Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 3 · column 1 of 6 · from the scan, no model involved
By MARIA ROEMER
Rappahannock Neva Contributing Writer
Rice paddies, temples, Buddhism, imperial palaces, Confucianism, kimchi, kung-fu, silk. These are some of the things that come to my mind when I think about my native country. My native land - but a land that I hardly knew or remembered until last September, when I was able to go back to Korea and visit my parents and to seek out my roots.
I hardly knew what to expect on my first visit back to Korea. I had not been there since 1976 and having no contact with Korea for almost 10 years I had forgotten everyting that I knew before I came to the United. States: the language, customs, religion. I was very enthusiastic about re-leaming all I could during my stay there.
I had many notions about what Korea would be like. Part of me was hoping that Korea would be similar to the U. S. in the way of living and facilities; but the other, stronger part was hoping for an ancient, traditional Korea of the past century.
The first thing that I saw of Korea was a ricefield just before we landed at the airport in Seoul. It was the last thing that I expected to see jpst before landing. But, upon seeing it I was immediately reminded of being in Korea.
Landing at the airport, on the other hand, was a disappointment. It was so usual! I don’t know what I was wishing for but this very modem building was not a part of my ancient Korea.
One of my first impressions of Korea was that I looked just like everyone else. I was so used to being different in appearance in America, but in Korea nobody ever stared at me. Except, that is, when I was either trying to speak English to a non-English speaking Korean or attempting to speak my then very broken Korean to a native.
At first I was a bit dejected because I was not different in appearance, but later I realized that by having the same features I felt I actually belonged in Korea. After I realized that I did belong in Korea I realized that my American way of thinking, my customs, even my clothing did NOT belong in Korea.
94.8%