Welcome to Littleseoulster.com!

Here you will find intercultural/multicultural* insight on Korean-American culture.

Hi, I’m Lia! I’m first generation Korean, meaning my parents were Korean immigrants. I’m married to a Caucasian man and we have a son together and live on the U.S. East Coast. My days usually consist of chasing after said son, coffee (lots of coffee), and figuring out what to make for dinner (our one shared meal of the day). I love my family (which includes pets), Star Wars, and writing.

Raising a biracial child, I find myself thinking about how it differs from how my parents raised me. There are Korean holidays and traditions that we observed when I was growing up that I don’t celebrate with my kid (yet). I don’t have anything against it. You see, both of my parents are deceased and the rest of the extended relatives are in Seoul. So I simply had forgotten about those traditions until I had a child of my own.

As a parent, I’m always researching and thinking about how to raise my kid. And all my friends with kids (who may or may not have multiracial children) ask themselves the same things; Which school should he go to and when? What should I be feeding him? Which instrument should he play? Should we let him believe in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus?

Yeah, but what about Korean things?

That got me wondering; Should I send him to Korean cultural school, like I did? When can he have kimchi? When can he start piano lessons? Should we celebrate Chuseok (aka Korean Thanksgiving but much MUCH bigger)? It was like there were three facets to every question – a Korean side, an American side, and a Korean-American side. A triangle, if you will. (Yeah, that’s my corny humor kickin’ in.)

Where East Meets West (or in this case, Where West Meets East?)

I know many first generation or later people, like myself, who wished they knew more about their cultural heritage as well. So this site isn’t only about raising a biracial child in an intercultural household. It’s really about me learning (or relearning) about a somewhat forgotten Korean heritage and exploring the intersection of Korean and American cultures so that I can pass it on to my kid and to share it all here.

It made me sad to think that my kid wouldn’t have any ties to my parents (and my side of the family) if not through his Korean cultural heritage. So I made it a mission to learn about it myself and then to teach him.

This site chronicles that journey of exploration and learning about Korean-American interculturalism. I hope you learn something new, remember something old, or just have fun visiting!

*These terms as I mean it: Multicultural – consisting of several cultures or ethnic groups; Intercultural – a deep understanding and respect of different cultures, and cross-cultural dialogue

Let’s be chingudeul (friends)!