If You Say You Love An Asian Culture, Please Read This
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

If You Say You Love An Asian Culture, Please Read This

It may be completely new and foreign to you, but it's my everyday life. Please respect that.

66
https://www.everypixel.com/search?q=asia&stocks_type=free&image_id=4222767048921547162
Everypixel

Okay. First of all, it's great that you like Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Any Other Asian culture. Really, I appreciate it, this just shows that how small the world is getting. This just shows how multicultural people can become. This just shows that culture is something that is meant to be shared, not kept for only one group of people.

But I need you to listen.

My culture, or any other culture for that matter, is not something you should be fangirling over at every given moment. Okay? I don't usually see people doing this to my culture, Vietnamese culture, but I see this happening with Japanese and Korean cultures a lot. A lot of the time, those people are the ones who incorporate random Japanese or Korean words into their everyday vocabulary. These are the people who usually avidly watch anime or K-Pop or K-Dramas. These are the people who desperately want to be Korean/Japanese. We call those individuals weebos or koreaboos. That's not a label you want to have.

I can't tell you the number of Asian Americans (specifically Korean-Americans) who have told me how uncomfortable it gets for them when people obsess over their culture. And honestly, even though it is not necessarily my culture that gets obsessed over, I get uncomfortable for those individuals.

Because it's one thing to appreciate another culture. It's another thing to fangirl and obsess over another culture. That culture may be completely magical and new to say a non-Asian person, but it's still someone else's culture. That culture is someone else's everyday life- they were born into that culture, it's nothing new to them. So for they exoticize Asian cultures that way is not only uncomfortable, but also an insult. Language is a very important part of every culture so when people try to incorporate parts of Japanese and Korean language into their English, that's rude. They're butchering the language. They're not even trying to fully understand the culture they claim to love so much.

Speaking of which, that's another part that gets uncomfortable. When people equate the entirety of Japanese/Korean culture to one aspect, like anime or K-Pop for example. Yes, K-Pop, for example is a part of South Korean culture, but it doesn't make up the entirety of South Korean culture. That's so much more to South Korean culture like the food or the history or the clothing. And besides, if people just equate South Korean culture to just K-Pop then it makes the entirety of South Korea and its population seem kind of…fake, you know?

But on that note, all I'm asking that if you love an Asian culture, please, please, PLEASE treat it the way you would treat say, your own culture. Treat it with the same respect you would for say Italian culture. Because when people fetishize and exoticize Asian cultures, we Asian-Americans get the brunt of the effects- we get considered weird and alien. And worst of all, people then fail to see the different variations we and our cultures come in.

And if you really want an example of that, talk to the guy who kept talking to me about Japanese tatami mats even after I told him I wasn't Japanese.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life.

51860
college students waiting in a long line in the hallway
StableDiffusion

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Keep Reading...Show less
a man and a woman sitting on the beach in front of the sunset

Whether you met your new love interest online, through mutual friends, or another way entirely, you'll definitely want to know what you're getting into. I mean, really, what's the point in entering a relationship with someone if you don't know whether or not you're compatible on a very basic level?

Consider these 21 questions to ask in the talking stage when getting to know that new guy or girl you just started talking to:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Challah vs. Easter Bread: A Delicious Dilemma

Is there really such a difference in Challah bread or Easter Bread?

33303
loaves of challah and easter bread stacked up aside each other, an abundance of food in baskets
StableDiffusion

Ever since I could remember, it was a treat to receive Easter Bread made by my grandmother. We would only have it once a year and the wait was excruciating. Now that my grandmother has gotten older, she has stopped baking a lot of her recipes that require a lot of hand usage--her traditional Italian baking means no machines. So for the past few years, I have missed enjoying my Easter Bread.

Keep Reading...Show less
Adulting

Unlocking Lake People's Secrets: 15 Must-Knows!

There's no other place you'd rather be in the summer.

956193
Group of joyful friends sitting in a boat
Haley Harvey

The people that spend their summers at the lake are a unique group of people.

Whether you grew up going to the lake, have only recently started going, or have only been once or twice, you know it takes a certain kind of person to be a lake person. To the long-time lake people, the lake holds a special place in your heart, no matter how dirty the water may look.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Top 10 Reasons My School Rocks!

Why I Chose a Small School Over a Big University.

181122
man in black long sleeve shirt and black pants walking on white concrete pathway

I was asked so many times why I wanted to go to a small school when a big university is so much better. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure a big university is great but I absolutely love going to a small school. I know that I miss out on big sporting events and having people actually know where it is. I can't even count how many times I've been asked where it is and I know they won't know so I just say "somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin." But, I get to know most people at my school and I know my professors very well. Not to mention, being able to walk to the other side of campus in 5 minutes at a casual walking pace. I am so happy I made the decision to go to school where I did. I love my school and these are just a few reasons why.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments