Surprising truth about being Asian that NOBODY tells you

[@all4yoojin]

What are the little things you do to stay connected to a place you call home?🏡

[@everythingfor928]

I like to travel alot at such places, it gives an inner peace and happiness.

[@artkincell]

Thank you for this wonderful video . Wishing joy always from me in Connecticut.

[@ge-yt-channel]

Thank you for this great video, Yoojin! I’ve just moved from my home country into a new culture, so it really speaks to me. Even though we’ll always be a mix of all the experience we’ve had and the people we met, our roots will always define us. Thank you for reminding me to keep in touch with what i grew up with! Thank you for continuing to produce content that is well thought out and reflective ❤

[@deerpig]

Wonderful video. I am sort of the opposite of you. I grew up in the Boston area and moved to East Asia over 35 years ago. When you were born I had already been living in Hong Kong for two years. I've lived and worked in East and SE Asia ever since then. For the past 13 years I've called Phnom Penh home. I visited New York for a couple of days last month. It was the first time I've been to the States in almost 15 years. It was strange and very uncomfortable. I don't understand how anything works in the States any longer or how Americans think. The world was very different when I left in the mid-80's. America is a foreign country and culture to me now. I have now lived much longer in Asia than I did in the States. The journey we take through life changes you. And if the journey is long enough, you may find that not only you can't go back, but that you wouldn't want to even if you could. And that's okay. And as difficult as my life has been, I wouldn't trade it for anything. Never look back and always try to make the most of where you are. Life is too short for regrets.

[@tracyalan7201]

First time viewer to your channel. It's interesting on the current perspective of this generation of Korean in America. I'm a third-generation part Korean and while there are differences on how it is to be Korean in America, such as whether one is fitting in as a resident in America deciding if one is being 'Korean' or being 'American', it sparks the individual to determine which are they trying to be. First generation, second generation and then third generation have different goals. My grandparents came around 1908 time, which was due to economic hard times in Korea, mass immigration in plantations, working on plantation farms as field labor. No education, being a stranger in a strange land. Hard adjustment. My dad is second generation, raised more with English than Korean, with none expecting to relocate back to Korea, then caught with WWII, where being Asian was harder to distinguish to Non-Asian heritages. Luckily, the leadership in Hawaii, recognized the difference between Chinese & Korean versus Japanese, along with Hawaii, being Japanese heritage was a sizeable number in the islands, workforce, and economy. Which was strange since Korea itself, it was under control of Japanese nationals. My Korean uncle/dad like my Japanese uncles all were in the military, though not together in a unit (except for a Korean officer in the 442nd & 100th Battalion, which was the All-Japanese American units and the most highly decorated unit of WWII. Third generation Korean staying in America, assimilated, and while there are constantly Koreans, Chinese, Japanese heritages immigrating/working in America, they are still grouped with other Asians, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian, Taiwanese, Filipino, East Indian, Mongolian, Tibetan.... as Asian. It's not defining citizenship, nationality, or generation. Being 'Asian' can be terrible as one maybe accused of the pain of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Korean War, Vietnam, or surge of Asians who score well academically in American schools, Universities/Colleges of coveted slots for Professional Educations & specialties. At the same time, those harboring ill will forget treatment of Chinese immigrants, Japanese, Vietnamese, and so forth. I think Asians have to identify to themselves, who do they want to be, then identifying where they want to be. Knowing those two things, will help them to focus how they will accomplish it.

[@kimchiquesadilla]

Also I think it useful to present yourself in 한글, for over a year I thought that a Jiu was 지우 until I realized she was actually 지유 😭

[@look-out-4-1-another]

At 2:25, I think he was confusing Koreans with Americans because many Americans care about the same superficial sh!t. Perhaps he was projecting. I left the U.S. over a decade ago & I've lived in Korea(the southern one 😉) ever since. Sure, there are Koreans that are of a shallow mindset, but one of the more interesting things about people around the world is that once you get past unique cultural differences, people across the globe are remarkably similar. That being said, I don't know what the hell that guy was talking about, but I know Koreans to be some of the smartest & extremely hard-working people in the world.

