[2013년 여름 외교아카데미:시니어]

한국국제교류재단 이사장상

& 우수에세이상(코리아헤럴드 명예기자) : 구민성(중3)

1. There is a lot of controversy about whether Edward Snowden is the betrayer or the protector of human rights and the public. He was a whistle - blower, a person who finds out something immoral or illegal and tells the authorities. He revealed details of some top - secret U. S. government mass surveillance programs to the press. Leaking the country's top secret is definitely not a right thing to do, but I think his action is justifiable. I have several reasons to support my opinion.

 To begin with, I think it's a man's duty to tell someone once they found something wrong with someone. U. S. government cannot b an exception. Government should not be trying to cover up the problem but to apologize to the public and correct their behavior.

 In addition, it's people's right to know what is happening in the government, an institute that relates to pretty much everything happening in the country. If they've done something immoral and illegal and no one speaks out about that problem, the citizens, the public, won't be able to know what exactly is going in their country. Plus, they won't be able to trust nor forgive the government if they find out what the government had done wrong. Therefore, Edward Snowden deserves to be called the protector of human rights and democracy under superpowers.

 Last but not the least, I think this experience will eventually make the U.S. government clearer and probably more powerful. It's very important for one to admit what he has done wrong, to apologize for his action and to improve his action later on. I think the U.S. government have learned a lot from this incident. Even though they couldn't avoid international criticism and even though they are angry at the man, Edward Snowden, who revelled their top - secrets. However, in the future, they will try no to provoke the same problem again and try to be more sincere and faithful to the citizens of their country.

 To sum up, I personally believe that this man, Edward Snowden has done what he has ought to do and that he is not a betrayer but a protector of democracy in that, he not only contributed to protecting human's right, but also seems to play an important role in the change of the government manner.

2. Korea, Japan and China. When we think of these three countries, many complex thoughts come in to our mind. They have cooperated each other in many fields for hundreds of years but also have had countless conflicts. There are many diplomatic issues between Korea and two other countries and there are two main issues that are getting spotlight these days.

 First of all, the important issue facing Korea and China today is the FTA agreement between two countries since there are many advantages for both countries in the field of economic, culture and so on. However, there are several aspects that Korea is worries about once the FTA is enforced, tariffs on important goods, resulting in much cheaper price. Many Korean agricultural industries would suffer from it since the consumers would likely buy more cheaper product when there is little difference between two products.

 Secondly, let me talk about Japan. Korea has maintained a very close relationship with each other for a very long time. However, when Koreans think of Japan, the thought that pop in our head are not that positive. Two countries have had countless conflicts as two of the most influential Asian countries. The most important and controversial issue facing two countries is the possession of the island "Dokdo". Even though there are various historical facts that proves it is Korean territory but Japanese government doesn't seem to admit it. Also, they put "Takeshima"instead of "Dokdo"in many of the history textbooks used in school. They even have a celebration day called "Takeshima day". This fact angered many Koreans and the relationship between Korea and Japan are not so good right now.

 Now, for the FTA agreement, I can't really suggest helpful solutions to it since I'm not that familiar with FTA. But I think that two countries, Korea and China, should negotiate well for the time given and minimize the negative aspects on both sides. Also, for Dokdo problem, I can't really say anything either because it is too obvious that it's Korean territory. But I think what's important is to teach foreigners about Dokdo. Also, I think Koreans should actively participate in certain campaign related to Dokdo problem, not just sitting there and complaining about Japan.