Gwangju International Center

   Nowadays, we live in a globalized worlfd nd expand our relationship by traveling through countries or something like that. However, some people, such those from the diaspora don't experience this in the same way as the travelers do. The following are the speaker's stories in the USA.

   When the speaker left Korea, he was young and had romantic belief of living in another country. He said that he left a world of social contact and arrived in a world of rationality. He left a world of Korean foods and arrived in a world of American foods like the hamburger. He left a world of ethics and arrived in a world of capitalism. He left a world of meals and arrived in a world of sweet desserts. Likewise, the lifestyle of an American was totally different. For example, he didn't need to work late whether his boss was in the office or not. However, in some way, the diaspora encounters unwanted situations. When the speaker was passing on the street in Washington D.C, a young American man stopped his car and yelled at him "Go back to your country!". It was a painful memory for the speaker.

   In another experience, his neighborhood posted a note on his door stating "We should not cook smelling cook in USA!". The place they live in is a diasporic space that is filled with loneliness and longing for their mothers, home, and homeland because they are foreigners. So, the speaker said, Michigan he stayed in a church that was established for Koreans that are missing Korea, Korean food, and suffering from Nostalgia. And, they always imagine Korea.

   A diaspora and poet, Jung ji-young's poem called Nostalgia written in 1923 expressed his bitter mind when he studied in Japan. He said in the poem, "I never forget Korea even in his dream.“

Another poem named “Bound for the South”, by Ko, Jeong-hui expressed that the poet really wanted to return to Hae-nam. She also admired Mt. Mudeung. She said in the poem: "I want to bow to the landscape of the South Korea.“.

   The diaspora feel lonely and homeless. But, on the other hand, they feel that they straddle two cultures and think that the space they are staying is the space of pain, but also of possibility at the same time.

The diaspora think that they are in beneficial position although they are suffering from Nostalgia. Two cultures they straddle can connect with each other by them, and they have new identity that can consolidate their identities.