▲An interview with Jiwoo Hong, the leader of Meca, MCH’s economics club. Look into the day-to-day activities of Meca, as well as a sneak peek into insights into the link between the environment and the modern economy. Suggested for students who are considering economics as a job field.
“I'm sure most people will focus on online technological advancements such as metaverses, NFTs, and AI, but I'd like to draw attention to the real-world problems behind the hype.”
16-year-old Jiwoo Hong had purposeful, intelligent eyes as she spoke of Michuhol’s economics club Meca, of which she is the leader. Together, we delved into the detailed sections of running a club that would interest students hoping to major in economics or management. A detailed description of the club’s activities and schedule followed.
△Hello, we are Gahyun Bok and Yueun Lee from the English newspaper club Tribune. Could you introduce yourself?
Jiwoo: I’m Jiwoo Hong, leader of the economics club Meca.
△Thanks for agreeing to our interview. First off, as you are the leader of Michuhol’s economics club Meda, we’d like to ask you why you decided to join the club in the first place, and where you see yourself in the future.
Jiwoo: I realized I wanted to study business at a relatively later age, in the third grade of middle school. I knew I lacked background knowledge in this field, so I wanted to start from scratch by joining this club. I thought Meca would be a good place to learn the basics of management, so I joined it. And… it seems like I clearly wasn’t wrong in my choice! (Laughs)
△What activities do you have planned for Meca as a whole this year?
Jiwoo: Well, the major theme of our activities is economics. So, we’ll be analyzing companies’ stock prices. Speaking of which, actually, our main goal for the 1st semester is to analyze changes in the market and write up, as well as present, individual reports on the factors that affect stock prices. And for the 2nd semester, I’m planning to hold a mock World Economic Forum to devise a method of facilitating economic growth, in relation to the interests of global participants in the economy. I expect these projects to help our club members improve their understanding of the world economy.
△Could you tell me what your M primarily does?
Jiwoo: There are 4 Ms in my club: Management, Economy, Marketing, and Trade. I myself am a member of the Trade M. We do research on the many components of trade, from logistics and distribution methods to the relationships between countries and trade agreements. Currently, we’re investigating the Alliance Model, which is the logistics model used by one of Korea’s leading IT companies, Naver (네이버).
△Thanks. Which methods do you mainly apply to your activities?
Jiwoo: Given the limitations of school (clubs), we tend to focus on activities like reports, in which gathering information is important. In this case, naturally, the sources of the information become the most important aspect of our research. Often, I find them in papers. It is my expectation that reading such studies will influence our club members’ university majors.
△What are the advantages of your club, and what do you seek to achieve through your activities?
Jiwoo: The best thing about our club Meca, especially for this year, is, obviously, the activities. As I mentioned before, the theme for Meca this year is Economics. As I was planning the activities, I realized that students who seek to major in business find the subject of economics too difficult to approach, and are worried whether they will do well in the activities. Therefore, I think that through such club activities, students can gain a thorough understanding of economics and overcome the difficulties of studying economics at the same time.
△All right, this is the last question! In your opinion, what is the most important economic phenomenon, or problem, of our time, and what can teenagers do to participate in or help with it?
Jiwoo: Well, I’m pretty sure that if asked this question, most people will focus on online technological advancements such as metaverses, NFTs, and artificial intelligence, but I’d like to draw attention to the real-world problems behind the hype. Most people, including teenagers, don’t seem to fully grasp the connection between the environment and the economy. Until last year, I was also one of them.
However, after reading the book “Rethinking Our World: An Invitation to Rescue Our Future,” written by Maja Göpel, for the science book report contest last year. I learned from this book that the environment and the economy go hand in hand and that the environment is currently in crisis. When COVID-19 broke out, most people immediately did everything in their power to protect themselves, including wearing masks. But even though the environment has just as big an impact as COVID-19, the effects are downplayed because it’s counterintuitive; people tend to downplay the effects of global warming, which seems far away, compared to the immediate daily damage caused by a pandemic. My hope is that teenagers would pay more attention to it and try to go green, even in small ways.
Lee Yueun (1-1)¹ | Staff Reporter
Bok Gahyun (2-7)² | Staff Reporter
1) yueun10118@gmail.com
2) karenbok0801@gmail.com
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