Korean Wave in China | An Analysis

Korean Wave in China | An Analysis Korean popular culture has become one of the most beloved pop cultures among Asian fans over the last 10 years. Asia is no longer dominated by American popular culture, and fans now are choosing what they consider to be more Asian. Many have recently come to prefer Korean popular culture, which they perceive to be fresh and trendy, as well as something that contains Asian values and sentiments. More and more people throughout Asia are choosing to watch Korean movies, listen to Korean popular music, follow Korean soap operas, and even travel to Korea to visit sites they have seen in their favorite Korean dramas. The sudden rise in popularity and the dissemination of Korean popular culture throughout Asia is new, unprecedented, and fascinating. This cultural flow in contemporary Asia is called the Korean Wave. Starting point of the Korean Wave in China The term Korean Wave refers to the phenomenon of Korean popular culture, disseminated primarily through the mass media and enjoying a broad popularity outside of Korea. It includes Korean-identified television dramas, movies, internet games, fashions, and popular music. It is unclear exactly when the term Korean Wave started to become popular among Asians, but public media began recognizing Korean popular culture in mainland China in 1997, when the Korean television drama Star Is in My Heart was broadcast in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other Asian countries. The Chinese broadcasting company Phoenix TV, which broadcasts throughout Asia, showed this drama under its Chinese name, and the broadcast met with broad popular appeal, especially in mainland China. The drama caught peoples attention in part because its main actor, Ahn Jae-Wook, was particularly attractive to Chinese and Taiwanese women. Ahn Jae-Wook, therefore, became a symbol of the Korean wave in China. Following to Star Is in My Heart, Autumn Story, Winter Sonata, What Is the Love and many other drama fascinated people in China. Korea pop music has also taken a huge role of the Korean Wave from the beginning. Young dance music groups, H.O.T and Clone ignited the Korean Wave in China in 1999. Various radio stations in China began to create programs specializing K-pop. Moreover, it is known that the number of fans of H.O.T. was eight million only in China in 2002. Afterwards, at least 50 different Korean pop albums were produced in China, and more than three million albums in total were sold by 2002. Beyond simply consuming the media contents, Chinese teenagers repeated Korean pop songs and imitated Korean actors and singers fashion and hairstyle. In addition, Korean restaurants in China became popular among people who were enjoying Korean pop culture. Through the indirect experience of Korean food in television drama, people became familiar to it and such familiarity made people walk to Korean restaurants. As the effect of the Korean Wave, the national image of Korea was recognized as positive. As a result, Korean products raised their own value as well. Samsung mobile phones and LG air conditioners and microwaves took bigger portions at Chinese market as people demanded more of such products. Started with the drama, Star Is in My Heart, and Korean pop music sung by H.O.T and Clone in China, the Korean Wave outstretched to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, and other Asian counties. The Second Round of Korean Wave in Japan Even though people in most Asian countries showed deep interests in Korea pop culture, Japan, which is geographically the nearest neighbor, was not affected by the Korean Wave until Winter Sonata hit Japan. In 2003, the Korean drama, Winter Sonata, was first shown on Japanese television in twenty episodes. It captured 22% of the prime time viewing audience. In 2004 Winter Sonata had its second showing. This time it captured 24% of viewing audience. The key feature of the Japanese response to the Korean drama was that it was not just passively accepted. A demographic of Japanese viewers positively embraced the Korean drama, especially the television drama Winter Sonata and its Korean associations. There are the indicators that with some of the Japanese audience, Winter Sonata was elevated to cult status. For example, in 2003, the DVD of the series sold out within four hours of its release. Lead Korean actors from the series become celebrities in Japan. Indeed, in some newspapers the male leading actor, the Korean Bae Yong Joon, was addressed as Yon Sama, an honorific usually assigned only to royalty in Japan. At last count, Bae Yong Joon has some 50 websites devoted to him. During visits to Japan cast members were mobbed by their fans. Demand by fans for Winter Sonata