I AM KOREAN AMERICAN

Own Words

Here goes: I grew up in a small town in Oregon. When I was 14 I went to Korea and traveled a bit with this summer school program for kids who were Korean American. Most of the kids were from LA or NY. I was in awe of how much cooler they were than me. The LA girls were so pretty and had their look and vibe all worked out. The East coast kids talked with NY accents and seemed to have that no nonsense street smart edge. I won over the cute cool bad boy by doing a back flip in a dance show and became cool, too. I kept in touch with my NY guy friend over the years and when I finally made it east we hung out and he showed me an unforgettable first time NYC trip. When I eventually moved there I realized that he wasn’t the NYC dweller I thought he was but was from Long Island! Back then I didn’t know the difference. Sorry to say he lost some credibility. Anyway, my dreams of pursuing a life in the arts brought me to NYC and I have lived here for over 15 years. I love the intensity of life here — especially the fact that I can see the most excellent artists perform all year long. I will sometimes forgo paying bills and eating well to see a killer show at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). I am an actor/performing artist and perform with artists/companies as well as create my own work. I live to work (in the arts) and am continually inspired by all the incredible things in life — and being a Korean Am female artist is unintentionally a part of my work. It’s unavoidable; even though I don’t always identify so heavily with being Korean, it is in my dna. As a movement artist, I have some crazy access to moving in a way that seems linked to my heritage and past. I fell into martial arts in the performance setting (kung fu, wing chun, lots of choreographed fighting) and recently learned that I have an ancestor that was like some serious heavy military general/master martial artist. I can imitate Korean pansori and love an epic sad drama, pottie humor and kimchee. When people tell me that I am American, and even though I feel stigmatized for not speaking fluent Korean, I feel pretty sure that my blood is indeed Korean. Or Corean with a “C.” Whatever your prefer.
www.soomikim.com