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Opinion

Columnists

Sun, July 5, 2020 | 04:48

Hyon OBrien

June 19th is called Juneteenth in the States. News of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, was officially proclaimed in Galveston, Texas on June 19th, 1865, about two months after the Confederate army surrendered. More than 200,000 African Americans in Texas heard the news from a Union general on June 19, 1865. This came to be called Juneteenth Independence Day, Freedom Day and Emancipation Day.

2020-06-26 17:47

#BlackLivesMatter!

I grew up in Korea and left for the States in 1969 when I was 22. Up to that point I had met only one African-American. Tom was one of the U.S. Peace Corps volunteers teaching English at a Korean university. The Peace Corps program in Korea began in 1966 with the first group, K-1, and ended in 1981 with K-51. About 2,000 served during these fifteen years, working mostly in education and health but also in other fields.

2020-06-12 17:06

Fifty years ago, on May 1, 1970, I became an American citizen in a ceremony in Washington D.C. It was a somber moment for me. It dawned on me that I had a responsibility to my adopted country as well as to my beloved Korea.

2020-05-15 17:28

As a non-native speaker of English I try to learn new words or phrases every day. These days I keep hearing about the “new normal.”

2020-04-17 17:02

Social distancing

As of this writing on March 16, 2020, coronavirus (COVID-19) cases now stand globally at 179,223 with 7,067 deaths. More than 145 countries and territories have been affected by this pandemic. By the time you read my monthly column, all the above numbers will be inaccurate. I list them here just to give us a notion of where we are since the first announced case in Wuhan, China three months ago.

2020-03-20 17:16

Say 'No' bravely

The Greek philosopher, Pythagoras (570-495 B.C.) said, "The oldest, shortest words - yes and no - are those which require the most thought." In last month's column I shared with you some thoughts on how important it is to say yes. This month I'd like to explore the opposite. Sometimes it is just as important to say no.

2020-02-21 16:54

Year of saying yes

I recently discovered “Grey's Anatomy,” a long-running (now in its 16th season!) American medical drama that started in 2005 while we were living in Korea. After binge watching the series we have become familiar with most of the characters and our affection for them has grown.

2020-01-27 17:33

Age is just a number

I will be turning 73 in two months. The notion of becoming 73 is somewhat daunting. I feel as if somebody is playing a joke on me. The fact that my parents-in-law both left this world at age 69 makes my age even more unreal. I remember vividly meeting them for the first time in Korea in 1969 when they flew in to meet my parents. They were in their 50s then. My first impression of them was that they looked distinguished and graciously aged. Now, if I meet someone in their 50s, I never think of them as old at all. My father-in-law used to say that a sure sign of getting old is when the policem...

2019-12-27 16:37

What are you grateful for?

About three years ago, one of my Peace Corps friends in Vermont, Frances, began a daily Facebook posting of three things she was grateful for, and invited her friends to join. I immediately joined the group and almost without fail I have posted three things I was grateful for each day. Most of the group in this “gratitude” daily posting are quilting friends of Frances, and when I began I knew no one except her. After three years, I have come to know some of them from their gratitude listings.

2019-11-29 16:34

World Kindness Day

Recently I discovered that there is a World Kindness Day, celebrated on Nov. 13. Of course, we all try to be kind to others on each of the 365 days of the year, but it is good to be reminded occasionally of the importance of being kind. We all know about Mother's Day, Father's Day and, in Korea, Parents' Day. They are well established traditions.

2019-11-01 17:22

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