After moving from South Korea I struggled to fit in. But I began to see a new way of understanding empathy through debating
When I moved from South Korea to Australia at the age of eight, I learned the worst part of crossing language lines was adjusting to live conversation – to its rapid, layered rhythms and many about-faces. Once spun out, the best I could do was wait for a topic change or long pause to regain a foothold. Tripping over loose words and broken sentences, I never got far.
This was a problem because there were many things I did not understand about my new home – why all public figures (including politicians) presented as sports fans, why strangers were called “mates”, why none of the food was spiced. Unable to ask questions, let alone to raise objections, I began to wear a distant smile and to retreat into the private corners of my mind.
