I traveled around Europe last summer. Of course, that trip was very interesting, a truly unforgettable experience. It is really true that I saw many things which deeply impressed me, that I felt many feelings and that I met many good people. However, I don't just want to write a travel journal, which would just be about the scenery, many relics, other cultures, various happenings, and many meetings. If you want to hear and learn about these things, you would be better off reading many kinds of guide books or travelogs for travelers.
        The thing which I want to tell you about is that travel has offered me the chance to change and learn about the value of money. I want to tell you about the incorrect perception of money which most Korean students have, and I used to have. I'll tell you about this change I went through because of my travels.
        Most Korean students depend on their parents for everything, from money to making decisions. They always receive pocket money from their parents and spend that money wastefully. Of course there are many good students who earn money for their school expenses and life, but the point which I want to stress is that most students live the easy life, taking the money and avoiding the responsibilities.
        One day, I heard about a bad, but true, aspect of Korean students from a foreign lecturer. She said that most Korean students spend so much money meaninglessly, buying things to eat, to drink, and to wear, in spite of never working for their money. She was surprised to hear the prices of blue jeans which many students usually wear. The cost of a pair of famous blue jeans, such as GUESS, NIX, TAX, MICHIKO LONDON, etc., is over 100,000 won. Most students like and want to buy these brands, even though most of them are imported and very expensive. What is worse, we can easily hear that the businesses which target young people are still prospering even in a serious depression like nowadays.
        Her words made me feel ashamed; on the other hand, it was good advice for me. I decided to travel without my parents' help, though they had a lot of anxiety. But they agreed with my decision and even trusted and believed in me. So, I had to earn money before starting the trip. To earn money is hard work, but to save money is even harder work. Until that time, I had worked many kinds of part-time jobs, but I never needed to save any money, so I spent it all to buy things to meet friends, and so on.
        While traveling, I spent my money really sparingly. I had to walk with a heavy backpack rather than ride a bus or take a taxi. I also had to search hard to find a good exchange rate, cheap accommodations and cheap groceries. These experiences were not always bad and annoying. In the process of finding the way of saving money, I met many travelers with whom I exchanged a lot of information and recommendations. We also shared our experiences and feelings. Fortunately, I met many good people through this process, and we traveled together, or sometimes just went our separate ways. Whenever we found a good shop or a cheap grocery and we could save our money, we were very happy and delighted. They traveled by themselves like me and tried to save money. We worked hard for our money and knew how valuable it was.
        Sometimes, we saw other travelers always wearing expensive clothes, eating in good restaurants, and buying things at famous trademark shops in spite of the fact that they were students. One night, we met a high school student at a youth hostel. He was sent to Europe by his parents to rest because he was exhausted from studying like most high school students in Korea. Unlike the rest of us, his backpack was not heavy and his appearance was very neat. The reason was that he had two credit cards; one was his father's, the other was his mother's. So, he could get money whenever he wanted from ATM machines. He always slept in hotels, because he didn't like to stay in cheap bustling accommodations, and he always ate in good restaurants.
        On the night we met, he treated everybody to expensive whiskey. He bought that whiskey in England for his father. It cost as much money as we spent for several days. We said that he shouldn't open the whiskey because it was for his father. Then he said, "No problem! I can buy another bottle of whiskey. I have two credit cards." We didn't like him though we drank his whiskey that night. He wanted to travel with us, but we didn't accept because we worried that maybe he would spoil our trip. He didn't know the real meaning of travel and happiness. He also didn't know the real value of money.
        I think the parents' money is not the children's. So receiving pocket money or other help from parents is a privilege that children should be grateful for. But most children believe it is their parents' responsibility and duty to give them money. These wrong beliefs must be stopped. Maybe these beliefs are obstacles to children's real success and happiness, because they can never know the happiness that comes from their own achievements. I think youth is enough by itself, without money.