Thirty Things that Others May Not Know about Me

1.     If the MC Mong incident did not happen, I would have been ineligible for the Korean army due to my poor eyesight.

2.     I like the band Radiohead, but sometimes the songs give me the chills.

3.     I am afraid of Mr. Tweedie.

4.     I do not like how this school is run.

5.     I am both afraid of and frustrated about Mr. Sung.

6.     I wish to get out of the KMLA Korean archery club, but the internal codes of the club does not allow me to do so.

7.     Although I look dumb, I can think.

8.     I despise most of my cousins, for they often insult me without feeling shameful.

9.     I despise some of my uncles and aunts, for they often demand the impossible to my family.

10.  Despite frequent fights with my family members, I love them.

11.  Although I do realize that such thoughts are bad, I have prejudices against gays.

12.  There are some people in this school - especially females - that I just cannot understand.

13.  I realize that such people cannot understand me either.

14.  I think I have speech problems.

15.  I think I have mood disorders.

16.  I have a Canadian friend who smokes marijuana.

17.  I think that my father’s status as a well-known CEO is both a blessing and a curse.

18.  I cannot understand Mr. Baumgardner’s sense of humor.

19.  I admit that I am cowardly at times – maybe often.

20.  I am more honest than what others think.

21.  I have begun to think that it is not the world but I that should change first.

22.  I envy many of the abilities that my fellow KMLA students have.

23.  Although allergic to neither lobsters nor shrimps, I am allergic to crabs. I was transported to the emergency room after eating 간장게장.

24.  I like Milton Friedman more than what others think, but not to a point of respect I have to John Keynes.

25.  I think, no, I know, that I have a personality disorder.

26.  I am sorry for my sister due to various reasons.

27.  I have killed a chicken.

28.  I have almost burnt down our family’s old apartment, in the case where a great bonfire was made in the living room.

29.  I have worries about the uncertainties of my future.

30.  My least favorite Korean actor is 지진희. He had terrible manners when I saw him.

Korean Education: Where Efficiency is the Greatest Inefficiency

    Victor Hugo is a world-renowned playwright and a novelist, whose works include the famous and influential novel Les Miserables. Yet not many people recognize his efforts as a social activist who emphatically addressed the urgency of a reform in education of the nineteenth century France and remarked “He, who opens a school door, closes a prison.” His words and endeavors, as well as those of his colleagues, seem to have been not in vain, for a majority of students receive education in one form or another. As an evidence, for instance, the world’s illiteracy rate been halved in 2005 since it was measured in 1970. While the problems that Mr. Hugo faced certainly seem to have been alleviated, the world faces yet another set of dilemmas: inefficiency and inequality in the learning of students. Such perplexities seem to be dominantly observed in South Korea, where one can trace the problems to be in two sources, which are government’s pursuit of budget efficiency and misunderstood connotation of efficiency in the information input.

     The issue of pursuit of budget efficiency shows its outright inefficiency and inadequacy in the recent situations in Korea. The world of education has been, in a number of cases, exerted much effort to expand the quantity of education, so that more students would be able to accommodate learning. What it did not direct much focus upon was increasing the quality of education. While the “problem of quantity” seems to have diminished at least in the wealthier nations such as Korea, the governments are making minimal effort in tackling the quality issue, presumably enforcing the thought that such an issue is not negotiable. The education reformers of such countries have constantly pecked on the issue of increasing educational quality by taking measures like increasing the diversity of courses provided. Yet, the issue has been hardened like a rock thanks to the negligent attitude of the governments. In Korea, specifically, the public education has even cut its budget, making parents more dependent upon private academies than public schools for the learning of their children(1). The reason why the blind attempt to simply keep the budget efficient and to provide little available courses is inefficient for the students’ learning can be sighted in Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences(2). A well-accepted psychological theory about human intelligence, this theory argues that there exists different types of intelligence and thus, students cannot be standardized like products from a factory. Sir Ken Robinson, an expert in education reform, also has commented, “[The education system of nowadays] focuses the head, slightly to one side.” This suggests, lucidly, that the spectrum of education that has been provided for the students is not extensive enough(3). Korean education system, in spite of all the criticisms, is still obstinate on focusing to supply the students with uniform learning experience for all students. Thus, it may be appropriate to say that efficiency is the greatest inefficiency in educational sector.

