Statement of Purpose (SOP)

Dwight School Seoul; Yoon Ha Choi

When I was in the ninth grade, my family experienced a devastating event that lead to a big financial loss of our family’s wealth. As a result, everything about our lives had to change. First the house in which we were residing in: because living in Bundang cost our family large expenses, we were no longer able to afford our home there. After looking into a number of different, more affordable areas, our final destination was Suji. Always having lived in well-known and relatively wealthy cities, moving to Suji felt a bit of a disgrace. My home, which had once been a place of pride and comfort, had turned into a place of embarrassment and shamefulness. Without any hopes of the situation getting better, I arrived with our family to the entrance of our new home on the day of our movement. As we passed the gates, I looked up from my phone and found myself astonished. The gate written “Raemian East Palace” shined bright and the apartments within stood high like skyscrapers. I felt like I had just entered the streets of Manhattan. Although in reality, I was in a relatively rural area, the buildings around me made the place feel like it was so much more. The idea that the designs of buildings could give not only an aesthetic beauty and pleasure to a person but an emotional impression fascinated me; the idea that the designs of buildings could make one feel like they were in a totally different environment contrasting reality. This fascination was what triggered my curiosity and interest into the field of architectural design.