I lived in the Philippines from Feb. 2008 to Jan. 2010 because of my father’s transfer. I was 13 years old, and I was a freshman in a local private high school. Then, I transferred to an international school and attended that school for a year. As I heard many times before going to the Philippines, it was a poverty-stricken country. People take advantage of lax punishment for some crimes in undeveloped countries. Many criminals take refuge in the Philippines and commit crimes.
  I think the fundamental cause of the high incidence of crime is our attitudes toward people from countries poorer than ours. Koreans usually can employ a maid and personal driver with low wages because labor costs are low in the Philippines, but some attitudes of my Korean acquaintances toward their employees were terrible.
  Nevertheless, the Philippines was a country with many things to teach me. There were a number of friends of diverse ethnic backgrounds in local and international schools, and I learned how to talk with strangers without fear. It was my everyday life to volunteer for community service, give money to a charity and deliver articles to the poor. I could emulate the virtuous actions of my friends and have a dream of being a person who helps and makes sacrifices for others.
  It is unfortunate that Koreans are called ‘ugly Koreans’ and ‘criminal Koreans’ by the Filipinos who gave me lots of good experiences. Korea was a poor country before the Miracle of the Han River, which was only 50 years ago. It was 65 years ago that the Philippines entered the Korean war, and it was only 2 years ago that the status of Korea officially changed from receiver to supporter in the World Food Program(WFP). It is hard for us to keep the history in our memories since we are not distressed currently. However, there is also a saying that a nation that forgets its past has no future. The dignity of every person is equal. If Koreans would at least treat themselves and the Filipinos impartially, there might be much less crime committed by Koreans in the Philippines.