Growing Up Korean in Russia: My Story | VLOG

[@simonkim7310]

I am a Korean-Argentine-Canadian. I know, it sounds crazy but true. Your experience really resonates with me. :)

[@flamingtunapictures]

I clicked just because I love hearing about people's life experiences growing up in different countries and multi-culturalism. I'm american with euro-chinese background and also lived abroad in asian countries for several of my primary-school years. I also greatly appreciate your stories and narrative on racism and that you're sharing your thoughts/experience on it! It's very similar to my own--that sure, some things may have happened or things were said, but I've never felt like a victim, oppressed or at a disadvantage in my country. I feel like there's so much toxic polarity on the topic, particularly in America, where all Asians in non-asian countries are lumped together as a monolithic experience of suffering and disadvantage, which just isn't an accurate experience for a lot of people. I feel like this assumption of "sensitivity" to being "different" actually gets in the way of us being seen as individuals, and not just a member of a race. How ironic, right?

[@command_unit7792]

I still think Russia is the best example of a Multicultural society it has its ups and downs but it has been traditionally this way since the Imperial Era. I remember a quote from a Japanese Diplomate in the 17th century to Europe. "From all the countries i have been in Europe,Only in Russia i was asked if i want to stay"

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

That's true! It definitely has become even more so after the Soviet Union. That's why I hesitate to say that Russia is a monoculture.

[@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean firs time visiting russia i was quite surprised about that. generally russians can quite rough and rude but they include everyone in the same way they include each-other.. .. tatarstan is a pretty good example.. im pretty sure if another culture captured their enemies capital 500 years ago theyed exterminate the people or forceably convert them to their religion.. but the russians let them have equal status to their own people.. which is unusual. its just russian society is a brutish and can be very totalitarian.. but when europeans are shouting on their high horses .. for all russians flaws they are tolerant of other people.. in a weird way..

[@cs0345]

​@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 It definitely wasn't equal status to ethnic Russians. It's more that often Imperial Russia would just let the natives they conquered live their lives as normal under certain conditions instead of trying to exterminate them. Other times, they committed ethnic cleansing against the population if they resist like they did with the Circassians. In the case of Poland and other West slavic countries they conquered, they banned their languages and tried to Russify them over time, so they aren't the best example of European empires ruling over conquered peoples

[@cbrtdgh4210]

@Cu6upckuû you are hilarious. The Russian Empire and Stalin treated minorities like absolute trash.

[@cbrtdgh4210]

@Cu6upckuû Russia's actions in Ukraine have doomed Putin's regime. No one likes Russia, apart from Russians. Truly frogs in a well.

[@mukopu3a]

I was born in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and lived there till I was 15. For 2 years, I studied in a Korean school, and the children were pretty racist. I would bet that anywhere you go (whether it's Russia or whatever), minorities are often singled out and can be subjected to cruel treatment, especially by children.

[@ЮлияЦой-л4й]

Хоть один правду сказал.

[@LIGeorgij7]

Thank you for sharing. My parents are soviet koreans but they dont talk about their upbringings, this helps understanding

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Thanks and I'm glad it's helpful! I didn't grow up in the Soviet Union but right after it fell apart, though. Still, I'm sure there were some things in common.

[@ROKBUZZCUT]

LIGeorgij7, Please make your parents talk! Their testimony is valuable and if needed use a little force; spanking? success guaranteed.

[@kanakaboyus]

I’m glad that I stumbled upon your video and hearing about your family’s history. I’m half Chinese half European ethnically, but I’m Hawaiian Chinese culturally. I’m always interested hearing about other people who’s ethnicity and culture are mixed.

[@ckaybit]

19:08 I can relate to that!! Maybe not being formal with your elders is a recent or big city thing ? My parents immigrated to Germany from Kirgistan and I'm just used to talking more formal to my grandmother

[@AppleBaron]

It was very interesting, thanks for sharing your story. Your experience is actually sounds very similar to mine. I was born and raised in the eastern Ukraine, where everyone speaks Russian and has very Russian mentality, so basically you could say, that I was born in Russia. Being one quarter Armenian and having Armenian last name, I also experienced some racism at school, mainly from guys. But my teachers never treated me unfairly. Because I was very diligent student, they actually helped and encouraged me a lot, and always send me to olympiads and competitions. I think, that some kids would always try to find a way to bully someone, so race or ethnicity for them can be just easy thing to make fun of, but most adults don't treat kids differently, based on it.