[Sir Ken Robinson on TED Talks]

The issue of inefficiency and insufficiency in education has been aroused by not only the pursuit of budget efficiency but also the misinterpreted meaning of efficiency in information input. In not only the world of education, but also the modern world in general, the word “efficient” has been a constantly irritating false synonym for “fast.” Korea, which has unfortunately achieved the feigned reputation as an education guru in the modern world, has been especially placing emphasis of great amount of input in a shorter period of time. Yet it can be seen from the comparison of Korean and Finnish education systems that there is more to understanding of the students other than the input itself. In a short documentary made by BBC, the two systems are contrasted. The documentary shows that the Korean model focuses on the efficiency of information input and the implementation of a hierarchical relationship amongst students to endorse competition. On the other hand, the Finnish system places more weight upon its policy of “no child left behind” and instilling a less formal sense of cooperation amongst students and teachers as well. On the façade, it may seem that the Korean education system is more effective due to the expressed ardor for the students’ extensive learning. However, the statistics have shown that the Finnish system managed to prevail in a standardized test to measure students’ level of knowledge(4). Such a result is definitely another evidence for the statement asserting that an efficiency in one sector leads to a greater inefficiency in another.

[Finnish education success]

[Korean education - where it is headed]

It is hard to grasp a firm solution to this problem of Korean education. In a situation where the educators and education policy makers have to consider the efficient use of monetary and human resources provided to the sector, it is hard to come up with a "panacea policy" to get rid of all the troubles. Yet an attentive investigator will be able to find that the current Korean education policy, despite the policy makers' claim that they are running an efficient system, is not fully economically proficient either. This is because the monetary resources are not being allocated into right places. In Korea, such inadequate allotment of budget has often been much related to the internal corruption of bureaucracies. In February, 2010, even the president of Korea, Myung-bak Lee, addressed the issue of corruption in the educational sector with utmost urgency(5). He remarked, "It will be a great obstacle for the advancement into future if we do not take care of the corruptions in many parts of educational sector." Since 2010, however, there seems to be little significance in the termination of such wrongdoings. 

[President Myung-bak Lee of Republic of Korea]

Yet a perfect example for the extinguishing of this educational corruption can be seen in Waiting for Superman, an award-winning documentary analyzing the failures of American education which continue to thrive despite the years of attempts to reform. A part of this movie shows the former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools System, Michelle Rhee, finding and raking the "mucks" of the predecessors. By destroying corruption that her former counterparts had engendered, Rhee was able to succeed, to a certain degree, in making the system more efficient and fit for new changes(6). This particular achievement illustrates that mobilization towards a greater efficiency is needed, not by cutting down the current budget but by finding out the puncture that causes the "leak" of scarce monetary resources. 


The aforementioned examples map the road to make the Korean education system truly efficient, not just superficially. In this complicated world where efficiency is the greatest inefficiency, no change may come without trial and error. Despite the conservative dissidents' claim that reform will bring a great damage, the sustainment of current situations will only aggravate the problems. The problems are more than noticeable, frantically waiving their hands to be recognized. They have to be removed, for the future generation should not  suffer from same obstructions. Victor Hugo and his fellow reformers sought to deliver public education to the French students of the nineteenth century - and eventually succeeded. Likewise, there is hope that their modern counterparts of Korea will also succeed in solving this great paradox inefficiency of efficiency.

Sources

1. http://www.sisainlive.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=6680
2. Dongkyung's blog - Theory of Multiple Intelligence
3. Mr. Garrioch's blog - TED Conference Video Clip - Sir Ken Robinson
4. Seewan's blog - video clips of Finland vs. Korea
5. http://www2.enewstoday.co.kr/sub_read.html?uid=229025&section=
6. In-class: Waiting for Superman

The World of Education: Where Efficiency is Inefficiency

     Victor Hugo, a world-renowned playwright and novelist whose works include the famous and influential novel Les Miserables, remarked an emphatic quote to address the urgency of an education reform in the nineteenth-century France: “He, who opens a school door, closes a prison.” Thanks to the attentive and active reformers of the past, a number of problems of education seem to have been, to a certain degree, alleviated. World’s illiteracy, for instance, has been halved just in the time period of between 1970 and 2005. It seems that the educational system is finally covering more of the society’s prospective learners. Yet it is not to remark all problems have been vanquished. If Mr. Hugo was revived in today’s world, he would definitely be drawing an immense exclamation mark upon the issue of the inequality in the level of education and would comment, “He, who opens a door of a “good school,” closes a prison.”

     One may ask, then, why such a problem of inequality exists in the modern world. He or she may further pursue to find why the educational goals have deviated from those aspiring educators of the past had set. While finding specific details for this question may be difficult, the general answer to such inquiry is, rather, simple: governments’ pursuit of “budget efficiency.” The world of education has been, in a majority of situations, trying to expand the quantity of education, so that more students can accommodate learning, rather than increasing the quality of it. Yet, the “problem of quantity” seems to have been diminished at least in the wealthier nations. In such countries, education reformers are constantly pecking on the issue of increasing the quality and diversity of education provided; this issue has been hardened like a rock thanks to the constant ignorance of governments. According to Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences, a well-accepted psychological theory about human intelligence, there are different types of intelligence and thus students cannot be standardized like products from a factory¹. Sir Kenneth Robinson, an expert in education reform, also has commented, “(The education system of nowadays) focuses the head, slightly to one side,” meaning what the world provides for the students is not extensive enough². The education administration, rather, focuses on giving uniform learning experience for all students. It seems, thus, that it is appropriate to say that in the world of education, efficiency is the greatest inefficiency that people face.

     The issue of focus on efficiency does not seem to lie only on the issue of budgets, but also that of the information input. In not only the world of education but also the modern world in general, the word “efficient” has been a constantly irritating false synonym for “fast.” Thus, those countries that were regarded as education gurus in the modern world were often associated with the great amount of input in a shorter period of time. Yet the basis of this concept seems to be paradoxical itself, for more input does not mean more understanding; rather, more input means more time required for the thorough comprehension. As such, the efficiency of students’ learning seems to be inversely related with that of information input. A proof can be found by comparing and contrasting two different educational systems, the Korean one and the Finnish one. In a short documentary made in a Korean broadcasting company, EBS, the two systems are differed in a way where in which Korean one focuses the efficiency of information input, as well as implementing a hierarchical relationship amongst students through competition and the Finnish one focuses on “no child left behind” and a sense of cooperation. Despite the Korean system’s educational ardor on its façade, the Finnish system managed to prevail in a standardized test to measure students’ level of knowledge³. Such a result is definitely another evidence for the statement for an efficiency leading to a greater inefficiency.

     The solution to this educational crisis seems to be hard to grasp. This is because one cannot deny that there is a certain need for the efficient use of monetary and human resources provided in the educational sector which are limited to certain amounts. Yet one should detect the fact that the current system is, not at all, fully efficient. What is significantly important is the allocation of such resources into right places. For instance, the budget for education is, many times, related to the internal corruption of bureaucracies, and if one can unearth such filthy yet serious truths, a lot of monetary resources will be correctly relocated. This is significantly shown in the documentary Waiting for Superman, an award-winning documentary analyzing the failures of American education which continue to thrive even after the years of attempts to reform. A part of this movie shows the former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools system, Michelle Rhee, finding out the “muck” of her predecessors and by destroying the corruption, making an effort to make the system closer to a status of efficiency⁴. As this example illustrates, mobilization towards a greater efficiency is needed, not by decreasing the budget for the current system but by finding out where the “leak” is. Furthermore, as the aforementioned examples such as theory of multiple intelligences and Korea-Finland comparisons indicate, there is a need to increasing the efficiency for students, not only the budget-wise efficiencies.

