Who am I? - Eun Mi

Growing up, my parents made sure that I was the happiest and more fortunate child in the neighborhood. They made sure that I was able to do anything and get anything that I wanted. After the financial crisis forced our family to immigrate to U.S. in 1997, I discovered that the world was not so kind or nice to me. My parents who once used to protect me from any threats or problems from the society were facing a lot of troubles themselves, which left me to deal with the problems on my own. At first, I thought America was a horrible place and that people hated immigrants. Throughout the next couple of years, I gradually adapted to my society and realized that America wasn't a bad place after all.
One of the greatest challenges in my life was to accept and balance two VERY different cultures. Only recently did I realize that having two culture is actually more beneficial and something to be very proud of, because only few people in the world have the privilege of being exposed to two or more culture in their lifetime.
I grew up as a consumer and a critique of both Korean and American media. I found it fascinating how quickly the influence of Western culture impacted Korea as well as other Asian countries within the past several years. Now, the K-pop musics and korean dramas seem to inspire many people around the world "cough cough Gangnam style". I look forward to how eastern culture will inspire western culture in the next decade or so..