I believe in the power of Kimchi

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*Script*

I believe in the power of Kimchi. To me, Kimchi is like a can of spinach to Popeye or a glass of water to a person in a desert. A bite of Kimchi empowers me to get through all the problems in my life; but my relationship with Kimchi used to be not as close as it is now.

When I first came to the United States, I decided to learn and absorb everything about America. Since I was an 18 years old man, who didn’t know how to speak English, I desperately wanted to survive in this circumstance where I was suddenly surrounded by big people who had different colors. I wasn’t a norm anymore. So, I tried learning how to speak English, I tried wearing what Americans would wear, I tried eating what Americans would eat, and then, I stopped speaking Korean, wearing Korean clothes, and eating Korean food. I thought this was the way to be successful in America and I wanted to be an American.

One day, after surviving a nasty flu, I lost my appetite in American foods. I didn’t want to eat chicken noodle soup, cornbread, or pasta; but there was one thing in my mind: Kimchi. Being lucky to live with a nice family, I finally went to a Korean restaurant near the house.

I ordered a main dish, and Kimchi came out as a side dish. Those small red pieces of a cabbage looked so tempting and there was no reason to not eat the thing; then, I saw the glimpse of heaven as soon as I had Kimchi in my mouth; its spicy flavor mingled so well with its crunchiness and then this heavenly Kimchi formed a deep question inside of me. “Okay, who do you think you are?”

Now, I know the answer. Though I live in the United States and speak English, I follow after Korean trends, wear clothes like Koreans do, and eat Korean foods regularly. I don’t deny myself to be a Korean and I’m proud of it. Though it could be just a food for many people, for me, Kimchi is to be my happiness, identity, and invaluable legacy given from my ancestors.

I believe in the power of Kimchi.

Rhetoric may bring unintended effects to the audiences

Jay Paterno's Eulogy on this afternoon

I used to think of a eulogy as a short, monotone and grave statement that is read by a person who was very close to the person who passed away. However, today, I realized that it could be a long, sentimental, and powerful speech.

Jay Paterno delivered his Eulogy on this afternoon. He is the second oldest child and the first son of his family. He is probably one of the most qualified men who know Joe Paterno personally. So, as I expected from him, he gave a speech with lots of anecdotes of Joe Paterno; moreover, he tried to copy Joe’s voice during the speech, and I think this rhetoric is meant to deliver Jay’s feeling how much he misses his dad.

Then, Jay supported Joe Paterno’s reputation by mentioning all the contributions that Joe has made at Penn State. Jay described how much Joe loved Penn State not as a job but felt it as a part of his life; during the speech, Jay mentioned that Joe Paterno was always speaking with we and us, not with I and me. This part came to me with a powerful message in which I could see Joe’s affection towards Penn State.

At the end, Jay finished with the last words he spoken to his dad and I thought it was the strongest part of the eulogy. I almost cried and Jay almost did on the podium. So here is the quote of Jay:

“Dad, you won. You’ve did all you could do. You’ve done enough. We all love you. You won. You can go home now.”

In that short message, somehow, I could feel how much Joe would have hurt, and worried about the recent tragedy that happened to him; moreover, how much would Joe’s family have hurt by watching him fighting through the situation and his own physical obstacle.

Personally, Jay’s eulogy encouraged me to be a good son. I’m not really close to my dad. I didn’t have much time with him as much I should’ve done. I want to be a proud witness of my dad’s life and tell people how great my dad was. Then, when I grow up, I want to be a dad who could deserve his son’s admiration, and respect.

Overall, Jay’s use of rhetoric in his eulogy was sentimental, strong, and it brought a huge impact in my life. I learned that rhetoric could cause unintended impact on people by found the importance of family from Jay's eulogy.

And here is the link for the full version of Jay's eulogy:

Visual Rhetoric Can Bring A Strong Message

         Picture source (http://www.adverbox.com/ads/unicef-bad-water-kills/unicef-bad-water-kills/)

I used to play with a squirt gun when I was in elementary school. Though it can get nasty sometimes when you fill a squirt gun with urine, a squirt gun has never been life-threatening in my life; and probably most of you feel the same way as I do. A squirt gun is just a toy filled with some liquid, mostly water.

Then what is the advertisement trying to show by having a girl holding a squirt gun in the picture?

We live in a society where 900 millions of people are living without clean water and 4,100 children die of water-related diseases. Moreover, the water-related death rate of children is claimed to be higher than the war-related death rate of children.

Suppose that you have not drunken a drop of water for a week and your only choice is a drinking water full of bacteria. Would you drink it? I would if that is the only choice.

So, in this hazardous situation, UNICEF (the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund) decided to raise attention on this issue. UNICEF intended to encourage people to be aware of this situation by displaying a photo in which a girl is holding a squirt gun on her hand. Since UNICEF is a well-reputed organization, its name appeals to the ethos of people immediately.

Let’s look more closely into the photo.

A girl, who is covering her body with fabric, is holding a squirt gun. Moreover, we can see that her face is hopeless, reckless, and desperate. By setting the theme in this way, UNICEF is trying to appeal to the pathos of people. As I have mentioned earlier, the rate of children dying from drinking bad water is higher than the rate of children dying in war.

By holding a squirt gun, a girl is appealing to the logos of people by challenging us to think the significance of the death of children drinking water. We generally assume that a war could be more dangerous circumstance for children than a lack of clean water while the reality tells the opposite.

This advertisement is a part of Tap-Water Project that has been promoted by UNICEF for a while. In this project, UNICEF targeted mainly the U.S. citizens as its audience who are relatively wealthier than most of other countries in our global society.

Though I was confused for a second when I first looked at this advertisement, I soon realized how well this advertisement conveys a powerful message to us.

I provided a video clip for Tap-Water Project below! Enjoy!

Hi

This is a blog for LA 101 H class during Spring 2012. Penn State University.