     In this complicated world where efficiency is inefficiency, one could rather remark that there is no other trustworthy solution other than trial and error. Often, some conservative dissidents of reform may remark that by changing the system as a whole, a greater damage will be received by it. Yet the problems are clear as if they are desperately waiving their hands to be noticed. Such problems have to be removed, for the future generation should not suffer from the same obstructions. Just as Victor Hugo and his contemporaries strived to deliver public education to the French students of the nineteenth century and eventually succeeded, there is no guarantee that their modern counterparts will fail in solving this paradoxical inefficiencies of efficiencies.

Sources

1: Dongkyung’s Blog: Theory of Multiple Intelligence

2: Mr. Garrioch’s Blog: TED Conference Video Clip – Sir Kenneth Robinson

3: Kyuhong’s Blog: EBS Clip – Finnish Education

4: In-class: Waiting for Superman

Synthesis Essay Assignment

AP Lang

1^st Synthesis Essay Assignment

    During the Cold War era, many of the U.S. politicians, especially those of Democratic Party, were threatened by the bold statement that Republican senator Joseph McCarthy had made. He made a shocking remark that he knows who the communists hiding in American government are. While McCarthy did not exert much influence before this incident, he was regarded as one of the most powerful politicians after this claim had been established. While further investigations proved that McCarthy lacked the evidences to support his argument, this case of the so-called “McCarthyism” greatly revealed how irrational human beings can behave when they lack sound information. While constituents of the modern world seem to have learned from the mistakes that their past counterparts had made, this would not mean that the citizens of today are perfect in their decision-making. Adding problems to this procedure, especially in the case of consumption, are advertisements. While some stubborn scholars argue that they are helpful in providing information, they actually promote the irrational behaviors on consumption.

    One of the primary reasons why this irrational decision-making procedure is established is because the advertisements often selectively choose information in the disguise of objectivity. As the main purpose of the firms is to raise profits, they often utilize the advertisements in order to increase their sales. While it is not to comment that such intentions are bad, some firms often use the process of selectively deciding which information they will present, without giving the prospective consumers a holistic overview of the product. Since people are often ignorant about the internal decisions that the companies have made, they enter the product market with inadequate and imperfect knowledge of the product that they are inclined to purchase. Regarding this issue, Eric Shaw and Stuart Alan argue that “advertising continued to increase the size of [tobacco] market, despite an expanding awareness of health risks and increasing advertising restrictions,” by providing the example of cigarettes in the book The Advertising Age Encyclopedia of Advertising. In this example, it clearly is revealed that while the populace is acknowledged about the health defects that the cigarettes can deliver, there are certain effects in the cigarette commercials are actually increasing the profits of such industry. This decisively enlightens one that the commercials are hiding certain information from their interpreters.

    Also, the advertisements give rise to irrational behaviors of consumption by providing the commercial readers with a wrong sense of image of a certain product. While the true content of the product may not be related to a certain feeling or a distinct sense of emotion, the advertisers clearly take of advantage of the researches done by J. Watson, a prominent behavioral psychologist. Watson argued and to a degree, proved that random behaviors can be attached to random emotions and feelings, and that due to this, the feelings of extreme fear, awe, liking and such are learned from our experiences. Using this method of manipulating the psychologies of the human mind, especially that of a prospective consumer, an advertiser effectively exerts pressure upon the consumer to buy a certain type of product. Eric Shaw and Stuart Alan, the researchers of the aforementioned essay, argue that the images that the cigarette companies made the consumers cling to a certain brand of cigarettes. Also presented by Nancy Day is the example in Advertising: Information or Manipulation, that enlightens the readers that advertisements are able to bring “[reinforcements in] racial, cultural, and sexual stereotypes,” which clearly are examples of distortions in the images that the advertisements make.

    Thus, as the aforementioned examples reveal, the advertisements are able to influence the consumers by providing the selective information and creating certain image. It is not to deny the benefits that the advertisements can bring, such as providing more information for the consumers to be more reasonable. However, unless the people are fully informed about their environments, the advertisements will have a negative effect indeed.

"Retarded Savants"

     I wanted to introduce articles or video clips that had some relevance to what Sir Ken Robinson had elaborated in the TED Conference video clip and the RSA Animated clip. He mentioned about the current education system trying to classify children inept, having learning disorders, or having ADHD if they do not follow the standardized system. He further argues that we try to make them "standardized" by using methods such as medication. But then, I began to think whether this system is really helpful for them. Then I found an article about how the lack of standardization led to the birth of great intellects. The first article is not really related to Korean education, but it is related to education in general.