[@godschildren6449]

I just love your English so much^^

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Thank uuuuuu ^^

[@sayatkaldarbekov3474]

Same. For me your experience is partly same but I am living in Kazakhstan and I'm kazakh. May be it's little bit strange to hear that, but in Kazakhstan people are mostly russianized. It's because we speak in russian, reading russian classic in school parallel with kazakh, also we are looking for russian content in internet and use russian in everyday life. Aaaand depending on where r u living u would have absolutely another exp from childhood, school life and etc. North cities of our country populated mostly by russians, ukrainians, germans - it is about 60-90% depending on the specific city. In my class I was only kazakh and my skin is like chocolate(yeah we have a very different skin color palette) because I was born in south Kazakhstan(Taraz city), and when I was about 4, my parents moved for more career perspectives.

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Thanks for sharing! I don't know much about Kazakhstan, but I know that you have many different nationalities living together there. But I didn't know it was so different for each city!

[@9zetsu]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean I live in Almaty in Kazakhstan. Here we also have a lot of "russian" koreans. My closest friend is korean, while I'm kazakh, so yeah. In Kazakhstan especially in Almaty it's pretty common to have a multinational friend groups, which I think is great. We always joke about our nationalities and it's really fun. I'm glad that a have a bit of a russian mentality, because I think it's much more open minded and I have a lot of perspectives on things.

[@skoppppppppka]

Для меня было немного непривычно видеть темнокожих людей в Тюмени, в Сибири. Я был такой ВАУ. Потом привык, да и людям в городе стало тоже как-то параллельно на цвет кожи. Ну, могут пару секунд поразглядывать, потом отвернуться и все.

[@Ducanralf]

Nice video,I just made a video as an african in Russian.Would fancy a chat with you on your experiences 👍

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Hey, thanks for the comment! Being African in Russia must be interesting :) I'm open to collabs👍🏻

[@Ducanralf]

Zoya the Russian Korean sounds great, could we have a chat on Instagram @ducanralf?

[@Ducanralf]

Do you use Instagram at all?

[@julia3983able]

It was very interesting to hear about your multicultural background :) I'm just curious, what language do you think in? Your first language is Russian but you also seem to be very fluent in English. At first I mistook you for Korean American. I'm wondering if that often happens to you when you're speaking English.

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Thanks for watching and the comment! English is my second language. I'd say when I speak in Russian, I think in Russian. When I speak English, I think in English, too. It's easier that way and less confusing for me. 😅

[@julia3983able]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean That's really interesting Thanks for answering! It'd be great to see more vlogs like this from you :) Have a great day 😊

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

@@julia3983able Thanks! More will be coming for sure :)

[@thedoomster6133]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean To expound on Liesel's question, what language do you dream in? That's what is your natural language.

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

@@thedoomster6133 um it's hard to say because I'm not very conscious of that... the last time I was aware of languages in my dream was when I dreamt that my relatives met some of my Korean family, and they couldn't understand each other and I had to translate lol

[@GlamdringandOrcrist]

Great vid Zoya

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Thanks! :D

[@JaneShepardLive]

История в столовке и компотом легендарна)

[@Cocologs]

Wow so fascinating - ironically, the earliest use of forks were found in the far East Asian cultures/ dynasties. I really love your storytelling skills - incredibly interesting to listen to you!

[@robertyoon]

Hard work and no victim mentality. Love it

[@iyasuo]

I don't know what your hometown means but I like the way it sounds

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Thanks! I actually didn't know the meaning of the word, so I looked up the etymology. Looks like it comes from Manchurian and means "the cliffs of a black river." It was apparently a name for the river Amur, but was mistakenly attributed to the island...and has been the name of the island since then.

