A Letter to Korea

Years ago, after helping to liberate Korea from the cruelty of Japanese oppression, our nation's fathers, brothers, uncles, and nephews came to your country once again in response to your great need.  I met some of those who survived and returned to tell the story of the Korean War.  The North Koreans, egged on and fueled by the megalomaniac Josef Stalin, invaded the South in a sweeping, all-encompassing attempt to subjugate it to the whims of one-party dictatorship based on a twisted interpretation of socialism that bore no resemblance to the ideals preached by the propagandists of Sovietism.

33,700 Americans died on the battlefields of Korea.  2,700 died while POWs.  The fruits of the ground have borne the vital energy of Americans who died to keep Korea free and sovereign.  The strength of Korean bodies and souls have come from the sacrifices of my countrymen as well as their own and those of other nations who stood by our side.  And it wasn't all that long ago, though young people will not think so.  Youth has no sense of time, really.  There are still about 4 million veterans of the Korean War still living.  Korea rebuilt after the war with generous grants and loans with no or minimal interest.  By the mid-1980's, Korea was a prosperous partner with the United States enjoying the benefits of equitable trade.  You still find older Koreans who know what America did for their country in their darkest days of need.  Yes, there was politics involved; you can't ignore it.  But at the heart was America's desire for a strong and independent Korea.  A stable partner is more advantageous to all.

Times change, however.  Empires and superpowers crack and weaken.  Many of us from America have come to our nation's friend asking for help in these tough times.  When jobs were scarce at home, Korea offered us what they had, and we have been grateful for the income and benefits.  In America, only the rich or well-employed can see a doctor, but Korea has been kind to us economic refugees.  We have no fear here that a doctor's visit will deplete our savings.  Medical care is considered a social necessity and is affordable, the burden borne by all for all, a nation united for the common good.

There has not been a street or alley I have feared to traverse by day or night.  The Korean people, though sometimes hard to fathom, are kinder to us than most of us deserve, at least more than I deserve.  They usually forgive us our social clumsiness and our outbursts of frustration with an understanding of human nature that reaches beyond culture and language.  I am certain that even without the debt of our ancestral sacrifice for their country, the Korean people would still kindly offer us jobs and benefits as much as they could reasonably bear.

This is my letter to the Korean people saying "Thank you" for helping us who have washed up on your shores.  Thank you for taking us in while our homeland suffered economic chaos at the hands of unscrupulous politicians, corporate greed, and Wall Street incompetence.  Maybe a minority, but I, for one, am grateful.