<p>I am brainstorming for an essay that asks for a personal, local, or global issue that is important to me. Being Korean and all, I thought writing about the North/South Korean divison and the hope for unification would be the perfect topic to write about, but on second thought, that topic seemed like something every Korean-American student would write for this prompt? What are your thoughts on this?</p>
<p>Cliche topics are not an issue as long as you can write about them in an interesting way that communicates who you are. That being said, world issue essays are much harder in this respect, but if you are confident you can pull it off go ahead.</p>
<p>^Agreed. Also, make sure you don’t get so wrapped up in talking about the issue that you don’t talk about how it relates to you on a more personal level. If the issue isn’t something very important to you and something that you can identify with so it shows through in your essay, then I would pick another topic. Depending on how you write it, it could turn out very well or not very well.</p>
<p>I myself am considering a Taiwan and China essay. :P</p>
<p>That’s an essay with an enormous scope–how does it relate to you personally?</p>
<p>Well, my grandparents are actually North Koreans who escaped to South Korea during the war…and they’ve been telling me stories about it and the living conditions in North Korea today, so I feel like the issue relates to me in a way.</p>
<p>^That is not enough. Being connected to the conflict through your relatives is certainly interesting, but it says nothing about YOU. Impressive writing is a critical element of the essay, but it’s primary focus should be helping the reader understand your own personality. If you can work yourself into the issue, go for it. If you can’t, pick an issue that you really have a passion for and have applied yourself to, or just choose a different prompt.</p>
<p>It’s like the classic mistake applicants make with the “role model” essay. The subject MUST be the role model’s impact on you as a person; they do not really care at all about the role model figure himself.</p>
<p>Wow your grandparents are North Korea escapees?! awesome! xD</p>
<p>And I couldn’t agree more with Pancaked. You have to write something that focuses on you and not just your family. The “role model” essay, like Pancaked said, is a prime example of where you can make the mistake of accidentally talking more about someone else other than yourself. Even NYU tells its applicants to be cautious with this type of essay.</p>
<p>OoovooO, that’s weird. I’m a korean-american too, and my grandmother also escaped from North Korea into South Korea. Just throwing that in there. Oh, and I agree with the others, it’s sort of a broad topic, but I have a Persian friend who is talking about events in the middle east and how its affected him, but that’s because he has family there. If you have family in korea, you could take it from that angle, but it’s much more difficult. I’d try to find a more personal event IMHO. gl. Koreans unite lol</p>