[cin203]

I'm about to do an essay about how I identity myself , including a particular cultural background info that clearly defines who i am. But I'm having trouble on finding out who i am (Asian,Chinese,Chinese-American, or Asian American) I want to hear how people view themselves if they were asked this question too. Thanks!

[supa'Wanki]

Thats a hard one... I'd say Korean American. My ethnicity is Korean and my nationality is American.

[melonbun]

To me, the answer to that question would simply be, "Asian." Although I was born mixed with 3 Asian backgrounds, the overall (south)East-Asian culture represents who I am. I find that the traditions and culture in a sense, are somewhat similar and naturally, growing in my cultural environment I'm just more attracted to it. I’m also Canadian but outside of the Asian culture, I’m not affected by anything else.

It really depends on how you look at it. Do you share the same opinions and beliefs as an American would? Or does your Asian heritage influence your choices? Do you fall into the media stereotypes?

Just expand and make a list of possible reasons why you would consider yourself to be part of such an identity, (or why you wouldn’t consider yourself to be part of just one.)

But yea, good luck on your essay~

[tofu plushie]

Well.. I consider myself Chinese and American not just one way another just both. And obviously I identify myself as Asian also. Haha, it's hard to label myself under a definite cultural identity.

[DaAzNkIgGa627]

I am an second generation Korean-American.

I speak Korean, eat Korean foods, love Korean fods, and feel some sort of magic bond between other Korean people.

But I love this country, I want to serve it as a diplomat, I love baseball (apple pie, Superman etc.), and I speak Englsih a lot better than I do Korean.

I associate better with white people (becasue I live in a predominately white neighborhood) and have friends who come from all different stripes, and that is the beauty of America. I have friends who's ancestors came from the Mayflower, and I have friends ancestors who have lived in Minnesota (as Native Americans) since way back before white people even came to the Americas.

But I believe this is different for me than maybe someone who grew up in L.A. like my cousins where they live in a predominately Korean neighborhood (70 plus percent) and associate themselves as Koreans more than as Americans.

But to me, I'm a 2nd generation Korean-American, and I'm proud of the kimchi in my heritage, the baseball (which Korea won Gold btw...), the apple pie, the kimbap =P

[twinkle_l0ve]

haha, I just did a 5000 word paper on the Korean identity within Australia *shudders*
you should define identity, culture (the way we do things) and ethnicity/heritage
a lot of people base their identity according to their heritage, though we also adapt to our environment (i.e. the country we're living in) and combine that with the way we do things (culture), do you get it?
For example, my ethnicity is Korean, but I live in Australia, so my cultural identity is Australian born Korean since I do both Korean things and Australian things

[cin203]

To me, the answer to that question would simply be, "Asian." Although I was born mixed with 3 Asian backgrounds, the overall (south)East-Asian culture represents who I am. I find that the traditions and culture in a sense, are somewhat similar and naturally, growing in my cultural environment I'm just more attracted to it. I’m also Canadian but outside of the Asian culture, I’m not affected by anything else.

It really depends on how you look at it. Do you share the same opinions and beliefs as an American would? Or does your Asian heritage influence your choices? Do you fall into the media stereotypes?

Just expand and make a list of possible reasons why you would consider yourself to be part of such an identity, (or why you wouldn’t consider yourself to be part of just one.)

But yea, good luck on your essay~

I actually thought of myself as being just "Asian" but I felt like it would be harder for me to write cuz I was born in America. Also I don't really know if I share the same opinions and beliefs as an American would because I don't really know what their beliefs are =X but thanks for the help !


and thanks to everyone who have replied to my post! this will definitely help =)

[alicimoo]

I consider myself Chinese-American, although I'm uh..not really American. I'm still a Chinese citizen. I was born in China, lived in Sweden for half my life, and in the US for the rest of it so far. But (I don't think I'm phrasing this correctly) I practice American culture(?) ._.

