Bobby Ramsey grew up in the rolling hills of Viola with a mother known for her Southern cooking.He attended Viola Grammar School and later graduated from McMinnville City High School before joining the Army and traveling the country.Now Ramsey has been awarded the highest honor the nation of South Korea can bestow upon a living person, the Precious Crown Medal for Cultural Merit. The recognition comes after 40 years of research about the Korean language. Ramsey is a professor of East Asian Linguistics at the University of Maryland.“It’s strange for a little boy growing up on a farm in Viola to become fascinated by this part of the world,” said Ramsey of his trips to the East.