merchandise has created an industry with an annual turnover in Japan and Korea worth 2.3 billion US dollars. The industry produces memorabilia such as clothing, ac cessories, jewelers, stationery, magazines, books, DVDs and supports fan clubs. Significantly this interest extended beyond the characters of Winter Sonata toward a more general interest in Korea. The tourist industry in Korea was affected by the Korean Wave. In 2004 Japan was the source of nearly half of Koreas 5.6 million overseas visitors, and was its major source of tourists though it is difficult to identify who of these came because of Winter Sonata. In 2006 Korean Air announced special film flights from Japan so that they could visit the Winter Sonata location sites. In 2006 NHK television media and publishers announced an increase of its annual sales of its Korean language textbook to 20,000 copies. Reasons why the Korean Wave became popular in Asia The good quality of cultural media comes to the foremost reason. According to the Chinese local analysis, Korean dramas have outstanding storylines, well designed characters, and sophisticated directing system. Plus, original background music (OST) are excellent as well. Whether Chinese or Taiwanese dramas repeat the obvious storylines making people already bored by watching only the first episode, Korean dramas own various styles and types of story raging widely. Their creativities in developing stories fuel peoples curiosities to see the next episode. Korea actors handsome appearance, stylish fashions and hairstyles, and outstanding acting abilities are said to the best among Asian actors. Improved technology in film producing helps background settings and music to be wonderfully assimilated to each other. Camera walking and well designed composition of pictures improve overall quality of the video. The second reason is that the economic decline of Asia forced television producers to seek out products cheaper than Japanese and Western products. One of these was soap operas, the starting-point of the Korean Wave in Taiwan. The Korean Wave arose mainly because of the media liberalization that swept across Asia in 1990s, when the economic crisis made Asian buyers prefer the cheaper Korean products compared with Japanese and Hong Kong products. The primary producer of K-Pop Entertainment at Gala-TV in Taiwan told that the main reason that GTV began programming Korean soap operas was because of their cheap prices compared to Japanese products, and Korean soap operas were even cheaper than domestic ones. According to her, Korean soap operas were of much better quality then Taiwanese products, but were much cheaper, so GTV dubbed in Mandarin and aired the programs as if they were locally made soap operas. In 1999, GTV began buying old dramas from the Korean Broadcasting System under the considerations that it costs less than the domestic dramas and the quality of the Korean dramas could be guaranteed. GTV was informed that KBS had invested a huge amount of money in production. Indeed, Korea has long invested in dramas, and after 1993 it has encouraged the investment of private capital in the media industry. Therefore, to supplement domestic dramas, GTV introduced Korean dramas of low cost and good quality. Thirdly, Korean movies and TV dramas show virtue and kindness. In Korean movies and TV dramas, people are friendly, and families are harmonious. Juniors respect elders, elders cherish juniors. Lovers love dearly each other, and spouses care for each other. TV dramas of Korea still show the harmonious and pure-hearted feelings. Every one wishes to have a harmonious family and live in a harmonious society. First of all, such heartwarming stories attract wide age groups. It is appropriate for elementary school kids to elder grandma and grandpa to watch altogether. Most western dramas or movies contain suggestive scenes to express passionate love between lovers which made family members to be apart to watch them. However, all family members gather around and can watch Korean dramas or movies which mostly depict pure-hearted loves between friends, families, and lovers. Second of all, pure love between lovers especially attracted Japanese women. Winter Sonata which delivers the story of pure love between main characters evoked Japanese Womens memories of their first love. Since purity in love was already old-fashioned culture in Japan, women who watched Winter Sonata brought out their nostalgic feelings toward pure love. Husband and wife do not talk a lot because Japanese people do not directly reveal their emotions and feelings to others which were regarded as the most secret part of individuals. The actions, that spouses sincerely care for each other, stirred desires of Japanese women to be loved from their