In this series, we will look deep inside an alumna who found a job that is totally not related to her department after graduating from Pusan National University (PNU). Channel PNU planned this series with the intention of sharing others' experiences and listening to the voices confidently shouting, "It's my life!" This will contain many stories of alumni who graduated from PNU and are active in various fields.

Starting this series, our first guest is announcer Kim Hee-Joo. She graduated from PNU, Dept. of Chemistry, in 2016. After she graduated, she worked as a weather forecaster at KBS Busan station. After that, she continued as a sports announcer at MBC SPORTS+ for four years. Now, she is getting popular by working in the field of e-sports too. We met her by ZOOM on February 22nd.

Q. Please introduce us to your job as 'Sports Announcer.'

A. My name is Kim Hee-Joo, working as a sports announcer at MBC SPORTS+. I usually go to stadiums or sports grounds to cover the news to where I can have an intuition for the game. Most of the time, I arrive at the stadium three hours earlier to get a sense of the team and the atmosphere before attending the manager's meeting. Since last year, I have been doing studio broadcasts little by little.

Q. I have rarely seen a case like this, graduating from the department of chemistry but working as an announcer. 

A. I have wanted to be an announcer since elementary school. Therefore, what I did was just trying for my youth dream. I went to the announcer academy in my senior year of university. Although it was my last year in college, I challenged myself because I did not want to regret it. I live once, so no regrets. At that time, I only had the pride of a common college student. 

People near me helped me a lot to make myself prepared to be an announcer. My parents supported me to attend the announcer academy; not only that, so many people supported me.

Q. You started as a weather forecaster at first. Is not it different from an announcer? 

A. The weather forecaster is similar to a sports announcer. But, the amount of scripts is different, and for the weather forecaster, it has its stationary form. The biggest advantage of sports announcers is dealing with various kinds of topics. When I worked as a weather forecaster, I always wanted to handle various fields. And the short scripts leave much to be desired.

While doing that, I saw a job opening, and one of my friends supported me, saying, "You are a big fan of Lotte Giants! So go for it!"

Q. Was there any support from the alumni?

A. At KBS Busan Station, many PNU alumni are working now. So many PNU alumni taught me to write scripts from the start when I first entered KBS. I think it is the best atmosphere to learn how to work. I think that is why now I can finish tons of scripts without any problems. 

They straightened out even the smallest details of my script. For example, weather forecasters speak about the future that did not happen yet, so I do not write words of definite ending and I am careful using the words' expectation' and 'plan' because they have two exactly different meanings…

Q. Have you experienced your department, chemistry, being useful while you are working?

A. Honestly, I have not experienced it directly. But, indirectly, I have. Once, I took an educational video of SK, and the topic was 'Tech.' At that time, I felt very relaxed because I remembered I had learned that topic from university. 

Not only the departments but also all the experiences from university are very helpful to society. Just for fun, I was very good at hasty preparation when I was on campus for the final exam. So, some of my friends are saying that I can easily memorize the script because I am good at hasty preparation. I recommend experiencing as many different experiences as you can while you are in university. 

Q. There are many students who want their job as announcers. What do you think is the most important talent to be an announcer?

A. Trust, I think. An announcer is a job that makes voices. If you want to make auditors believe your voices, the most important emotion between them is 'trust.'

In the same situation, communication with others is important too. When you work, you have to do endless communication with your partners. Also, there are many chances to work with strangers. At those times, you need the power to have a good conversation with others.

Of course, the given task must be done well, and when you want to move on to the next step, mutual trust and communication are what you need.

Q. As a sports announcer, what do you think about the Beijing Olympics?

A. Sports games give watchers many emotions, such as joy, pleasure, sadness, and anger. The important thing here is the players who prepared with all their might for the game they played. So, seeing the enthusiastic response of the spectators who recognize the efforts of the athletes, I think the Olympics were a success regardless of victory or defeat.

Q. Do you have any messages to spread as an announcer?

A. My work time is when everybody is relaxing. Therefore, I want to give people as bright energy as possible as I can. I want the spectators to heal themselves while I am reporting. That is what I care about, so I am trying my best to speak positively. Even though I am a good smiler now, I am trying to smile more. I hope that my effort reaches my spectators.

Q. When did you feel the most valuable during campus life?

A. I directly answer "Friends" to all the questions like this. I can say my 23 years old life was one of the best parts of my life because I could make valuable memories with my friends.

Recently, my elder working partner told me, "It is so lucky to have a friend like that." After meeting my friend. I totally agreed with that. It was that friend who helped me a lot when I was easily shaken mentally. I can’t imagine this job without that friend. This is why I say "friend" is the most valuable being. I recommend that PNU students get at least one thing during their four years of college life.

Getting knowledge by studying hard is nice, and finding new challenges is good too. Or finding soulmate friends like me would be wonderful.

Q. I heard that you are commonly put into extended game broadcasts. I think EXTEND is a hard time but, at the same time, a new chance. Do you have any short sentences for PNU students who are trying for a new start and challenge? 

A. The 'extended game' in the sports game is hard work for both players and spectators. But, the 'extended game' that does not have any plan as to when to end can also turn into a stepping stone for a turnaround. In that situation, I think sports and life are not that different. 

Dear students, I know you are having a very hard time due to COVID-19. This pandemic has been running for more than two years now. However, I know that someday, a day of beautiful turnaround will come soon, like in sports. Our future is unknown, but what we must do is to do our best in the situation we are in now. I also hope you make your campus life diligently. Even if unexpected overtime begins, I hope that you will not give in and enjoy every moment.

By Shin Ji-Won, Reporter

Translated by Yun Chae-Eun, Reporter