An Existential Question

During Spring Break on the Canary Islands, my friends and I were all eating dinner after a long day of surfing (attempts?) on the beach when Mel asks me this potent question: “What do you see yourself as: Korean or American?”

Clearly I said both, but she pressed the issue further telling me to pick just one, and that made me think, what would I call myself? How should I define my identity?

The thing about studying abroad is that it truly makes you appreciate how unique America is. For example, when we went to Spain I was constantly reminded that I was not white; I was Asian, which made me an outsider. Another example is in Italy, when a friend of mine met an ex-pat who said she loved Italy as a place to visit, but hated living there because the government’s inefficiencies made it so frustrating to live there. You live in the United States all your life and take the institutions, values, and culture for granted because you don’t really know how everyone else lives. I believe it’s only when you experience what it’s like living in another country that you can fathom how awesome it is to be American.

I’ve grown up in and lived in America my whole life, and the only tie I have to Korea is my family, the culture my parents have instilled in me, and the color of my skin. Otherwise, I’ve completely accepted America for what it is and embraced it. I love aspects of Korean culture, but at the core of my beliefs are American values which shape my views and how I see the world.

“America is the greatest country on earth,” I say to Mel, reaffirming my decision. She just laughs and shakes her head in dismay – Sam says she is a die-hard Japanese patriot. I understand her, I guess. Although why one would pick Japan over America escapes me. It must be because underneath it all she is a fob. That and she goes to school in Switzerland. Europeans only think they have the moral high ground.

Clearly, my views are compromised by my background, so go ahead and take what I say with a grain of salt. Muffinman, who is an anthropology major, recently told me an axiom of anthropology is that “all cultures are equal”. Theoretically, sure why not? But in my own narrow-minded world of reason, America continues to be number one. Not too long ago, I read a blog post by the Epicurean Dealmaker which I felt was really good at conveying what it is that makes America so great. Excerpt:

“Like most cultures, I think the American culture can best be described by a set of stories, or myths, we tell each other and ourselves. One of the most important and enduring of these is that the United States is the Land of Opportunity. Cynics both inside and outside the US and outsiders from cultures older, wiser, and/or more tired than ours may scoff, but I believe that deep down almost every American truly believes anyone can become President (or a doctor, or CEO of Goldman Sachs)… But the mere fact that so many of us believe social mobility is possible, and indeed valuable, means that as a people we devote more time and energy into bettering our condition in life.”

-The Epicurean Dealmaker, "American Baby"

For those of you like me, how do you see yourselves? More American, or more whatever ethnicity/race you may be?

-Emoinacloset

PS: That being said, come World Cup time, if it ever comes down to a Korea vs. US match, I’d have to root for Korea. Blasphemy? I think not, because in my own head I get to make my own rules.