love directly and in a gentle way. Lastly, the family value commonly dealt in Korean drama evoked nostalgic feeling toward family among Chinese people. Through the Cultural Revolution and through the national campaign, One family, one child, large families were exterminated in China. Naturally, the older generations miss memories they had in large families. The older generations in China could be vicarious satisfaction as they enjoy Korea drama. Even though Asian countries are bound with the similar cultures and traditions, purity in love and family value were lost in Japanese and Chinese society. Pure-hearted feelings and harmonious aspects of Korean society reflected on drama played the significant role to promote the Korean Wave in two societies. First, cultural industry includes movie, broadcast, music, game, book, and concert at which people directly show their enthusiasm. Second, derivative products are products such as cosmetics, tour, accessories, clothes, mobile phone, home appliance, automobile, and food which are indirectly linked with the cultural contents. Automobile that one Korean star drove in drama or the place where the drama was directed are in this category. Third, ripple effect on national economy is that effect on the other economy as cultural industry and derivative products are exported. For example, if the cultural contents were exported and therefore if the mobile phone meets the great demand, the mobile phone company needs to employ more people to produce the phone. As a result, more jobs are created in domestic market. This is a ripple effect on national economy. Fourth, immeasurable effects is, as it says in its word, it is not measurable by numeric values or by statistics. It is invisible effect suc h as people who are big fan of Korean culture learning Korean language. Korean exports in cultural industry to overseas amount to eleven million dollars in 2007. It shows 11.3% of annual growth from 2005 to 2007. In the case of movie industry, the movie, in which Bae yong-Jun (Yon-sama) acted in 2005, was exported at a high cost to Japan. The success of this movie resulted out exporting 76 million dollars. However, the following year reported the exports of only 25 million dollars which fells 68%. The broadcast industry is especially strong in Japan than any other Asian countries. While the broadcast industries in Japan and China show fairly steady outcome, other Asian countries and non-Asian region suddenly consumed the doubled volume of Korean television dramas in 2006 compared to that of 2005. The game industry, which takes the biggest portion in the cultural industry, gradually increased it exports. Derivative products are not the cultural contents; however, they are closely related to the Korean Wave. The car appeared in drama or the cosmetics which Korea celebrities advertising are included in the realm of derivative products. Therefore, they are second biggest part in calculating the economic effects of the Korean Wave. Korean cosmetic brands such as The Face Shop and Misha rapidly grew in size in the international market and exported three hundred million dollars in 2005 and three hundred fifty million dollars in 2007. Cosmetic brands are sensitive to their models; therefore, companies frequently change the models to the most popular one at the time. Interestingly, Korean cosmetic brands use male Korea celebrities who are at the center of the Korean Wave because, in this way, it is easier for companies to appeal to female Korean fans in overseas. This is the strategies Korea cosmetic companies are using to target the international market. In the case of clothes, clothes industry resulted out the exports of twenty-three million dollars in 2005; however, exporting volume has been gradually decreased to seventeen million dollars in 2007. Decrease in home appliance exports can be explained by the increasing supply of Chinese products with the developing qualities in China mainland. When the exports of clothes, accessories, mobile phone, and home appliances were decreasing, automobile industry stretched its competitiveness in the international market with the grow rate of 12.5%. Koreas developed technology in automobile production and positive image toward Korean automobile brand established such consequence. Abroad fans interest and familiarity to Korean food helped its industry internationally. The number of tourists is increasing from 2005 to 2007 with the growth rate of 3.5%. However, the number of tourists who visited Korea because of the Korea Wave is decreasing with the rate of -13.2%. Winter Sonata sensationally hit Japan in 2003. Thus, the rate of tourists, who came to Korea by the influence of the Korean Wave, in 2005 is comparatively higher than in 2006 and in 2007 