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Dear dongsaeng, Growing up, I was always proud of my name, specially my surname Park, which was easy to pronounce. Unlike my other friends, teachers wouldn't spend hours trying to pick apart my name, or give up and ask if there was an easier English nickname to call me by. I felt bad for my …

Continue reading "🤔 Is My Name Yours? 👩🏻"

Dear dongsaeng, Suppose you brought some Korean food to class and a friend told you it smelled good. Or maybe you were practicing writing in Korean and your seat-mate ogled at the fact you were fluent in two languages ("Hey, can you write my name in Korean too?!"). You'd probably feel proud to have your …

Continue reading "🇰🇷 Koreaboos: I am Not Your Cultural Commodity 🚫"

Dear dongsaeng, Ever since I was little, my halmoni and I would binge Korean dramas together, namely the ever-so-popular 2002 hit, Winter Sonata. Halmoni's favourite actress was Choi Ji-woo, the female lead, and would often tell me I looked like her. To her, this star was the symbol of the "ultimate Korean woman" in all her beauty and …

Continue reading "💗 Dating 101: Do (Grand)mothers Know Best? 💋"