▲ Hong poses proudly in front of the National Assembly which soon become his work place.

The Post sat down with the first Donggukian who passes the legislature examination.

His name is Hong Jung and he graduated from the Department of Public Administration, in few days he will begin his new life in the National Assembly. Hong is now in the trainee position which is the course necessary before becoming a civil officer.

Amid his new busy day at work, Hong managed to take the time to give us an interview concerning advice for anyone studying any kind of gosi (it's a korean term which means a national exam for becoming a public officer, diplomat, engineer or laywer).

"The number of students who study gosi is fairly large in leading universities such as Seoul, Korea, and Yonsei (SKY). That's the main reason why many of them are on the list of successful students."

Hong added that the percent of success for Donggukians is nearly the same compared to that of prestigious universities such as Seoul National University and Korea University. However, many Donggukians tend to give up before they get into an actual job."

One has to believe that in order to pass gosi one must study all the time.

"Before I decided to study gosi, I passionately spent my time as a leader of my department gathering information. I also became the representative of my department when I was a sophomore.

That allowed me a chance to have time to get close with my seniors." Hong said laughing. Hong added that in the time of studying gosi I still got enough sleep. On Sundays, I would get up late and watch TV or see a movie to refresh myself.

However,  I was strict about studying and made it a rule to study at least 10 hours on weekdays even if was holiday.

When asked the plan of what he wants to be, he said that his main goal as an officer in the National Assembly is to assist Assemblymen in order to help people benefit from the system of law.

 "Like a referee on a soccer field, I will support the act of making honest laws and work honorably."

In an in-depth interview in the cafeteria at the National Assembly, Hong shared some of his experiences and thoughts while studying gosi. The following are excerpts from the interview.

	▲ "It's really sad that 'gosiban' does not fill its member limit." -Amid the Interview with Hong Jung

Q. The POST: Some readers haven’t ever heard of the Legislature Exam. Give us an explanation about it.
A. Hong: Korea has a separation of the three branches of government; the legislature, the executive, and the judicial branches. Each organization drafts its officers from those who take the national exam. You may have heard about the Bar Exam and the Public Administration Exam. In short, the Legislature Exam has the same distinction as those.

What made you choose to study for the Legislature Exam over the other gosi?
No one actually only prepares for the Legislature Exam because of its small selection; there are about 10 selectees a year. This causes the students to be super highly competitive. While studying for the Administration Exam I decided to study for the Legislature Exam as well. Knowing the high demands of a legislature officer, I finally decided to study for the Legislature Exam and wanted to become a legislature officer.

What are the difficulties in studying for the Legislature Exam?
In my case poor family-circumstances distracted me while studying for gosi. Economic hardship caused the use of credit cards and my family fell into great debt. After serving in the military I struggled to pay of the debt by working in a stationery production factory near my hometown. I would work any small job in order to make a little more money. However, I still couldn’t pay off the debt of my family so I began working as private tutor even while I was studying gosi. These circumstances certainly extended my time of studying gosi.

Does ‘gosiban’ help you study?
Anyone who wants study gosi is welcome to join gosiban. Gosiban offers members a chance to help each other, exchanging exam information, and only focusing on the exam. It’s sad that gosiban doesn’t fill its member limit, 42 Seats for the Administration Examination are available. I’d like to say that academic performance is not required to join gosiban, and it’s a very helpful way to enhance your studies.

I imagine studying major subjects and gosi simultaneously is really hard. How should a student prioritize when studying gosi?
That’s the question I get asked most. For some students their major classes line up the subjects of gosi. In this case it does not matter whether studying one’s major and gosi at the same time. Also, Professors are the ones who make gosi questions, and will help anytime you are in a trouble. For students whose major doesn’t have any connection with the subject of gosi, they need to make a clear decision which to study. If you cannot decide, studying for major subjects only during the exam period is the best solution.

Would you like to say anything to students studying gosi?
Studying gosi is hard and there’s a lot of competition, it’s easy to get depressed by other circumstances. I would like to remind you to believe in yourself and tell yourself that “I will surely succeed” and have confidence. I hope for more success among my fellow Donggukians

Lee Jong-seok  bigbell414@dongguk.edu

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