Participants / Impression / Miyagi

I was born and raised in the countryside, so I felt right at home in Shiogama. The most memorable thing about our visit was when the couple running the inn in Katsurajima came to see us off at the harbor, giving us ribbons and holding the other ends until the boat pulled out when we left. Their kindness was so moving, it made me cry. Also, I had heard that “city people are cold and distant,” but the train station attendants in Tokyo were very kind to us. It made me realize that not all rumors are true.

Once, in an attempt to befriend a Korean child, I sent an e-mail, but the reply I got was: “I don’t want to be your friend because I don’t like Japanese people.” Since then, I hadn’t had a very good impression of South Korea. After meeting Kyungju and Boram, I learned that not all Koreans think the same way, and that we have just failed to understand each other. Japanese tend to exclude people who speak other languages or come from different cultures. I hope that in the future, we can change our way of thinking and learn to be more open to such differences.

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