Left to right; top to bottom; senior Hanna Park, junior Momoko Oyama, senior Ravali Poreddy, junior Adam Rangwala, senior Jack Wei and sophomore Dena Dianati.
As a member of the 1.5 generation, Park described how her experiences due to her mix of cultures influenced her in shaping her identity. “I came here when I was in fifth grade, and so I’m not a part of the Korean popular culture anymore,” Park said. “When you’re Asian American, you always get this feeling that you’re too American for people who are ‘traditionally Asian,’ yet too Asian for other people. A lot of my friends are Asian. They’re not all specifically Korean, but I feel that we all connect to each other in a different way. We can share common experiences and common frustrations. I just don’t know how to explain something so abstract. I’m kind of stuck in the middle of two extremes, I guess. And so that’s a different culture. You’re always going to find people who are stuck in the middle.”
“I was thinking about choosing music as my career path. But they didn’t want me to take too many risks. And you see that in America too, but I feel that the parents are much more supportive of their children. I think American parents really place value [on] the experience and giving their children the opportunity to decide and deal with possible consequences. I think Korean culture stresses practicality as opposed to creativity.” However, despite her parents’ strong Korean backgrounds, Park stated that her family isn’t particularly connected with the Korean community. “Compared to a lot of other Korean families in St. Louis, we’re kind of secluded,” Park said. “I don’t think my family feels the need to mingle with Koreans because there are some things in Korean culture that we don’t really like. The emphasis placed on family-like settings creates a community where everyone is in other people’s business. There’s a lot of gossiping and expectations, and that’s not really us. You automatically expect your friend to do so much for you because of the supposed bond between the two of you, so there’s always too much drama.” Despite not feeling a particular connection to others simply because of their common nationality, Park expressed the close bonds she has with other members of her church. “There are a lot of 1.5 generations in my church, where you had part of your childhood in Korea before immigrating to another country,” Park said. “I definitely relate more with the second generation and 1.5 generations at my church. We just understand each other very well because we’ve had a lot of common experiences. That kind of community is really close to me.”
Momoko Oyama Junior Momoko Oyama was born in Fukuoko, Japan and moved to the US in 2000 when she was three years old. Oyama described that although she can barely remember what life was like in Japan, her nearly annual trips to Japan give her a pretty good idea. “Growing up, my parents made sure me and my sister didn’t forget Japanese,” Oyama said. “I go back every summer, and it was only a couple of years ago I stopped going to the local school when I went back. My parents used to send me and my sister to the local school for about three weeks so that we could get an idea of what the Japanese school system was like.” Oyama describes how her parents’ Japanese background greatly influenced how she was raised. “My parents raised me 99 percent Japanese style,” Oyama said. “In the house we always spoke Japanese. When my sister and I were younger, my parents tried to prevent us from losing our Japanese by saying we couldn’t speak English in the house. Growing up, it was generally understood that academics [were] the biggest priority. I think that mostly comes from the fact that Japanese culture puts such a great emphasis on education. “ While Oyama stated that her values prioritize academics as well, there are still sometimes conflicts between her and her parents. “My mom never went though any education system in the US, and so sometimes her standards are way different from mine,” Oyama said. “I understand where she’s coming from, but she sometimes forgets that even though I’m Japanese, I wasn’t raised in Japan.”