How Americans think about Korea lately

By Michael L. McManus

Quick trip to California. The landing in San Francisco was like landing into a bayside paradise. Crisp, clear horizons everywhere. The deep blue of the bay, the glistening city by the bay, the wide circle turn, and then the perfect landing. Just a long 10-hour glide in from Seoul. From one jewel city to another.

Just four days in San Diego and every day the same reactions from Americans and it is all about Korea.

To my reader, to you, I bring good news as one who now calls two cities home, Seoul and San Diego.

Americans love you. A bright smile and an upbeat energy come forth as they hear that I am just in from Korea. Yes, they know. Somehow, the good news and message of Korea has touched them and brought warmth to their American hearts. And most have never even been nor will they ever be in Seoul.

And then, there is a sudden question, a pause, and a serious tone comes forth. The same question from everyone: “What is going on over there? Are you a bit scared?” You can hear a pin drop. They are so curious about my answer. So, what am I going to say to them? And how do I feel?

So, I tell them that Korean people I know and watch in Seoul just go on every day as normal, however bad the news is. In recent weeks as the world looked on, the Korean picture of the surreal tension crept in. I tell them, as I watch it; the Koreans tell me they are numb after all the years of provocations and threats. Life goes on. People do not hoard groceries, there is no panic, and I don’t honestly think there could be however dire the picture may be. So, we all ask, why? How do the Koreans do it? Is it denial? Is it that they cannot deal with reality? Or some other explanation.

One American offered a reaction back to me, “It is like us with the Boston bombings and 911, we have this resilience and are determined we will not let some band of ill-intentioned people stop our daily lives” Resilience, yes, that’s it. Inner toughness that is real, not fake. In fact, it has national pride at the heart of it. It is called, “We will not be intimidated! Never again!” And it is real, not denial. Exactly!

What Americans do know is that Korean people are friendly, have great food and restaurants in America, have scored with American drivers who own and are happier each year with Hyundai and Kia cars on the roads of the country, and most importantly, that Korean people are tough. Americans like that. It suggests that Korean and American culture have destiny to be together and to like each other.

Korea is Asia’s oldest democracy, and it is a strong one. The Internet is open and society could never go back to any other form of control of the people. Once democracy sets in and younger generations are raised in it and spend hours of their days online and tweeting and texting, society can never take that technology out of their hands.

In many respects, Americans have no idea just how technology savvy Korea actually is. I know, because I have had the good fortune to live in Korea. The Internet is so very fast and good. Public pride is so strong. Work ethics and family values are so strong. Democracy has deeply set in. These are the things that expatriates see but most Americans who will never experience Korea themselves do not know. Yet, there is such goodwill and history between the two nations.

Americans also hear the word “surreal” to describe the other conditions on the peninsula. Like a bad Hollywood script, cartoon characters, yet to Koreans, they are real and too close for comfort, yet, life must go on, and on, and on in the South. Korea is a vital part of the global economy and a very key part for Asia and America.

Being in sunny southern California for a week is refreshing and a chance to catch up on business there first hand. But I already miss the beat of Seoul. When my readers read this I will already be back home in Seoul. I am ready and can’t wait for the Seoul summer. The Han River and the riverside parks. Iced coffee. The tempo of life. A strong nation. Strong people with a smile and a yearning to be free and to share that freedom with their fellow brothers and sisters, visitors like me, and the world.

No nation of this size on the planet has the depth, the breadth, the reach and the pride of culture as Korea today. When times get difficult and there are provocations, Koreans exhibit a tenacity, resilience, a practicality that I cannot imagine anywhere else. Korean people should know and most do that just across the Pacific awaits a whole nation of people in America who are kin to them, brothers and sisters made of the same stuff. When democracy takes hold, it is like a tree that can never be uprooted. It is great to be back home.

Michael L.McManus writes for The Korea Times twice a month and welcomes comment at mcmismism@aol.com. He is the founder and president emeritus of the California International Business University in San Diego and currently serves as a guest professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul.