Different Histories Have Common Destiny
　Misaki KAWANO Hyugagakuin Sr. High School

“Oh, you know Toyotomi Hideyoshi!?” When I said that, my friend said, “Every Korean knows Toyotomi Hideyoshi, because he tried to invade Korea!” I was so shocked to hear that. I didn’t really understand how deeply Korean people suffered. I was so ashamed to ask such a silly question to my Korean friend.

This is a story which happened to my mother when she was young. She told me this story on the day before I left for Korea last winter.

Last year I took part in the speech contest and I won the third prize. I was very happy. To my greater surprise, I got a chance to visit Korea as a prize. “How lucky!” I thought. “I can be absent from school and go to Korea! ”

On December 12th, I left for Korea with another student and two teachers. We visited Tewon Senior high school on the first day. I was introduced to my host sister I Sojin. She was as old as I. I was amazed because almost all the students spoke English fluently and some students even spoke some other languages. Many of them had experienced staying or living overseas because of their parents’ jobs or for homestays. They tried to speak to me in English and some in Japanese. My English was very poor compared with their English, but I did my best to communicate with them. We didn’t share the same language but we understood each other through English. That was a great experience for me.

I stayed with Sojin’s ‘haraboji’, grandparents, that night. Sojin’s haraboji spoke to me in Japanese. I felt at ease to hear him speak Japanese. I soon remembered my mother’s words. She also told me not to be surprised even if the old Korean people could speak Japanese. Because they had to learn Japanese during the War. I think he had to learn it when he was young. I wondered how he felt to see a Japanese girl.

On the second and the third day we went to some sightseeing places with a guide. After visiting some places, the guide told us the building destroyed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi is still left in Korea. I learned the sad history between Korea and Japan. For me the invasion of Korea by Hideyoshi is something that took place in the past. So is the colonization of the peninsula during the second world war. But for Koreans both events are still vivid. Our generation don’t have any experiences of War. Our parents’ generation don’t have them either. I thought it is necessary to learn from the past to make a good relationship with Korea. However, Japan has changed a lot after the war. We helped many Asian neighbors after the war. We should act more to let other countries realize that we are a peace loving nation. We should build more trust with our actions. It is important to share the sad part of human history. At the same time, it is also important to work together with others to build a harmonious society. We cannot change the past, but we can change the future. We have different histories but we face the same destiny as human beings.

I want to learn more foreign languages and use them in my job in the future. To learn a foreign language, I must learn their culture and history and many things too. I would like to be a bridge for many countries. We may have different histories but we have the common destiny as human beings. The experiences in Korea taught me so much.