My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and am now a writer who has

published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                  I was in many ways disheartened that incoming foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha forced her

oldest daughter to give up her U.S. citizenship to become a Korean citizen so that Ms. Kang can become

foreign minister. This is a truly sad and pointless sacrifice in the name of nationalism. But it goes to a 

much larger problem---why Koreans are forced to either keep their Korean citizenship which only allows for

single nationality---or give up their Korean citizenship in favor of another nationality. My wife was forced to

give up her Korean citizenship to become an American. While she does not regret the move, I am sure that

she would have preferred to keep her Korean citizenship as well. Sadly, South Korea is one of a growing

minority of countries that still only allows single nationality. Those ethnic Koreans who were born of Korean

parents must decide whether they want to become either Korean citizens or have the nationality of the

country they were born and raised in. This disconnects these poor unfortunate Koreans born elsewhere

of the life and country they were born into and are a part of. NO ONE should ever be separated from what

is a part of their lives. Fortunately, the United States does allow for dual nationality, and most Americans

do not see how being a dual national is any less loyal to the United States from the country they may have

come from or been born into. This is a trend that many countries have been following since they do not

want to lose some of their best and brightest people (note: Japan states that it allows only single nationality

itself, but in fact leaves a "gray area" of doubt as it allows many Japanese to have more than one

nationality to prevent the country from losing its best and brightest. I hope that someday Japan will

accept dual nationality. Even more important, think all of the ethnic Koreans born and raised in Japan

who would love to become Korean citizens if it means they will not lose their Japanese citizenship

as well). Taiwan, for example, allows dual nationality because it does not want to lose

many of its best and brightest people and does not want to put its people through a bad choice. I hope

that South Korea will someday change its laws to allow dual nationality. There is nothing unpatriotic about

it.