man... have ppl been asking you if your north korean too lately hahaha.... wellz read this

pass it on ppls ^^d

Dear Tom,

I'll call you Tom because it is a familiar name to Koreans who are just beginning to learn English.

I'm living in Korea, to be exact, in the Republic of Korea. There are many of you who could not tell the difference between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which is usually called North Korea. On the Korean peninsula, there are two governments, divided 56 years ago: North Korea, which just completed a nuclear experiment that surprised the world, and South Korea, coexisting with both antagonism and co-prosperity. Since what I want to talk about is not the relationship between us, I'll move on.

As I have said, North Korea has completed a nuclear experiment. The world is much concerned about it, and is trying to threaten North Korea to stop its actions. It is true that people in South Korea are even more perplexed and worried. We already had a war 56 years ago. The most important thing that we learned from it was that war should not happen again. To make sure it doesn't, we have made many efforts to prevent war, so there has been peace for many years. Despite North Korea's nuclear test, our everyday lives are almost the same as they were before the test.

Tom, I remember 9/11 very clearly. It was on TV, live, the second airplane flying into the World Trade Center, the collapse of the buildings -- it was even more like a movie because it was so realistic. I believe it is one of the most sorrowful memories for the present generation. I still have vivid memories of it though it has been 5 years since it happened. You know that over in Korea, we were shocked and frustrated just like you were, and we tried to understand as the most definite thing to happen was that your government declared war on terrorism, as we knew that threats against many innocent people should be prevented.

A year after the incident, President Bush announced to the U.N. General Assembly that Iraq might have weapons of mass destruction and that he was dedicated to preventing them from falling into the hands of terrorists, even if he must go to war. Finally, even though people throughout the world wanted the U.S. to show reliable evidence, the war started in March 2003. As it was on CNN live, the bombing that looked like fireworks made us think it would all be over soon; however, 3 years and 7 months later, the war goes on.

What have we earned from it? Many people think that the hidden agenda of the war was to keep the war industry going, to gain favorable access to oil in the Middle East and to increase the national defense budget, despite what the U.S. government has actually said. But let's not talk about the benefits to the military industry, the oil industry or the many other companies related to national defense. What about you Tom? As a normal American taxpayer, what kind of benefits did the war bring you? Are you able to go out on the street in greater safety? Do you feel more relieved when your children are at school?

The number of soldiers who have died in the desert of the Middle East is reaching the number of people who were killed at Ground Zero in New York -- officially, 3,021 people, I know. A similar number of Iraqis are dying every month. I cannot stop thinking about what the war means for you and me as we seek for a huge theme, called world peace. Perhaps your old classmate's kids will come back from Iraq someday covered in the Stars and Stripes.

Now I am thinking about Korea again. The nuclear test in North Korea is a result of cause and effect, but since it has already happened, the important thing is how to solve this huge trouble. Because it is one of the most important problems in the world right now, many solutions have been suggested. The U.N. Security Council, as the spokesperson for international society, settled on arms and financial sanctions. The country that takes the strongest position on North Korea is the U.S. The Bush administration is thinking mostly of using military power, if possible. Although the short-term goal of the U.S. is to keep many countries including North Korea from acquiring or transmitting nuclear weapons, President Bush has said many times that the ultimate goal is to get rid of the North Korean government.

We all know that Kim Jung-il's government, which has closed itself off from the world for 60 years, has many troubles. Even more, because the people who are in pain and living horrible lives are my own brothers and sisters from long ago, the urgency we feel is even greater than that of others. Yet, we know that military might cannot solve this mess. So we talk and encourage them to change little by little, silently. Just think about how the countries behind the Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain have changed, and how they have joined international society.

Just decades ago, there was a country that you found hard to play but one game of Ping-Pong with. Nowadays, goods from that country are all over your houses. Did you accomplish that with military force?

Even though I said we are living in peace, we still worry about war. Our government and our citizens will do our best to stop the war from starting; however, the truth is that the war could start despite our effort. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult for us to feel relieved.

In 2002, in his annual State of the Union address to Congress, President Bush mentioned the "axis of evil," including Iraq, Iran and North Korea. I thought that it was an intimation of his targets (single or continuous). I'm truly sorry for Iraqis, but I sometimes wonder what would have happened if the first target had been North Korea. Or if the U.S. actually had found WMDs in Iraq. If the Iraq war had been over in months as expected, what would have been the Bush administration's next move?

I really want to ask you this. Please have pride as people in a firmly determined democratic country and dissuade your government from selecting military force against North Korea. There are many more things your great nation has lost than gained from the several wars you have fought against countries that never invaded your land directly. The only thing your powerful government is aware of is you, the citizen and voter. For the peace of you and your neighbor …

We will put more effort into keeping smiles in this land, in preventing war from happening for our own peace and the peace of our children. With the effort of the whole world, together, real world peace can come true. I wanted to write this letter to you after I saw my little kids sleeping peacefully last night. As I write this morning, you are probably sleeping. I wish peace for your family, too. God bless you!