EDU T&L 108.01 Discussion Board

This novel depicts Young Ju’s family immigration chronologically from Young Ju’s eyes and memories. Especially, at the part of Young Ju’s father and mother smiling each other after they heard of Mi Gook immigration, I can image their feeling at that time. In particular, I can describe old memories about Korean from Young ju’s eyes.
When I was very young, my friend has gone to Canada, leaving his Grandmother in Korea like Young Ju. This novel reminds me of my old friend whom I cannot keep in connection with now.
You need the preliminary knowledge for this novel to understand why Young Ju’s parents so smiled when they heard that they could go to the U.S. After the Korean War, the Korean peninsula was devastated deadly. Nothing was left. There was no food and house. The only way to escape out of ceaseless poverty was to get married to American solders or smuggle to America. And they send letters to their relatives and siblings. These letters made an illusion to Koreans. Many years after the Korean War, nevertheless, Many Korean people are still dreaming that America is an opportunity land to them, and they are trying to go to the U.S. legally or illegally (I think that illegal immigration is much more than legal). I also think that America is an opportunity land, but we should know that America is the only opportunity land for a man who is ready. America might be another pain for a man who is not ready, which means that America does not admit a man who is not ready. I have seen so many cases of failures that many Koreans were ruined after immigration to America without firm preparations. Many Koreans think that everything will go well once they can go to America. However, no one will admit Koreans even though they have good skills. During reading the novel “Step from Heaven”, I noticed that Young Ju’s father was a typical case of unprepared immigration to the U.S. But if I were Young Ju’s father, I would smile too.