Received this in my INBOX. I think this is a good comperative analysis of Nepal. Dear All, >Did you read this article written by a 15 year old Korean boy who >visited Nepal? > >Nepalese complain about the caste system and corrupt officers. They >openly vent their anger against the government. But have they ever >thought About Nepal's real problems? I believe that they have not. I >want to say that Nepal's real problems are lack of patriotism among >the people and lack of love for one another. This is the conclusion >I have reached during my stay. This summer, I did voluntary work >from July 5 to July 30 at FHI Ever Vision School, Matatirtha, >Kathmandu. > >Let me first tell you about my country, Korea. This might help you >understand my point. Just after the Korean War, which claimed lives >of more than 5 million Koreans, Korea was one of the poorest >countries in the world. Without natural resources, Korea had no >choice but to desperately struggle for its survival by all means. >Under this gloomy situation, Koreans envied other Asian countries >like Japan, Taiwan, and Nepal. Korean government officials were >horribly corrupt. With the dual classes of Yang ban (nobles) and >angnom (peasants), Korean society was sickening day by day. However, >Koreans, having determination to become rich, overcame the unfair >social structure and put the country onto the track of development. >When the former president Park Jung Hee took over the government, >there were few factories in Korea. Korea could not attract loans or >expect foreign investments. Under these circumstances, President >Park 'exported' miners and nurses to then West Germany. The salaries >that they earned were used to building factories and promoting >industrialization of Korea. In 1964, when President Park visited >then West Germany, the miners and nurses asked the president when >the Koreans would become rich. The president replied, crying with >the miners and nurses, that someday the Koreans would become rich. >Many of Korean scientists and engineers, who could just enjoy >comfortable lives in the United States, returned to Korea with only >one thing in their mind: the determination to make Korea the most >powerful and prosperous country in the world. They did their best >even though their salaries were much less than what they would have >received in other countries. > >The Koreans believed that they have the ability to change their >desperate situation and that they must make the country better, not >only for themselves but also for the future generations yet to come. >My parents' generation sacrificed themselves for their families and >the country. They worked 14 hours a day, and risked their lives >working under inhumane conditions. The mothers, who went to work in >factories, fed their babies while operating machines in dangerous >environments. They always tried to teach their children the true >value of 'hard work'. Finally, all of these hard works and >sacrifices made the prosperous Korea that you see now. > >Nepalese, have you ever cried for your country? I heard that many of >Nepali youth do not love their Nepal. I also heard that they want to >leave Nepal because they don't like caste system, or because they >want to escape the severe poverty. However, they should be the first >ones to voluntarily work for Nepal's development, not the first ones >to complain and speak against their country. I have a dream that >someday I would be able to free the souls from suffering from the >underdeveloped countries, anachronistic customs and the desperate >hunger. My belief has become stronger than ever after seeing the >reality in Nepal. A child with a fatal disease who doesn't have >enough money to buy a pill; a child living in what seems like a >pre-historic dwelling and not having the opportunity to receive >education; and a student who cannot succeed, no matter how hard he >studies, just because of the class he comes from. A society, in >which wives not only take care of children but also work in the >fields, while their husbands waste their time doing nothing; a >society in which a five-year-old must labor in a brick factory to >feed herself. Looking at the reality of Nepal, I was despaired, yet >this sense of despair strengthened my belief. I already know that >many of the Nepalese are devout Hindus. However, nothing happens if >you just pray to hundreds of thousands of gods while doing nothing. >It is the action that you and Nepal need for the better future. For >Nepal and yourselves, you have to show your love to your neighbors >and country just as you do to Gods. You know that your Gods will be >pleased when you work for the development of your country and >improvement of your lives. Therefore, please, love your neighbors >and country. Teach your children to love their country. And love the >working itself. Who do you think will cry for your Nepal? Who do you >think will be able to respect the spirit of Himalayas and to keep >the lonely flag representing it? You are the ones responsible for >leading this beautiful country to a much brighter future. This >responsibility lies on you. > >(The writer is a 15 year-old student of Hankuk Academy of Foreign >Studies, South Korea).