My consolation over the years is that I no longer care to be American, I feel more like a global entity which helps because I have traveled a lot, that I belong to the whole world, like it or not. I know most Americans or Canadians for that matter, at least you two have not had to deal with being that type of outsider. And it is interesting to me to see how you, Pete, will resolve it in your life.

it seems to me that there is a pent up anger against the U.S. for its involvement in the Korean War, its role in the seperation of Korea into 2 halves and their continued miltary presence there. More recently the U.S. has tried to thwart reconciliation talks between the north and south. As with any ‘occupied’ country, Korea wants to be able to control its own future without an outside entity calling the shots.

Another brief story:
when a friend of mine was in Korea teaching English, there had been an incident of two school girls being run over and killed by an American tank. Later in the same week when my friend was out walking in the mountains, he was mistaken for an American and spit on by some teenage girls. After that he made sure to sew a Canadian and South Korean flag on his backpack.

… it’s no wonder to me why so many South Korean citizens will latch onto any opportunity to lash out against American interests in their country.