타국에서 살아가는 외국인들은 두 부류다. 하나는 해외근무를 끝내고 빨리 고국으로 돌아가고 싶어 하는 사람들이고,다른 하나는 꿈을 좇으며 사는 사람들이다.

필자는 글로벌 기업의 경영인으로서 삶의 대부분을 외국에서 보내고 있어 후자에 속한다. 여러 나라에서 생활하면서 다양한 문화를 경험하고 그 속에서 '글로벌 비전'과 다양한 시각을 가질 수 있어 스스로 복 받은 사람이라고 생각한다.

고국인 네덜란드를 떠나 지냈던 20여년을 되돌아보면,필자는 세계 어디를 가든지 쉽게 적응해왔다. 그러나 한편으로는 가족과 친구들,고향의 날씨,맛있는 치즈와 통밀빵 등에 대한 그리움이 깊었고,말이 통하지 않아 겪는 불편도 컸다.

특히 필자는 1994년 일본 도쿄에서 발생한 사린 독가스 살포사건,1995년 고베 지진,2004년 동남아를 덮친 쓰나미 등 극적인 순간의 현장에 있었다.

지금도 재앙의 한가운데에서 탈출하던 기억을 지울 수 없다. 그럼에도 해외생활에 잘 적응한 것은 문제를 기회로 바꾸고,해외에서의 삶을 학습 경험으로 보는 마음가짐이 중요하게 작용했다.

필자가 '행복한 외국인'으로 살아가는 데 결정적인 요소는 가족이다. 다행히도 아내와 필자는 아시아 문화에 관심이 많고 모험을 즐긴다. 두 아이 모두 외국에서 태어나 다양한 나라에서 자란 덕분에 3~4개 국어를 할 줄 알고,이런 경험을 좋아한다.

그럼에도 아이들이 외국인으로 살아가는 일은 쉽지 않다. 몇 년마다 학교를 옮기고 다른 교육제도에 적응해야 하기 때문이다. 현재 중학교 1학년인 아들은 유치원 입학부터 지금까지 여섯 번째 학교를 옮겼다.

아이들에게 가장 힘든 부분은 친구들과 만나고 헤어지는 일이다. 다행히 인터넷 덕분에 자주 연락을 주고받을 수 있고,필자의 가족은 고향에서 방영 중인 인기 드라마나 라디오 프로그램을 즐기고 있다.

1년여의 한국생활은 '좋은 쪽으로 다르다'고 말할 수 있다. 사실 한국에 오기 전에는 외국인이 살기에는 힘든 나라라고 들었다. 그런데 한국에 와보니 달랐다. 잘 익은 김치도 맛있고(심지어 중 · 동부유럽 사람들이 먹는 절인 양배추(Sauerkraut)보다도 맛있다),연극,태권도 등 다양한 문화를 접할 수 있다. 게다가 한국은 고유의 민족성을 가지고 있고,한국인들은 믿을 수 없을 정도로 열심히 살아간다. 큰 계획을 세우고 성공을 위해 노력하는 한국인들의 모습은 다른 나라 국민에게서 찾기 힘들다. 우수한 학교들과 산업 · 정보기술(IT) 등의 기술력,풍부한 볼거리 등도 자랑거리다. 1988년 서울올림픽과 2002년 월드컵 이후 많은 변화가 있었으며,2012년 여수 세계박람회 역시 한국을 알릴 수 있는 좋은 기회가 될 것이다. 그때쯤이면 우리 가족은 또 다른 나라에서 살며 한국을 찾게 되지 않을까 싶다. 꿈을 좇으며 사는 삶은 행복하다.

☞영문 원고는 www.hankyung.com에서 볼 수 있습니다.

