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I've Never Eaten a Dog
Being born in 1982, the Year of the Dog, I've always felt
a certain affinity towards man's best friend. That doesn't negate the
fact that both of my parents, who emigrated from South Korea in 1969
and speak excellent English, have eaten dogs, and lived to tell the tales.
Still, in accordance with comments made by Tonight Show host Jay Leno
and in earlier months actress Brigitte Bardot, my identity as a Korean
American has somehow been narrowed down to a culture of canine eaters
who aren't fit to host this summer's World Cup, let alone take on short
track speed skating.
When
I opened my email to read a forward on some of the racist remarks made
by Leno in regards to South Korean protests over Apolo Ohno's victory
over Kim Dong-Sung, I felt annoyed and angry, both as a Korean American
and an Asian American. I think the Korean American element is obvious,
but regardless of where my parents came from; I know well how the American
media links the activities of the "mothaland" to its American counterparts.
Because America claims that we, the perpetual foreigners, all look
alike, if I weren't of Korean heritage, the remarks would still concern
me.
Then I discovered that Ohno is Japanese American. Instantly, I felt excited–in
a land where positive images of APAs are few and far between, every face deserves
celebration. The thing that I didn't understand was that while every mainstream
media outlet was noting Ohno's descent, as well as the fact that he was raised
completely by his immigrant father in Seattle, an APA haven, I saw little commentary
or celebration from my own community. Was it because Koreans on both sides
of the Pacific were banding together to boycott Leno, email bomb NBC, and raise
money for a gold medal for Kim? Did we not want to step on the toes of the
mothaland? Would more APAs be angry at Leno if Ohno was Caucasian? And why
weren't we going buck wild as a community over his victories, as we surely
would have for our darling Michelle Kwan?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but the tension of Asian
versus Asian American is nothing new; Japanese figure skater Midori Ito lost
the gold to Japanese American Kristi Yamaguchi back in 1992. Still, no one
would've ever dreamt to call Ito a "Jap" at the time. In the current dynamic,
not only do you have an Asian American beating an Asian, but you also see the
American media using anti-Asian sentiment to bolster the Asian American. The
issue is confusing enough to articulate, let alone understand.
As Asian Americans, why would should we have to pick one side? Regardless of
who really deserves or who 48,000 irate Koreans might think deserves that gold
medal, we are in the remarkable position where we can both celebrate Ohno's
victories as a community and simultaneously condemn Leno's remarks because
of the negative reflection, intentional or not, that they have on us. Be amazed
because Apolo Ohno, an Asian American, made and is making American history.
Be angry because we live in a culture where racist jokes are still fair game
on late night TV. And if you so wish, keep eating those dogs. You don't need
to be Korean to enjoy good food, nor to know that there's so much more to know
about my people than what we eat for dinner.
