“Ever cried for your country?

”
-BAN WHI MIN

“SEP 11 - Nepalese complain about the caste system and corrupt officers. They openly vent their anger
against the government. But have they ever thought about Nepal's real problems? I believe that they have
not. I want to say that Nepal's real problems are lack of patriotism among the people and lack of love for
one another. This is the conclusion I have reached during my stay. This summer, I did voluntary work
from July 5 to July 30 at FHI Ever Vision School, Matatirtha, Kathmandu.

Let me first tell you about my country, Korea. This might help you understand my point.
Just after the Korean War, which claimed lives of more than 5 million Koreans, Korea was one of the
poorest countries in the world. Without natural resources, Korea had no choice but to desperately
struggle for its survival by all means. Under this gloomy situation, Koreans envied other Asian countries
like Japan, Taiwan, and Nepal.

Korean government officials were horribly corrupt. With the dual classes of Yangban (nobles) and
Sangnom (peasants), Korean society was sickening day by day. However, Koreans, having determination
to become rich, overcame the unfair social structure and put the country onto the track of development.
When the former president Park Jung Hee took over the government, there were few factories in Korea.
Korea could not attract loans or expect foreign investments. Under these circumstances, President Park
'exported' miners and nurses to then West Germany. The salaries that they earned were used to building
factories and promoting industrialization of Korea.

In 1964, when President Park visited then West Germany, the miners and nurses asked the president
when the Koreans would become rich. The president replied, crying with the miners and nurses, that
someday the Koreans would become rich.

Many of Korean scientists and engineers, who could just enjoy comfortable lives in the United States,
returned to Korea with only one thing in their mind: the determination to make Korea the most powerful
and prosperous country in the world.

They did their best even though their salaries were much less than what they would have received in
other countries. The Koreans believed that they have the ability to change their desperate situation and
that they must make the country better, not only for themselves but also for the future generations yet to
come.
My parents' generation sacrificed themselves for their families and the country. They worked 14 hours a
day, and risked their lives working under inhumane conditions. The mothers, who went to work in
factories, fed their babies while operating machines in dangerous environments. They always tried to
teach their children the true value of 'hard work'.

Finally, all of these hard works and sacrifices made the prosperous Korea that you see now.
Nepalis, have you ever cried for your country? I heard that many of Nepali youth do not love their Nepal. I
also heard that they want to leave Nepal because they don't like caste system, or because they want to
escape the severe poverty.
However, they should be the first ones to voluntarily work for Nepal's development, not the first ones to
complain and speak against their country. I have a dream that someday I would be able to free the souls
from suffering from the underdeveloped countries, anachronistic customs and the desperate hunger. My
belief has become stronger than ever after seeing the reality in Nepal.

A child with a fatal disease who doesn't have enough money to buy a pill; a child living in what seems like
a pre-historic dwelling and not having the opportunity to receive education; and a student who cannot
succeed, no matter how hard he studies, just because of the class he comes from.
A society, in which wives not only take care of children but also work in the fields, while their husbands
waste their time doing nothing; a society in which a five-year-old must labor in a brick factory to feed
herself.
Looking at the reality of Nepal, I was despaired, yet this sense of despair strengthened my belief.
I already know that many of the Nepalis are devout Hindus. However, nothing happens if you just pray to
hundreds of thousands of gods while doing nothing. It is the action that you and Nepal need for the better
future.
For Nepal and yourselves, you have to show your love to your neighbors and country just as you do to
Gods. You know that your Gods will be pleased when you work for the development of your country and
improvement of your lives. Therefore, please, love your neighbors and country. Teach your children to
love their country. And love the working itself.

Who do you think will cry for your Nepal? Who do you think will be able to respect the spirit of Himalayas
and to keep the lonely flag representing it? You are the ones responsible for leading this beautiful country
to a much brighter future. This responsibility lies on you.

(The writer is a 15 year-old student of Hankuk Academy of Foreign Studies, South Korea).