Embrace It!

I am Korean. Did you know that about me?

I am also very un-Korean. I joke that my Dearest is more Korean than I am (even though he is a mix of a smidge of Lebanese and Northern European heritages). I am not fond of overly Asian-looking decor. I am not fond of Korean food -- about once every two months is my limit for Korean food. I can understand the language better than I can speak it. I can read it very s-l-o-w-l-y. My mom gave me a poster of Korean "letters" to hang in our classroom so that I can teach my boys the language. Ummm... they're learning German.

This past Saturday, I was at a meeting for my CTMH Unit and one consultant showed me a new layout using some Asian stamps. It was very pretty, but I told her that the stamps were "too Asian for me." A British spit-fire of a gal looked up and said, "Did you just say 'too Asian for you'? Embrace your heritage!" Little did I know what her words would bring!

After the Unit Meeting, I received a phone call from the chair of the Foreign Missions committee at my church. She asked me about inexpensive snacks to serve during Mission Sunday as we will have a missionary for Korea coming to speak. I called my Mom and she suggested we make egg rolls (mondu) and a sweetened sticky rice ball with chestnuts, pine nuts, and raisins (yak shik) to serve as refreshments.

On Sunday night, I received an email from a friend whose son is teaching English in Korea. She had forwarded a link to his "girls' new hit." Reluctantly, I clicked on it and now I think I'm hooked on Korean pop music.

I guess it's time to face the music - no pun intended. I am Korean and I guess it's time to embrace my heritage in small steps, mind you.

My Dearest just heard some of the song and asked if it was by "my Koreans." Yes, Dearest, it is.

Here's the video of the song I was sent:




Here's the same song with English subtitles: