My name is Daniel. I was an English teacher in Seoul, South Korea, and now I am a writer who has published three books including South Korea: Our Story by Daniel Nardini.

                       The previous presidential election has highlighted something very important that many Koreans do not understand about the United States---why we are a country so divided and could have voted for two very different people to become president. Part of the reason is that there are two different Americas. There is what I call America "A", and the other which I will call America "B." America "A" is where most Americans live. This is the largely urban and suburban areas of the country where most Americans and immigrants from all around the world live. This is the America where most of the jobs are, most of where the imports from around the world are, and where most visitors from around the world go to to see "America." Then there is America "B." This is the rural heartland that encompasses the traditions, the agricultural wealth, and small towns and cities that make up the American landscape. Most visitors and immigrants to the United States have heard of Chicago and Milwaukee, but have never heard of small rural towns like Mount Carroll, Preston, or Sabula. One would be extremely hard pressed to even find these places I have mentioned on a map. Yet they and many other rural places had become important in determining the election. Since the largely rural states and places have an almost equal vote in the U.S. electoral system, they were able to cast the deciding ballots that have put Donald Trump into the White House. For many years, the rural areas of this country have felt neglected and felt that all of the best resources of the country have gone to the major cities and those states that are largely urban. Hence, 90 percent and higher of all the rural areas of this country voted for Trump. Most Koreans never really get to see the vast American hinterland, and so many are at a loss as to why America "B" has greatly changed the rules of the previous election and the balance of power in this country.