Prideful –That’s all I can say about my identity because of my country. Although I have spent most of my early life outside of Korea, the new Korea I’m seeing today is what makes me so happy and prideful. It’s a country that suffered a great calamity just 60 years ago. The Korean War was just deadly and took away millions of people’s lives and it separated one country, one ethnic group into two. However, South Korea recovered unbelievably and miraculously fast. After the civil war, South Korea was one of the most impoverished countries in the 1950s. Once, I heard about how Koreans lived at that time from my grandpa. He said “People didn’t eat food. They just ate anything that could be eaten.” It was very hard for me to imagine because now, South Korea is one of the most flourishing countries on earth. So, how could Korea cultivate and prosper so fast? How did this country, once suffering in poverty had become a country with popular cultures, modern technologies, and one of the best automobile producing nations? In spite of all the bad situations Korea had faced, today, Korea is prosperous. My return to my home country in recent years has shown me a new Korea that no one had ever expected. People united together and worked together toward this phenomenal change we are experiencing today.
In South Korea, people like everything to be fast. Statistical data shows that the mostly spoken word by Koreans is “quickly” (or “Bpali” in Korean). Koreans try to make everything work so fast, such as; transportation and internet speed. The most common way of transportation is subway. These subways are all over the underground of South Korea and are always busy with people moving around for jobs and schools. One train comes and goes by just in few minutes. Internet speed in Korea is the fastest compared to all other countries. I personally believe that this habit of doing everything quickly had helped South Korea to develop greatly just within 60 years.
Modern technology is also a big concept that Korea is proud of. The Inchon International Airport of South Korea is ranked the most “high-tech airports” in the world today. Two main automobile brands from Korea, KIA and HYUNDAI are exporting over a volume of 270,017 cars each year and are still exponentially growing. Also SAMSUNG electronics is producing smart phones that many people use today as a well-known product. K-POP and Korean TV shows are also very popular. People watch many Korean dramas and listen to Korean songs. Have you heard of “Gangnam Style”? Go to YouTube and find out that it has the most views. New and unique Korean entertainers are being loved by loads of people. They find it entertaining and refreshing.
I was born in Korea in 1996. However, I didn’t even live more than a single year in Korea. When I was one, I went to China for my dad’s job. As I grew up, I wanted to know more about my country. So, when I was 8, my family traveled to Korea for the first time after I left Korea. When I was 8, I didn’t know or see the Korea I’m seeing recently. Because, when I traveled to Korea last time, just a few months ago, it was fantastic. The weather was perfect for Christmas; snowing and freezing. The streets were full of busy people. Prevalent buildings were everywhere making the cities into such a modern place. Moreover, during a recent Summer Olympics event, South Korea was ranked 5th of all countries in the world. For me, this event was so amazing because Korea is such a small country with only a few populations compared to other nations out there. It was like a “new” Korea to me. Although it’s a small country, it is precious like a diamond. Therefore, I call it “The Diamond of Asia”.