[Krazim]

Uhh...as for my ethnicity, I'm 1/8 Chinese and 7/8 Vietnamese, but my nationality is American. However, I tend to be the person that doesn't really like the views of America because where I live... (it's horrible, and you'll just wanna stab yourself) I love practicing and looking up my heritage rather than the U.S. culture. XD 'Cause heck - Asians are da bombs.

[DoDam]

I'd like to think of myself as korean-canadian, but I doubt many people even know that.
I am a second generation Korean growing up in Canada.
I can't say I truly "love" Canada. My child-hood days were tough in Canada.


I feel as though I'm less of a korean because of my inablility to speak the language.
For a period I simply referred to myself as "asian" but I found that it felt empty in a way. Not trying to be corny, but really that's how I felt after a year.

I always say, "I am Korean-Canadian, but... I can't speak korean...
But I do believe myself to be Korean-Canadian, always Korean over the Canadian.

[`Star]

About ethnicity and school...
I've heard it was better to NOT put your ethnicity on college apps because they--for example:
I'm asian. Theres already alot of asians at UC berkeley so in order to keep a balanced diversity of students,
they might turn me down.
--Is this true? This is what my friend said and it makes sense.

[lovecubedlee]

i say asian american...
but if people ask, what kind of asian are you...
i say taiwanese..
even though.
yeah i know...there's really no such thing..
you're supposed to just say chinese..
when you bubble ur ethnicity on the sats, you bubble chinese.
but when people ask me, i say taiwanese.....it's just a pride thing i guess.

usually i say asian american
cuz i dont like discrimination within races...

to ` Star.... yeah that's true. but i didn't know we had the option of NOT putting our race.... cuz if we do, then i won't....
it sucks cuz they think that since you're asian, you must be bomb and if you're not...then they don't want you..
like...they judge us way harder than other ethnicities.

[`Star]

^Yeah. Gosh, this really does suck.
Isn't there an option of "Prefer not to answer" or "Other"?
o.o'

[rawritskim]

Vietnamese-American
1st generation

[HighSkies]

chinese-british? (Does something like that even exist?)
I am chinese, but my nationality is british. I was born in England and I speak english a million times better than I do chinese (although I still understand it quite well.) Personally I would put both, because for me they play important parts in my life. Good luck on writing your essay. ^^

[cin203]

thanks everyone for replying! i'm starting to get a better idea of what to write now..hopefully i won't pull an all nighter for this haha =)

[trankimuyen]

I'm going to go with a first generation Vietnamese-Canadian.
I wanted to say that I was only Vietnamese because I take a lot of pride in being Vietnamese and everything but I don't do so well with the cultural stuff and with 'age' etc. I speak the language better than English though, and I like to think my English is excellent.
But I really love Canada, and my beliefs kind of lean more towards Canada with freedom of speech and whatnot.
And I'm happy here because people offer me respect like I do to them and I don't receive racist remarks but it's not like I wouldn't be respected in Vietnam, but I don't like how some of the things go down in Vietnam (especially politics).
So yes, I am Vietnamese-Canadian, or Asian-Canadian.

[HtyPotter]

Korean-American, but from time to time I'll say Asian-American if I want to generalize about my minority experience.

[`LANE]

i don't really call myself as any.. but when i do, its asian american. there are the few occasions where i say i'm laotian american.. but its very rare. people don't know so much what laotian is..

[Kittykitt129]

Hmm...that's a toughy...I'd have to say..."African-American"?
I don't consider myself African at all. Just the melanin in my skin and my crazy-kooky hair ties me to Africa in the least. I can't speak any of it, really...except my Southern country slang that only differs from Tennessee slang in the way that it is without an accent.
If it wasn't for the fact that that's "supposedly" the right way to say what I am, I wouldn't be that at all.
I call myself American.
Nothing attached.
I eat fried chick; doesn't everybody?
Chitlins are things of myths in my house.
So, yeah. I'd just say I'm American.
Others'd say I'm African American.
Most people'd just say I'm black.