I define myself as a “borderian.” I was born between a Korean father and a Japanese mother, inheriting the backgrounds of those two countries. Growing up, I spent eight years in China including primary school, ten years in Korea including middle and high school, and eight years in Japan from university until now. This background of going across the borders of Northeast Asian countries has gradually formed my identity of being a “borderian.”
Borders among people are always formed by the unconscious sense of exclusion that human beings naturally possess. The moments I started to become very conscious of this “border” were my experiences of living closely with Korean immigrants in China and Japan. They are easily exposed to discrimination, hate speech, and unfair treatment. However, what surprised me more was when I found out they were going through the same problems when they return to their motherland, Korea!
Born with a culturally mixed background, I had also gone through similar difficulties when I was young, such as being bullied by my classmates in school. My personal hardship of moving across different countries has gradually formed my sympathies toward immigrants, and my dream became to achieve a world where people are not discriminated against or treated unequally because of their background—be that ethnic or any other type of background.
To get closer to that world, I have continuously challenged myself to be a coordinator who can facilitate inclusive dialogue in my communities. For example, I have served as regional coordinator for the world’s largest youth summit, One Young World, since I joined in 2014, to coordinate the region of Northeast Asia and promote collaborations among China, Japan, and Korea. Other than that, I have also challenged myself to create more opportunities for dialogues among different groups of people, even on sensitive topics that can cause dispute or hatred among different people and countries. One of my ultimate dreams is to make a village where different people live and grow together to nurture inclusiveness. In that village, people will respect the borders among each other—and they will define themselves as “borderian.”
———–
Get a copy of WE HAVE A DREAM 201 Dreams 201 Countries