내 첫 사랑에게
어디든지 언제든지 행복해야 돼.
그리고 아름다운 기억 해 줘서 고마워.

This delicious curry rice is now my new fave ~ ;)

Lessons learnt from the Hiroshima Trip

Hiroshima is unlike other cities I have seen in Japan. Maybe because of the fact that the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on it on the fateful 6th August 1945 at 8.15am, this city and people has been through more than others. But this city has re-emerged with a sense of resilience and understanding of peace that can touch and inspire anyone who is willing to listen.

I would like to share some pictures and thoughts of our morning spent in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park here.
Many people who witnessed the after-effects of the atomic bomb drew haunting images of what they have seen.

Taegu and Hiroshima signed a sister-city agreement and this traditional Korean drum was presented to the Hiroshima Peace Museum.

A walk through the park in the morning left me feeling refreshed and slightly thoughtful.

This is the Children's Peace Monument that commemorates the children whose lives were lost due to the radiation effects of the Atomic Bomb. Paper cranes came to symbolize the hopes of these children because of a girl named Sadako. 10 years after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, she contracted leukemia.

This is the "Tower of Thousand Cranes". They believe if you fold a thousand cranes, your wish will come true.

The Peace Bell located in the Peace Memorial Park. The aphorism "Know Thyself" is engraved on this bell. Just before ringing the bell, one has step onto the platform and look into the mirror first.

***

This is the first time I have come to understand how war can drastically affect the lives of innocents, children, old folks and everyone else who deserves a normal, peaceful life.

When we talk about military and defense systems in my National Security Policy class, I never knew, through those 'light-hearted and sometimes humorous' discussions, how close to our hearts this issue really is. Like Hiroshima, a city who has understood peace and long for a world free of nuclear weapons, I also have the same wishes and aspirations for this world.

-- This post is dedicated to my sister Sherlyn, a history student who is much interested in the world beyond her textbook. Ju, I will bring you back to Hiroshima someday --

Hope for the future

When we think about our future and dreams, we don't often realize how different they can be from others, those that we don't get to see everyday.

I have a good friend named Seifa from Ethiopia. Just last week, we spent alot of time discussing the situation in his country. Yes, there is a vicious cycle of poverty, lack of education and basic necessities in most rural areas and we talked about how we can bring about change in this society. Because he was trained in Politics and I have a background in Economics, I thought hard how about we can introduce a form of 'social engineering' to create 'small successful rural areas' instead of relying solely on the government for a top-down approach. We talked about his people, his family, the political leadership in the country, the need for education, the role of NGOS in Ethiopia, the exploitation...

There is something in Seifa's eyes that is magical - it sees the future. Those eyes have seen much but it is unrelenting and determined. If there is anything I can do, I would like to spread the awareness of this country, through words or discussions, any channel -- often what we see in the newspapers have been overly dramatized.

I believe there is room for a true reflection of what is going in Ethiopia and a chance for us to offer our assistance in anyway possible.