     1. Einstein and Newton 'Had Autism' - BBC News

         Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2988647.stm

Einstein and Newton 'had autism'

Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton may have suffered from a type of autism, according to experts. Einstein was a notoriously confusing lecturer Researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities believe both scientists displayed signs of Asperger's Syndrome. Many people with Asperger's are often regarded as being eccentric. They sometimes lack social skills, are obsessed with complex topics and can have problems communicating. This latest research suggests that Einstein, who is credited with developing the theory of relativity, and Newton, who discovered the laws of gravity, had these traits to varying degrees. According to the researchers, Einstein showed signs of Asperger's from a young age. As a child, he was a loner and often repeated sentences obsessively until he was seven years old. He was also a notoriously confusing lecturer. Later in life, the German-born scientist made intimate friends, had numerous affairs and spoke out on political issues. 'Passionate' However, the researchers insist that he continued to show signs of having Asperger's. "Passion, falling in love and standing up for justice are all perfectly compatible with Asperger's Syndrome," Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of Cambridge, one of those involved in the study, told New Scientist magazine. "What most people with Asperger's Syndrome find difficult is casual chatting - they can't do small talk." The researchers believe that Newton displayed classic signs of the condition. He hardly spoke, was so engrossed in his work that he often forgot to eat and was lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had. If no one turned up to his lectures he gave them anyway talking to an empty room. At the age of 50, he had a nervous breakdown brought on by depression and paranoia. However, others believe these traits can be attributed to both men's high intelligence. 'Socially inept' "One can imagine geniuses who are socially inept and yet not remotely autistic," said Dr Glen Elliott, a psychiatrist at the University of California at San Francisco. "Impatience with the intellectual slowness of others, narcissism and passion for one's mission in life might combine to make such individuals isolative and difficult." He told the magazine that Einstein was regarded as having a good sense of humour - a trait not seen in people with severe Asperger's. Professor Baron-Cohen said the findings suggested that people with the syndrome can excel if they find their niche in life. "This condition can make people depressed or suicidal, so if we can find out how to make things easier for them, that's worthwhile."

     Here is also a link to the list of historical figures sometimes considered autistic, given by Wikipedia. I wonder, if the societies of the past had considered to "standardizing" these geniuses, (although there are some dictators and terrorists cited in the list) would we be enjoying the creativity they exerted?

     Link: http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_figures_sometimes_considered_autistic


     Also, I have a clip about the so-called "autistic savants," who have excellent talents but are regarded by others as mental retards.

Derek Paravicini on 60 MINUTES - Autistic Savant - The most amazing home videos are here

     The second one is about the reality of the Korean education. While it is being praised by the U.S. president Barack Obama, this video clip from Youtube discusses how unfair the Korean education system is and how much the students are reliant upon the use of private education. 

     2.  The Reality of Korean Education

      I will discuss them more thoroughly in class.

Pink Plastic Flamingo!

     Too much information roams around the vast field of knowledge, and this very fact, often, forces one to face a hard time in discriminating what is important from what is not. Yet someone needs to distinguish the significant from the dull, which is a painstakingly difficult operation indeed. Jennifer Price, the author of The Plastic Pink Flamingo: A Natural History, could have been just another writer barely touching upon the issue and sinking into the sea of boring, less-meaningful facts. However, she truly employs her great choice of vocabularies, quality set of examples, and ept use of contradiction in order to reveal what is so prominent in her view of the United States history.

