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A review by anabel_unker
Kinda Korean: Stories from an American Life by Joan Sung
5.0
*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*
In this deeply personal and incredibly moving memoir, author Joan Sung tackles not only her contentious relationship with her North Korean mother but also her own relationship with America. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Sung starts by describing a childhood with an emotionally unavailable and volatile mother-- physical and emotional abuse are only made worse by the mother and daughter's inability to speak the same language fluently. Sung discusses struggling to realize her own identity; she’s to American to be a good Korean daughter, but not American enough for her white peers.
Later in the book and her life, Sung discusses the rampant over-sexualization and fetishization of Asian women, the harmful stereotypes that are still ingrained in how society treats and what it expects of Asian Americans, as well as the more recent racism against Asians as a direct result of COVID-19 and other racially motivated acts of violence. An Air-Force veteran, Sung provides insight as a Korean American woman working in the military-- an environment well known for its rampant sexual harassment and sexism. At the end of the book, Sung, now the mother to a mixed-race son, reflects on her own relationship with her mother as well as the life her son will have because of his heritage.
As America enters into a new chapter (one many of us are rightly scared and angry to begin), stories like Sung's-- the experiences of people that our society wants to overlook-- will be more important than ever.
In this deeply personal and incredibly moving memoir, author Joan Sung tackles not only her contentious relationship with her North Korean mother but also her own relationship with America. Raised in Seattle, Washington, Sung starts by describing a childhood with an emotionally unavailable and volatile mother-- physical and emotional abuse are only made worse by the mother and daughter's inability to speak the same language fluently. Sung discusses struggling to realize her own identity; she’s to American to be a good Korean daughter, but not American enough for her white peers.
Later in the book and her life, Sung discusses the rampant over-sexualization and fetishization of Asian women, the harmful stereotypes that are still ingrained in how society treats and what it expects of Asian Americans, as well as the more recent racism against Asians as a direct result of COVID-19 and other racially motivated acts of violence. An Air-Force veteran, Sung provides insight as a Korean American woman working in the military-- an environment well known for its rampant sexual harassment and sexism. At the end of the book, Sung, now the mother to a mixed-race son, reflects on her own relationship with her mother as well as the life her son will have because of his heritage.
As America enters into a new chapter (one many of us are rightly scared and angry to begin), stories like Sung's-- the experiences of people that our society wants to overlook-- will be more important than ever.