Autumn Part 4 (2014 Korea)

by

K. Song

Genetically modified food, or GM food, is composed of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Genetic modification is performed by introducing a foreign gene into the organisms’ existing DNA to make it nutritious, insecticide-resistant, and/or spoilage-resistant. Many countries now cultivate GM food crops such as canola, sugarcane, soybean and corn, with the U.S. being one of the largest GM food producers. However, GMOs have been at the center of a never-ending debate because of foreign genes that are suspected to be unstable or toxic in nature.

Supporters claim that GMOs can improve food security because they are inexpensive than conventional farming owing to less requirement of fertilizers and pesticides.  If so, then GMOs would be able to satisfy the hunger of nearly 9 billion people around the world with less economic burden. On the other hand, the use of herbicide–resistant GM crops is shown to result in 50% increase in herbicide usage and cause accumulation of herbicide in humans.  Further, glyphosate is a known birth-defect causing agent in amphibians, but the same has not been proved for humans yet. But this is certainly not comforting.

It remains unclear whether GM food is safe and truly improving food security.  There are still billions of people going hungry, even though GMOs have been around for more than three decades. And the apparent increase in use of herbicides refutes the claim that GM crops maintain soil integrity. These and many other findings necessitate a much better understanding of pros and cons of GMOs and GM foods in long-term use.

Sang Hyun Park

Codes and Choruses:

The deal with hidden messages in songs

Mara H.

Every time a new song is released, there would be a handful of people already back masking it and making conspiratorial messages behind each of them.

To be honest, these so-called “conspiratorial messages” do not even exist. Back-mask any song and it would really sound odd, and it wouldn’t be a surprise that you would even find a few words behind these.

For example, a back-masked version of an experimental song by The Beatles, Revolution 9, stated that Paul McCartney was dead and that the band was just covering the accident—after a line that said, “Turn me on, dead man” was discovered.

But it’s all just hocus-pocus. Paul is well and alive—even poking fun at the rumor by making an album filled with songs live from his concert, titled “Paul is Live”.

This should be a lesson that not all things should be taken seriously, and by spreading nonsense about one thing—you would create a big fuss over nothing at all.

Img source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/13/GreatHoax.jpg/220px-GreatHoax.jpg

An interview with an international student in China

The interviewer: Matt

The interviewee: Jun Kim

Jun Kim is a student studying in DAIS, the international department. He is a Korean and have been in China for over seven years. Now he is in the 9^th grade and he is also a member of our school soccer team.

Matt: Hello, Jun. I want to ask you some questions.

Jun：Sure, go ahead.

Matt: Ok. First, how do you feel about being an international student?

Jun: Uh… since our school is like a small world or a society, being an international student is like being a number of the global society. In this environment, I have learned many different cultures. That feels really nice.

Matt: Did you feel homesick when you were celebrating Korean traditional festivals?

Jun: Of course I did. I could not stop missing my families and my friends in Korea. And my mum made traditional Korean food when we celebrate the festival. I feel more homesick.

Matt: Yeah, homesick is the biggest problem for being an international student. And how do you feel about China?

Jun: I like China very much. Everyone in China is enthusiastic and they helped me a lot. I still remember that when I first came to China, my parents took me to the zoo. We lost our way home. My parents could speak Chinese so they asked the police for help. Finally, we got home. I still appreciate the police. Then I came to DAIS, all of the Chinese students here taught me Chinese so I can speak Chinese well now.

Matt: I know you are a member of our school soccer team and you are the main force of the team. How did you get it?

Jun: I can’t achieve the achievement without the help from Coach Carter and coach Felker. They gave me a lot of help. I made a big progress.

Matt: And I know your Chinese is good. How do you feel about learning Chinese?

Jun: That’s really interesting! But it’s really difficult! I always make mistakes on listening because of the pronunciation. Too many words have the same pronunciation.

Matt：Yes, that’s true. Thank you for your help!

Jun: No problem!