The Calm after the Storm

The Calm after the Storm

Have you ever heard the proverb “After the storm, comes calm”? This proverb was a just famous proverb to me before I experienced a serious financial crisis in Korea. There was a severe economic crisis in 1997, and many Koreans had a hard time. Many businesses closed down, so many people lost their job. People who didn’t have any money to live couldn’t borrow money from bank, for the bank’s interests were much higher than before. The crisis shook not only the root of the Korean economy but also my family. My family had lived ordinary lives which didn’t have any critical situation or misfortunes until the crisis. At that time, I thought that the storm which attacked my family would never stop, and a peaceful calm would never come back. We all had to make an effort to get over our situation. Even though we had a very hard time in the crisis, we overcame the crisis and found new happiness.

One of the influences of the crisis was that my father lost his job. He had been an elementary school teacher for thirty years. The crisis caused a radical cut in the staff. One day, the principal called my father and his coworkers, and then he explained that he had to lay off some teachers because of the school didn’t have enough money to pay them. So, my father submitted his letter of resignation. At that time, my father was the breadwinner in our family. Someone had to get money for family, so my mother tried to search for a new job, but it was not easy for her. She got married with my father as soon as she graduated from the university. So she didn’t have any chance to get a job. Besides, my father didn’t want her to get a job. That’s why finding a job for her was so difficult.

Finally, she found a job as a babysitter. My mother learned that she had to sacrifices for my father and my siblings.

The other influence of the crisis was that my brother’s business closed down from the financial crisis. He had really dreamed about his own business since he was a high school student, and he worked very hard for several years to save money. Three years before the financial crisis, he opened a car dealership. He got a bunch of money from his business, so he could do whatever he wanted to. A sweet moment was a momentary joy to him. Unfortunately, nobody wanted to buy a new car at that time. People wanted to buy used cars, or they just used public transportation. I never forgot my brother’s tears when he closed down his business.

The last influence of the crisis was that the crisis made me more passionate and determined about my dream. I had studied art since I entered high school. Although the tuition fee of art institutes was very expensive, I never worried about the money. My parents always supported me, so I didn’t need to worry paying for school. After the crisis, everything changed. I couldn’t enter university after graduating high school. Most parents pay their children’s tuition in Korea. However, my parent couldn’t pay my tuition that time, so I had to save money. Most art universities’ tuition was very expensive, and some public universities’ tuition was cheap compared to private universities. To enter a public university, I had to study hard and have good drawing skills. Besides, I had to get good grades. I found a part time job which could make money as study how to draw. I hired an art institute as a teacher. I taught elementary school students and practiced drawing after teaching young students. I studied very hard as saved money for tuition. After a year, I entered a public university.  

The financial crisis in Korea made my family stronger than before. We all truly worried and supported each other. People realize what is important or not after passing through difficult situations. Our family realized that family is the most important and precious thing on earth. After a few years, my father got a new job at another elementary school, and my brother opened new business. There are unpredictable accidents in our lives. If I never had any experiences like the crisis, I may have never learnt how to overcome difficult situation wisely. The severe storm made me strong and wise.