What factors of your native culture have informed your world view?
"So what's your ethnicity, anyways?"Every time this question was asked of me, I would always hesitate, trying to find an honest answer that didn't sound too vague or cliche. And then I would blurt out the same awkward response:
"Erm...I guess you can say that I'm a twinky...if not...then I'm just...Asian...?"
During my pre-teen years, I thought that choosing between the country that I lived in for most of my life, America, and the native country of my parents and family, Korea, would be one of the most dreadful and difficult decisions in my life.
But...nah, I didn't think that I would spend the rest of my life answering that question with the same hesitation and indefiniteness. The opportunity to discover which culture I truly belong to was given to me when my parents and I decided to head back to Korea in 2003. Through my experiences in both the Asian culture of Korea and the western life style in America, I was able to discover my identity and establish a unique perspective towards the world.
Tracking back on 16 years
My family moved to the United States when I was 11 months old. Like many other Asian immigrants, the first place that we lived in was the infamous city of Las Angeles, California. After spending many more years on the west coast, my father decided that he wanted to pursue a job in the East. I spent most of my elementary years in Miami, Florida, a multicultural city. I really believe that my dad's decision was for the best, because my years in Miami affected me greatly in terms of my worldly perspective. Because I spent much of my life living in a multicultural society, I found it easier to accept and respect other cultures and people from different ethnicities.
As you can see, I did not care much about our different skin colors and cultures. During my stay in Miami and Arkansas, I discovered that every culture has something marvelous and unique that differentiates it from other cultures in the world. For example, I had a friend from Madagascar who was an excellent student, a friend from Columbia who valued her family above everything else, and a friend from New Jersey who was one of the most religious and passionate Christians that I ever knew. My respect and acceptance for other cultural values sticks helped establish my strong views against discrimination. I do not believe in slavery, the superiority of the white race, or the disparities between people from different cultures, and detest when inequality limits people from participating in worldly matters.
When I returned to Korea in 2003 because of my father's new job promotion, my world was turned upside down. The densely packed apartment buildings, the factory fumes billowing in the gray skies, and the brisk motions and language of Koreans were so different from the relatively relaxed and temperate ways of America. Although so many things in Korea were so new and foreign to me, my experiences of moving to different states in the States helped me assimilate into the culture without much trouble. However, there was one aspect of Korea that I utterly could not accept. It was the Korean peoples' extreme obsession about their education. I didn't understand why Koreans enjoyed competition and tried every single thing to feeling superior and "smart". All the after school tutor sessions and institutions (widely known as "hagwons") that even little elementary school kids had to attend did not make any sense to me; I felt like they were a mere waste of energy and time. I ran into much frustration during my first 2 years in Korean school as I watched my friends destroy their youth and teen years by obsessing over semester exams and their grades.
One day during my 1st year in middle school, I finally discovered the reason why Koreans held such strong values about education and success. "It's because we want to do something with our lives," my friend Sae-eun told me. This epiphany got me to respect my parents' native culture much more as I grew impressed about what Koreans would go through just to satisfy and support their family. Students studied like maniacs so they could make their parents proud and lead a stable life in the future with the people they love. The selfless aspirations of Korean people added another attribute to my worldly views. It was "sacrifice". In my opinion, people have to live each and everyday by sacrificing something in their lives. Whether it is a seat in the lunch room, or something momentous, like a job opportunity, I believe that all sacrifices make a person mature and wise. Which is why I think that sacrifice is necessary for making the world a better place.
My life in American and Korea have impacted me greatly and have established the person that I am today. My world views depend on the lessons that I learned in both cultures and I am truly blessed and thankful that I was given the opportunity to discover the importance of equality and sacrifice through skin felt experiences.
As for my identity and vague ethnicity, my relatively short journey in life has gotten me a long way. Now, when I hold my hand out to shake a stranger's hand, I boldly and confidently exclaim,
As you can see, I did not care much about our different skin colors and cultures. During my stay in Miami and Arkansas, I discovered that every culture has something marvelous and unique that differentiates it from other cultures in the world. For example, I had a friend from Madagascar who was an excellent student, a friend from Columbia who valued her family above everything else, and a friend from New Jersey who was one of the most religious and passionate Christians that I ever knew. My respect and acceptance for other cultural values sticks helped establish my strong views against discrimination. I do not believe in slavery, the superiority of the white race, or the disparities between people from different cultures, and detest when inequality limits people from participating in worldly matters. When I returned to Korea in 2003 because of my father's new job promotion, my world was turned upside down. The densely packed apartment buildings, the factory fumes billowing in the gray skies, and the brisk motions and language of Koreans were so different from the relatively relaxed and temperate ways of America. Although so many things in Korea were so new and foreign to me, my experiences of moving to different states in the States helped me assimilate into the culture without much trouble. However, there was one aspect of Korea that I utterly could not accept. It was the Korean peoples' extreme obsession about their education. I didn't understand why Koreans enjoyed competition and tried every single thing to feeling superior and "smart". All the after school tutor sessions and institutions (widely known as "hagwons") that even little elementary school kids had to attend did not make any sense to me; I felt like they were a mere waste of energy and time. I ran into much frustration during my first 2 years in Korean school as I watched my friends destroy their youth and teen years by obsessing over semester exams and their grades. One day during my 1st year in middle school, I finally discovered the reason why Koreans held such strong values about education and success. "It's because we want to do something with our lives," my friend Sae-eun told me. This epiphany got me to respect my parents' native culture much more as I grew impressed about what Koreans would go through just to satisfy and support their family. Students studied like maniacs so they could make their parents proud and lead a stable life in the future with the people they love. The selfless aspirations of Korean people added another attribute to my worldly views. It was "sacrifice". In my opinion, people have to live each and everyday by sacrificing something in their lives. Whether it is a seat in the lunch room, or something momentous, like a job opportunity, I believe that all sacrifices make a person mature and wise. Which is why I think that sacrifice is necessary for making the world a better place.
My life in American and Korea have impacted me greatly and have established the person that I am today. My world views depend on the lessons that I learned in both cultures and I am truly blessed and thankful that I was given the opportunity to discover the importance of equality and sacrifice through skin felt experiences.
As for my identity and vague ethnicity, my relatively short journey in life has gotten me a long way. Now, when I hold my hand out to shake a stranger's hand, I boldly and confidently exclaim, "Hello. My name is Samantha Lee, and I'm a 2nd generation Korean-American."
