Last summer, I had a special memory. I joined the youth camp that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism organized. Participants consist of individuals from various countries including India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Korea. The camp’s goal is to encourage harmony of religions. The camp also introduced Korean religions to foreigners.
At first, I thought it would be hard to familiarize myself with people from other countries. Initially, I just avoided them because I was afraid that they will speak to me in English. However, it is inevitable for us to meet because we had to make a group presentation. Although we couldn't understand each other much due to language barrier, we were very patient and all of us were open minded and participative. The result was remarkable. We were able to deliver our group presentation well. Moreover, we became close friends.
One of my groupmates, Varun, shared that he was still not accustomed to Korean food. He couldn't eat most of the food that was served in the camp. That’s why we decided to order pizza for him. He talked a lot. He shared that he is nervous before he visited Korea. His fear was primarily due to the fact that Korea is the only divided country in the world. Actually before hearing his sentiment, I didn't realize the danger in Korea. That was the only time that I realized that some foreigners might feel unsafe here in Korea. I consoled him and told him that "People living in Korea don't care about the war because we believe that there is no more war in Korea." His reply was "I live in Kashmir. In Kashmir, there is always religious war. That’s why we have many war orphans. In my house, there are two war orphans. You should know how lucky you are." I was surprised that there are many conflicts around the world. I was made aware of the different situations of foreign countries.
It was also very fortunate that during the camp, we were given the chance to visit a number of famous spots in Korea. It was a unique experience for me. Although I am Korean, I haven't been to these places before. We visited Cheonggyecheon, Namsan, DMZ and Gyeongbukgong Palace. I learned more about the Korean culture and history. The most interesting thing for me was the visit to the religious places, like the temples of Won Buddhism, Ch'ŏndogyo, and other similar religions which are prevalent in Korea. One of my friends from Bangladesh was very interested in Won Buddhism. Coming from a Buddhist country, he is a Buddhist himself. But he said that Won Buddhism is very unique and is different from the Buddhism that he believed in.
This experience was extremely memorable for me. I got to know the chance to learn a lot about Korea and other countries as well. In addition, I met a lot of friends. Although, my newfound friends are back to their home countries now, we still keep in touch with each other through facebook.
by: Kang Bo Ram from GEO Class 5-1 (Professor Tom & TA Ezzy's class)
