South Korean Connection

TEACHING LANGUAGE: Thomas Stratton, left, a 2007 Union High School graduate, was approached by many young people in South Korea who wanted to practice their English speaking skills. Submitted photo

“I did not want to make any sudden movements,’’ Stratton, a 2007 graduate of Union High School, said.

Still, Stratton saw evidence of someone who hours earlier had made many defiant steps without suffering a consequence.

The Korean DMZ is a strip of land, 155 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. It serves as a buffer between North and South Korea, two nations who lost countless lives fighting each other in the Korean War six decades ago.

It is one of the most heavily militarized borders in the world.

Anyone looking for smiles will not find them among soldiers at the DMZ. The troops are stone-faced. None more so than the South Korean soldier Stratton found himself standing next to. The armed soldier had a modified Taekwondo martial arts stance.

“He was ready to punch you. He was intense,’’ Stratton said.

Stratton also noticed something else — footprints on a table. He learned that earlier in the day a North Korean soldier had danced on the table in defiance of South Korea. Nothing happened to the solider, though.

Tension was palatable at the DMZ, but not in South Korea as a whole, Stratton discovered during his visit. This may surprise some since North Korea, under the leadership of President Kim Jong-il, has threatened to launch nuclear attacks against South Korea, the United States and Israel.

The people of South Korea are not as alarmed about North Korea as those in many other nations, Stratton said. One reason is that the possibility of an attack has loomed over South Korea’s people for so long.

“They deal with it all the time. It is a constant threat,’’ Stratton said.

South Koreans also do not take Jong-il as seriously as other nations do.

“They believe Kim Jong-il is putting on a show on the world stage. He is showing off his power,’’ said Stratton, who will soon begin his junior year at Johnson & Wales Univeristy in Denver.

Stratton received an enlightening glimpse at more than international politics during his visit. He also received an insightful look at South Korea’s business world  — specifically the operations of Starbucks Coffee Co. in Seoul. Stratton, who works at a Starbucks in Denver, met with the human resources director of Starbucks in South Korea. The two discussed cultural differences and the importance of having a global mindset when marketing.

Starbucks is extremely popular in Seoul. So much so that some shops are five stories high and are often filled most of the day.

“There is no place to sit. Everyone is hanging out,’’ Stratton said.

One reason for the popularity is that Starbucks was introduced in South Korea just 10 years ago.

“It’s a new thing,’’ Stratton said.

Stratton, who attended Sejong University in Seoul during his one-month visit, was struck by how South Koreans embrace the history of their nation and their families.

“Many can tell you every member of their family for the last five generations,’’ Stratton said.

Tracing family lineage is easier in South Korea than in the United States because it has had a relatively closed culture, Stratton said. Few people moved in and out of Korea during much of its long history. This did not begin to change until Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. South Koreans were struck by the number of globetrotters who came.

“It opened up their eyes to travel. It was not something they were used to thinking about,’’ Stratton said.

Stratton visited South Korea with 14 other students from Johnson & Wales University. They were from the university’s campuses in Denver, Providence, R.I; Charlotte, N.C., and North Miami, Fla.

Stratton was one of the few who already had a friend in South Korea — Minsoo Song, who was an exchange student at Union High School three years ago. Song helped Stratton find his way around Seoul and taught him about a perspective he has come to embrace.

“She told me that I should not think of myself as part of a small community but the world community,’’ Stratton said.

Song and others helped Stratton develop a taste for South Korean cuisine during his visit. It so pleased his palate that he now frequents Korean restaurants and grocery stories in Denver.

“I like all the spices and herbs in Korean foods,’’ said Stratton, the son of Mark and Teresa Stratton.

All meals in South Korea are eaten with chopsticks. Using chopsticks is both a science and an art.

“It depends on where you rest your hands. There is a tilting point. It is different for everyone,’’ Stratton said.

Stratton speaks limited Korean, but he had no problem communicating because English has been taught in South Korea’s schools for several decades.

“Most people in South Korea under 25 speak English,’’ Stratton said.

Children, recognizing Stratton as an American, often ran up to speak to him because they wanted to practice their English.

The people of South Korea made Stratton feel comfortable, but he did not find its weather hospitable, particularly the humidity.

“Right after you take a shower you feel like you need to take another one because you are sweating so much,’’ Stratton said.

Climatic conditions notwithstanding, Stratton so enjoyed his visit to South Korea that he plans to return in the summer of 2010 after graduating from Johnson & Wales in just three years. He will then enroll in Sejong University’s Masters of Business Administration degree program. He said that having a business degree from outside the United States will make him more employable since it will show that he has a global perspective.

Stratton is looking forward to returning because he thinks so highly of the Korean people.

“They are very kind.’’

He noted that most are quieter and shyer than Americans when with people they do not know. Koreans, though, are louder than Americans when with friends and relatives.

Stratton hopes to take more of a look at rural South Korea when he returns a year from now. He is particularly interested in visiting an island off the south tip of the Korean Peninsula known for its lush vegetation.

The next 12 months may pass slowly for Stratton as he prepares for his return trip to Southeast Asia.

“I have to wait, but I can’t wait,’’ he said.