What Do You Think About People from Other Countries?

Compiled by Lee Jeonghwa, Kim Hyunyoung, Han Jeongbong, Han Juyeon and Yong Yurim

Photo by Lee Jeonghwa

People from Canada 5th grade students in Mudeung Elementary School

Kim Eunwoo: I can easily imagine people who are tall, have blonde hair and blue eyes.

Park Eun-chae: They look like they are living in an atmosphere of freedom.

Park Ga-hee: They have more tolerance than Koreans.

Kim Do-hyo: They can handle a gun, it’s awesome! They’re very brave!

If a Canadian came into your class, how would you feel?

Kim Hoyun: I would be happy because it’s a good opportunity to practice my abilities to speak English.

Jeong Yujeong: I would feel awkward because I can’t speak English very well, so we wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other.

Choi Hanul: It would be cool. I would ask many questions about Canada’s culture and festivals.

Yoo Ho-hyun: I would appreciate having foreign friends, because I can introduce them to Korean culture and make them think better about our culture.

Jeong Jeong-gwan: They look different, but, we are all humans, so I would treat them equally. If I don’t treat them as human, it would surely make them feel stressed in their situation.

People from the Philippines Go Siwoo, 11-years-old

I moved to the Philippines with my family a few years ago. Back then, we went along with a guide so I did not directly talk to the locals, but I observed Filipinos. All the places that I could see were markets and the streets were crowded. Although the people did not seem poor, most of them looked thin.

People from China Yong Seung-hyun, 16-years-old

At first, a gap between the rich and the poor is seriously hard to understand. However, each of the poor has their own job and they are not afraid of others’ perceptions of their jobs, even though it might be a humble occupation. Also, if studying does not fit in their aptitudes, they find other strengths immediately. Perhaps I think they should find various sorts of jobs, because there are more than a billion people in their nation. On the whole, it appears that the people are stepping towards building relationships with other developed countries, but it is only for the upper classes, and not for the lower classes. I am really wondering if the lives of China’s poor is the same as in other developed countries.

People from the U.S.A. Han Minwoo, 11-years-old

It seems free there. When I think about the U.S.A., I think of freedom at the same time. I saw a video from the U.S.A. in English class and there were many different kinds of students who had a discussion in class freely. That is why I think the U.S.A. seems free. Also they seem like they are all outgoing people, because they seem as if they do not care about talking with unknown people. It also seems like there is more variety in the U.S.A. My older sister gave me chocolate from the U.S. and there were a lot of different types. I also think their culture is more varied and that there are a lot of cultural things to do, such as festivals.

Emerson Lee, 14-years-old

I was born in America, and I lived there for the first 10 years of my life. Before my family moved to Korea, we lived in Washington, D.C. People from all over the world live in D.C. In my school district, students came from 72 different cultural backgrounds. So I am used to being around people who are different from me, including Africans. My father also had many friends with different races, and his best friend from high school is black. I think people who are black or who are from Africa are just the same as everyone else. People are similar, no matter where they come from in the world, so everyone should just treat each other with kindness.