Linda Choi
Linda Choi: What it means to be a Korean Canadian
When I was growing up in Korea I did not quite realize how beautiful the country was. The rivers, the mountains and azaleas have however been imprinted in my mind forever.
When my family was immigrating to Canada, my two younger brothers protested hugely. They did not want to go. They had too many good friends. I was the only one who was literally free. I was too young to have any romantic relationship with anyone or even a crush. I was by then attending an all girls middle school and never saw or met boys on the way to school or on the way home; between hills, streets, school and home. Going to Canada meant for me at the time, a new beginning, a new life, devoid of any specifics.
The image of what Canada could mean was already forming in my mind. It was full of lakes and mountains, like the paintings from the Group of Seven which I did not know at the time. Contrary to my willingness to come to the new country, I did not quite adjust as well as I wanted in so many ways. I cannot define a Canadian.
A Korean has a certain look that is sort of distinguishable, but this, I think is something you believe only if you are Korean. A Canadian , on the other hand, has no feature, other than as one with a white face… but this also is not true at all… The moment I landed at the airport in 1975, I felt myself to be an outsider. This feeling of being split did not diminish over the years. In fact, it must have attached to me the very moment I left Korea and it has stayed with me all these years.
Yet I remember my first instance of hope as I was leaving , as the hope of trying to become more than what I was… I think of all people who live in this land of vastness and singularity. And I walk and dream and meet others who also have come from some other places.