I am Teacher Lee Jin, a literacy expert. **What I Realized While Reading with Children for 10 Years** "Teacher, what does this word mean?" "I have the idea, but I don't know how to write it." "So, what does this have to do with me?" For over 10 years, while reading and writing with children, I have heard these same questions repeatedly. And I realized. What children need is not more information, but the power to understand that information; not more knowledge, but a way of thinking. **Literacy, Its Invisible Roots** A tree does not grow with visible trunks and leaves. It becomes a large tree only when its invisible roots descend deep into the ground. Literacy is the same. It is not about grades or results that are immediately visible, but rather the comprehension, thinking skills, and expressive abilities that accumulate step by step that, at some point, make a child grow significantly. Slowly, yet surely. This is the core of my educational philosophy. **Why Hanja, Writing, and Questions?** Hanja is the key to understanding textbooks. 70% of the reasons elementary school children get stuck at their textbooks is due to Sino-Korean words. "Photosynthesis," "democracy," "industrialization"... Knowing just a few Chinese characters allows you to understand hundreds of conceptual terms at once. It becomes even more serious when students reach middle school. "Inductive, deductive, objective, subjective..." Middle school textbooks are overflowing with conceptual terms derived from Chinese characters. If you memorize them, you forget them quickly, but if you understand them through their etymology, you will never forget them. However, Chinese characters are just the beginning. As language expands, the world expands. Understanding conceptual terms through Chinese characters makes textbooks easier, and when textbooks become easier, you can ask deeper questions. Those questions truly nurture a child's thinking. Writing is the process of completing one's thoughts. It feels daunting to do it alone, but it changes when you discuss and write together. It provides elementary students with the experience of freely expressing their thoughts, and middle school students with training in logical thinking and writing. Questions are the power to live in the AI era. AI provides answers, but it does not create questions. Asking "Why?", questioning the obvious— This is true thinking ability. I engage in discussions with children to foster deep thinking. In my humanities classes, I do not teach the correct answers. Faced with questions like "What is justice?" or "What is happiness?", children think for themselves, listen to their friends' thoughts, and refine their own ideas. Language is the world. As language becomes richer, thoughts deepen, and as thoughts deepen, the world expands. I would like to briefly introduce my educational philosophy. First, children are more serious than you might think. They prefer genuine questions and deep thinking over easy content created by adults. They simply lacked the time and space to express it. Second, literacy is not mastered in a short period. It is important to practice consistently and properly, even if it is just for 10 minutes a day. However, during a busy semester, there is insufficient time to identify children's weaknesses and focus on filling them in. That is why vacations are so precious. If you invest intensively to solidify weak areas and learn proper reading methods and thinking habits, the child will continue to grow on their own after school resumes. We do not rush results, but intensive training during vacations helps build a solid foundation. Third, students grow better when learning together than alone. Thinking expands as students discuss, listen to friends' thoughts, write together, learn from one another, and share questions. This is who Teacher Lee Jin is: Master of Arts in English from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies; Completed Professional Graduate Program at the Korea National University of Arts. She has researched the essence of language, thought, and expression. She has studied literacy by reading thousands of Korean and English books over the past 10 years. Reading books in various languages, she realized: That even if languages and cultures differ, the essence of literacy is the same. She also gained the conviction that the core of Korean literacy lies in Hanja (Chinese characters). Developed the proprietary Hanja Literacy 600 program. Based on the philosophy that "Memorization leads to defeat; understanding is the fundamental skill," She developed a unique program centered on the etymology of Hanja. 10 years of experience teaching reading, discussion, and writing. She has worked with children of various ages, from lower elementary grades to university students. I accurately understand the perspective of each age group and possess the know-how tailored to them. I have a strong advantage in communicating with middle school students. Through my extensive field experience, I understand the language and concerns of students during the middle school years, a period that many teachers find challenging. This is why middle school students say, "Teacher, you really listen to me." Literacy Research and Education Expert Living as a Master of Arts, essay writing teacher, and a mother who reads, I have experienced both theory and practice, as well as research and real-world application. Drawing on all of that experience, I present the literacy skills that children truly need. Expanding language through Hanja for elementary students, and deepening thinking through questions for middle school students Elementary Classes: One-Day Hanja Special Lecture (A fun way to start learning Hanja) Textbook Confidence (Mastering textbook concepts with Hanja) Cultivating Deep Thinking through Hanja (Hanja + Expanding Thinking Skills) Pre-Middle School / Middle School Classes: Korean Non-fiction Reading (Mastering literacy across all subjects) Must-Read Middle School Newspaper (Current Affairs Literacy and Logical Writing) Humanities Solved with 12 Questions (Deep Thinking Skills) Language is the world. When a child's language becomes richer, their thoughts deepen, and when their thoughts deepen, their world expands.