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C.S.Lewis

by 박sb Oct 30. 2021

"한국은 부자나라잖아요!"

"아뇨아뇨, 돈이 아니라 난 자유를 얻고 싶은거에요"

터키 이스탄불


"한국은 부자나라잖아요!" (노아)

"너 오늘도 그 말 10번은 한 거 같아!" (나)


4년째 장기 여행중인 노아


이스탄불에서 가장 저렴한 숙소에 머물고 있는데다 항상 축 늘어진 티셔츠에 바지 한 벌 만을 입고있다. 

그런 그를 두고 옆에 있던 일본인 요시는 나에게 수군수군댔다. 그는 유창한 한국말로 빈정거리듯 중얼거렸다.


"어랏, 보기엔 저래도 제법 자본가인가보네. 흥." (요시)

"자본가? ㅎㅎㅎㅎ" (나)

"그런데 재는 왜 여권에 관심이 많대요? 여권 얘기만 하네" (요시)


노아가 시골 가난 살이에서 급 자본가가 된 배경이 있다.그의 고향은 중국 우시, 상하이 근처 양쯔강변에 있는 도시란다. 어릴적은 시골에서 가난하게 자랐고, 부모님은 맞벌이라 항상 혼자 외롭게 자랐다고 한다. 그러다가 이 지역이 개발에 들어가면서  집과 토지를 보상받았나보다. 갑자기 돈이 많아졌고, 가족이 대도시로 가서 건물 임인이 되면서 이젠 일하지 않고 월세를 받고 살아간다고 한다. 우리나라의 개발 과정과 비슷했다. 예전 80-90년대 한창 개발이 들어가면서 시골 '땅부자' 그런 것이다.

그런데 문제는 노아가 자란 시골마을은 중국어가 아닌 자신들의 고유어를 사용했고, 그의 중국어는 제2외국어와 같았다고 한다. 그가 전학간 대도시 학교에서 적응을 잘 못했고 친구도 없었다고 한다.



 아뇨아뇨, 돈이 아니라 난 자유를 얻고 싶은거에요.(노아)



"뭐가 문제야? 넌 중국에서 뭐가 부족해서 왜 남의 나라 부러워해?"(나)

"나라만 부자면 뭐해, 난 한국서 가난하다구." (나)


이런 나의 말에 노아의 대답은 이랬다. 자유가 없는게 싫다고.


"중국은요, 여권을 가지고 있는 사람이 열명 중 하나에요. 제 여권을 보여주면 다들 신기해 한다구요. 중국에는 못배운 사람들이 많아요. 그런 사람들은 중국이 최고인줄 알아요.  그런데 저는 해외를 다니다 보니 다른 시각을 갖게 된거죠. 우리 아버지만해도 정부를 너무 신뢰하고 따른다구요. 우린 서로 이해 못해요." (노아)




북한, 김ㅈㅇ, 싸이, k-pop, BTS, 오징어게임

이런 것들이 있기 전에는 한국에 대한 존재감이 없었다. 2007년 처음 배낭여행을 다닐때만 해도 나도 일본을 부러워했었다. 이미 일본문화에 익숙한 사람들은 일본인들만 보면 관심을 보였다. 그런데 이젠 우리나라도 더이상 일본을 부러워하지 않아도 될거같다. 노아 뿐만아니라 여행지에서 대화하다보면  한국의 경제력을 높게 평가하는 말을 자주 들을 수 있다.  

내 나이 더 어렸을때  한류가 떨쳤더라면 나의 여행의 질이 더 높아졌을걸, 아쉬운 마음이 든다. 요즘 여행을 하다보면 사람들이 한국에 대한 관심이 많음을 체감한다.


부시의 악의축(이란, 이라크, 북한) 발언 이후 뜻하지 않게도 Korea라는 이름이 세계에서 유명해졌다. 그리고 한류와 묘하게 시기가 맞물리면서  한국이 부상한듯 하다. 삼성, LG도 있지만 이 기업의 국적이 한국이 모르는 사람도 많다.  

몇 년 전만 해도 어딜가나 싸이의 강남스타일 음악이 터지고 사람들이 춤추고 했는데, 요즘의 트렌드는 단연 '오징어게임'이다. 사람들이 모이는 곳에 오징어게임 이야기는 한번씩 꼭 나온다. 아, 이럴줄 알았으면 달고나 만드는걸 배워올걸 그랬내. 사람들한테 달고나 만들고주고 같이 오징어게임하면 재미있을거 같다.






"저는 중국인인게 챙피해요. 저는 이제부터 대만인이라고 할거에요. 도와주실거죠? 저 어디가면 대만인이라고 말해주세요" (노아)


아무튼 노아는 귀엽다.





Istanbul, Turkey     

 "Korea is a rich country!" said Noah.

 "I think you've said that 10 times today!" I said.     

 Noah is on a long trip for 4 years. He's staying in the cheapest hostel in Istanbul, and he's always wearing a loose T-shirt and a pair of pants. Glimpsing at him, Yoshi, the Japanese man who was next to me, was talking to me. He mumbled sarcastically in fluent Korean.     

 "Uh-huh, it looks like he's quite a capitalist after all," said Yoshi. 

 "Capitalist? Hahahaha," I laughed out. 

 "But why is he so interested in passports? He only talk about passports," he said.     

