I AM KOREAN AMERICAN

Own Words

I was born in Seattle, Washington. My family tells me that they sent me to Korea when I was six months old, and my cousin carried me in a basket. She was sixteen at the time, and mortified by the judging stares of Koreans on the plane. Not really sure if this story is true, but I get a kick out of how random it is.

English (engrish) is my second language. I learned English when I moved to the Hawaii in the first grade, and distinctively remember the time I couldn’t pronounce pizza. I was teased, but never pronounced pizza as “peeja” ever again.

I’ve been told that I have an old soul. Maybe because I traveled alone a lot when I was young. I would relish in collecting those little plastic wings, after the flight attendants would force you to wear them to flag “underage traveler”. One time, I sat between this really old couple. They would smoke their cigarettes and we would spend the 6-8 hr flight chatting about Danielle Steele books, the news, etc. I’m pretty sure if I had tried to bum a cig, they would have given it to me.

Have you ever heard an Asian person talk with a southern accent? Well, lucky if you knew me when I lived in Georgia. Enough time has passed to laugh about it now.

Clearly, I had a pretty interesting childhood, then reality set in and I entered the workforce when at fifteen. Name a job, and I probably held that gig at some point in my life. Lemon stomper, mail clerk, photography assistant, retail, cashier, bank teller, waitress, bartender, you name it. I think one year, I had about 5 different W-2’s and I didn’t have enough money for H&R Block. FML.

I recycle bottle caps. I’m confident that one day, I’ll use them for something artistic and useful.

While I’ve been on a creative hiatus, I have another outlet. My other passion is marketing; particularly studying the path of digital and social media. I love analyzing human behaviors and how they react to media, conversations, technology… it’s all very fascinating. But certain trends baffle me, like Crocs and mini pink dog sweaters. Place a product on a celebrity and BAM! New trend. I’ll never understand it.

As much as I love online technologies, I’m pretty good about turning off the machine when I’m on vacation. Especially when it involves a foreign country, a tropical beach, or better yet, both.

Traveling is probably the best way to learn more about yourself and the world. It challenges you to open your eyes and see the bigger picture. I’m fond of traveling in every way – whether I’m staying at a five star hotel, backpacking via hostels, camping on the beach, or doing humanitarian work. If you’re ever thinking about taking a trip somewhere, try not to think about the “what if”. You’ll always find reasons not to do something, but know that you can always make things work if you really want it.

My family and friends always tell me that I’m the most random person they know. They will be talking about why the sky is blue, and I will ask them if the sky can turn orange, and if so how. I’m glad that there are other random Korean people like me to contribute to a social phenomenon like this one. Even random people can be useful too.

Find my musings on art, digital marketing, and social media at www.socialpotatochips.com