San Diego --
Sometimes it takes an
act of courage to give back to your community. A Marine from South Korea
pursued a quest that required him to leave his family, home and everything he
knew to travel across the world.
Private First Class Jonghyun Lee, Fox Company, 2nd
Recruit Training Battalion, pursed his dream and came
to America to become a United States Marine.
Lee grew up in Seoul, South Korea,
where life is different than in America.
“There are three types of schools
you can attend for education, which are vocational, general and
physical education,” said Lee.
Lee attended a physical education school, where he began
his practice of Korean martial arts, before transferring to a general education
school.
“The teachers were usually retired officers of the Korean
military,” said Lee. “We as students had to hand salute our teachers when we
walked in class just like the military salutes their officers, and our hair
regulation was a maximum of three centimeters long from front to back.”
Once the male students of South Korea complete their high
school education, they are required to serve a minimum of two years in the
army.
“Instead of serving a mandatory two years for the army, I
decided to volunteer to be in the infantry for the South Korean Marines,” said
Lee. “The Marines are the toughest branch to enlist into just like America.”
A childhood memory motivated Lee to choose the Marines
over the other Branches.
“When I was a kid, I remember seeing a Marine for the
first time patrolling through the streets,” said Lee. “I was curious as to what
his purpose was, so I did some research on the Marines of South Korea. I found
out that the Marines in South Korea are a lot like they are here in America.
There are few of them and they are all a part of the toughest fighting force in
their country.”
Once Lee completed his term with the Korean Marines, he
decided to pack up and move to America to join the United States Marine Corps.
“I learned about the history of U.S. Marines while I was
serving for the Korean Marines,” said Lee. “During the Korean War, the U.S.
Marines fought to protect Inchon, Korea, and some of them sacrificed their
lives to protect and defend it. I wanted to find a way to give back to the U.S.
for making such great sacrifices for my country, so I decided to enlist into
the U.S. Marine Corps.”
Lee’s journey to America was on his own without family or
friends. After learning the English language and american culture, he began his
American dream.
California
became his knew home once he entered the U.S, he received a job as a taekwondo
instructor and then enrolled in school at Anaheim University.
After Lee received his bachelor’s in sports management,
he decided it was finally time to accomplish the reason he came here.
“I was not exactly looking forward to going through
recruit training again, but It was something I had to do to repay all that
America has done for me and my country,” said Lee.
Now that the new Marine has earned his place amongst
United States Marines, he will continue to Marine Combat Training in Camp Pendleton, Calif., and then on to his military
occupational specialty school for his job as an artilleryman motor transportation
operator.
“I look forward to my time as a
Marine and being all that I can be for America,” said Lee.