 There is a background that Noah became a capitalist from poverty in the countryside. His hometown is Wuxi, China, a city on the Yangtze River near Shanghai. He said that he grew up poor in the countryside as a child, and his parents were both working, so he was always alone. Then, as the area began to develop, the house and land seemed to have been compensated. Suddenly he had a lot of money, and as his family moved to the big city and became a landlord, he said that they no longer worked and lived on rent. It was similar to the development process in Korea. In the 80's and 90's, when development was in full swing, it was something like the 'Land Rich' from the countryside.     

 But the problem is that the village where Noah grew up used their own mother tongue, not Chinese, and his Chinese was like a second foreign language. He could not adjust well to the big city school after his transfers and had no friends.     

 "No, no, not about money, I want freedom," Noah said.

 "What's the matter? Why are you envious of other countries when you are well in China? Even if my country is rich, what's the use? I'm poor in Korea," I said.     

 Noah's response to my words was as follows. What he hated was not having freedom.     

 “In China, one in ten people has a passport. Everyone is amazed when I showed them my passport. There are a lot of uneducated people in China. They think China is the best in the world. Even my father trusts and obeys the government too much. We don't understand each other," said Noah.     

North Korea, Leader Kim, Psy, k-pop, BTS, Squid Game, etc.     

 Before these things, nobody paid attention in Korea. When I first went backpacking in 2007, I was also envious of Japan. Those who were already familiar with Japanese culture showed interest in seeing only the Japanese. But now, it seems that Korea no longer has to envy Japan. Not only Noah, but when you talk while traveling, you can often find that Korea's economic power is highly evaluated.     

 If the Korean Wave had prevailed when I was younger, the quality of my travel would have been better. When I travel these days, I feel that people are very interested in Korea. After Bush's remarks on the Axis of Evil (Iran, Iraq, and North Korea), the name Korea unexpectedly became famous in the world. And Korea seems to have risen as the times interlocked with the Korean Wave. There are also Samsung and LG, but there are many people who do not know the nationality of these companies in Korea.     

 A few years ago, Psy's Gangnam Style music was everywhere and people were dancing, but the trend these days is definitely the 'Squid Game'. Where people gather, the story of the squid game always comes up. Oh, if I had known it would be like this, I would have learned to make Dalgona. I think it would be fun to make Dalgona and play a squid game together.     

 "I'm embarrassed to be Chinese. From now on, I'll call myself Taiwanese. Will you help me? Wherever I go, tell people I'm Taiwanese."


Istanbul Turkey


"Korea is a rich country!" (Noah)

"Did you say this 10 times today?" (me)


Noah has been backpacking for 4 years

He stays in the cheapest hostel in Istanbul and always wears a loose T-shirt and a pair of trousers. A Japanese man who was sitting next, was talking to me. He mumbled sarcasticly in fluent Korean.


"Uh-huh, he looks like he's quite a capitalist after all. Heh." (Yoshi)

"Capitalist? Hahahaha" (I)

"But why is he so interested in passports? He only talk about passports" (Yoshi)


There is a story in which Noah became, so called, 'capitalist' from poverty in the countryside.

His hometown is Wuxi, China, a city along the Long River near Shanghai.

He grew up poor in the countryside as a child, and both his parents were working, so he always grew up alone and lonely.

Then, as the area began to develop, the house and land have been paid by government.

Suddenly he had a lot of money, and as his family moved to the big city. they became a landlord. Then they no longer worked and lived on rent. It was similar to the development process in Korea. In the 80's and 90's, when development began, so called  'village land rich' is something like that.


However, the problem is that the village where Noah grew up used their own language, not Chinese, and his Chinese was like a foreign language.  He did not adjust well to the big city school and had no friends due to his awkward  chinese.


 "No, no, not about money, I want freedom." (Noah)



"What's the matter? You're rich in China, so why are you envious of other countries?"

"No matter how China is, you're rich in that country. I'm poor in a rich country." (me)


Noah's response to my words was as follows. He hate not having freedom.


“In China, one in ten people has a passport. Everyone is amazed when I show them my passport. There are a lot of uneducated people in China. They think China is the best. The Chinese people regard me strange." (Noah)


North Korea, Leader Kim, Psy, k-pop, BTS, Squid Game

Before those things, Korea was not known to the world.

When I first went backpacking in 2007, I was also envious of Japan.

Those who were already familiar with Japanese culture pay attention to  only the Japanese people.

But now, it seems that Korea no longer has to envy Japan.

If the Korean Wave(Hanryu) had prevailed when I was younger, my travel would have been much wonderful. At this moment when I travel these days, people are very interested in Korea.


After Bush's Axis of Evil remarks, South Korea unexpectedly became famous in the world.

And Korea seems to have been drawn attention as the times meet with the Korean Wave.

A few years ago, Psy's Gangnam Style music was on everywhere and people were dancing, but the trend these days is definitely the 'Squid Game'. Where people gather, the story of the squid game always comes up. Oh, if I had known it would be like this, I would have learned to make Dalgona. I think it would be fun to make Dalgona and play a squid game together.





"I'm embarrassed to be Chinese. From now on, wherever I go, I'll say I'm Taiwanese. Will you help me? Tell people that I'm Taiwanese" (Noah)


Yes, Noah is cute, indeed!





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