Korean Archives - The Race Card Project

A Southern Belle? No. Korean husband.

June 1, 2026June 5, 2026 Chicago, heritage, husband, IL, Korean, Leah Lee, married, Southern Belle, surname

Leah Lee (now Leah Durst-Lee),
Chicago, IL.

Keeping cultural heritage is very important to me, so when I married my husband, Sihyun Lee, I wanted our kids to have a Korean surname. Our first year and a half of marriage, I took my husband’s name and became ‘Leah Lee.’ It was awful! Almost everyone I introduced myself to stifled a laugh and proceeded to ask me something about the American South. My mom is a Californian and I am from Iowa, so naturally I couldn’t speak to anything ‘Southern.’ Once people grew to know me more, many insisted on a nickname of ‘LeahLee’ slurred together in a Southern drawl. Needless to say, I recently hyphenated my name and haven’t received a single new Southern belle quip.

I changed my name for you.

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 Anglophone, changed name, children, German, Germany, Korean, name, Nayoung Kim-Weaver, related

Nayoung Kim-Weaver,
Germany

My race card reflects my lived experiences, particularly regarding my first name, Na Young (translated from 나영 in Korean). Over time, I’ve adjusted it to Na-Young, Na-young, and now Nayoung due to encounters with white fragility. Additionally, after marrying, I took on my partner’s easily pronounceable Anglophone last name, Weaver, for various visa-related reasons in the United States, especially after we had two children. However, our family is currently in the process of changing our family name to Kim-Weaver to preserve our Korean heritage. This change is aimed at ensuring that my family name carries forward when I publish, leaving a legacy for future generations, including my children.

No. I’m not your average face.

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 average, CA, Chinese, Clara Chun, face, identity, Korean, Los Angeles, Thai, white, White girl

Clara Chun,
Los Angeles, CA.

I’m a Thai-Chinese, Korean, White girl. It’s about as confusing as it sounds, but I refuse to not acknowledge a single part of my identity. Because all of it exists.

Our boys died for your kind

June 1, 2026June 1, 2026 Asian, Bloomington, Chinese, Deborah Halperin, first experience, Hapa, HI, I, IL, Korean, Vietamese

Deborah Halperin,
Bloomington, IL

A man said this to me while we were in line at the post office. I was 18 and had just moved from Hawaii to Iowa for college. I am part Chinese and Filipino. I look Asian. He must have thought I was Vietnamese? Korean? I was caught off guard. I said nothing. No one ever said anything like that to me. In Hawaii we all look “hapa” but not on the mainland.

Por supuesto que soy su mamá

May 10, 2026May 11, 2026 Asian, bi-racial, Black, CA, children, Korean, latina, mixed, mom, Northridge, Sonia Kang

Sonia Kang
Northridge, CA

Are you their mom? As a biracial mom (Black/Latina) married to a Korean man with children who look more Asian than anything else, we are often looked at with curiosity. They look at them then at me. Is she the nanny? Who can she be? Whether at their Korean language immersion school, Tae Kwon do class or at the park, I get the inquisitive look. There are those that just stare but then there are those bold enough to inquire, are they your children? Of course they are my children!

“Korean by blood, identity in heart.”

February 13, 2025 blood, Canada, heart, Korean, Lindsay Park

Lindsay Park,
Canada

Where are you from China? Korea?

March 5, 2024 asian-american, Aurora, Chinese, CO, Korean, where are you from

Anonymous,
Aurora, CO

As an Asian-American I am typically asked by my peers where I am from, or automatically assume I am either Chinese or Korean.

I’m Neither Asian or White Enough

January 30, 2024January 30, 2024 AK, Asian, box, diffeence, enough, Fairbanks, father, Freedom Chevalier, green eyes, identify, Korean, light hair, mixed, other, Susie, white

Susie,
Fairbanks, AK.

I am tired of being told I am not white enough or Asian enough. As mixed race, racial identity is already hard enough. My mother is Korean and my father white. I identify as asian, my sisters identify as white. I am the most anglo looking, as they both look Asain. Me with my light hair and green eyes I look nothing like 3/4 of my family.

This comment by Freedom Chevalier sums up my feelings perfectly. “Like most people with a mixed ethnic heritage, I sometimes struggle to fit into a society that sees life in finites: black/white, gay/straight, right/wrong. Can the “others” that cause us to create new thoughts, new perspectives, survive in a world drawn-and-quartered along such absolutes? “

Its time to embrace our differences and to stop trying to categorized people into a box that makes you comfortable.

As Korean as you are Korean

January 30, 2024January 30, 2024 adopted, can't speak my own language, food, Holland, Korean, MI, speak, Tesha Post, white parents

Tesha Post,
Holland, MI.

I was adopted from Korea when I was six months old and grew up living in the U.S. with my White parents. As a result, I do not speak Korean or know how to cook Korean foods. People are often surprised to hear this– they may react with disappointment, confusion, or even relief. I enjoy talking about my cultural background because I find that even if someone isn’t asking outright, they are wondering privately.

I was fragile now I’m stronger!

January 28, 2024January 28, 2024 Abigail, adoptee, flower, Forest Lake, fragile, Korean, Midwest, MN, mountain, Norwegian, stronger, Swedish

Abigail,
Forest Lake, MN

I grew up in the rural Midwest. Being a Korean adoptee in a Norwegian and Swedish area, I really stood out. I have felt the ugly racist, hateful remarks my entire life. I grew so I wouldn’t be consumed. Flower you say? I’m a mountain!

That girl spat in my eye.

January 28, 2024January 28, 2024 1870, adopted, afro, black girls, Caprice Becker, decendants, eye, Family, first experience, German, hallway, High School, immigrants, Korean, KS, Manhattan, reminder, small town, spit, State High School Music, television, toddler, Wichita High School

Caprice Becker,
Manhattan, KS.

I was in High School in a very small town of about 1300 mostly descended from German immigrants in the 1870s, all white (except for the one Korean who had been adopted by a local family when she was a toddler) in the early 70’s. All the surrounding communities in Central Kansas were essentially of the same make up with the possible exception of the European country of origin. Most of us had never encountered a person who wasn’t of European descent.

State High School Music festival was always held in a Wichita high school. As some of us were walking the hallways between our performances we approached a small group of Black girls walking towards us. I stared at them. As the groups passed, I felt a glob of moisture in my eye. By the time I figured out what had happened we were well past the other group. This is the first time I have told anyone, including the girls I was with.

Over the years the incident has occasionally returned to my mind. We were both being very typical of our cultures. My father was blatantly racist, I was trying not to be. The sight of the tall girl with a wide Afro mesmerized me. My only experience with such a sight was on television. Her experience with white people staring was likely always a challenge or threat.

The memory of the incident is a reminder that it’s easy to be racist without realizing what one is doing. I’m not justifying the girl’s response to me. It is NOT okay to spit in someone’s eye. Even so, her action helped me, and still helps me, to see who I am and who I really want to be.

Privilege is Ability to Choose Blindness

January 28, 2024January 28, 2024 Colorblindness, Hannah Oh, husband, Korean, Provo, racial slur, smalltalk, UT, white woman

Hannah Oh,
Provo, UT

I grew up thinking that “colorblindness” was laudable.
To be colorblind was to be “not a racist”.
When people brought up race to me, I thought how misguided they were to obsess over race instead of choosing to ignore race and look at people individually.

Then, one day, I was walking in the park with my husband, a Korean immigrant. We were pushing my sweet, beautiful 8 month old baby in her stroller, enjoying the summer and the perfectly manicured lawn and trees.

Suddenly, I remember hearing a truck revving nearby, and then I heard someone scream out at me.

I tried to ignore it, hoping I’d imagined it. My husband and I were walking faster, maybe just matching paces, maybe both racing forward. We started making stilted smalltalk.

Finally, he said, “You heard it, didn’t you?”

I started crying. “Yes.”

The young men had shouted at me, the white woman, “Hey, what are you doing with those Ch**ks?!”

He said that not just about my husband, who was minding his own business, but about our perfect, innocent baby.

That was the day I realized what white privilege is: White privilege is the ability to be colorblind. It is the ability to be ignorant of racism, because it is avoidable.

My daughters and my son will never have white privilege.

Being colorblind is a choice….but only for some.

Fully Korean, can barely understand it

August 21, 2023August 21, 2023 An Ocean Away, Audrey Lee, CA, fluent, Korean, Menlo Park, preschool, school, South Korean

Audrey Lee,
Menlo Park, CA

I’m fully Korean – both of my parents were born in South Korea to Korean parents. Yet I grew up in an English-speaking environment, and once I went to preschool, my mind switched from fluent Korean to English and American-accented Korean. I never returned to fluent Korean, and as I grew up, I stopped trying to learn it. In 2022, I wrote a poem, “An Ocean Away”, detailing my experiences and the disconnect I feel.

