I have never been able to figure out what to consider myself. I am too Korean to be American, but I am also too American to be Korean. It was a struggle that I have had to navigate throughout my entire life. It never helped that there was a constant comparison that was made between my family and the other families one could see in America. Everyone would have large family dinners during weekends, special occasions, and holidays, but for my family, those large dinners would come once or twice a year if we were lucky enough to travel to Korea or my extended family were able to visit us.
However, even with all of this confusion, a fact remained the same: I was Korean and so was my cultural heritage. Even though we were only able to visit Korea and see my family occasionally, I was raised with the same traditions and values as every other Korean. As Franchi states “Cultural heritage implies a shared bond, our belonging to a community”, that is the idea that resonates to me the most when I think of my definition of cultural heritage. When I think of cultural heritage, I think of the values and traditions that every Korean shares. For example, in my culture, respect, especially to those that are older than you, is an important and essential value that is shared by every Korean. All Koreans use 존댓말 or jondaemal, which is a formal way of speaking, to each other until they are close enough friends to drop those formalities. Jondaemal, however, is not dropped when talking to an adult where there is a significant enough age difference. Franchi mentions how cultural heritage is often thought of as “artifacts (paintings, drawings, prints, mosaics, sculptures), historical monuments and buildings, as well as archaeological sites” but has “gradually grown to include all evidence of human creativity and expression” just like it is seen my own culture with something as common and large as the language spoken.
I believe that for me, my cultural heritage lies in my everyday actions and things such as the tradition of making sure that the eldest at the table eats first, the jondaemal I use to address my parents, the language I speak, the homemade Korean food that I eat, the Korean music that often plays in my house, and more. To some, it may seem like these are all everyday things, but these small things that differentiate me from people who aren’t Korean make up what I consider to be my cultural heritage as one day, future generations of Koreans will be doing the same.
I find the last line to be really interesting, seeing as cultures do tend to change and evolve over time. What traditions and cultural heritage do you think maybe upheld in Korean culture? What might fall off as time passes? Could being in America begin to cause parts of this heritage to fade away or evolve/change (especially within the context of generations)? Do you think there could, or that there already is, a splitting of paths when it comes to Korean culture in America and in Korea?
Honestly, Korea is a conservative country that tends to change slowly, especially when it comes to their values and core beliefs. As these values and core beliefs make up the traditions and cultural heritage, the basic structure of this heritage would remain the same. However, as being in America allows me to interact with a diverse group of people and expand my perspectives, I feel like the freedom that America places an emphasis on, possibly will create a more open and accepting culture while still having the structural basis of the current Korean culture.
I can actually relate to this. I was born in China so when I came to the US, it was really hard to communicate with the people. I tried my best to fit in with the others but I didn’t know and understand the trends and it was hard for me to keep up with them. My American friends thought I was too Chinese. I had recently gotten in contact with my cousins back in China and we were talking about how different the school systems were and how the people also behaved differently. I find it interesting how differently we think and how much my way of thinking has changed ever since I’ve lived here. So it was very interesting to see that I was not alone in feeling this sort of confusion in my identity.
I found it very interesting how you mentioned the importance of your Korean culture in your decision-making and how it contributes to the actions you take since it’s so easy to lose track of what makes you unique and gives you purpose. The points you made regarding the future generation of Koreans and finding your Korean identity is also incredibly inspirational and relatable since most of us haven’t been able to have the first-hand cultural experience such that our parents have had. Overall, it was very relieving and eye-opening to see someone be in such a similar position as me while looking positively on the future preservation of their heritage!
You are right , we don’t have to visit such places to have the cultural traditions. The way you act people or you only can feel the cultural heritage. The most people who are born in the USA, they don’t have the opportunity to gain knowledge about their traditions, ancestors or heritage. As long as they know a little bit of knowledge about their nation or have the respect for culture, they should be proud of it.