Hyung Gon Yun

ESL 100

10/24/2013

Final Draft/Cause and Effect Essay

Deficit

            I had never thought about the exchange rate fluctuation before 2006. What I understood about the exchange rate fluctuation was that it could harm the economy of many countries and people. However, I had never thought that the exchange rate fluctuation would affect me.  In 2006, I met my wife in South Korea. My wife is from the United States, and she came to South Korea to teach English. Furthermore, she wanted to experience Asian culture and travel.  I remember that when the exchange rate fluctuation happened, it had a negative effect on South Korea. Many people lost their jobs, and many Korean students abroad came back to Korea. Moreover, it affected certain aspects of my wife’s and my lives.

 

            Between the years 2006 and 2007, the exchange rate fluctuation was good for my wife. She worked at a language institute in South Korea. At that time, South Korea’s money, the Won, had a stronger value than the U.S. dollar. I remember that when she got paid every month from the language institute, she sent money to her bank account in the U.S. and she could see more money in her bank account because of the exchange rate fluctuation. She was so happy because she could save more money in her bank account in the U.S. Also, I had one more reason to be happy. Whenever she sent money in her bank account in the U.S., she got extra money from the exchange rate fluctuation, so she was able to afford dinners at nice restaurants on her bank credit card.  I remember that those years were good for my wife and me because we got some benefits from the exchange rate fluctuation.

            Nevertheless, when the exchange rate fluctuation happened in 2008, it had a terrible effect on many countries. South Korea also had a hard time, and people’s living expenses went up for food, gas, and foreign goods. As a result, many people had a hard time managing their money. Furthermore, the exchange rate fluctuation had a negative effect on my daily life when I was in South Korea. I used to work at the gym as a trainer. However, my monthly pay check had not increased, but my cost of living had increased because of the exchange rate fluctuation. Moreover, at that time, I was getting ready to marry and immigrate to the United States, and these were extra expenses for me. After I got married to my wife, I moved to the U.S., but I could not exchange South Korean money to U.S. money because I knew I was going to lose a lot of South Korean money, at that time because the exchange rate was so bad.

            Furthermore, the exchange rate fluctuation and economic crisis even followed us to the United States. It caused increased unemployment in the U.S., so we had a hard time finding a job. Therefore, we experienced had time in the U.S. because we did not have financial stability. Even though my wife was born in the U.S. and she had a University degree, she had hard time find a job in the U.S. However, I had an even hard time find a job in the U.S. because I could not speak English well, and I did not have a college education. As a result, it took me about a year to find a job. Therefore, my wife had a huge financial burden on her shoulders because of me and the U.S. economy. I really appreciate my wife because she has supported me mentally and financially. She has encouraged me to get a college education in the U.S. even though she has to work hard. The exchange rate fluctuation affected our lives in difficult way in the U.S.

Sometimes people never think about impossible situations that could happen in their lives. For example, I had never thought about the exchange rate fluctuation, and I had never thought about marrying a foreigner. However, it happened. I remember when the exchange rate fluctuation affected and changed the course of our lives in the U.S. It had some positive effects at first, but it has had some negative effects to my wife and me. Despite everything we experienced, the exchange rate fluctuation made my wife and me hard workers in the U.S.