It shows minorities as they are, not how we want them to be. — Hollywood has its own version of the model minority myth. Or put more accurately, the compulsion to cast minorities in certain model roles. Black people are frequently portrayed as police officers, scientists, and in positions of power. Asians are frequently coupled with non-Asian partners, as if to fulfill a maximum…

In a culture where beauty standards are clearly defined, how do you make peace with falling short? — “Teacher, you’re ugly.” The phrase slipped out of my nine-year-old student’s mouth as easy as an exhale. I had spent enough time in Seoul at that point to learn that some words were said there with less caution than they were back home in Canada. Things like: “Why do you…

Netflix’s latest zombie series invokes collective traumas specific to contemporary Korean society. — Early reviews have described All of Us Are Dead as “a cross between Train to Busan and Euphoria.” Plenty of connections have been made to AOUAD’s handling of a figurative zombie ‘virus’ and the actual coronavirus which still figures heavily in our daily lives. What these reviews miss is the…

Despite having very little Asian representation — There will be spoilers in this article. Lately I’ve become more audacious in my standards of ‘good representation.’ Maybe it’s because I’m viewing in a post-Crazy Rich Asians era where we actually have an Asian Marvel Superhero with his own movie, and due to several miraculous incidences mostly owing to…

Nowadays, it seems that we are all either going to therapy, self-prescribing replacements for therapy, or telling people to go to therapy. It’s become the uncontested mantlepiece of First World well-being strategies. The history of psychotherapy draws the origins of modern therapy from religious, magical, and medical approaches to the…

No spoilers included. — Everyone has been talking about Squid Game, the runaway success which officially became Netflix’s biggest ever series launch on Tuesday. Following the news, North Korea entered the chat. Squid Game is notable for introducing us to a cast with unexpectedly rich and diverse backgrounds. Among them, fan favourite Sae-byuk is…

What it’s like to live in a 50 square-foot micro apartment in Seoul — In the first week, I broke everything: a $2 plate from Daiso, which I’d loved for its spunky polka-dots. A cylindrical holder for my travel-friendly toothbrush and mini toothpaste. Finally, a precious Royal Albert mug I’d been given as a gift that spring. Crash. I looked numbly at the elegant…

Because let’s face it. We’re not born woke. — Like most things in life, it began with good intentions. And by “it,” I mean all of it — the implicit bias training at work, the colorful infographics on Instagram, the workshops about intersectionality, and the fact sheets on microaggressions. Does it feel overwhelming? If you answered yes, join the…

The sleepy town of New Malden, a suburb of southwest London, England, is not where one typically expects to be recruited as a spy. But Sarah*, a North Korean refugee, retells this peculiar anecdote in a near-empty Krispy Kreme cafe. It happened on a weekday morning, while she was grocery…