Southeast Asia
Singapore
Despite the fact that its one of the smallest countries in the world, Singapore plays quite a role in the international economy. Step into any international hotel and you will see Singapore's clock ticking along with New York, London, and Beijing.
Still, the first time I became aware of this country was when I just entered University in the States. Like most Koreans, my Asian education was mostly focused on China, Japan and Korea. Attention has been growing on India, but not so fast in Southeast Asia. So when the girl in front of me introduced herself as Singaporean during the international orientation, I could not help but feel guilty at my ignorance. Singapore, I wonder what its like... In the past two years, I have surprisingly got to meet some Singaporeans, almost everywhere I go: class, meetings, conferences, and more. Just like Koreans, they too seem to be scattered across the border. I took a class about Southeast Asia to learn more about their history and economy from scratch. And the more I learned, this small country had more stories to share then I thought. So I here I was, a little earlier then I thought, stepping in Changi International Airport, Singapore.
I was only planning to be there for three days, so I told my few friends that I wanted to see as much as possible. Well, other then the zoo, amusement park, or the night safari. - which are the usual tour sites that Korean tourist take you if you go to Singapore. I think that could wait for next time. Instead, I decided to feel and taste the local life as much as possible.
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