【 JONNY LEE 】
이세종
🇰🇷 [ korean-american ] 🇺🇸
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East to America: Korean American Life Stories by Elaine H. Kim and Eui-Young Yu
˗ˏˋ about ˊˎ˗
[ welcome to my blog! ]
I am a Korean-American born in Los Angeles.
I attend Academy of the Canyons Middle College High School.
My parents are both Korean immigrants and were naturalized.
I hope that with my core text and further outside research,
I am able to provide an accurate analysis of Korea-American culture.
˗ˏˋ contact ˊˎ˗
if you have any questions, contact me
email: [email protected]
˗ˏˋ post 1 : 2302 ˊˎ˗
how does your book help you to better understand your culture?
My book, East to America: Korean American Life Stories by Elaine H. Kim and Eui-Young Yu, allows me to better understand the culture of Korean-Americans because it provides personal stories and narratives of forty Korean-Americans — including the authors themselves — all with very unique stories about their process of integration into the United States of America.
Additionally, each story about the long, difficult process of becoming "American" had a specific theme or focus that the experience of integration revolved around. For example, Sandy Lee's story, "Non-Traditional and Korean," had the theme of sexuality, as this story discussed her difficulty assimilating into American society as a lesbian. Another example of a specific and unique focus is found in "Chino," where Kyu Min Lee’s story of integration has a very heavy focus on race and cultural identity as Lee struggles with personal relationships due to his Korean parents that maintain somewhat racist views about blacks and Latinos. Even with this variability in central theme, I was able to realize that although the struggles of these Korean-Americans were very different (as Sandy struggled with her sexual identity, Kyu Min struggled with his racial identity), these Korean-Americans all have the same goal which is to be able to assimilate successfully into America. These various themes presented in each story allows readers to view the assimilation of these Korean-Americans through many different lenses and perspectives, making this book even more interesting and personal.
East to America: Korean American Life Stories really allows to me see Korean-American culture and those who identify with it, from a different perspective. I was able to understand, in a general sense, the process of assimilation when Koreans move to or are born in the United States. Being able to experience the personal story of these Korean-Americans' childhoods, everyday struggles, or their relationships with others really allows me to grasp what it means to be Korean-American. I not only learn about the recent immigration of Korean-Americans, but their lives as well, and what it is like to live in America. Although everyone's story is so different, all Korean-Americans, immigrant or born-citizen, share a commonality, which is ultimately the desire to be able to "fit in" and hope to call America “home.”
˗ˏˋ post 2 : 2303 ˊˎ˗
what have you learned about your culture that you hadn't known or considered prior to this project?
Prior to this project, I had not considered the deeply-instilled social expectations against women in Korean-American communities. For example, in a story from East to America titled “Hot Pepper,” Maeun Koch’u discusses how Korean women are “determined by [their] beauty and how ‘ladylike’ [they] are, and how [they] dress, walk, and talk” (71). Among Koreans, women are only valued for their appearance, not their intelligence; however, Maeun Koch’u wanted Korean women to embrace their beauty, along with their smarts. In fact, her mother wanted to be like a small hot pepper: “small but when someone bites into you, you’ve got a big kick” (69). Maeun Koch’u, along with myself, believe that women both should embrace themselves for who they are. Koreans as a whole should also accept that women are instrumental to the functioning of society and should not be seen merely as objects; Korean women deserve to be respected for their hard work and dedication to their families and their studies.
Additionally, I had not considered how socially awkward Koreans are with non-Koreans. For example, in “Second Homeland” by Young Soon Han, Young mentioned how some customers viewed Korean merchants as rude and insensitive. Young, however, explained that Koreans are not “rude intentionally. [Young] heard from neighbors that since [Korean people’s] faces are expressionless, people think they are angry. Koreans are not very sociable” (247). This along with the fact that Koreans are socially unfamiliar with others who are not Korean, creates a discord in communication between Koreans and others. I am also awkward in social settings with people that I am not very familiar with; this is just one of many ways that I identify with many other Korean people.
There are so many characteristics and social behaviors about Koreans that I am familiar with, but not too knowledgeable on. However, this book allows me to further understand the social behaviors of Korean-Americans that I am familiar with. East to America provides an in-depth analysis of sociocultural behaviors among Korean-Americans.
˗ˏˋ post 3 : 2004 ˊˎ˗
What is the best way to present your culture to others? What elements would others relate to? What elements would they need help understanding?
The best way to present my culture to others is through the food and the music as these two aspects of Korean culture are widely known to Americans. Food and music culture are very important to Korean-Americans, and they use food and music as a way to "reconnect" with their ethnic roots. In America, many Koreans have established Korean restaurants as a way to not only help other Koreans feel comfortable and at home, but to also display a part of their culture to non-Koreans. Recently, many Americans are becoming more and more familiar with Korean food, such as Korean barbecue, and Korean pop music. In fact, many of my non-Korean friends enjoy Korean barbecue.
I feel like food and music are two elements of Korean culture that non-Koreans would find interesting and relate to. Lots of non-Koreans already are attracted to the idea of Korean culture, even beyond its food and music. Like how American artists such as Beyoncé and Justin Bieber are popular around the world, this is the same for some Korean artists. Already, many non-Koreans, not just in America, but all over the world, appreciate Korean culture.
However, some elements of Korean culture that might require help understanding might be the social rules and norms of Korean society. The language, too, is also complex and often goes hand-in-hand with the social rules. Koreans value seniority and respect and have specific non-written rules set in place that reflect their values.
˗ˏˋ post 4 : 1805 ˊˎ˗
How has your thinking about culture (in general) and/or your culture (in specific) within America changed over the course of this year? What have you learned that has most impacted your thinking about culture?
The idea and concept of culture (in general) to me has changed in the course of the year as I have realized how complex a culture can be in meaning and elements. Both popular and ethnic cultures all have many different components that makes that specific culture unique to either that person or a group of people in America. I have learned that culture is something that cannot be objectively defined or entirely represented. Cultures go beyond statistics and research as they involve social components, such as norms and rules. Additionally, I have learned that culture is a big part in everyone’s life, not just in America, but around the world. In a country like America where cultural variation is so common, recognizing and understanding what culture means to each person is important.
When concerning my own culture (Korean-American), I have learned that being Korean-American involves its own unique characteristics which I can relate to. By researching Korean-American culture, I have learned that my experiences revolving this culture are shared by other Korean-Americans like myself. Many Korean-Americans, including myself, do not identify as just Korean nor just American; our culture is a combination of both which makes it specific to us Korean-Americans. Throughout the course of this year, I have learned to further embrace my Korean-American identity and the culture that follows it.
What impacted my thinking on culture the most was learning about the cultures of others through their own presentations. I have learned so much about others and what culture means to them and how they identify with their own culture. Learning about the individuality of culture has really taught me that culture means something different to everyone. I also learned that identifying with a culture is not specific to just one person, but everyone; people with all different backgrounds and interests at least identify with one kind of culture. Culture is something so interwoven into a person’s life that they oftentimes forget that they identify with that certain culture; however, this project and its presentations taught me that culture has a lot to do with self-identity.