Ignorance is Bliss in Korean Culture

April 28, 2023April 28, 2023 anxiety, CA, culture, heritage, ignorance, Irvine, Juliet Kim, Korean, mental health

Juliet Kim,
Irvine, CA

In Korean culture, mental health and awareness is not something that is openly talked about. Being a first-generation citizen of the United States, I grew up with both American and Korean cultures that have shaped me into who I am today. I feel that mental health and awareness is extremely important for all individuals to maintain. Because of my Korean heritage, I have never felt comfortable speaking about my personal mental health to my family. When I was experiencing anxiety and a mood disorder, I decided to reach out to a professional without the help of my parents. I didn’t inform them of my decision until years later. This fear of rejection from my family, instilled by the norms of Korean culture, kept me from informing them of serious mental issues. I feel that it is important for first-generation citizens to know that their personal state of mind matters and that it is more than okay to reach out for professional help.

Why do people steal from us?

July 7, 2022July 8, 2022 American, daughter, DC, Korean, neighborhood, Peter Chin, steal, Washington, why

Peter Chin
Washington, DC

That was the question that my daughter asked me when our house was broken into a second time in three years. As a Korean-American living and working in a predominantly African-American neighborhood, I was tempted to answer her question by telling her about the long-standing hostilities between the two groups. But I didn’t. I understand the need to be honest with our children about the realities of the world, I really do. But I also understand that children do not interpret what we teach them in the subtle way in which we would like them do. I might think that I am giving a nuanced lesson in history, when all her young mind hears is, “People of that race don’t like me because I’m a different race.” And even after all that my family has been through, I really don’t think that dynamic is true, and neither do I want it to become true for her, and for others. And so I hugged her and told her that we don’t anything that we can’t live without, and she accepted that answer…for now.

“Hey, Geisha Girl!” What? Who, me?

May 23, 2022May 23, 2022 adopted, citizen, geisha, Hagerstown, Jennifer Luberecki, Korean, MD, sterotype

Jennifer Luberecki
Hagerstown, MD

Being Korean-born and adopted at 3 by Caucasian parents, I grew up with my adopted parents culture (which is Polish and Scottish) and feel thoroughly American. Which is why it feels like a shock, and sometimes a slap in the face, when other people make assumptions about who I am. The Geisha Girl call was made when I was walking alone in a hallway at high school, and someone opened up the door at one end and shouted this at me. I wasn’t wearing my glasses at the time and I couldn’t see who made yelled to me. There were many times growing up where people would ask me, “Where am you from” or “Where did you grow up?” and it took me a while to realize that my answer of “New York” or “Massachusetts” was not the answer they were looking for. I’ve been asked why I don’t have an accent. Um, because I’ve been speaking English since I’ve been 3?

Someone made a comment on Facebook once about people who were born in American being the only legal citizens here. I pointed out that I’ve been a naturalized citizen since 5 and America is the only country I know and remember. She quickly explained she meant “illegal immigrants” but I responded that being born in the US is NOT the only way to be a US citizen.

Your husband’s black? But you’re Asian.

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 Asian, Baltimore, Black, doible-takes, interracial marriage, Korean, MD, Nina Ball, Surprise, What do your parents think?

Nina Ball,
Baltimore, MD.

When people first meet my husband and/or see a picture of us together, the surprise is obvious. I’ve had a few people outright tell me that they just assumed he was Korean. More often than not, I get the question, “What do your parents think?” When they find out that, like me, he’s an attorney, some people look utterly gobsmacked. How sad and pathetic is it that many are still shocked that a black man in America can be intelligent and successful, and not a drug dealer or thug? We have a black president, people, come on. On the same token, there have been occasions when my husband has introduced me to someone who did not know that I’m not black, and their surprise is just as obvious. Though my husband tends not to notice as much as I do, we get our fair share of double-takes and raised eyebrows from people on the street or in stores. I don’t know if that’s a reaction to him, to me, or to the two of us together. Someone once asked whether I thought at all about the difficulties we would encounter as an interracial couple, and I told them truthfully that I had. When they asked why I would put myself through that, I answered simply that I wasn’t going to let other peoples’ hatred and prejudices keep me from being happy, and that I would rather be with him and deal with whatever prejudices we’re going to encounter than not be with him just for that one reason. I’ve been dealing with racism and prejudices my entire life anyway, and I’d rather have him by my side than deal with it alone.