Story about Korea which other people may not know
- SCho -Korean has more than 5000 years of history. Some archeological and historical evidences support that human have lived on the Korean peninsula at the same time when the very early civilizations were arising (more than 50000 years).
So, what do you know about Korea?
That is true.
And so many U.S. military service members have given up their lives for the Korean people.
However, that poor and undeveloped nation has changed a lot. The Korea has become an economically strong nation as considerable as a developed nation.
One reason that Korea has such a conflicted image is these changes happened in a short time (less than 50 years). I met many Korean War veterans and know many families who lost their uncles or grand father in that war. Some veterans might tell to their friends and family how horrible the Korean War was and how poor Koreans were. However, many Koreans tried very hard to get out from poverty and to build a strong nation. I am really proud of my parents and grandparents generations because I know they gave up many things for their children.
When I try to teach the Korean language to my wife, I feel conflicted because I don’t know how to explain. I don’t think language is a skill set of memorizing words and putting together grammar. Language is expression and immersion of culture. I spent most of my adolescences in Korea and I felt more comfortable to speak and write Korean than English; however, Korea is changing so fast and sometimes I don’t know what Korean is.
Another reason is the states’ media coverage of Korea. Yes, Korea is still divided and yes, still in war situation (even more than 65 years, but still in seized war; even South Korean government does not sign that treaty). I am not watching TV or reading news that much, but I don’t think Fox News, CNN or NPR has that much coverage of how great Korean economics or culture has become. Rather, they only cover North Korea’s nuclear bomb testing or medium-short ranged missile testing. However, North Korea is the poorest and the most isolated nation. The military threat is considerably minimum to the states.
So living in Korea is weird for me because I have not been here for a long time and many things changed while I was living in the states. I know many people living in the states do not have the most correct information about Korea, but the image I known about Korea is not the most current either. I have been in Korea for almost three months now, but I still want to go back to the states because I think that is my home.
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