      While a book may contain a word of thorough and deep ideas, it may not be regarded meaningful without it being pronounced eloquently with the appropriate words. Jennifer Price’s writing, in such terms, is an epitome of how an excellent selection of vocabularies can contribute in improving the general quality of the work and letting the main idea of it be articulated properly. As soon as the reader is plunged into the pool of writing, he or she will encounter powerful words such as “splashed” and “boldness.” Even with these two simple words, the writer creates a general theme that plastic flamingos represent the fortitude to display that the Americans of the 1950s retained. Yet her words go deeper, not just halting at setting the backgrounds. She further exploits her diction to explain why, in detail, the plastic flamingo is an important part of U.S. history. Her analogies of the plastic flamingo to “wealth and pizzazz,” and a sign of “wealth and extravagance” reveal that this kitschy ornament was not a display of bravado, but an exhibition of the U.S. citizen’s improved economic status during the 1950s. Her further arsenal of words she employs succeeds in formulating an idea about the wealth, and the lifestyle consequent to that wealth, of the Americans of the 1950s.

     A theory without proper support is merely a stubborn argument. Likewise, a historical statement without proper examples is simply a void – and often, “unhealthy” to the logics of the people – assertion. The writing of Price however, is filled with the choice selection of examples. In creating the general idea for the passage, Price uses instances that do not trouble the development of her logic. There indeed were pessimistic views about the plastic flamingos. For instance, today, some of the states in America banned the installation of these flashy, inanimate objects in their citizens’ lawns. Yet Price selectively decides on the examples that she will employ, instead of using all the cases that are given. In describing the reason why the “flamingos” were important, she uses the examples of Miami’s successful grand hotel, the Flamingo, and the fact that the bird stands out in its environment to imbue the passage with the idea that this bird displayed and symbolized not only the striking appearance but also the general wealthy concept. Furthermore, in describing the color pink’s significance, she beautifully uses the trend of the period that such color was popular and not outdated. She emphatically pounds down her notion by presenting the example that Elvis Presley even bought a pink Cadillac. The additional examples shown in the final paragraph are simply awesome in its status that they add to the general positive image of the plastic flamingos.

     Yet the most intriguing rhetorical device she domineers at her command to grapple the readers’ attention and to reveal her main idea is the usage of contradiction. The contradictions in Price’s writing truly serve as great impacts in overall. The first contradiction she employs is the usage of irony in the fact that the flamingos were largely hunted down. Like the author mentions, the fact that such a broadly praised representative of 1950s’ American sentiment was shot down ruthlessly for its plume and meat may not make sense. Yet, she glosses over this fact and continues, as if the contradiction is meaningless. Despite this, a careful observer may find that the contradiction serves two purposes. While the first – to grab the readers’ attention – is obvious, the second one is tough: it is to emphatically mention that the newly imbued image of flamingos was strong enough to override the seeming irony of the situation. The second contradiction she employs is located in the final paragraph, in her mention of the reason why people call flamingos “pink flamingos” as if they could be any other color. This situational irony, too, is important in emphasizing in the fact that the color pink is effective and impacting enough to influence its surroundings. One could remark that the contradictions Price exploit blends well with the rest to create a wholesome thesis.

     In summation, the aforementioned explanations express how Jennifer Price effectively used her diction, choice of examples, and usage of contradiction to reveal and develop her overall intention. Unlike many dull writings, her writing commands the eloquent arsenal of different rhetorical devices to the zenith level, not only impressing the readers but also allowing the crowd to understand her point. 

Muckraker No More: Just Plain Muck-Maker

Friedrich Nietzsche, one of the most prominent philosophers of the nineteenth century whose influence upon existentialism was immense, once quoted: “A casual stroll down the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.” A world of great ideas thrives in this terse yet eloquent sentence. Yet, the most dominant concept in this statement would be that something is proven correct and truthful only with appropriate facts or evidences. Without the facts to bolster a statement, the statement transmutes into a meaningless insistence. The world of journalism took this idea into their very core of conducts and constructed a tenet of reporting truth based on careful probing. The journalists whose investigations took a further step than their colleagues’ are collectively known as the “muckrakers,” as the U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt referred to them for the first time. While it is not to deny the deeds of the early muckrakers who toiled to improve the standards of life, their comparatively-modern counterparts are increasingly reliant upon sensationalism and assume an apparent – or even unapparent and faulty – situation as a firm truth. Such are shown in the real-life examples of lack of media responsibility in the Johnson & Johnson’s “poisoned Tylenol” case of 1979 and the Samyang case of 1989.