as the aftereffect of Winter Sonata. As Japanese tourists who were deeply impressed by Winter Sonata increases after 2003, interesting thing happened in the streets in Korea. The shops near the locations appeared in Korean drama have Japanese explanations on each products. Moreover, the shop assistants in Myung-doing streets tout people in Japanese. They speak Japanese more than Korean to tout Japanese tourists. The decreasing number of tourists due to the Korean Wave does not mean that the Korean Wave has less impact on other cultures. Rather, people, who already visited Korea, would not make a second trip in near future. Therefore, it is quite natural that the number of people visiting Korea due to the Korean Wave gets smaller and smaller, regarding the huge impact of Winter Sonata in 2003. Instead, increasing number of tourists shows the general perception on the image of Korea is improving and it is ultimately the result of the Korean Wave. Therefore, I conclude that the Korean Wave yet fosters the tourism industry in Korea. Riffle Effects on National Economy Through the Korean Wave, Korean international economy was vitalized. Growing demands of Korean cultural contents from abroad have increased supplies, and therefore, Korean cultural industry has grown in a large scale. Numerous companies which create the cultural contents require more labor force as they extend their business. The Korean Wave not only vitalized the Korean economy but also opened the labor market to support industry. Considering the fact that companies, which directly or indirectly related to the Korean Wave, inevitably employ more labors, unimaginable number of people would come into the economic activities, relieving unemployment and boosting the national economy. The Korea Wave started with few dramas and pop songs now controls the whole national economy. Immeasurable effects Korean fans outside of Korea often learn Korean language and eat Korean food. More and more people have interest in Korean culture and favorable impression toward Korea. These sociological phenomena raise the power of Korea very softly everywhere in the world where the Korea cultural syndrome has hit. This is the Soft Power that Korean has. Conclusion The Korean Wave hit China in 1997 for the fist time and now its influence prevails all over Asia. By watching the same drama, by reading the same comic book, and by listing to the same pop songs, people have a strong sense of solidarity. Reflecting on my own experience, Asian teenagers become intimate to each other easily by sharing their cultural interests. In the fact that cultural contents take the large portion on students lives, there is nothing better which connects the students so tightly. They would forget the time flying away when they talk about their own favorite dramas and celebrities. The Korean Wave was directly connected to the domestic economy. Numerous cultural industries have expanded their influence in Asia and related manufacturing industry also has been thrived. The cultural industry established the average exports of 414,387 million Won from 2005 to 2007 and the derivative industry reached to the average exports of 2,204,567 million Won from 2005 to 2007. The whole economic impacts including the ripple effects during the past few years are tremendous in Korean domestic economy. There are several shortages of the Korean Wave that the Korean cultural contents overwhelmingly attract female but only mimic influence to male and that the current Korean Wave is not as sensational as the past few years. The Korean dramas and movies mostly deal with romantic love stories which women love and do not take action or thriller genres which men like. To embrace a broader range of people, Korean production companies need to develop creative and interesting scenarios in various genres. Plus, the economic effects are diminishing in many sectors of industry such as clothes, home appliance, and mobile phone. It is because there are recently no big contents such as Winter Sonata and Dae Jang Geum which rose fanatical boom about Korean media. The more efforts to create the high quality cultural contents enable to continue the glory of Korean Wave in 2004 and 2005. Asian countries and people have never gathered and shared the same cultural contents before as they do these days. Even though there are worried voices that Asian cultures are losing diversity in arts and culture, I valued more on the Korean Waves positive effects that connecting many countries and people in Asia in a close bound. I hope the unified the cultural market in Asia region would be the chance for cultural industries in each Asian countries to cooperative each other to create more developed cultural contents opening up new visas of the future.

Negative Body Image Essay

A study showed that women experience an average of 13 negative thoughts about their body each day, while 97% of women admit to having at least one â€Å"I hate my body† moment each day (raderprograms). Teens today are faced with many pressures: how they dress, who their friends are, who they are going to date, and most importantly, what they look like. In today’s society, body image is more than just the mental picture a person has of what their body looks like. For many, body image is also a reflection of how they feel about themselves and their lives. People with a negative body image believe that if they do not look right, other things, such as their personality, intelligence, social skills, or capabilities, also are not right. They think that if they fix their bodies, all their other problems will disappear. This can result in unhealthy weight management practices and an unhealthy relationship with food. People excessively diet and exercise out of fear of gaining weight. The media today portrays stick thin women with beautiful faces and size 0 bodies, but the truth is, the majority of runway models meet the Body Mass Index (BMI) criteria to be considered anorexic (raderprograms). When influenced by role models like these, teenagers start to feel inferior if they do not look the same. In turn, when put under the pressure of women in the media, teenagers will most likely develop a negative body image, eating or mood disorder, or other unhealthy addictions if they feel their bodies do not â€Å"measure up† to those of women portrayed. Negative body image is a serious issue that can be greatly influenced by today’s media. Body image refers to a person’s feelings about how attractive their body is. Celebrities like Kate Moss are 30+% under their ideal body weight, along with this, adolescent girls are more afraid of gaining weight than getting cancer, losing their parents, or nuclear war (raderprograms). Research has shown that media exposure to unattainable physical perfection is detrimental to people, especially women, and that the detrimental effects are currently more the rule than the exception (An Intervention for the Negative Influence on Body Esteem 405-418). Negative body image affects all aspects (physical, mental, social, and spiritual) of the body negatively and cause problems like depression, anxiety and social anxiety. Roughly half of the women in the U. S. wear size 14 or larger though most standard clothing retailers only cater to size 14 and smaller (raderprograms). Having a negative body image can be detrimental to a person’s self-esteem; they will always scrutinize themselves in mirrors and be envious to other’s bodies, whether it is celebrities, friends or even complete strangers. Many people with a negative body image will start to diet to control their weight and get it to where they want it to be. At any given time, one in every three women and one in any four men are on a diet (raderprograms). People diet to be thinner and more attractive, to look like people they see in the media. A People magazine survey showed that 80% of female takers felt that women in movies and television programs made them feel insecure about their bodies (raderprograms). The media is very negative towards people who are not as small as models and (most) actresses. The average U. S. model weighs 117 lbs and is 5’11†, while the average U. S. woman weighs 140 lbs and is 5’4† (raderprograms). The media also is a very strong advocate of dieting and especially diet pills. While dieting can be done healthily, some teenagers abuse dieting; 73% of teenage girls who abuse diet pills and 79% of teenage girls who self-purge (the act of forcibly making themselves vomit or abusing laxatives to not absorb calories) frequently read women’s fitness and health magazines (raderprograms). People who diet have an increased amount of depression due to body image and not getting the results they expect. Thirty-five percent of â€Å"occasional dieters† progress into pathological dieting (disordered eating) and as many as 25% advance to full blown eating disorders (raderprograms). Medical researchers believe that 80 percent of all eating disorders started with a diet (The Causes of Negative Body Image). Media causes teens to feel insecure and have low self-esteem. It is one of the leading causes of Eating Disorders in the United States. Eating Disorders affect 10+ million females and 1+ million males (raderprograms). Many teens suffer from eating disorders and it majorly affects a person’s life. â€Å"When you have an eating disorder at a young age, you can’t shake it easily. I’ve suffered with anorexia and bulimia since I was 12 years old, along with severe depression and anxiety disorders. It was largely influenced by the media and the pressure to be thin. You’re always pre-occupied with the voices telling you not to eat this, or not to eat that