Gyopo Stereotyped

One of my favorite comedians in the world is Margaret Cho.  I would consider she is one of the most famous Korean American “celebrities,” but I was surprised to learn that barely anyone knows of her in Korea.  How is that possible?  I mean, Korean people have such strong nationalists, they recognize anyone famous in the world who might have a drop of Korean blood.  I can list those I see in Korean TV commercials and I am enlightened that they are part Korean.  Did you know that Ulsula Mase, Sanda Oh, Grace Park, Daniel Dae Kim, John Cho, Randal Duck Kim, Rich Yoon, Kal Yoon, Alexandra Chin, Will Yoon Lee and even Hines Ward have some amount of Korean blood in them?  To be honest, I had no idea.

The reason behind Margaret Cho being not so popular in Korea is because Koreans are ashamed of Cho.  As an Asian American, growing up in LA and going to school in Berkeley, I learned not to be defined by the stereotype images of Asian American women.  The significant roles in Hollywood films and TV shows still show the Asian American stereotypes.  Well, for those unaware of the stereotypes for us, Asians in the states, let’s go over them.  

Stereotypes of Asian American men can be divided into two large sectors.

1.        The fabulous Kung-Fu fighting man who doesn’t speak English well.  Jackie Chan in the movie Tuxedo was very controversial because it portrayed an Asian man not being capable of anything good except when he wore the tuxedo he turned into a superhero.  Even though Chan was playing the love interest of Jennifer Love Hewitt, there were no kiss scenes that you even see on Disney channel these days. 2.        The super nerd with big glasses and no sex appeal.  Long Duck Dong in the movie Sixteen Candles portrays the Asian American men to the tee.  Unattractive man who tries hard to be accepted but is not accepted into the culture.   

Stereotypes of Asian American women can also be divided into two sectors.

1.        The Dragon Lady.  An Asian woman who is seductive and desirable by men but at the same time she is considered untrustworthy and conniving.  Pearl in film Payback played by Lucy Liu defines the Dragon Lady.  The sadistic dominatrix/hit woman for the Chinese mafia (www.wikipedia.com).  Need to say more?

2.        The fragile young women who are waiting for a man to come and rescue her.  Chiyo/ Sayuri character of film Memoirs of a Geisha played by Ziyi Zhang represents a typical Asian American woman men vision.  The helpless yet beautiful and fragile woman who can’t do anything for herself and therefore a man (preferably a Caucasian) needs to rescue her. 

Okay.  We all know that Asian Americans actually do not divide into these 4 sectors, right?  As an Asian American woman, I have to say that I was not affected horribly by these stereotypes.  Growing up, I had 2 sisters and we were raised to be very atypical Asian women, thanks to our fabulous and very westernized father.  But there had to be a reason that I didn’t find Asian men attractive at all.  I am not talking about Asian movie stars; of course I crushed on them, but on real Asian men.  Nope, no interest at all until recently where I am surrounded only by Asian men.  A friend of mine who grew up in LA and now here in Korea once told me that he was judged by those stereotypes every day of his life; when I can’t see Long Duck Dong or Jackie Chan in him.  He was a boy from great family and background, intelligent with great degrees, cute, and above all, a suave DJ; okay there were no cool Asian DJs in any movies I watched growing up.

Here in Korea, interestingly and to my surprise, I am looked upon through the stereotype of Gyopo, Korean American women in the Korean language.  The outspoken and wild party animals with long brown dyed hair with thin eye brows.  Yeap, that’s the stereotype of Korean American women here in Seoul.  Even though I think I look Korean, I am spotted everyday as a Gyopo and honestly I spot “one of us” in the streets of Abgujung (the Beverly Hills of Korea).   Honestly, I have never struggled with my identity, growing up.  I thought working in Korea was going to be as easy as working in the States.  Boy, was I wrong.  Anything I say in the conference room is easily taken out of context and judged with the comment, “oh, she’s a Gyopo so…”  The way I look is always on the chopping board, how I look young and unprofessional.  I think so far, I have received more feedback on my appearance on my clothes and hair rather than the quality of work.  So, I made a big, I mean, big decision.  I cut my long brown colored hair to a short little bob.   

I had to whine about this somewhere.  I wasn’t aware that I would have a stereotype that would follow me in Korea.  What I feel is that I truly don’t have a culture or a nation that I belong to.  If I am not considered a true American, even though I was born and raised there, and I am not considered a true Korean, even though I look Korean; well, I don’t have blue eyes and blonde hair, where do I belogn?   I can already tell this stereotype in Korea is going to be a hard one to break.  My first step has been taken (cutting the hair) and I will definitely update everyone who is willing to listen on how I am doing so far on it.  

Let the games begin~  Bring it!!

August 2, 2007. Mindset.