About 2 weeks ago I went to Seoul for the weekend with my friend Amanda who was meeting up with one of her friends who was there for her brother's wedding. Seoul always reminds me of NYC, so I love going there; it feels like home. Great shopping, great food, great places, so much to see, so many foreigners and just a massive city full of so many different things. It also had Christmas lights up already which was very exciting to see since our city didn't have any yet.
Well after hours of shopping all day saturday we ended up meeting up with Amanda's friend who was there for two weeks who she knew from back home in California. Her brother had moved to Korea two years ago from the U.S. and had met a Korean woman here who became his wife and he was getting married that day.
We met them downtown after the wedding to go out for a few drinks and they brought a few of their friends along with them and their cousins. There were about 8 or 9 of us all together. All were Korean except for me but it didn't even feel like that since most of them were from the U.S. anyways and were just here for the wedding.
Well, two of their friends who I met were brother and sister. I got talking to the girl and she told me she went to school at NYU and we immediately began talking all about NYC and how I used to live there before I moved here etc. Well I learned the most interesting story about her and her brother...
Apparently, when she was 5 years old, her whole family (mother, father sister, brother and her) all moved from Korea to the U.S. and they were raised there and only spoke English and lived in California. They grew up just how any other American would. After high school she went to college at NYU and was a sophomore and her brother went to Irvine (I think) and had just graduated this year. Well, about 2 months ago the Immigration office told her that she had 15 days to pack up her things and leave NYU. She said she was literally forced from her college, her home, her friends, everything she had known. Her brother had to do the same, but her mother and younger sister are still in the U.S. but her father has been back in Korea for about 5 years now running his business. She said they tried everything to stay. She tried talking to professors, or anyone in her school that was high up that could help her but no one did. She was forced to come back to Korea a place she should call "home," but she said it was so foreign to her and she didn't even know how to speak any Korean.
Not to mention, since her brother is still technically a Korean citizen he now has to serve his 22 months in the military since all Korean males do, so he leaves next month to start. How's that for a graduation present?
She said since she is Korean, and barely knows any Korean she feels very alone here and lost and lots of her aunts, grandparents and everyone here judges her and scolds her for not knowing her "true roots."
Her brother barely knows any Korean either which he will have a hard time in the military if he does not learn enough before he goes because they said they really look down on that there.
She said she was soooooo happy to meet us and it was like a "breath of fresh air" because she could speak to us in English and vent. She said sometimes when she sees Americans on the street she just wants to scream "I speak English!" but they just look at her as she blends in with the rest of the Koreans on the streets.
I was truly amazed by her story. I just couldn't imagine after spending my entire life somewhere being forced to pick up and leave everything I've ever known. I mean yes I moved to Korea, but that was voluntarily and I know when I'll be back.
She is hoping to be back to NYU within the next year but she says it is insane the amount of paperwork and everything that needs to be done. And also NYU doesn't give her any extra help with money so she said she is working many jobs here to try to pay for it all.
On a more positive note, she somehow still has the most positive attitude through it all which I admire so much. She said maybe this all happened for a reason so she could come back to Korea and learn all about her "roots" and she also got to reunite with her father who she usually only saw once or twice a year. But now she is far from her younger sister and mother.
She was one of the sweetest, nicest girls I had met here and it just makes me sad to think the U.S. didn't have a better system to help someone out like that. I realize they were basically illegal there after awhile but I mean after living there for her whole life and then within 2 weeks being thrown into a "foreign" country and that she was supposed to call home and now her family is spread out all over the world? That's a bit much for a 19 year old to have to take on.
If I ever have power someday, those are the kind of people I would use my power to help.
RSS Feed