Diversity and Exclusion at the Korean Peninsula
Hello and welcome to today’s episode of The Memory Keeper. I’m your host, Bram Groen, and today’s we go to Korea. Travel to dangerous places can be tricky, and today I would like to tell you about a tale that fully embodied that description.
North Korea had just announced again that they were testing bombs and our stay was at the time of a recent border incident. Tensions were high. Just the right time to visit. As you will learn from this story, the peninsula is not quite the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion place we so often discuss in the West. In aspirational terms of course.
So, let’s call our visit to Korea: “Diversity and Exclusion at the Korean Peninsula.”
My friend and mentor Dean Emeritus Louis Goodman at American University’s School of International Service had established relationships with a variety of universities across the globe, one of them being Sook Myung University in Seoul. I had shown interest in teaching at the summer program there and Louis inspired me to submit a lecture proposal, which to my delight was accepted. Off to South Korea for six weeks, and to top off this exciting trip my wife and I combined it with a sojourn to Shanghai, Chengdu and Xian, China. More about that side-trip later.
Sook Myung, a women’s university, teaches largely to Korean natives and my challenge was adapting to the Korean teaching style and yet give a globally oriented lecture on “Diversity” to young Koreans south of the DMZ. They spoke excellent English and were very well educated. It was a delight to work with these students who were motivated, prepared, and welcoming to our overseas teaching team.
Don’t misunderstand - there were and are many differences between Western students and those at South Korean institutions. My wife and I would, at the end of the day, drink a glass of wine on a terrace close to the college and enjoy the parade of high-heeled, cosmetically well made up, and superbly dressed Korean female students. It was like a fashion show, parading by us as if they had never been in class earlier at all. Of course, all equipped with the latest Samsung iPhone technologies, listening to the just then emerging K-Pop.
One weekend, we made a day trip to the DMZ organized by the USO – a terrific American non-profit that provides numerous programs and services to overseas US Service members and their families. It was a scary experience as we toured the entire area and entered the bluish UN negotiations station on the dividing line of one of the most explosive places in global politics. Opposing soldiers; staring at each other 24/7. Our Captain-ranked guide put us on the stairs of the building on the South side so we could directly see the puppet-like North Korean soldiers. “Do not even think of saying something inappropriate,” he whispered. “They shoot!” I concluded that teaching “diversity” to these North Korean guys would for now not be a particularly clever idea.
No question we had a terrific trip, meeting genuinely nice people and eating the Korean food - kimchi and BBQ - that I now eat often back in the US. Using the efficient subway system got us around town easily and on one of the last days in Seoul for a visit to the city center, I mentioned to my wife that I kept feeling a bit strange in Seoul’s subway but that I could not quite put my finger on it.
“Oh, I know what it is,” said Sherry.
“You do?” and her answer put my entire Korean lecture venture into context.
“Well, it’s simple. Everybody looks and acts the same in this metro. Try that in Amsterdam, Paris, or New York!”
You know, next week I’d like to tell one of our listeners’ stories. This one is going to be from YOU. Head on over to TheMemoryKeeper.org and submit your story today by clicking the button on the website that reads “Share A Story.”
This project, now many weeks in, is one that exists for several reasons. At face value, this podcast may seem like just a collection of travel stories. I promise you: this is about a lot more than that. Primarily, it's a tribute to my wife Sherry, the woman I love, my travel partner and whom I shared a wonderful life with. Sherry is currently living with Alzheimer's in a memory care facility. It’s also about people like me, who have had memories of good times, for better, and then to worse when we see our loved ones slip away and we become caregivers. Furthermore, our hope is to raise more awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s with this project.
If you’d like to learn more, I would like to encourage you to browse the website and even listen to or watch the trailer for this series. By sharing our story, I hope to help others who are going through similar experiences. So, join me on this journey, where we will continue to celebrate the moments that matter and celebrate the power of memory.
My name is Bram Groen, and I AM the Memory Keeper!
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