By Hyon O'Brien
E pluribus unum, the Latin phrase meaning ``out of many, one," originally came from a poem '``Moretum" by Virgil about a farmer making his lunch ― he mixed up various herbs, garlic and cheese, and from many colors one emerged. (I'm not making this up.)
Well versed in the classics, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson proposed it in 1776 as a motto for the Great Seal of the United States to highlight the birth of a single nation out of thirteen separate colonies, and it was finally adopted by Congress in 1782. Over time, as the nation has changed, the phrase has come to connote the oneness of people of many races, religions and ancestries.
When in 1995 I was asked to chair the Centennial Festival of Teaneck, NJ, our town for 17 years, I chose this motto as our theme to promote oneness of spirit in our 37,000 population. Indeed it was fitting for us to use that motif. Teaneck is comprised of many diverse ethnicities. Over 25 percent are African-Americans and more than half of the whites are of Jewish extraction. Asians from many countries also call Teaneck home. According to the statistics at that time, there were more than 25 nationalities represented in our local high school. Teaneck also prided itself on being the first town in America to voluntarily integrate its school system.
It was gratifying for me to hear from our younger daughter Jane about a weekend visit from her high school buddies during her college days at Yale. Her roommate, who was raised in a nearly all-white environment, marveled at the variety: joining Korean-American Jane were a WASP, a Jew, an African-American, and an Indian-American (who happened to be Muslim _ two for the price of one). These happened to be Jane's best friends from her Teaneck High School. Having been raised in a racially and culturally diverse township, for her mingling with friends from different ethnic groups was so natural and normal, it was actually strange to look at the situation through her roommate's eyes. Jane and her friends demonstrated to the outside world the successful case of ``e pluribus unum."
During our eight-year stay in Hong Kong, we attended Union Church. The 250 plus church members represented more than 45 nationalities. Hearing different English accents during each Sunday worship service was the norm accepted by all. When we had a New Zealander as our pastor, it took a little doing to get used to his Kiwi accent but soon no one had any problem. This diversity was our strength and our church was inspired to focus on the unity that can be achieved by the many.
Now that I am living in Korea, I experience this diversity from time to time, when I play tennis with the ex-pat ladies or attend Seoul History Museum's Yeol lecture series and participate in our small group (International Dragon Circle)'s activities pursuing Korean culture and art through intentionally organized programs. The other month when a tennis friend was leaving Korea for England for good, the ten members who gathered around the lunch table to bid her farewell hailed from six nations.
South Korea is a densely populated country with nearly 50 million people crowded in a place that is about the size of Indiana. For a long time Korea has been populated by a mostly homogeneous ethnic group and only recently has this begun to change as the number of foreigners living in Korea has steadily increased. According to a recent figure, there are more than 1 million foreign residents in Korea. This means for every 100 people in Korea, two are non-Koreans.
We read of many foreign brides being sought after by rural men who find it difficult to find Korean women willing to face life in the countryside. We hear stories of discord, abuse and other undesirable situations, but we also hear heart-warming stories about remote villages that take the new wives to heart. While I wonder about their inter-racial tensions and challenges to live in harmony, I can imagine their frustration and difficulties. I pray for their better life.
Another serious matter that draws my attention is our social milieu in which people of Yeongnam and Honam are not seeing things eye to eye. How did this take root so solidly? How long is this rivalry or hostility going to continue to impact our politics and society at large? Don't we need to address the negative impact of this narrow mindedness? I am reminded of Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous saying: ``a man hasn't started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his own existence to the broader concerns of all humanity. `` We have to remind each other that there are many broader concerns facing Korea today.
Over the years, the shifting pendulum of power has been evidenced in all areas from the selection of cabinet members to the appointment of organizational heads to industrial promotion as each president favored his region. This is very sad. It is time all should think and practice e pluribus unum. We don't hesitate to learn advanced technology of other countries. Why not learn from this lofty but practical motto?
Indeed, we can be one out of many. When we are one, we can accomplish much. We have no time to be lingering in the area of ``differences.'' Let's focus on the same vision we have for Korea and for the globe. This is the best step to take to become a global nation. We are one global family out of many on this planet earth. E pluribus unum.
Hyon O' Brien, a former reference librarian in the U.S., has returned to Korea after 32 years of living abroad. She can be reached at hyonobrien@gmail.com.