Living my Dream

Peter Jager < President of Novartis Korea Ltd. peter.jager@novartis.com >

There are 2 kinds of expats; the ones that 'can't wait to leave' and those who love it and live their dream. I belong to the latter kind; having lived as expat for most of my professional life， I consider myself a privileged person， having accumulated a vast amount of multi－cultural experiences that led to a kind of 'global vision'， providing a whole new life perspective. Looking back after some 20 years of living away from what I used to call 'home'， I realize that I feel at home very quickly pretty much anywhere. How did this evolve？ It's all about mindset and attitude， turning issues into opportunities， considering life one big， never ending learning experience. Yes， there has been 'hardship' during periods， missing family and friends， moments being literally 'lost in translation'， missing the seasons， craving for a simple food item like a good cheese or plain dark bread… These 'comfort' issues aside， we also experienced some dramatic moments during our time abroad; we closely witnessed several catastrophic events such as the sarin gas attacks in the Tokyo subway in 1994， the Kobe earthquake of 1995， the South East Asia tsunami of 2004. To be amidst the epicenter of human suffering and escape unhurt was an incredible experience that caused a lasting impression on our lives.

Recently， I woke up on a Sunday morning by the sound of a helicopter hovering near our house in Seoul. Slightly disturbed， I suddenly realized I missed the sound of silence broken by church bells. I was carried back to my hometown and re－lived some intense childhood experience， literally out of the blue. Suddenly I felt upset as if I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But moments like this have been rare. What is really a decisive factor for the 'happy expat' is the family. And here I am very lucky as my wife shares with me the same desire for adventure as well as the curiosity for foreign (read; Asian) cultures. Our kids both were born abroad and grew up in different countries， speaking 3－4 different languages. They are truly 'children of the world'， and loving it！ One touching moment was when we visited a school concert with our then 8 year old daughter. Pointing at a black lady wearing glasses， she told her grandma， who also attended the concert; "Look， that's my teacher Sarah！" "Whom？" Grandma asked. "The black lady near the piano？" No， replied our daughter， "the smiling lady wearing glasses." She simply did not want her Grandma to use skin color as a discriminating factor. I don't say it is always easy for kids to be ex－patriated， and not necessarily good for their education either to switch schools and school systems every couple of years. Our son， 7th grader， will embark on his 6th school in as many countries since Kindergarten in 1996. Nevertheless， kids cope with change remarkably well， be it with an extra effort and sometimes with some pain or sadness. What tends to be most painful for them is the coming and going of their friends， especially the ones they have developed a real friendship with. Luckily， the internet offers some relief to them as a perfect medium to shorten distances， keeping in touch. In recent years， our family has become heavy users of Skype， Facebook， LinkedIn， iTunes， YouTube and the likes. Enjoying our favorite TV－ and radio shows from our home countries has never been so easy. Another great thing is that， over the years， we have built up an ever growing circle of friends practically from all over the world. Having shared quite similar experiences abroad， expats often stick together as friends， even years after returning home; the expat experience can create a bonding for a lifetime.

How have we experienced Korea so far？ The short answer is; Positively different. Different from what we had expected and different from what we had heard from others prior to coming here. The pre－occupations about Korea being 'harsh' for foreigners， a 'tough country' to live and work， Seoul being a congested and polluted metropole with very few greenery.. These all appeared to be wrong perceptions. A good kimchi is delicious and even more tasty than the fermented white cabbage ('Sauerkraut') we find in Central/Western Europe. Few things that came out as predicted were the high cost of living， few world－class international schools and the difficulty in finding some specific (mainly European) food items. We found out that Korea has a lot more to offer than we could imagine; arts of all possible kinds; from classic to modern， from performing arts such as drama， to martial arts: besides that， Korea has a unique national spirit， and incredibly driven people. We have never experienced the levels of ambition， the will to win as we have here in Korea. Apart from that， what impressed us is the academic and industrial excellence， the love for high tech and high speed. The Korea Tourism Authority has a job to do to improve the profile of the country as a tourist destination: a lot has happened after the Seoul Olympics of 1988 and even after the World Cup of 2003. For sure， the World Exhibition in 2012 to be held in the city of Yeosu will be a good opportunity for Korea. We'll be there…. as visitors from yet another country.Life is great if you can live your dream.