Despite the fact that I knew about our church's Russian ministry for so long, I've been so uninterested in knowing who these Korean looking Kazak people were and where they came from. When describing our church's Russion ministry to a good non-Christian friend of mine, she asked why these people. Once I started elborating on the ministry, I realized that I did not know who these people were.
I had always assumed that they were ethnic Koreans from Russia who have come from difficult backgrounds.
An article by German Kim, an ethnic Korean Russian from Kazakhstan, really transformed the way I perceive Kazak people. I'm really glad I ran into that paper, so I decided to blog this entry for future reference.
It's really amazing how many people I've simply walked by without knowing who they were. If I had, I would have greeted them differently. Whether that's being fair or not, I'm not sure, as it sounds like I am guilty of preferentially approaching people based on my perception of them.
Though totally different, I feel somehow very similar to how I felt when I was told that I had just open my hotel door to find Michael Douglas standing there when I was at Mont Tremblant a couple weeks ago.
I am humbled by these experiences, and ponder on how little I know, and how much potential there is in every little thing that we do.
Here is the link for the article:
Korean Diaspora in Kazakhstan: Question of Topical Problems for Minorities in Post-Soviet Space
http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/89/contents-63.pdf
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