After 21 years in America, Jeong-Hwa Lee Towery lays claim to being &uot;a true Southern girl.&uot;

At the invitation of the Women’s Assembly of People’s Bank, Towery spent two days in Selma, speaking at a luncheon Thursday on Korean culture and social customs. On Thursday afternoon she conducted a round-table discussion on issues residents of Selma and the Black Belt need to meet before the first Korean residents arrive.

These included: language, rental homes, driver’s licenses, utilities, social security numbers, schools, churches, cultural/social programs, banking, children’s extra-curriculum activities, food and restaurants and police.

As each issue was brought forward by Towery, members of the assemblage in the training room of the People’s Bank responded, made suggestions and asked questions.

Towery began with a brief description of the daily life of the spouse of the expected Korean executives. &uot;They will be coming from condos in big cities; most have two childen and often a grandparent lives with them.

Towery added that most of the Koreans have studied English and know grammar and structure, &uot;but,&uot; she added, &uot;it takes six months to a year to learn and understand the Southern accent.

She urged that their new neighbors in the South speak slowly, write words that are difficult to understand and be patient.

Towery drew frequent laughter from the crowd as she discussed language problems. &uot;Mostly, they are terrible speakers, so think pleasant thoughts and hope they hurry through it.&uot;

In dealing with the Korean executives who will be meeting with Alabama buinessmen, Towery suggested a practical approach. &uot;Always learn first who the top person in the company is, then talk to the decision maker until the two of you work it through. Then, only then, work with those at the

bottom level.&uot;

She said also to &uot;always put everything in writing, precise details in short, concise sentences that may be easily translated into Korean. And always, always when you are invited to attend a meeting or a gathering, you are expected to attend.&uot;

Towery was told that a team approach was already in operation in Dallas and Perry Counties, organized specifically to meet many of the issues discussed.

Plans are being made to help Korean wives rent homes (purchasing a home is discouraged), tutoring classes at the Public Library, high schools and colleges are a priority and will be organized. Churches, Towery said, &uot;can be a tremendous help, Korea has more Christians than any other Oriental country, with 80 percent of the people Christian, especially Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist.

Schools evoked a lengthy discussion, with several former school board members responding to questions. &uot;Korean parents are strong on good education for their children, with English and math the most important subjects. I think many will choose the private systems.&uot;

When the &uot;Buddy System&uot; is organized, assignments should be made from local volunteers and lists of Korean employees, who will need help in shopping, getting drivers licenses, opening checking accounts and finding extra-curricular activities for chidren, she said.

Team members present offered to begin working on the publication of

booklet containing all the suggestions made to assist the transition of Koreans to the deep South.