On paper, my nationality is Korean, but I think people are made from their environment. In other words, a person's native language and cultural knowledge come from the place where they grew up, and the people that were around them when they were little. So, really, I am from Japan.

  I don't take the thing about being Korean, or being Japanese seriously, and I think people that do are a little strange.

  When I was little, at my grandmother's house, there were many Korean things, but I thought everybody's grandmothers had the same sorts of things at their house.
  The first time I found out I was 'Korean' was when I was 10. At school, they made us use our Korean names. I didn't even know I had a Korean name. It was very strange. I thought 'Who am I'? I still don't really know the answer. When I went to junior high school, I went back to using my normal name, and have done so ever since.
  Because I found out I had a 'Korean' nationality, I think I learned how to think more objectively. For example, when I watch the news, I don't think only about Japan. I think that every country must have their own view, and all these views are equal in a way.
  I am ME. I am not limited by labels like 'Korean' or 'Japanese'.
  These days, the only time I think about these things is when I get a passport, or prepare to travel somewhere.


Note:
  Teru is a very good downhill mountain bike racer. In 2005, Teru made it to the Japan National MTB Championships in Nagano. In Nagano, just before the start of the race, he was told that he could not be in the race because he did not have a Japanese Nationality.
  The next year he went to Whistler Canada for one of the largest mountain bike competitions in the world. He got 9th in his league.