"That is why you look familiar..."

Dear Mr. JeongHun Han, one of Korea's own: you said a mouthful. And, you made my day. Better yet, you made my existence. After reading an article in The Korea Fulbright which read that some children in old Seoul "...have the wrong kind of eyes...fuzzy black curls and skin that's just a shade too dark," I was thinking YEAH, THAT's ME. So, thank you so much for embracing me and making me feel welcome, like no one else has. In many ways, in my brief time in Korea, my multicultural, "transracialness" has become THE ISSUE (for me, anyway) and it will continue to be THE ISSUE, in part because I will make it so, for educational purposes mainly :-). Following a series of meetings with high-ranking university officials at a number of Korean universities (which will remain anonymous), I reached my saturation point as I was constantly slapped in the face with the homogeneity that is Korea. I was told repeatedly that people like me "do not exist" or Korea "does not have that problem." One official said that the "face of Korea" is changing, but was still unwilling to admit that there are issues regarding multicultural Koreans that need to be addressed. Of course, I should not be surprised but that does not make it any less frustrating.

I'm slowly coming to realize that I am developing a sort of love/hate relationship with my once homeland. Many people are very warm and welcoming and open to hearing about my experiences while some remain uncomfortably numb when it comes to responding to THE ISSUE. Nonetheless, I've been fortunate to be surrounded by a very supportive and engaging group of people, who've, in a short period of time, become my quasi life line. I'm not sure that I will ever tell (all of) them this, but their true-to-heart presence means more than they will ever know. If you can't have family with you :-(, why not find the next best thing...educated professionals with a common mission and an understanding and appreciation of the difference in the world. So refreshing...

I certainly hope that my rants are not fully being interpreted as negative. I'm trying to keep my blog in real-time, so I may seem a little unbalanced, at times but that is the way it goes. Korea is a beautiful place, in many ways, but just needs some more time to grow. I am having an amazing experience so far and greatly look forward to the opportunities ahead. Provided that the napoleon-to-the-North does not launch all out war, the upcoming trip to the (Run)DMZ should be very interesting. Ok, I'm tired. Time to get some sleep. Good morning all! :-)