If you ask me where I’m from, I ask you what do you mean. There are 7 facets to that question that, for most people, are indistinguishable. Where were you born, where were your parents born, where do your parents currently live, where do you currently live, what is your ethnic heritage, where is your childhood home, and where is the place you feel known, safe, can be yourself and/or relax, all of these fall under that single question.  For me, it’s a simple question with a complicated answer. I’m Korean, I live in America, some of my most important formative years were spent in Kenya. My parents were born in two different cities in Korea but they live in Pittsburgh, I live in New York, I was born in Boston and I’ve lived in Boston, Michigan, Alexandria VA, Kijabe Kenya, Charlottesville VA, and Rego Park. The place I feel known, safe, and I can be myself on Earth, I’m unsure it exists. If there were an object that would show how I got here, a thing that represents my journey to this spot, how my family got to this country, the reality is I don’t think one exists. I don’t know much of my family history because of the Korean War, I don’t have a strong sense of home, and I can’t conceive of an object that captures my experience in a single space. So I wrote one.

– K

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant