Students who did not give up and continued their studies and entered college despite difficult situations, such as being diagnosed with cancer in high school and having difficulty making a living as recipients of basic livelihood security, were awarded the EBS Dream Scholarship .
In January of last year, Hyeonwoo Lee (19), who was just about to start taking the exam, was diagnosed with stage 4 parotid cancer. In 2021, after his younger brother was diagnosed with leukemia, cancer was discovered during a test he underwent just in case.
Mr. Lee had to leave Jeju, his hometown and school (Jeju Jeil High School), for the surgery. He underwent surgery at Seoul National University Hospital and underwent radiation therapy for about a month and a half starting in April of last year. Even after treatment, the aftereffects were nosebleeds and pain that persisted even when swallowing food.
For Mr. Lee, who was a high school senior and a cancer patient at the same time, preparing for college entrance was bound to be more difficult than other test takers.
However, Lee did not give up his studies. He was supported by his homeroom teacher and EBS lectures, who helped him take online classes . When he was lonely while fighting illness and studying at the same time, being introduced by sending a story during EBS Korean language class was a great source of comfort and support. In an interview with EBS
News , Lee said, “I was listening to Teacher Hye-Jeong Yoon’s Butterfly Effect of Concepts (Korean), and Ms. Hye-Jeong Yoon read (my) story. “She was very empathetic and encouraged me and told me that I could do it again and that it would work out,” she said.
Mr. Lee, who continued his difficult battle, eventually graduated from메이저놀이터 Jeju Jeil High School with first place in the liberal arts department and entered the Department of History at Seoul National University this year. He was then selected as one of the 10 ‘ EBS Dream Scholarship Students’ this year and received an Excellence Award.
Since its inception in 2011 as a ‘Hard Factory Scholarship’, the EBS Dream Scholarship is a system that selects and awards students who have achieved excellent academic achievements through public education and EBS high school lectures without private education even in difficult learning environments every year.
The winner of this year’s Dream Scholarship Award was Kwak Soo-hyeon (19), who entered Ewha Womans University. Mr. Kwak did not give up on his studies despite difficult family circumstances, including his father’s battle with myocardial infarction and the death of his grandfather.
He had to worry about whether ‘studying’, which was a given to his friends, was not a luxury for him. Still, what helped him was his parents’ encouragement. In his memoir, Mr. Kwak said, “‘Shouldn’t I quit my studies and help the family?’ “I thought about it, but thanks to my parents’ encouragement, I was able to keep going without giving up,” he said.
For Mr. Kwak, who decided to study, there was no other choice than ‘the best’. He studied with EBS textbooks distributed free of charge to recipients of basic livelihood security, made notes for each subject, organized concepts, and studied intensely with his friends by asking and answering questions about areas he was lacking.
Kwak said, “Everyone’s situation is different, and rather than complaining about the situation, all I can do is do my best and believe in the best choice.” Mr. Park (19), who left school due to his parents’ divorce and difficult family circumstances, but continued his studies with help from
teachers outside of school and EBS lectures, also received a special dream scholarship award this year. Mr. Park was accepted into the Department of Youth Guidance at Myongji University.
Dream Scholarship students were awarded 5 million won to one grand prize winner, 4 million won to one special award winner, and 3 million won to eight excellence award winners.