the ‘absolute standards’, but about continually reflecting on oneself and finding one’s own path, which is a part of youth. In the future, if I have the opportunity I want to communicate with youth outside the boundary of university through humanities.

Professor Jieun Jeon tells us that writing is not just important in writing reports or getting a job. Writing and reflecting through the process teaches us many things. We can organize our thoughts and learn how to communicate through writing. This kind of learning greatly helps us as we strive towards our dreams. Ultimately, practicing writing is a journey to find our future, which leads to happiness. This is why universities around the world emphasize and require writing courses. Professor Jeon hopes that students reading this article will also find their thoughts and happiness through the process of writing.