My Cultural Identity
Newfie, Canadian, Korean, or somewhere in between?

Introduction

It was during this week's reading when I came across the following statement in Facing History - A New Concept of Identity (2017) that I really began to question how I looked at myself in terms of my identity:

"...identity cannot be compartmentalized; it cannot be split in halves or thirds, nor have any clearly defined set of boundaries." -Amin Maalouf

My ethnicity, gender, and religion are all pretty simple.  I am your average, white, middle class Christian male.  Very much cut from the same cookie cutter as everyone else I grew up with and much like those described as being the "normal" group when reading about topics such as immigration, segregation, fitting in, and such in the United States and Canada.  What is unique about me, and what I would like to focus this post on is that, you see, I have lived for 16 years in Korea, but was born in raised in a small fishing village in Newfoundland, Canada.  One might think that this means that I have the struggle with figuring out two cultures, but that is not the case as Newfoundland comes with its own cultural uniqueness that cannot be overlook.  It was not until I moved to South Korea that I realized how different I was not only from the rest of the world, or at least Koreans, but also from Canadians from outside of Newfoundland.  When I read this above quote I could not help but see my time in all the places that I've live run through my head and the struggles with who I was come to the forefront.  To better understand this struggle, perhaps you might want to know a little about where I am from.

The Newfoundlander (a.k.a. the Newfie)

Newfoundlanders are, to say the least unique.  You have to look no further than the recent Impromptu 'kitchen party' at Pearson during a flight delay from Toronto to St. John's that went viral back in late November, 2017 or the reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attack by the people of Gander so see that.   We are proud of who were are: kind, quirky, deeply connected to our roots (mostly Irish).  We are often poked fun of by other Canadians and react by laughing with them...at...ourselves.  Life is simple in Newfoundland.  It is like something out of a storybook.  Everyone takes care of everyone.  Trust is the currency, your word is your bond.  Life is slow and fun and we like it that way.  It is the very  thing you would think about of "small town" culture.  

Being Canadian

I was recently in my 1st grade son's classroom where they were doing a unit of inquiry on culture.  The teacher invited parents to come in a present on the culture of their home country.  Of course for my 6 year old son, he was not sure who to ask.  Daddy who is from Canada and clearly not Korean or mommy who is from Korea and clearly Korean.  Eventually I was invited and asked to present about Canadian culture.  What a task!  How does one pinpoint Canadian Culture?  Sure, some of the stereotypes fit.  But, no, we don't say "sorry" all the time, nor do all of us pronounce it "aboot".  While most of us are kind, rational people, we do have people like anywhere that make life hard on others.  Do I talk about the East Coast where winters are harsh, the population spread out, and fishing is (or was) the primary means of work?  Do I talk about the business centre of southern Ontario?  Or the culture of Quebec, which is of French heritage?  How about the prairie provinces?  Or the oil fields of Alberta.  Then, the beautiful West Coast.  Or what about the people?  Canada has been described as a salad bowl and a visit to any metropolis will reveal as much.  The culture of Canada is as wide and diverse as the landmass is large, it is the nature of large countries who were formed by immigrants.  To be Canadian is to be, well, diverse and as Maalouf describe not suitable for compartmentalization.

Life in South Korea

I have people often say to me as I enjoy a bowl of kimchi stew (김치찌개) that I have become "part Korean".  I give items with my right hand as a sign of respect (two hands if the person is culturally deserving of high respect).  I even do that when I am back in Canada, much to the bafflement of the cashiers at the local stores.  One a recent IB trip to Barcelona where there were IB educators from all over the world I, and other representatives from the Asia Pacific region found ourselves chatting one night about how we have all become "asian".  On the very first day it was clear that avoiding conflict was not going to be the norm of the group, however, for us, we did our best to stay out of the fuss.  And, while I was the only one that was from Korea, there was this sense and all of us (average white people from Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and China) were, very much "Asian" in how were acted in a larger group setting, at least for the most part.  It was interesting to debrief on night 1 as a group of the dynamics of the larger group and how we fit into it all.  Clearly after 16 years much of what is considered "normal" in Korea (or Asia for my colleagues) had become "normal" for me and I had not even noticed it.

The Resulting Salad

So proud of being from Newfoundland, I found myself clinging to that part of me when I first moved to Korea.  When asked where I was from my initial answer was, "Newfoundland" and not "Canada".  Of course I would have to explain where Newfoundland was and eventually get the, "Oh, so you're from Canada" response.  So proud to be from Newfoundland, my Skype ID is newfieinkorea and my nickname on the local dart circuit is NEWFIE.  Even my first pet in Korea was named Newfie.  Yes, I was, and really still am, a Newfoundlander (or Newfie as some of us like to call ourselves).  However, to be honest, as I transition out of Korea at the end of this school year I am left felt thinking that I might well be as Maalouf describe, unable to compartmentalize who I am culturally as much as I can simply describe who I am and admit that it cannot be done in a simple statement.  That it is complex.  That it is WHO I am.   When hockey is on, I am Canadian.  When I am feeling homesick, on goes the traditional Newfoundland music.  When I am in Canada for an extended period of time, I seek out the nearest Koreatown so that I can feel a sense of home, and, of course eat some good Korean food.  I even find myself looking for the nearest Koreatown in the locations I am considering for my next job.  I want to be able to play darts and enjoy the outdoors like I can in Newfoundland.  I'd rather be in a close-knit, smaller community like in Newfoundland, but I also want the conveniences of a city such as Edmonton, Toronto, or Seoul.  In other words, I want it all because it all fits who I am - a guy with a salad for a culture.

References

Facing History and Ourselves. (2017). A New Concept of Identity. Retrieved December 5, 2017 from https://www.facinghistory.org/civic-dilemmas/new-concept-identity

Freeman, Joshua. (2017, November 21). Impromptu 'kitchen party' at Pearson airport goes viral.  retrieved December 6, 2017 from http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/impromptu-kitchen-party-at-pearson-airport-goes-viral-1.3687992

Lackey, Katharine. (2017, September 11).  An oasis of kindness on 9/11: This town welcomed 6,700 strangers amid terror attacks.  Retrieved December 6, 2017 from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/09/08/gander-newfoundland-september-11-terror-attacks-kindess-come-from-away/631329001/