because you want to be thin, right? It’s always there and it’s hard. You know what you’re doing is wrong, but man does it feel so right. † (Billstein). For females between the ages 15-24 who suffer from anorexia, the mortality rate associated with the illness is twelve times higher than he death rate of ALL other causes of death (raderprograms). When a person develops an eating disorder they may also become addicted to exercise along with restricting calories. Exercise addiction is maladaptive, causing more harm than benefits. People become addicted to exercise in order to be thinner. This is usually paired with an eating disorder or negative body image. A person will exe rcise and burn off every calorie that they have consumed during the day and run their calorie count into the negatives so they do not absorb any calories at all. â€Å"I feel in control of my body when I exercise. I can see exactly how many calories I have burnt out of my body; being able to burn the small amount of calories that I have managed to eat just feels good. † (Billstein). About 10% of gym users have exercise addiction. Another disorder that ties in with eating disorders is Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). BDD is â€Å"imagined ugliness†, where a person picks apart everything about themselves until their self-esteem is very low, making them susceptible to mood disorders. It is the gateway drug to eating disorders and negative body image, depression, anxiety and other altered mood disorders. 0% of people diagnosed with eating disorders also suffer from BDD. â€Å"When I look at myself in the mirror, I don’t see what other people see. I see a girl with a large forehead, big thighs, a fat stomach and beady little eyes. I hate my body so much that what I see is totally transformed and disgusting. I don’t want to look like this, that’s why I resorted to o ther things that I could control: eating and how much. † (Billstein). When a person has depression, anxiety, eating disorders or other altered mood disorders they may become addicted to unhealthy activities. An unhealthy addiction that many people, teenagers primarily, form is self-harm. It has many names: self-injury, self-injurious behavior, self-abuse, self-cutting, and repetitive self-harm syndrome. It is most often called self-mutilation. Regardless of what name a person uses, it is the intentional destruction or alteration of one’s own body tissue without conscious suicidal intent (How Negative Body Image Affects the Body and Mind). Self-harm consists of any bodily injury whether it be cutting, burning, scratching, picking or preventing the healing of wounds. Individuals self-harm to release pain. Some people say they self-mutilate because they are emotionally numb and it helps them feel something. When cutting, the person feels in control of the pain, while on the inside, they cannot control mental pain from disorders or depression. Those who cut feel a relief afterwards but it gets more intense of an addiction the longer it goes. They experience strong cravings to harm themselves and withdrawals when in recovery. â€Å"I cut because I can control it. I’m not saying that it’s a good thing, but I’m in recovery and I have relapsed. It takes control of your mind; you’re in a sad state when you take that blade to your skin. You have the scars forever to remember the times you’ve been through, but they show strength not weakness. They’re battle scars and they show that you’ve conquered, not been defeated, you’re still alive and here, and that’s beautiful. † (Billstein). 90% of self-injury individuals begin harming themselves during their teen years or younger. (Cutting: Self Injury Facts & Statistics). Only 4% of women in the world truly think they are beautiful (raderprograms). There are some positive body image influences in the media including Dove skincare. They have the ‘Real Beauty’ campaign showing moderate to plus size models in a positive atmosphere. There is a drastic difference between Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign (Figure 1) and Victoria’s Secret’s new ‘Love My Body’ campaign (Figure 2). Some forms of media are only positive to a certain weight group (i. e: ‘Love My Body’ campaign). Women should not be ashamed of their bodies, they should embrace them and show off their best features. â€Å"You’re going to be in this body for the rest of your life, so you might as well learn to like it† (Billstein). Figure 1 (Rana). Figure 2 (McDonell-Parry). Overall, negative body image is a very dangerous issue to have because it can lead to destructive behaviors like eating disorders, low self-esteem, mood disorders, exercise addiction and other unsafe body disorders. When teenagers are put under the pressure of women in the media, they are at a higher risk of developing a negative body image, eating or mood disorders and other unsafe addictions if their bodies are not as slim.

