My sense of Korean community has been with me all my life. From my early years, with my parents teaching me how to speak and write Korean, I have been mostly fluent in this language my whole life now. Even as early as my elementary school years, I remember becoming friend with individuals just by starting the conversation with asking them if they’re Korean. I found myself being able to bond with other Koreans my age just based on our ethnicities. Although that may sound strange, as the years progressed, I recognized that many Koreans did the same as me, and we were able to have a connection instantly.
This fact is something that I have been able to cherish in my life as it has made me many friends in life and these are people I feel very comfortable around. Not only with me, but my parents as well would have many other Korean friends, and in elementary schools, my mom would be friends with another Korean mom and introduce me to their kids, who I would in turn, become friends with.
A situation this has helped me with is my transition into LACES when I met Hyeon just due to the fact he was Korean.
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I was able to make friends based on the Korean community at LACES. My mother was also very active in the LACES Korean community, as she was part of KPO (Korean Parent Organization) at my school. The current assistant principal at LACES is Korean, and she was friends with my mother as well, and would always keep an eye out for the Korean students. Outside of school however, my parents taught me strict Korean discipline from a young age. I was always taught to respect my elders, and I was taught moral values. I wasn’t to eat until the oldest member in the family had taken the first bite, and this is something I do to this day with my parents. With older Koreans outside of my household, I always show them respect and in turn, I am treated with respect as well. In certain stores, my parents and I are occasionally offered discounts since we are Korean and the owners may be as well. The Korean community always looks out for each other and that is something that I have respected with our group.