I have noted, with a certain amount of displeasure, that Korea is less of a player in the world than it seems to think it is, which is entirely, sadly true. But what seperates the real players from the wannabes? The answer, in a word, is creativity, and not just for your own purposes. I have not seen Korea's Corvette, Korea's Waterford Crystal or Korea's Andy Warhol or John Grisham, and I don't see them on the horizon. Which, speaking as a teacher, is a damn shame. If I ask one of my students for a response to a question where the answer is in the book, I will recieve it, almost unerringly. If I ask them to think outside the box, and give me a response based on their experience, the response time increases exponentially, if you even get a response at all, and not merely a shrug, and a sheepish "I don't know." So for all its advances, Korea is still going to continue to miss the boat because they lack the 2 things, seemingly, that characterize genuine civilization; out-of-the-box creativity, and genuine care for the safety and well being of their children. Will they solve their own problems? Eventually, it's bound to happen. America, after all, was stoic and seperatist until a few brave souls stepped up in the 1950s and 60s and challenged the status quo during the civil rights movements. And, inequity though there still may be in America, nothing is standing in the way of a black, or Hispanic, or yes, even an Asian, perhaps a Korean, from giving us the vaccine for AIDS, or the next monumental epic in art or literature, except the always-prerequisite hard work. I mean, really, I'd like myself to be able to point ot something besides a car or truck the size of a large suitcase, or a moving van that can reach the top of a 15-story apartment building and say, "wow, now that's really great." And I'm only here for a year! Oh, and one last thing; pride means nothing if what you're proud of is shameless aping.