(Host) Commentator Anna Jamieson is concerned that the temptation to judge a book by its cover may be growing.
(Jamieson) When I was little, people would always ask whether I was born in China or Japan. “Neither,” I’d say. “I was born in South Korea,” making sure I emphasized the ‘South’ part so that no one would think that I was from communist, anti-American North Korea.
One recent night, when I was finishing up my homework, I heard something on TV that mentioned South Korea. Naturally, because I was born there, I was interested in what was being said; but as I started to watch the piece about South Korea, I was totally shocked at what I saw. I saw American flags being burned, mobs of South Koreans holding anti-American banners, Korean bands that were singing songs with anti-American propaganda in them and people that expressed outright hate for the very country that helped them out in the Korean War.
It seems ironic that the country of South Korea is more afraid of a country like the United States of America, which has helped them in countless ways, than North Korea which could destroy South Korea in a minute with its nuclear weapons.
My grandfather is a veteran of the Korean War. I’m very proud of him, and it hurts me to think that there are some South Koreans who have forgotten that it was the Americans who helped them when they were trying to defend themselves from the North; the same Americans who helped them survive as a capitalist country and later become prosperous.
This news report really upset me. It used to be that I only heard bad things about North Korea, and that was enough to give me reason to worry that someone might think that I was from North Korea. Now there are reports of weapons of mass destruction in North Korea, but to make matters worse, there’s anti-American sentiment in South Korea.
I now understand how some people who are of Arab descent felt after the events of September 11. I understand how it feels to be judged by how a person looks, and not by what a person is like inside.
Several years ago, I heard someone state that there would soon be strong anti-Asian sentiment in America. I never really thought that could happen until now. The fact that this is now a very real possibility scares me, and I hope people know that not all Koreans feel that America is evil. I’m as angry as any other American when I see the American flag being burned. It upsets me deeply that South Korea seems so ungrateful for everything the United States has done for it.
Outwardly, I look Korean, but inwardly, I’m 100% American. This is Anna Jamieson of Manchester.
Anna Jamieson is a junior at Burr and Burton Academy.