cantilangnon

An Essay of a Korean Student in the

Philippines

*MY SHORT ESSAY ABOUT THE

PHILIPPINES

*
Jaeyoun Kim
*Filipinos always complain about the
corruption in* the

Philippines

.
Do
you really think the corruption
is the problem of the

Philippines

? I
do not think so. I strongly
believe
that the prob! lem is the lack of love
for the

Philippines

. * *

Let me fi rst talk about my country,

Korea

. It might help you
understand my
point.
! After the Korean War,

South Korea

w
as one of the poorest countries
in
the world. Koreans
had to start from scratch because
entire country was destroyed after
the
Korean War, and we had no
natural resources.

Koreans used to talk about the

Philippines

, f! or Filipinos were
very
rich
in

Asia

. We envy Filipinos.
Koreans really wanted to be well off
like Filipinos. Many Koreans died
of
famine.
! My father & brother also died
because of famine. Korean government
was
very corrupt and is still very
corrupt beyond your imagination, but

Korea

was able to develop
dramatically
because Koreans really
did their best for the common good
with their heart burning with
patriotism.

Koreans did not work just for
themselves but also for their
neighborhood
and country. Education inspired young
men with the spirit of
patriotism.

40 years ago,

President

Park

took over
the government to reform

Korea

. He
tried to borrow money
from other countries, but it was not
possible to get a loan and
attract a
foreign investment because the
economic situation of

South Korea

was
so bad.

Korea

had only three
factories. So,

President

Park

sent
many mine workers and nurses to
Germanyso that&
nbsp; they could send money to

Korea

to build a factory.
They had to go through horrible
experience.

In 1964,

President

Park

visited

Germany

to borrow money. Hundred of
Koreans in

Germany

came to the airport
to welcome him and cried there
as
they saw the

President

Park

. They
asked to him, "President, when
can we
be well off ?" That was the only
question everyone asked to him.

President

Park

cried with them and promised them
that

Korea

would be well off
if
everyone works hard for

Korea

, and
the President of Germany got the
strong impression on them and lent
money to

Korea

. So,

President

Park

was
able to build many factories in

Korea

. He always asked Koreans to
love
their country from their heart.

Many Korean scientists and engineers
in the

USA

came back to

Korea

to
help
developing country
because they wanted their country to
be well off. Though they received
very
small salary, they did their
best for

Korea

. They always hoped
that their ! children would live in
well
off country.

My parents always brought me to the
places where poor and physically
handicapped people live. They
wanted me to understand their life and
help them. I also worked for
Catholic
Church when I was in the army. ! The
only thing I learned from Catholic
Church was that we have to love our
neighborhood. And, I have loved my
neighborhood. Have you cried for the

Philippines

? I have cried for my
country several
times. I also cried for t! he

Philippines

because of so many poor
people.
I have been to the New Bilibid
prison. What made me sad in the prison
were the prisoners who do not
have
any love for their country.
They go to mass and wo rk for Church.
They pray everyday.

However, they do not love the

Philippines

. I talked to two
prisoners
at the
maximum-security compound, and both of
them said that they would leave
the

Philippines

right after they are rele
ased from the prison. They said
that
they would start a new life in other
countries and never come back to
the

Philippines

.

Many Koreans have a great love for
Korea so that we were able to share
our
wealth with our neighborhood. The
owners of factory and company were
distributed their profit to their
employees fairly so that employees
could
buy what they needed and saved money
for the
future and their children.

When I was in

Korea

, I had a very
strong faith and wanted to be a
priest.
However, when I came to the

Philippines

, I completely lost my
faith.
I was
very confused when I saw many
unbelievable
situations in the

Philippines

. Street
kids always make me sad, and I
see
them everyday. The

Philippines

is the
only Catholic country in

Asia

,
but
there are too many poor people here.
People go to church every Sunday to
pray, but nothing has&n bsp; been
changed.

My parents came to the

Philippines

last week and saw this situation.
They
told me that

Korea

was much poorer
than the present

Philippines

when
they were
young. They are so sorry that there
are so
many beggars and stree! t kids. When
we went to Pasangjan, I forced my
parents to take a boat because
it would fun. However, they were not
happy after taking a boat. They
said
that they would not take the boat a
gain because they were
sympathized the
boatmen, for the boatmen were very
poor and had a
small frame. Most of people just took
a boat and enjoyed it. But, my
parents did not enjoy it because of
love for them.

My mother who has been working for
Catholic Church since I was very
young
told me that if we just go to mass
without changing ourselves, we are
not Catholic
indeed. Faith should come with action.
She added that I have to love
Filipinos and do good things for them
because
all of us are same and have received a
great love from God. I! want
Filipinos to love their neighborhood
and country as much as they love
God so that the

Philippines

will be well off.

I am sure that love is the keyword,
which Filipinos should remember. We
cannot change the sinful structure at!
once. It should start from
person.
Love must start in everybody,
in a s mall scale and have to grow. A
lot of things happen if we open
up
to love. Let’s put away
our prejudices and look at our worries
with our new eyes.

I discover that every person is worthy
to be loved. Trust in love,
because
it makes changes possible.
Love changes you and me. It changes
people, contexts and relationships.
It
changes the world. Please lov e your
neighborhood and country.

Jesus Christ said that whatever we do
to! others we do to Him. In the

Philippines

, there is God for people
who are abused and abandoned.
There is
God who is crying for love. If you
have a child, teach them how to love
the

Philippines

. Teach them why they have
to love their neighborhood and
country.
You already know that God also will be
very happy if you love others.

That’s all I really want! to ask you
Filipinos.

*(FOR THE LOVE OF OUR COUNTRY, PLEASE
PASS THIS MESSAGE.)*

We take the opportunity to extend condolences to the bereaved family of our friend who just past away. May you rest in peace BUTCHING. We’ll be missing you.