My memory of the Great East Earthquake.
Homework7
Homework7
When the Great East Earthquake hit Japan on April 11th of 2011, I
was in Korea. I first got the news from the internet. I saw a huge tsunami
striking the city, many people losing their homes, friends and families and
becoming refugees. But since I was not in Japan, and had never experienced an
earthquake before, I could not even guess what it would be like to experience
such magnitude earthquake. Hence, although I felt very sympathetic for the
people, I was not able to relate to them. Also, since I was not planning to
apply for a Japanese university back then, I never thought that story was
relevant to my life.
After the earthquake, one of the big problems that Japan faced was the
nuclear power plant. Because of the huge earthquake, the nuclear power plant in
Hiroshima broke down and as a result, large part of Japan’s soil got polluted
with radiation. During the holiday seasons, many Koreans visit Japan for
travelling, since Japan is one of the closest countries. But as many Korean and
international media revealed that Japan’s radiation level can be dangerous, I saw
many Koreans cancelling their trip to Japan.
As years passed, I considered applying for a Japanese University. At
first I was worried about the radiation. But as I talked with my mentors and Japanese
friends, I realized that I was just overwhelmed by the media’s exaggeration. Also,
as 3 years had passed already since the earthquake, nearly everything were
backed to the normal. Hence, I decided to follow my plan and applied to the Japanese
University.
I got accepted by the University of Tsukuba and came to Japan last
year. Since then, I experienced numerous earthquakes and now I have little
guess of what it would have been like for those who experienced the Great East
Earthquake. Also, my senpai told me that they got so scared that they decided
to quicken their conscription date. Additionally, those who were to start their
first year in 2011 were recommended to enter the university in the year after.
After hearing such stories from the people around me, I was able to rethink
about the situation and felt great empathy for the victims.