[@all4yoojin]

Hey JT! Good to see you again. I think you mentioned living in Jinhae before! Correct me if I’m mistaken. I think you nailed it - sometimes people project their own stereotypes without realizing it, and it’s so true that once you get past those surface-level differences, people everywhere are remarkably similar.🌝 I’m with you on recognizing how hardworking and resilient Koreans are, and I love that you’ve experienced both sides firsthand! Really appreciate you sharing your perspective. Your comment definitely gave me a lot to think about. Thank you🙏

[@look-out-4-1-another]

That's correct. Yes, I'm glad & very lucky to have experienced both the Korean & U.S. sides. It's been wonderful. I've learned that no place is perfect, but just about every place has something to offer. There are things in the U.S. & Korea that I don't like or just wish were different, but overall, I have the deepest appreciation for both nations.

[@kiwifruitkl]

I have heard that 흥 is a post-colonial concept, stemming from the Japanese occupation period. And since it seems to important or significant to Koreans, I wonder if Koreans are actually valuing their own post-colonial identity, perhaps in defiance to the Japanese?

[@freya.h]

another soothing & healthy video :)

[@all4yoojin]

hiiii!! So great to hear from you! Saw you working on your new project and I’m so excited!! 계속 자기관리하고 새로운 일 도전하고 있는 프레야 멋있어 ❤마음 따듯한 추석 보내🙏

[@kiwifruitkl]

Personally, I think people can have as many names as they want. Korean name in Korean circles. American name in American circles. The American name can be a butchered version of the original Korean name. Kids may be able to pronounce the original name accurately, but I feel like as people get older, they become less sensitive to the phonemes or less able to repeat the phonemes. They may attempt at it. But if they have to pronounce each exotic name accurately, this is not realistic. Perhaps, we can adopt a more East Asian approach. In East Asia, a famous person may be blahblahblah in the original language, but in a different written language, the speaker of that language will read it with their own pronunciation, and there is a mutual understanding that there is a shared written language but many ways to pronounce it. But all the pronunciations refer to the same written word.

[@all4yoojin]

I thought about introducing myself as “Yoo” at one point to have an easier to pronounce name. But then again… “Hi! I’m Yoo!” sounded kinda strange if you know what I mean. I totally agree - we should be free to have as many names as we like. It’s true that names can be hard to pronounce perfectly across different languages, but I love the idea of a shared written language with multiple pronunciations! It’s all about understanding and respect, right?

[@smyumyu8526]

❤jeju

[@smyumyu8526]

I have to admit that your recent videos on the road are really soothing 😁

[@all4yoojin]

Awww glad to hear it! More to come. I'm just coming back from vacation

[@kiwifruitkl]

No one should be forced to do anything. Not even picking names. But picking an indigenous name is a common thing for language learners though. If someone is forced to pick a name, then that someone will have a bad impression of the whole language-learning experience. So, your teacher sucks, IMO.

[@all4yoojin]

Yeah… I totally agree that no one should be forced to do anything, especially something as personal as choosing a name. It’s true that picking a local name can help with language learning, but I wish it was more my choice. I guess that teacher could have been empathetic 😅

[@kiwifruitkl]

Yoo = Jade Jin = Truth 玉真 is her name in Chinese characters, I presume.

[@all4yoojin]

Soooo close, kiwi!! 瑜 this is the one I use for Yoo. You got the Jin one right👍🏻

[@kiwifruitkl]

​@@all4yoojin because I am overseas Chinese and I have access to the Chinese dictionary--hahaha

[@mosqutio88]

Response to him should have been: Do you think that's a perceived or actual problem? lol

[@all4yoojin]

Hey hey! Good to see you again. Haha, you got me there! That would have been an interesting response for sure. Sometimes it’s all about how we perceive things, right? 😂