The Argument About How to Write an Introduction about Yourself

The Argument About How to Write an Introduction about Yourself Definitions of How to Write an Introduction about Yourself In the debut, you're trying to inform the reader about the rationale behind the job, justifying why your work is an essential element of research in the specialty. You may discover that you don't know precisely what you're likely to argue at the start of the writing process. Students' approach to a group writing task will be contingent on the character of that undertaking. The reasons will help to make your project authentic and credible as the readers like to get the reason particular work was done by you or some other person. Sometimes you only have to get started writing and you may begin at the start or dive right into the center of your essay. There are a couple of recommendations that can enable you to compose a strong introduction, arousing interest and encouraging the reader to read the remainder of your work. By using questions to begin your introductions you're using the element of curiosity, and as a consequence, your readers won't have the ability to stop just at the introduction. A simple means to spark learner's intrigue is to make an engaging introduction video which makes students wish to find out more! A great deal of people discover that it's tricky to read books, but a great story has such a massive capability to captivate its reader. Some individuals discover that they will need to compose some sort of introduction so as to find the writing process started. They come across a lot of articles everyday, and most of the advice they come across are completely worthless or impractical, and as a result, they are always happy to read an article whenever it is started with a fact. If you are able to find a feel for who they have hired, it can inform you about a number of the qualities they're looking for. For instance, a letter of introduction isn't a cover letter. Reading the above mentioned statement as the introduction to any post makes you wish to read it. You might think that you've got to compose your introduction first, but this isn't necessarily true, and it isn't always the best way to craft a great introduction. An introduction ought to be preferably one-tenth of the en tire assignment. Thesis statement is easily the most important sentence of your paper. Economics is really all around us. Writing an advertising essay isn't a very simple endeavor. Marketing essays or advertising and marketing papers are among the most frequent kinds of essays a student will encounter in your life. It's fine to tease your readers. Just make certain to write only the gist or you may say that the introduction with no particular information. Bear in mind that it's always best to get started with an outline or draft so it's going to be simpler for you to edit. When you start writing a new piece, think of what your readers wish to understand. It is crucial to compose the introductory paragraph because it's the first write up that offers the gist of what is going to be the proceeding content be about. You are unable to take the exact same approach to compose an introduction for every single subject. Don't hesitate to be creative, but remember to directly deal with the question you've been asked! To be able to write a great advertising essay, it would be better to get a solid and well-founded structure. How to Write an Introduction about Yourself: the Ultimate Convenience! Introductions are supposed to provide an audience a fast run through of what they must know. Dictionary introductions are also ineffective simply since they are so overused. Introductions and conclusions may be the most troublesome elements of papers to write. There are two sorts of letters of introduction. Whatever the legitimate reason, the simple truth is that my favourite holiday of the year is Easter Sunday. The entire introduction isn't to be written in the pointers but the essential points have to be given in the pointers. Bear in mind, your huge opening' needs to be regarding the topic.

World War II Bomber Command Dambuster Raids

During the early days of World War II, the Royal Air Forces Bomber Command sought to strike at German dams in the Ruhr. Such an attack would damage water and electrical production, as well as inundate large areas of the region. Conflict Date Operation Chastise took place on May 17, 1943, and was part of World War II. Aircraft Commanders Wing Commander Guy Gibson19 aircraft Operation Chastise Overview Assessing the feasibility of the mission, it was found that multiple strikes with a high degree of accuracy would be necessary. As these would have to take place against heavy enemy resistance, Bomber Command dismissed the raids as unpractical. Pondering the mission, Barnes Wallis, an aircraft designer at Vickers, devised a different approach to breaching the dams. While first proposing the use of a 10-ton bomb, Wallis was forced to move on as no aircraft capable carrying such a payload existed. Theorizing