#164, Ethnicity
The past two weeks in class, you read stories that revolved around characters who struggled understanding self. In Skins, Mitchell Sabattis is half Native American and half Swedish. He struggles to be a "real" Indian and dealing with his split identity. In Nicole, the narrator has a white mother and a black father which makes her feel as though she is a black sheep in society. Both characters have to ask themselves, how does my race affect who I am?
ethnicity n. the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition
South Korea is a homogenous nation with ethnic Koreans comprising 97.7% of the population (the rest is comprised of 2% Japanese and a mix of other ethnic groups). As the vast majority of the populace is Korean, ethnicity is less of a concern here than in other more diverse parts of the world. Nevertheless, the question of self remains.
To complete this Journal response,
Do you consider yourself a real Korean? Or do you identify yourself in some other way?
Comment on a peer's response.
-Brenden Lee Teacher