   The Johnson & Johnson’s case of “poisoned Tylenol” case of 1979, which caused a huge deficit for the company in the short term, is an epitome of how the muckrakers were irresponsible and unreasonable in the distribution of information. In the early 1979, there were eight reports of deaths from taking Tylenol, a common medication to relieve headaches, migraines, and other forms of pains. The modern muckrakers of the time, eager to search for the cause of the death, delineated a conclusion of their own after having investigated that the Tylenol pills that the deceased took were poisoned to an extreme amount. The company manufacturing Tylenol, Johnson & Johnson, was soon accused of mistreating one of its most prominent products and was sued shortly afterwards. However, this was not all; the muckrakers further pressured the company for direct and quick action, and this sentiment was spread all over the world, damaging even further of the image that had already been crippled. As a result, Johnson & Johnson decided to recall all of their Tylenol products, and this resulted in a monstrous deficit of 240 million dollars. At the court case, however, the company was not found to be guilty, and was free of all charges. The journalists who wrote demeaning articles were condemned indeed, but they were not accused of the profit loss of this unlucky corporation. If one is to analyze this situation, it would reveal that the so-called muckrakers were persuading the public with what seems to be the apparent in order to grab people’s attentions. However, when their journals were found to be inaccurate, they only received minute blame.

The Samyang case of 1989, which ultimately damaged the company’s reputation to a degree to which it lost the status of being one of the most prominent businesses in the industry, is another prime example of excessive muckraking. Whereas Johnson & Johnson was lucky enough to regain their safe, clean and moral image after the incident, the case was not for Samyang, as the company is, to this day, associated with market trickery and manipulating the consumers. In the winter of 1989, the company was charged with using industrial oil for frying ramen noodles. The story behind this case is as follows. Samyang Corporation in the 1980s could be divided largely into two groups: one was Samyang Food Corporation and the other was Samyang Oil & Petroleum Corporation. When the Samyang Oil & Petroleum Corporation was travelling through a profit loss of its own, the muckrakers found out that the company was experiencing the stockpile of unsold products, including industrial oil. The muckrakers, trying to combine the decreased sale of Samyang’s ramen and the overproduction of industrial oil, devised a theory about Samyang using inappropriate materials in order to create products. At the court case, the company was found to be using vegetable oil much of higher quality than the market regulations and thus was free of all charges. Yet, the journalists who castigated the company’s wrongdoings only left a note that the information was mistakenly distributed. The study of this case would reveal that the muckrakers of modern world are with little responsibility. There are some accusations that the journalists involved were bribed from the rivaling company to write such articles, and that the rivaling company had the intention to damage Samyang’s reputation upon knowing that the journalists would not be too responsible.

Both stories reveal that although the muckrakers and the press have a great amount of freedom, they lack responsibility. Responsibility is a quality that should increase with the inclination of the amount of freedom. The press seems to have gathered a great amount of liberty for themselves, through the declaration of the freedom of speech and press. However, it seems to have lost a sense of responsibility for itself, as there are little regulations to actually stop the journalists from performing their penmanship. Even the one of the most controversial of the modern muckrakers, Julian Assange, the leader of WikiLeaks, was not accused of distributing false information but of sexual offenses. As this example reveals, the modern muckrakers are often unrestrained in their performance and are aided by the extreme advancement of the modern technology. With this knowledge, the muckrakers have turned into “muck-makers,” intent upon creating sensationalistic articles in order to continue their media market dominance.

The aforementioned cases of negative muckraking as well as their analysis reveal that muckraking, unlike their positive sequences of the past, is becoming tainted with the sensationalism and thus, the muckrakers are often travelling too extreme in delivering the information. It is not to deny that the muckrakers of the past who worked to improve working conditions, better the consumer rights, and improve other sectors of human rights should not be credited with rightful honor. Yet it is to emphasize that their current counterparts are no more the equal good of the past. As Nietzsche emphasized, “The only way out of the lunatic asylum is finding the truth,” the muckrakers should retain their truthfulness.

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Sorry, Mr. Garrioch, it was hard to write a quality essay during this busy schedule

It's 3 in the morning, and that's the only time I have...

I am terribly sorry.