that a small charge could break the dams if detonated below the water, he was initially thwarted by the presence of German anti-torpedo nets in the reservoirs. Pushing on with the concept, he began developing a unique, cylindrical bomb designed to skip along the surface of the water before sinking and exploding at the dams base. To accomplish this, the bomb, designated Upkeep, was spun backward at 500 rpm before being dropped from low altitude. Striking the dam, the bombs spin would let it roll down the face before exploding underwater. Wallis idea was put forward to Bomber Command and after several conferences were accepted on February 26, 1943. While Wallis team worked to perfect the Upkeep bomb design, Bomber Command assigned the mission to 5 Group. For the mission, a new unit, 617 Squadron, was formed with Wing Commander Guy Gibson in command. Based at RAF Scampton, just northwest of Lincoln, Gibsons men were given uniquely modified Avro Lancaster Mk.III bombers. Dubbed the B Mark III Special (Type 464 Provisioning), 617s Lancasters had much of the armor and defensive armament removed to reduce weight. In addition, the bomb bay doors were taken off to allow the fitting of special crutches to hold and spin the Upkeep bomb. As the mission planning progressed, it was decided to strike the MÃ ¶hne, Eder, and Sorpe Dams. While Gibson relentlessly trained his crews in low-altitude, night flying, efforts were made to find solutions to two key technical problems. These were ensuring that the Upkeep bomb was released at a precise altitude and distance from the dam. For the first issue, two lights were mounted under each aircraft such that their beams would converge on the surface of the water then the bomber was at the correct altitude. To judge range, special aiming devices which utilized towers on each dam were built for 617s aircraft. With these problems solved, Gibsons men began test runs over reservoirs around England. Following their final testing, the Upkeep bombs were delivered on May 13, with the goal of Gibsons men conducting the mission four days later. Flying the Dambuster Mission Taking off in three groups after dark on May 17, Gibsons crews flew at around 100 feet to evade German radar. On the outbound flight, Gibsons Formation 1, consisting of nine Lancasters, lost an aircraft en route to the MÃ ¶hne when it was downed by high tension wires. Formation 2 lost all but one of its bombers as it flew towards Sorpe. The last group, Formation 3, served as a reserve force and diverted three aircraft to Sorpe to make up for losses. Arriving at MÃ ¶hne, Gibson led the attack in and successfully released his bomb. He was followed by Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood whose bomber was caught in the blast from its bomb and crashed. To support his pilots, Gibson circled back to draw German flak while the others attacked. Following a successful run by Flight Lieutenant Harold Martin, Squadron Leader Henry Young was able to breach the dam. With the MÃ ¶hne Dam broken, Gibson led the flight to Eder where his three remaining aircraft negotiated tricky terrain to score hits on the dam. The dam was finally opened by Pilot Officer Leslie Knight. While Formation 1 was achieving success, Formation 2 and its reinforcements continued to struggle. Unlike MÃ ¶hne and Eder, the Sorpe Dam was earthen rather than masonry. Due to increasing fog and as the dam was undefended, Flight Lieutenant Joseph McCarthy from Formation 2 was able to make ten runs before releasing his bomb. Scoring a hit, the bomb only damaged the crest of the dam. Two aircraft from Formation 3 attacked as well but were unable to inflict substantial damage. The remaining two reserve aircraft were directed to secondary targets at Ennepe and Lister. While Ennepe was unsuccessfully attacked (this aircraft may have struck Bever Dam by mistake), Lister escaped unharmed as Pilot Officer Warner Ottley was downed en route. Two additional aircraft were lost during the return flight. Aftermath Operation Chastise cost 617 Squadron eight aircraft as well as 53 killed and 3 captured. The successful attacks on the MÃ ¶hne and Eder dams released 330 million tons of water into the western Ruhr, reducing water production by 75% and flooding large amounts of farmland. In addition, over 1,600 were killed though many of these were forced laborers from occupied countries and Soviet prisoners of war. While British planners were pleased with the results, they were not long-lasting. By late June, German engineers had fully restored water production and hydroelectric power. Though the military benefit was fleeting, the success of the raids provided a boost to British morale and aided Prime Minister Winston Churchill in negotiations with the United States and the Soviet Union. For his role in the mission, Gibson was awarded the Victoria Cross while the men of 617 Squadron received a combined five Distinguished Service Orders, ten Distinguished Flying Crosses and four bars, twelve Distinguished Flying Medals, and two Conspicuous Gallantry Medals.