One of my foreign part-time workers had a phone call with his parents back home, and he told me his mother cried her eyes out. Upon learning that her precious, obedient, and academically gifted son went abroad to work a dishwashing job, she burst into tears and wept bitterly.

In his country, men do not step into the kitchen. It is an extremely conservative and patriarchal society. It is similar to how talented individuals from South Korea in the 1950s or 60s went to the United States to study abroad and did menial labor and part-time jobs.

I even know an acquaintance who was born as a rich young master, with 8 household servants and 2 maids at home. He went to study in America, worked hard labor as a part-time job while studying, and later retired as a famous university dean. Korea also has a history where top-tier prodigies went to developed countries and did physical labor for part-time jobs.

I shared South Korea's past with that student. I encouraged him by talking about examples of people who succeeded across various fields in society today, who endured unspeakable hardships while studying abroad in developed countries. I told him, "You are struggling now, but someday you will become a leader of society. And if there is anything I can do to help you succeed, I will help you."

I hire international students as my part-time workers. Students from 3 countries currently help me out. I have worked with part-time workers of various nationalities, but I have narrowed it down to 3 countries. First, I prioritize hiring students who are good at English. That is because students who are good at English are usually fluent in about 4 languages.

Cherry Garden is a place where multicultural global neighbors from nearly 200 nationalities visit, so if you cannot speak English, you cannot serve the customers. Those who cannot speak English share the common trait of not being able to speak other languages either. International students come to the unfamiliar country of South Korea to study and work part-time, feeling lonely and struggling. They are young people who are suffering now, but whose futures are wide open. Isn't there a saying, "Suffering in youth is worth buying even if you have to pay for it"?

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]