A group of girls sitting in a circle on grass at night, shining flashlights at something on the ground in the center of the circle. More girls, two of them in light blue Camp Naru polo shirts, stand behind them, laughing and holding up a flashlight.

N.J., USA/Gyeongju, Korea

My Korean Experience

Photo essay by Jaymin Ding Inspired by The New York Times' Where We Are Series

I was fortunate to grow up in a wonderfully diverse community of many different people. Each of their cultures are unique and amazing. However, being in a community of such diverse people sometimes leads you to forget about your culture.

I'd often observed my mother doing things in Korean–speaking on the phone, making food, and other such activities. However, having never participated, I didn’t really understand Korean culture. What was special about it? What made it me?

Spending time at my Korean school in New Jersey helped me gain a connection with my inner Korean identity.

Each day in Korean school started with some cultural activities, such as music, dance, or martial arts, and then a transition to learning the language and its structure, grammar, and alphabet, as well as its history.

Me a few years ago wearing gol-lyong-pyo (the King's traditional clothing) in Korea
Me wearing the Traditional King's hanbok (clothing)
Me wearing a regular hanbok

Traditional Korean clothing, known as hanbok, was often used to symbolize one’s status back in the days of Korean dynasties. Royalty had a different outfit than both noblemen and the lower class did. There are also different hanboks for different occasions, such as birthdays, funerals, and dances.

Did I mention that I love Korean food?

Meal I had - Traditional Korean food – dduk galbi (rice cake-shaped beef ribs) and dwaejigogi suyuk (boiled pork slices).
Three girls sitting on the floor of a wood-paneled room, in front of rows of red velvet seats. The girl on the left wears a white T-shirt, a green sweatshirt and glasses and holds a pen and a piece of paper. The girls on the right wear a white T-shirt and a blue T-shirt and pink shorts and gesture toward the piece of paper.
Meal I had - A variety of assorted Korean food. Usually food is served in the format of some main dishes and some extra side dishes.

Korean food is an important part of me as a whole.

To me, Korean food feels like home. Despite the fact that I love trying a variety of different cuisines, at the end of the day, I always circle back to Korean food.

Something about it just tugs on me like a rope, pulling me back to it whenever I've gone without it for too long. Maybe that's because it's part of what makes me feel at home. Most definitely, the taste of home cooking cannot be replaced.

As another part of Korean school, we learned about Korea’s history. Learning about the history enabled me to gain a deeper connection with the culture (and also realize how cool it is).

For example, Admiral Yi Sun-Shin of the Joseon Dynasty was famed for his outrageous victories against the Japanese navy while being massively outnumbered. His prowess in making plans and the unique “turtle ships” (so called because of their shapes) he used contributed to his success.

Korea’s unique history helped me feel a deeper connection with my heritage because I was able to say “wow… people in my past really did that!” This also taught me that an important part of Korean culture is tenacity–in the face of any challenge, we are always up to it.

At first, Korean dances seemed a little unorthodox to me. It isn’t the standard thing that comes to mind when you think of dance: rather than light clothing and background music, there was a lot of drumming and sometimes going in a circle.
But I realize that these kinds of dances have a deeper meaning as part of Korean culture. As traditional dances, they often tell a story. The clothing, which was shown earlier, is unique. Rather than symbolizing one’s status in this case, they are simply a part of the dance.

By looking at it in a different light, I was able to see its true beauty.

Through my experience at Korean school, I realized that culture does not just surround you. It’s not just where you grow up and what you see and eat. It’s what you DO. Only when you “do culture” do you then begin to appreciate it on a deeper level, that it starts to change your fundamental sense of identity and belonging.

Through learning about my own identity, I was able to gain a deeper appreciation of the multicultural fabric of America. We are a melting pot of different cultures. Each one is beautiful in its own regard, and we should never forget that. Doing culture isn’t limited to your own culture. Only when we open our minds and accept other cultures can we fully appreciate our diversity. Sometimes, in order to better understand others, it helps to take a look at yourself. What makes your culture you?

Made with ❤️ by Jay Ding in NY

Photo Credits:
8 Photos: Jay Ding
World Map on Cover: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/world_map.htm
Traditional Korean House (first slide): https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/5-traditional-korean-houses-you-can-actually-stay-in/
Traditional Korean Restaurant (second slide): https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g294197-d447939-i371258302-Mayfield_Seoul-Seoul.html
Map of Old Korea (third slide): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Kingdoms_of_Korea
Stage background (fourth slide): https://www.stockunlimited.com/image/dark-stage-background_2012900.html