[@YummYakitori]

These vlogs are very interesting and so elaborate, the number of views you have are criminally unjustified!! I've always been interested in Korean and Russian culture. You have gained yourself a new subscriber even though I don't really watch gaming content. But anyway, just so you know (if you haven't already since then), forks were in fact a Chinese invention as well (LOL!) The oldest fork was excavated from the Bronze age Qijia Culture in China dating back to 2400 BC - 1900 BC and there is also archaeological evidence to suggest that the Chinese Shang Dynasty (1600 BC - 1050 BC) used forks as well as in later dynasties, whereas the use of forks as eating utensils only began in the west much later. So East Asians are clearly not "intellectually inferior" because we still use chopsticks to eat. I am a 4th generation Singaporean Chinese (great grandparents immigrated from China to Singapore), but well since Singapore is a majority ethnic Chinese country I didn't experience any sort of racism here, and neither do I feel out of place

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Huh, I didn't know about the forks! Thanks for watching and commenting, and I'll probably upload more vlog content in the future!

[@kyrkur]

Interesting video! Do you also use вы when talking to your parents?

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

With my dad sometimes, yes

[@ricardorivera9032]

❤️ love your country always. 🇷🇺💯💯💯❤️❤️❤️

[@haryosuseno5952]

finaly

[@kondobolo2575]

Can you talk about the 90's in Russia- the post Soviet transition economy? I remember growing up in Korea in 1991, a soviet navy vessel came to Busan and we handed out soap and toothpaste to the sailors. One of the officers gave me his cap in return. Still have it to this day. Just always wondered what life for russians was like in those times. Heard it was tough.

[@MirsTin565]

Hello!✌️ Yes, according to the parents, it was a difficult time. And parents blamed Gorbachev for the collapse of the USSR. Since in the USSR people lived better, were more kind and open

[@ЮлияЦой-л4й]

В 90 продали Россию. Сейчас иначе. А в Пусане я бываю каждый год)))

[@billysplanet8644]

while watching you speaking, I've come to be curious about if you can speak Korean. you sound you can speak Korean, can you?

[@mcsquid7534]

First had to say it

[@mikloridden8276]

Korean Russians have a dark history and same with central Asians, at the end of WW2 Russians spilled in and pillaged everything , they took Korean Mongolian and central asian woman as trophies and comfort girls for the red army. That part of history always freaked me out.

[@rikblauer]

I'm curious to see how a Russian-Korean goes wild shen you're angry (just kidding hehe). You have an interesting mindset because you're proud of your roots, no matter if how long time you have been living in Russia and you were born in this country as well. You got a Colombian/Spanish subscriber :)

[@AJ-rk3hk]

How did you learn English so well?

[@bananarepublic1339]

You are amazing and so beautiful.

[@BBarNavi]

Textbook Koryo-saram experience. Well, without the deportation.

[@thedoomster6133]

Zoya is Sakhalin Korean. Koryo-saram were generally from North Korea who emigrated to Russia/USSR to escape Japanese occupation. Many of them were deported by Stalin in 1937 to Central Asia because he thought they were a 5th Column for the Japanese.

[@gwinbleys1586]

I dont know, i was born in St Petersburg but went to my 1st grade in Kazakhstan due to my parent's work and i felt completely normal although like 80% in my class were Asian looking... And then for the 2nd grade i was back to Russia and they lined me up with an Asian guy and we have been friends ever since... Honestly I didnt even know the difference between a Slavic and an Asian till i was 14 or so. In my time you had a huge change of getting killed for disrespecting Viktor Tsoi lol. Now that i watched more of the video.. This is very funny... Back in the days before Soviet revolution everyone had to address to their elders in the plural form too. The soviets killed it.. But you still cant address a stranger in singular form.. unless you are some sort of street gopnik... and you are gong too far... i was stabbed by a couple of Dominicans in NY subway.. And i stabbed a few people as a Russian myself... It doesnt mean anything the 90s in New York were wild. And everywhere else im sure.

[@alexbayan8302]

I am not trying to flatter you but I thought you were a 2nd gen. Korean American or moved to the US before you were 10 because there is no noticeable accent.

