Melanie Kim I Was Never on the Boat Interdisciplinary As a 3rd generation Korean-American in Southern California, I grew up between Korean and mainstream white culture. Though I learned to move fluidly between cultures, I feel a lack of cultural qualifications to be identified as a traditional member of either. And so I cling to moderately Asian pop-culture to balance my Asian-American identity, drawing almost exclusively from my childhood. Coming to terms with my racial identity has been awkward. Being third generation, I am the most Americanized of my family, and in some ways the “least Korean.” At the same time, my childhood is associated with tension—being Asian among white peers—which made me stop wanting to be Korean in public. Further complicating these frustrations is the lack of available cultural definitions for what it looks like to be Asian- miss.melanie.kim@gmail.com www.melaniekim.photography American, much less Korean-American. This body of work explores these feelings of inadequacy in both Korean and American contexts, as I to strive to find socially acceptable ground for Asian-American identity in pop-culture.
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