What do you mean by got to build yourself up to how you are now? Not all Koreans are obviously like that though right, like you don't seem that way at all.
I'm talking about my country. We use to be trampled by the Japanese but look at us now! We got back on our feet and as a Korean citizen, although I wasn't able to live there long, my pride reaches out to Korea no matter how far I am. This shows how much Korea has influenced me. Lol