[@MrDfrcfk]

То есть,если я со своим Папой и Мамой на ты - это проявление неуважения(для корейской культуры),я вас правильно понял? Я обращаюсь на вы,только к посторонним людям! Обращение на "ВЫ" в русскоговорящей среде,способ указать собеседнику что бы он от вас дистанцировался! Если кто-то из близких мне людей,обратится ко мне на ВЫ,это будет принято мной негативно!)))

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Здравствуйте! Спасибо за комментарий)) ну, если вы -- кореец, то очень здорово, что вы можете со старшим поколением на "ты". 😎👍🏻 В принципе в этом нет ничего плохого, но все зависит от культуры. Когда я слышу, как русские обращаются к бабушкам или дедушкам на "ты", я не воспринимаю это, как неуважение, поскольку понимаю культуру (фамильярность, близость, доверие т тд). Но насчет корейцев, с папой и мамой можно на ты, но с бабушкой и дедушкой...лучше на вы. Конечно, я знаю несколько русских корейцев, которые к самым старшим обращаются на "ты", но в основном так не принято. Ну, а если дед или бабушка разговаривают только на корейском, то тем более. У корейцев уважение идет первее фамильярности, и иерархия всегда соблюдается. 😌

[@MrDfrcfk]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean Когда я говорю "ВЫ",это не акт уважения с моей стороны(само уважение,сложнее этих ваших "ВЫ" и "ТЫ")! Но,я могу уступить бабушке место,уважать чужие свободы(если они не пересекаются с моими) и т.д.! Был знаком с одним турком(турком оказался во всех смыслах),который утверждал,что русские очень невоспитанный народ,так как,если сильно упростить,культура русских не совпадает с турецкой культурой! Как говорится - "В чужой монастырь со своим уставом не ходят"(надеюсь правильно написал)! Ах да,про расизм(он же национализм) - в Корее,Китае,Японии он также присутствует(если не больше)!

[@zhuhliy_volk]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean не знаю, как попал на это видео, но было интересно, спасибо😂 что касается обращения на "ты" или "Вы" к старшему поколению родственников, то я всегда обращаюсь к своим бабушкам на "Вы". возможно, это обусловлено тем, что мы живём в разных частях России и я вижу их не так часто, хотя мы достаточно близки upd: я русский

[@ЮлияЦой-л4й]

Это зависит от среды. Для-русскоязычных это не говорит о неуважении. Скорее дело привычки. Мой муж всегда называет маму на вы. Так привык. А я называю свою маму на ты. Но это не говорит о том, что её не уважаю. Тоже самое с моим сыном. Если я говорю по-корейски, то буду соблюдать все правила обращения к старшим.

[@ЮлияЦой-л4й]

​@@MrDfrcfkв России он есть. Ну и в этих странах тоже.

[@command_unit7792]

*And then they clapped meme*

[@anntapanday8774]

❤🇳🇵

[@papstv9285]

Zoya is beautiful My God she gonna heart my comment

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

;D

[@papstv9285]

@@ZoyatheRussianKorean 😍😍😍😍🥰🥰🤩🤩🤩

[@bqpahdoesstuff5123]

We as americans are still believing in delusions in maybe either worshipping or blindly hating russians or russian americans. I Think we need to be both critical of and actually love russians. That is going to be my hypocrisy in the neartime future. Sorry about that.

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Same goes for Russians. It's hard to detach politics from real people who just want to live a peaceful life.

[@hushni]

Is timo is a cat or a bear?? Thanks for share ur exp..

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

I don't even know exactly. It's a yordle.... hahaha

[@hushni]

Haha.. Btw timo is very lucky to have u that aware about him almost out from frame.. Keep safe both of u.. :)

[@oqqaynewaddingxtwjy7072]

Did you know about Ainu

[@HKim0072]

Fun fact: Russia shipped many of the Koreans to the “stans” in the late ‘30s.

[@denismishaev4507]

Fun Fact, they happened to be on Japanese half of Sakhalin enslaved, and lost... Even today koryo-Saram make up 10% of islands population

[@HKim0072]

@@denismishaev4507 Dude - all of Korea was occupied from 1910-45 by the Japanese. Seems like you are trying to justify a mass deportation with other shitty acts.

[@ismailhassanov6587]

@@HKim0072 not russia but soviet

[@HKim0072]

@@ismailhassanov6587 Correct. Apologies. People in the US use those terms (Russia, Soviet Union) interchangeably.

[@ismailhassanov6587]

@@HKim0072 Sakhalin Korean and Koryo Saram is different

[@Cletus_the_Elder]

Having to stay home on Adolf's birthday is a night-day difference from the West. It's difficult to comprehend that. You wouldn't see that even in Germany. This says a lot about Russia.

[@greenduck72553]

Неонацистов посадили в тюрьму. Тех что выжил если быть точнее. Некоторые из тех что посадили погибли там при загадочных обстоятельствах.

[@thedoomster6133]

Zoya, what would be interesting would be your experience on racism in Russia compared to the US and compared to the sometimes nativism in South Korea.

[@ЮлияЦой-л4й]

В РФ есть это, в ЮК тоже. Поэтому корейцам в этом плане легче в Корее. Я спросила сына, каково это, ощутить, что кругом люди такой же нации. Он сказал, что комфортно. Относятся в Корее хорошо. Но я бы не сказала, что в Росси так плохо. Все люди имеют разное образование, воспитание. Когда ты живешь в России, ты всегда должен быть готов дать сдачу.

[@Павел-с6щ5ю]

Здарова народ

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Привеет!))

[@commandersaramosing1241]

im an alien

[@HKim0072]

The American English accent is throwing me off.

[@thedoomster6133]

I noticed that too. Zoya has an American English accent, not a Korean or Russian one. She probably came to America when she was young like under 13 or so. After that, your first language will affect the accent of your second language. I have a Russian friend who came to the US when he was 10. Speaks English like Zoya. But my Russian coworkers, who came over when they were older, have a noticeable Russian accent when they speak English.

[@thedoomster6133]

Re: the ignorant comment about Asians not being smart enough to "invent" forks - I had a similar experience while growing up in the US. I've had African Americans make racist comments about chopsticks directed at me. I learned in college that during the Dark Ages, the Europeans, such as the Rus, did not use utensils other than their knives. They ate with their hands and that was unsanitary since people didn't wash their hands as often as they do now. Asians (the Chinese) figured out that eating with your hands is not sanitary so we used chopsticks at the same time that the ancestors of your Russian classmate were eating with their hands. It's a Korean thing but Koreans of my parents generation are generally leery of eating food with hands because touching food with your hands is considered to be something to be avoided.

[@toomaskotkas4467]

People in Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, etc.), South Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, etc.), Middle East (Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc.) and Africa (Ghana, Ethiopia, Sudan, etc) prefer to eat their food with bare hands. But thanks for your lesson in Russia-hatred.

[@thedoomster6133]

@@toomaskotkas4467 Just combating Asian-hatred with Russia-hatred. You're not Russian but those Russian classmates of the OP were just ignorant.

[@toomaskotkas4467]

@@thedoomster6133 It doesn't matter that I am not Russian. In case you didn't know, it was the Russian princess Ann who married the French King in the middle ages and who taught the French how to use forks. But for an ignorant Russophobic POS like you it doesn't matter - you just need to spread hatred towards Russians.

[@ЮлияЦой-л4й]

Как кореянка из России советую вам лучше изучать историю. И не писать дичь. Чем вам тут русские насолили?

[@ik8705]

Have you ever had a russian slavic boyfriend (or gilfriend) ? And by the way your experiences are cool and peoples have to think that in Russia there is more asian ethnicities than savic ethnicities included the Koryo Saram or Koreans like you :)

[@julius43461]

14:30, Ah such a common thing nowadays. People trying to show how non racist they are, by saying tying everything to race and actually sounding more racist than not. Hilarious.

[@oqqaynewaddingxtwjy7072]

Kamsumida yyayraykere Ainu

[@MrPositiveDownbeat_1999]

Teach me basic Russian words :v pls!

[@ZoyatheRussianKorean]

Privet -- Hi Poka -- bye Spasibo -- thanks :D

[@thedoomster6133]

Pizdyets - most useful word in the Russian language....it's the Russian version of "Forgeddabout it"

[@julius43461]

28:07, Those minor examples of racism can earn you millions in the US :). Sue, write a book, play a victim = profit