The Toronto Star: Living abroad a lesson in appreciating Canadian values
July 1, 2019
During a busy morning commute on the Paris metro recently, I became the most annoying passenger on the platform when I inadvertently stopped the flow of pedestrian traffic to gaze at a poster promoting the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The poster was promoting the tournament’s opening match in Paris between France and South Korea.
Maybe it’s because I had just attended my French citizenship ceremony, where I sang the French national anthem and pledged allegiance to the triptych of French values—liberté, égalité and fraternité—that I was thrown for a loop. That my eyes were riveted on the French and Korean flags on the poster and I couldn’t unstick my feet.
Because seeing the ad suddenly forced me to confront an important question: As a dual French-Canadian citizen of Korean descent, who would I cheer for? Moreover, if ever there were a major sporting event in which Canada, South Korea and France were pitted one against the other, where would my allegiances lie? Which country would I betray?
