[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR]Emigration dangers

The Dec. 3 editorial, “Fleeing Korea’s Problems,” missed the mark. It states, “What worries us is not the fact that emigration is on the rise.” That is what should worry us. It is not easy to give up the known for the unknown, and it is more difficult when the unknown is 15,000 kilometers away, in a land that is culturally and linguistically as far removed from Korea as can be imagined, and where opportunity to succeed is matched, and some would say surpassed, by opportunity to fail.
The people who embark upon this adventure are not your average citizens. They have a willingness to sacrifice to have a better life, their families, and their future generations. They go with confidence that they will succeed. These are people with vision and initiative, the people who build nations, not the weak-kneed and the wealthy who remain behind.
I suggest we worry about it, before all of Korea’s ambition, drive, and eagerness to transcend board a plane at Incheon and fly off into the night, taking with them their unique nation-building abilities.

by Steve Stupak