Monthly TOEFL Essay #1: "Nature is all we have"

  Describe a custom from your country that you would like people from other countries to adopt. Explain your choice, using specific reasons and examples.

  "This basically shows all there is need to know about Korea." This comment is what Pearl Buck; famous writer of the "The Good Earth" exclaimed after she saw our ancestors wisdom of leaving few persimmon on the branch for the other birds such as Magpie to eat. From the very beginning the thought of protecting the nature have been blended into our ancestors mind, which still exists in our roots. Keeping in mind about protecting the nature can benefit the human race in two folds; interacting and making harmony with the mother nature, and the fact that protecting the nature could actually lead us to a greater benefit.

  First, there is a point that this custom; protecting nature could help develop more profound relationship between human being and the rest of the mother nature. In today's modern society, the human beings have started to put themselves at the top of the food chain. Forgetting the fact that they are just mere particles, not the owners of the nature itself. And this misleading mere as it might seem, have caused tremendous amount of destruction across the globe in just a few centuries. For example there is the destruction of the Amazon Rain Forest. The Amazon Rain Forest is a vital area needed for the continuous health of the planet Earth. However, due to the greed of the Brazil Government this rain forest have been estimated to have been lost more than 70,000km^ in a couple of decades. Causing serious lack of fresh oxygen in the atmosphere. Therefore, it becomes crystal clear that the very custom of Korea; caring for the nature could trigger a change that is needed in today's situation.

  Moving on, the next advantage that this Korean custom can provide is the fact that it could increase the benefits humans can gain from a limited amount of resources. If we use up all the resources without leaving any behind, that itself would be the maxim amounts of benefits you could get. On the other hand if you leave some of the resources behind, the used up resources could be reproduced based on the leftover resources, leading to continuous benefit. For this example, I would like to simulate the situation of a fishing boat. When fishers haul up their catching they go through the creatures, selecting only the ones fully grown and releasing the younger ones. And this action of selection is the reason why fishing is still possible even though it has been more than several thousand years since the very start of fishing. So by this we can see that Korea's custom of saving few resources behind would lead to a greater benefit.

  So to put this into a nutshell, for these two folds; realizing that humans are mere part of the nature, and the fact that it could conjure as much benefit humans can possibly get from a limited resources. I strongly recommend and believe that it is necessary for the global world to adopt Korean custom. "Nature is all we have."