Yun Kim, a Northfield Mount Hermon School student, enrolled in Harvard Class of 2013. This might sound very typical for people who got in to Ivy League colleges, but she was different in a sense "how" she got in.
In 2008 summer, while she was heading back to Korea, she saw a magazine article about Hackwon Kim, an expert in fixing cameras for 40 years. Yun was so amazed about his passion in cameras that she wanted to make a documentary out of him. However, she didn't wanted a typical boring documentary, but a video art that focused on his artisanship. Therefore, that summer, she hired a small crew to produce a film. The film was called 'KH1,' which meant 'The only one camera that Hackwon Kim made.'It was a magnificent success. Even though she went to Princeton Summer Camp on Film Studies, she never directed a piece before. However, this short film changed her label. She sent her film to 14 different big and small international film festivals and won several prizes from Korea, Netherlands, England, Japan and so on.
However, she also faced few challenges while producing the film. Because she was so young, not many people believed in her talent. Even Hackwon was doubtful, but he had to accept it since he approved filming before he saw her. Other staffs were also doubtful about her work. Because she was very meticulous, stubborn, and commanding about what she wanted to make in such a young age, not many staffs liked to work with her. They underestimated her talent and passion. But she putted her head up and worked through it with courage to prove them wrong. She worked overnight and edited by herself. Also, her dad wasn't glad at all when she first mentioned about making the film. Since SAT reasoning test was coming up soon, her dad was also doubtful about her choices. However under one condition that she will work hard on studying, he approved it.
In her college applications, she turned in 'KH1' to show something different about her. Later, she received acceptance letters from Harvard, Princeton, and other Ivy League colleges. Even though she received numerous prizes and enrolled in Harvard, she was very modest on rating her work. She rated her film as 3 out of 10. In future, I believe her modesty and courage will lead her to a successful directer.
When I first read this article, I was surprised on how one's decision and courage can lead to success. Not too modest or too arrogant, she balanced out her personality in a successful way. Because my future goal is also being a filmmaker, I was very interested on her work and how she worked it out. I have learned a lot from this article that leadership and courage is one of the most important factor when producing a film. However, I know that those factors aren't the strongest part for me. Because I am very shy and timid in front of strangers, I lack on my voices and what I really want to show.
It takes a long to be close with someone and for the most people I've met, it took over few years to really talk deeply or respectlly to others. My friends, Sarah and Yunjin, are probablly my oldest friends in KIS. With Sarah, its been 5 years since we've known each other and with Yunjin, its been 3 years. Therefore, it was hard for me to express my feelings or opinions to others when I wasn't around them. But now, I have learned that courage is something that I need to improve and develope on. After reading Yun's achievements, I started to feel more confident on my goal and future. I became sure on what I needed to challenge myself to be a stronger independent.
To view her film, go to http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2009/04/06/2009040601794.html and scroll down til you see a video :)
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