The Third Annual American Indian Youth Literature Awards were announced in January. The blog American Indians in Children’s Literature highlights several of the winners.
Over at Kimchi Mamas, Twizzle weighs in on being “Korean enough” and sharing Korean culture with her children:
My strong desire to “identify Korean” had never been supported by my full Korean mother, who used to tell me that I didn’t “look Oriental” at all, with my double eyelids and medium-tall frame. She would often recall the time the two of us traveled to Korea, long ago, where I “stuck out like a sore thumb” amongst her family. She remembered everybody staring at me because I was so American-looking, so tall. Her intention was never to shame or criticize me; I think she was actually rather envious of my height and “exotic good looks.”
Things are different now. For one, I spend very little time dwelling on how I can be “more Korean.” In fact, the whole notion of forcing a cultural identity on myself seems almost ludicrous. I have a few Korean friends, I eat Korean food, I have ingrained in me certain qualities that I consider Korean (fierce familial loyalty, stubbornness, vengefulness, and pride); but, I know that these qualities are not exclusively Korean. I am as Korean as I want to be, and nobody can take that away from me. Read more…
“It has occurred to me that my daughter’s connection to Korea, through my mother, is more profound than mine ever was. How can this be? ”
Almost made me cry. What a great piece. I loved the bit at the end too