Korean People

“… So, you hang out with a lot of Koreans, eh! What kind of people are they?”
This is probably the second most frequently asked question, aka FAQ, which I get! The first one being “why are you interested in Korea?” of course!

This is a tricky one for me, personally, to talk about. The only person who has ever intentionally hurt me was Korean, and some people assume that I shouldn’t get along with other Koreans because of that one incident. I even had people asking me if I’ve ever regretted going to Korea, or if I would have changed anything if I could!?

My answer is: I would go back there at anytime if the opportunity comes up without any doubt!

The truth is, in contrast to that one occasion, I can think of thousands of times when Koreans stepped forward to lift me up when I needed help! People who didn’t even know me opened up their hearts, their homes, and their resources to me in order to help me in numerous cases. Based on my experience, I can say Koreans are ready to help! Selfish is probably one of those words you don’t get to use very often when describing them, and the best part about Koreans; they feed you! You won’t be hungry around Korean families! Well, they not only feed you, but also make sure you get all the nutrition your body needs by standing in front of you till you finish the drink they have just made out of boiling pieces of wood!! I can close my eyes and almost see my Korean home-stay mom staring at me waiting for me to swallow the last drop of the liquid in my glass, like it was yesterday!
Living with a Korean family can be tough for North Americans, but it sure has interesting parts to it. If you like adventure, it could be the most fulfilling one! After all, if people have opened up their home to you, and accepted you as part of their own family, it is only logical to try and learn their rules and respect their traditions and rituals, even if it looks impossible to adopt them! You need to show some effort. That is what Korean people appreciate the most!

Koreans are not against other races, but have a great sense of pride in whom they are. They are simply proud of being Korean! Somehow that is a bit hard for me to understand, maybe because of the diversity we experience in Canada, but for them the blood is important, and they have a history to back them up (what we don’t have in Canada). They care about other nations, they respect, reach out and help them, and even learn from other nations, but if you live within them, you always feel that you are different. It was only a decade ago, when they decided to stop teaching the concept of “a nation with one blood” and replaced it with “a nation with one culture”, so if you are expecting to have the same social status that you have in Canada, you may get disappointed! FYI, Canada is probably the only place on earth that people’s race is not important, so don’t judge Koreans! At least you can live in Korea for a long long long time as a respected, interesting, appreciated foreigner till the day you really miss being accepted as part of the society, and not being treated as a foreigner everywhere you go even though they treat you very nicely the whole time.

Overall, I can tell, Koreans are a hardworking, creative, intelligent, and warmhearted nation. They work well together, they have sense of responsibility, they respect people who are older than them in all levels, they respect those who know more than them, and are eager to learn from these people, they believe they can achieve greatness as a nation, and they don’t have the sense of entitlement.

On another note, “the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart” Luke 6:45. There are good and bad people in every corner of the world, be wise and keep your eyes open, so no one can hurt you….

Cheers!