<동창 컬럼>



     From Those To Whom Much Has Been Given, Much is Expected

          By Myoung C. Wilson (nee Myoung Ja Chung) with Richard W. Wilson
          Class of 1967, Department English Language and Literature


To have been a student at Ewha University is to have been among a privileged few to whom much had been given. Perhaps if you were like me, you were at times aware of this, proud of the elite status that it conferred, but at other times just one among other happy college girls whose thoughts and feelings were just like others of our age. Yet clearly our families selected and honored us in the hope and expectation that as we matured we would return to society, double-folded, the care, concerns and attention that had been lavished upon us. As I learn about the lives of the companions of my youth, I realize how much many of them have accomplished. I feel grateful and humble to be part of talented stream of students to whom much had been given.

In the years that have been unfolded since our graduation I have learned, however, that it is not enough to be among those who were privileged to receive special benefits. The secret ingredient that may or may not accompany these privileges is character. This, of course, is part of what we received imparted in us first by loving parents and then by caring teachers, yes, by the example of fellow students whose lives exemplified the best of traditions, intellectual and moral, of Ewha. I think of those among you who have yourselves become loving parents and active leaders in many areas of life. Yet, in my mind, it is not material reward or status that marks off the best of us. Rather, it is that strength of character which rises to the challenge of adversity and reveals an inner care that is the true life-blood of any society. There are many of who have shown these qualities and who have my deepest admiration.

The quality that I am speaking of is what happens to a person when the door is open. How do you walk through, with what qualities of personhood? That door may not be one that leads simply to materials success, it may be one that comes from the tragedy of a loss of loved one, a failed career or ill health. Each of us has had these experiences in one way or another. My own background does not include the difficulties that have been faced by many others. I am fortunate, I think, that while I recently suffered the loss of dearly loved parents, I have not yet experienced similar heart wrenching events. Indeed when I look over my life since the days of Ewha there are three challenges that came immediately to mind. The first of these was to follow my two older sisters (Hyunyong Chung, class of 1963, Kyung Ja Chung, class of 1965) to America (followed by two younger sisters, Eunyong Chung, class of 1970 and Heiyong chung, class of 1973) in order to pursue graduate studies. There was no return ticket. Fortunately there was a loving American couple at Penn State University (Dr. and Mrs. Robert T. Oliver) while I was studying, who took me under their wings and guided me toward becoming a full member of American society. As the years went by I made many American friends, became fully a part of American society, married an American man and became part of an extended American family. Today I am no longer a Korean living in America but rather am an American who was born and raised in Korea. Still, despite this transformation, I have never forgotten my Korean roots nor all that I owe to my parents and to Ewha, and the heritage that I came from.

The second door that I walked through was the discovery of a weak heart. For over a year I was in the hospital until the doctors were able to determine the right treatment for my condition. I learned two things from this experience. First, that life often hangs by a slender thread and we must make every moment count. Second, that adversity is a challenge not a barrier, that one must not dwell on the obstacles that confront us but rather look to the rewards that come from a striving to achieve. While doctors continue to monitor me closely I have every expectation that I will live to a ripe, old age.

Third has been my career as an academic librarian at Rutgers University. This has taken me farther than I could have ever imagined. Just last year I was privileged be on a lecture tour invited by the United States Embassy Information Resources Centers in Berlin, Hamburg, and Leipzig in Germany. I was also invited to lecture in China and was appointed a permanent guest professor at Jilin University, one of China's largest universities. In all my international interaction, it always takes a few minutes for people to figure out my origin. They always give me a broad smile when identified as a Korean American. Because of the care and kindness I received from the Olivers when I first landed at Penn State as a graduate student, I have been hosting numerous visiting librarians from Japan, Germany, and from all around world.

Although I have walked down many paths since leaving Ewha, I count the friends I made there among my greatest treasures. They opened the door of friendship for me and it has been privilege to walk through ever since. Because much has been given to me by friends and faculties at Ewha I strive to return some measure of care and kindness to those who are now in need of my care and kindness.

 

Next Article

Back to July 2003 Newsletter

Back to Newsletters

Back to Home