In Canada, Korea’s culture is becoming increasingly more popular and accepted but it wasn’t always this way. More and more, Korea is continues to be idolized for its good food, K-pop, K-dramas and more, yet Korean culture was not always so widely accepted in Canada. Growing up during this phase of transition to cultural acceptance came with many difficulties and this article will try to outline some of the common experiences in growing up as a Korean-Canadian.
Identity
I was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to Canada at the age of one, making me a first-generation Korean Canadian. My family was not ‘well-off,’ but like many immigrant parents, they made the sacrifice in hopes of providing their children with a higher quality of life than they had. They left their family, careers and comfort behind and moved to a foreign country in pursuit of a ‘better life.’ I am forever grateful, to my parents, for facilitating this in my childhood and I continue to realize the weight of their sacrifices as I grow older.
However, with this immigration time-frame, of moving to Canada at the age of one, finding my cultural identity and where I fit in was made very difficult. As I mentioned, I am technically a first-generation Korean Canadian and in the predominantly white neighbourhood I grew up in, I was labeled as ‘Asian’…
