The Korean Diaspora: Korean American
Being grown and bred from LA, I was exposed to gangsters, hippies, drugs, etc. America’s good at exposing these things and frankly, I loved it. Because it definitely has made me who I am today.
The first time I heard California Girls by Katy Perry somewhere in Seoul, I started screaming out of joy and started dancing! It’s just something CA girls do, and I know other girls do it to.
Throughout my time in college, I was an environmentally conscious person, smoked weed, wore no shoes to class, and embraced being a lover of all things. I bought some decals and cut out huge peace symbols and stuck them on my car.
I remember smoking weed with a friend while we were sitting on the grass out of an apple.
I don’t smoke anymore but I still consider myself a hippie. It’s a part of me that I like.
Having love for one another, being one with mother earth, all that hippie dippie stuff. I just love it 😉
I still love it when I see anyone sporting a peace sign. It’s just a lovely thing to see. As the Beatles say “All you need is love.”
I wore a sweater that saved ‘Save the White Elephants’; it had no meaning but it had SAVE and I just had to have it. I did presentations about seal clubbing, and handed our brochures to encourage people to not eat at Red Lobster, because their seafood came from Canadians who participated in seal clubbing. Ugh, and I still hate it.
I just had a hard time looking up a nice image of seal clubbing, so instead, here’s a picture of an adorable baby seal.
LA is a very diverse area.
I’m not sure if it’s just people from LA who think they feel like a gangster when they hear any Notorious or Tupac song, but I do.
I really do. My best friend and I can get really ghetto, real ghetto.
Maybe that’s why I love watching movies about gangsters.
This is one of my favourite Korean gangster movies that I’ve watched.
When I walk the streets of Seoul sometimes, I can tell when someone’s from LA, because they have a swag that I know. It’s something that can’t be explained; it’s just what LA girls are. We get catty with each other and it’s really annoying sometimes, but it’s all that gangster rap we’ve been listening to !
It makes me wonder what other kyopos consider as part of their own overall makeup in the country they live in.
Anyway, to wrap things up, all I know is when I say ‘giiit it giiiiirl’, it means I like you and shake your money maker. $$$$
Kyopo - Gyopo - 교포 
It’s great to hear you experiences of LA. It’s somewhere I’d love to visit one day.
Also, no matter where you are, it’s funny how you can always tell who’s from your area. Don’t ask me how but I can spot a Brit out here in SK from a mile away!
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“it’s funny how you can always tell who’s from your area”
isn’t it though ? ^_^
where is SK ? I want to say Singapore but I could be totally and completely wrong. And to be fair, I haven’t googled SK, just want to see if my brain got it right … or not
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LOL ahh my stupid mistake -.- My Hanja guru *죄송합니다. ㅎㅎㅎ
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^^
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Awesome perspective! Interesting culture in LA that i would like to see one day 😀
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Yes it is ! People ask if my mother is Mexican just because it’s ‘weird’ that a Korean woman would own a restaurant that is not Korean. Lol Come to LA 🙂
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Interesting post! I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in LA. I love the West Coast but LA is not my thing. I would choose LA over NY any day though; the weather, the beach, the scenery (Malibu/Topanga) canyon. In LA, you really have to search for things, and it takes a long time to get there, but there is some pretty unique stuff. I found LA so diverse and definitely picked up on some of the stereotypes.
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Yes, there are definitely stereotypes that you just can’t miss. ^^
Yes, there’s certainly of an abundance of things to do, but planning them out is crucial. One thing I do NOT miss about LA is the traffic O.O
I’m glad you enjoyed my post. I actually replied way earlier but my iphone app didn’t send the actual reply
Jenny
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I grew up watching LA arirang 🙂 I spent a good deal amount of my adulthood in Australia and New Zealand, which I consider as the hippest Anglo Saxon countries. So I am still having a hard time disconnecting the Aussie inside me. I am now in a country where the East and the Wesr meet. When you live in different cultures, it changes your perspectives about yourself, world and everything. I am me after all.
My friend is currently living in LA and I will ask him about his observation about life there. I hope I will get there myself some time. Cheers.
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Hello ~ This is actually my third time replying, the other times have failed unfortunately 😦
I never knew there was an LA airirang; which country did you see this in ?
Yes, certain things just kind of stick to you when you live in a place for a while ^_^
I’ve definitely picked up some Australian culture while being here, but I’m not sure if I could have vegemite on my shelf.
It’s great to see different cultures and just kind of adopt things that you can relate with. Yes, you do kind of change your perception or considerations about certain things as well.
LA is full of surprises.. if you have any questions about LA, feel free to ask me. Oddly enough, there’s so many things happening in LA that I actually don’t know much about it as much as I should.
Your Kyopo friend,
Jenny
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I loved LA when I visited in January. I had just come back to North America after living in Seoul for a while and being in Koreatown was really weird. It wasn’t quite Korea but it was so similar. As that moment of confusion came to me it made me consider (though I will never know or understand) how Korean Americans feel about having a hybrid identity – one that is not fully Korean, nor fully American. But that is exactly what I loved about Koreatown in LA. That same hybridity that was confusing at first is what made it so special.
A friend of mine (actually, the mom of a former student) went to high school in LA. She lived in Santa Monica and we used to go jogging together in the morning. She was so different from many other Korean ladies that I had met in Seoul. Very opinionated, but bright and independent, yet still family oriented. I really admired her. She always talks about how she’d love to go back to LA again. After spending some time there I wish I could go back too. Love the beaches, laid back lifestyle and diversity.
PS I’m Canadian and really hate that seal clubbing business. It’s a disgrace. Good for you for standing up for your beliefs!
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Hey Stephanie,
Thanks so much for your comment. Yes, ever since I heard about seal clubbing, it gave me the shudders.
This post was just a part about how LA’s quirky culture gets indoctrinated into my everyday life. I’d love to learn about how others adopt other cultures besides their Korean one. If you care to post something on my website, you are more than welcome to do so 🙂
So you are Canadian-Korean born ? Or are you mixed ? From your sauce recipe that you shared with me, you also have some familial ties to Italy.
BTW Nice to meet you. 🙂
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Hi! Sorry for my late response. This week has been super hectic!
I’m Italian Canadian, but since living in Korea I’ve adopted a love for the culture, language and customs.
I met quite a few fantastic people while I was in Seoul. You may have heard about “맥도날드 할머니”. We met by a twist of fate and chatted often. She taught me a lot and it was an honour to have known her the way that I did. Then she got sick and passed away. Losing her was like losing my own grandmother.
Anyway… my boyfriend is also Korean and I guess I just want to be able to know and understand the culture and language before we get married.
Nice to meet you too!! 😀
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Until yesterday, I had’t been to California for four years. I lived in Long Beach from 2005-2008 and have a lot of fond memories of the greater LA area. I know I know it’s an evil city and New York and SF are better, but I always tried to make the most of it!
I woke up this morning, still jet-lagged, happy to read this blog 😀
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America is crazy ~
I’ve been Australia for over 2 years now, and every time I watch a ridiculous show that’s from the states, I kind of shake my head as I’m glued to what’s happening at the same time…
SF is definitely a town I’d like to live in, more hippies up there, I like that.
But we LA girls ain’t that cray cray. We DO know how to have fun though O.O
thanks for reading Ray, hope you come out of jet-lag soon – . –
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