She's pushing the cultural-identity boundaries that may not be visible to most of the audience out there, but I see it and applaud her for pushing it. AND she couldn't have done a better tribute to her mother and her motherland with the hanbok she wore as her second look on the runway last night. How she is carrying herself on the show is absolutely incredible she doesn't step on her competitors to get herself to the top because she doesn't have to. It's incredibly brave of her to even talk about how she can't talk about her career with her mom because even just talking about that can become a life/death situation within a Korean family, a Korean community at large. Now when I look at someone like Kim Chi, whose base is where "I'm from" (because I really identify Chicago as my hometown at this point, especially as an ex-pat in Europe), I relate to her EVERY STEP OF HER WAY. So this makes the Korean immigrant parents even more conservative than the parents in Korea. Being different here is not only frowned upon but also treated like a SIN, by transitive properties and what not. Their mentality is still stuck somewhere almost half a century ago because they didn't assimilate with the US culture and evolve much, as it is not the right thing to do to desert your heritage and your people. Korea is already super conservative to begin with, then there are Korean Christians, and then there are these Korean Christians who moved to the States in the 70s and stuck around together. find out what are the best education options for the kids, and 3. Many Koreans move to the States for one reason or another, and the first place you can go to 1.
I don't know if it's true for Kim's family, but my immigration experience is almost entirely synonymous as my experience with the Korean Presbyterian church. At large, this applies to being a Korean and how we're all "one people." When I came out to my parents, the first thing my mom said was, "How do I explain this to our family back in Korea?" (Mind you, I have close to 40 cousins from my parents' siblings, and I don't even know some of their names.) Then my mom proceeded to ask, "What will the people from the church say?" You don't say "my family" or "my mom," but rather "our family" or "our mom," even if you are an only child, because family related things don't belong to just you you are a part of it, and you must respect that and do your part. The language itself is built around that. However, it's very much relevant in Korea, even today. People often joke about how we Asians "must bring honor to our family," and it's true that it sounds old-fashioned and silly. I know she meant well and wanted her to do so for her own growth, so thank you Ru for being so thoughtful.
I personally got really uncomfortable with Ru making a decision for Kim during her discussion with her squirrel friends, saying that she should basically come out as a drag queen to her mom. As a 1.5 generation Korean myself, I just wanted to share what it is to experience the phenomenon that is Kim Chi "from the other side of the pond." Seeing some comments on other threads, I just wanted to point out how touchy this subject is for someone like Kim Chi, a 1.5-generation/2.0 generation immigrant from a conservative Asian country, and how BRAVE of her it is to do what she does at such an international level. Disclaimer: This might get a little long, dark, and boring, like that Grindr hook-up you thought you'd try for egalitarianism's sake but found out to be not your cup of tea? Scroll down for TL DR
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