hi! so i’m actually korean american and yes, the way taehee feels is v accurate. i’ve lived in america for the majority of my childhood and bc of that i’ve been treated differently. i do get left out and ya know, it’s hard to fit in. ofc i still do agree w ur point that the author exaggerated koreans and how they’re viewed. ik many different koreans from all ages, some being native and others, american like i am. they aren’t as “gossipey” like they are made in the story but they do have similar characteristics. anyways, i think the portrayal of korean americans was pretty accurate. i just saw ur comment and thought it was interesting coming from another view point, especially since ur mexican american.
Oh! Then chances are the author is speaking from experience, unfortunately ;;
I didnt wanna over step and say "this is accurate" cuz i mean...it kinda is in my Mexican-American experience, but I didnt wanna assume it was the same for people of all cultures LOL.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!
(And thanks for reading my long af rant Lmaoo )
np :)
I didnt actually expect this manhwa to explore a subject like cultural identity and have such nuanced opinions on it, and in turn spark a conversation in the comments about it! And I wanna rant about it LOL
BUT first thank you Uploader/Author for sharing the series!!
I'll be honest, the author's very obvious distaste for Korean people made me kind uncomfortable. I thought, surely the overly-gossipy, judgemental nature of the Koreans in the story wasnt accurate? And in truth I dont think it is. Obviously someone's race doesnt determine anything about their personality. However, I realized that this was most likely an experience the author went through themself, since other aspects (such as the depiction of American university and culture is spot on--in my opinion anyway(I am a college-age American LOL)). Even if they havent personally gone through something like this, they at least are very informed about what the Immigrant-American experience is like. I am not Korean-American so I cant say if its exactly accurate for the Korean-American experience, but based on my own Mexican-American experience the general sentiment that some people are more "justified" in identifying themselves as part of a group than others based off arbitrary standards is very accurate. I supposed it is a matter of validating their own racial/cultural identity by invalidating someone else's that provides people with a sense of security. And this is not unique to any specific culture either-- Ive heard the terms "coconut", "oreo" and now i guess, "banana"/"twinkie" used as a means of invalidating someone's cultural experience or identity. However, in my perspective, this is a meaningless sentiment. No one is "more" of a specific culture (i.e, "more Korean") simply because of their physical attributes, intrests, ability to speak the language, citizenship/birth in the country their family originates from, etc. I supposed thats whats so beautiful about cultural identity-- it is a shared set of beliefs and values that are not "dilluted" by appearance, distance, or anything else.
TL;DR
Everyone's cultural identity is inherently valid. Nothing can and will ever change how you relate to or experience the world.