i was at a korean grocery store with my friends and i spoke korean to the clerk. my friends made fun of me for it and it made me really self conscious about my skills. they called me a koreaboo which was the first time ive been called that. it really upset me..what do you think?
Am I a Koreaboo because I'm learning Korean? [한국어 배우니까 코리아부예요?]
People love to throw the title Koreaboo on anyone who even looks at a Korean flag. Because the Kpop fandom seems so saturated with people who overconsume Korean media to the point of being obsessed, it can get exhausting telling people that those people are not actually the majority and if you do see someone being a Kboo on main, they usually get shut down pretty quickly. If you look on Urban Dictionary, they’ll define a Koreaboo as someone who denounces their own culture and claims to be Korean. I would say it’s much more insidious than that.
It’s taken me a long time to come up with this definition, but I believe a Koreaboo is also someone who consumes Korean media, entertainment, or culture in order to appear Korean adjacent or more like a Korean person—most times without denouncing their identity. By not denouncing their identity and then not claiming a Korean one, these types of Kboos often want to be seen as an object of affection in Korean society by acting or appearing as though they THINK a Korean person acts and appears—aka, “the beautiful foreigner”. This way, they can keep their foreign identity, while being claimed as a Korean person by Korean society. I hope you’re following along.
Koreaboos can claim some form of adjacent Korean identity in obvious ways, like:
- “I have distant Korean relatives”
- “Koreans will be obsessed with me because I’m HWITE”
- “I just find Koreans more attractive than everyone else”
- by asianfishing
- by infantilizing Asian women to act in a sexual way
- by only viewing Koreans as sexual objects
But it can also come in seemingly less obvious ways like:
- how they only hang out with their Korean friends
- by benefiting directly from Korean culture while silencing actual Korean voices (aka culture vultures)
This last one can be in the form of making an appropriated version of Korean food, or teaching Korean to non-Koreans while being non-Korean without a Korean language teaching certificate or native-like fluency. Another one, going to Korea for no purpose other than to just be in Korea because it’s Korea (no purpose does not include traveling—that’s a reason). Don’t even get me started on the ESL teachers in Korea…We don’t have time.
I would recommend this book by Edward Said, this article by Sunny Woan, and this journal by Anna Lynch.
If you ask yourself a question like this (am I a Koreaboo for learning Korean?), it’s probably because you’ve been told that you are one by someone who saw a Kboo cringe compilation once, like, 7 years ago. What I mean by that, is: this use of the title “Koreaboo” is often used by other people who don’t actually know what it means. People who do know what it means, use it scarcely because they know what it actually looks like.
If you ask this question to someone else, they will likely ask another question back like: “well then, if you learn English, are you an Englishboo?” And the obvious answer to that is: English speakers have never been fetishized or murdered simply for speaking English. English speakers have never been ostracized, gentrified, or forced to assimilate because of a “superior, dominant culture”. So, to say something like that is a clear display of ignorance to actual violence against Asians and AAPI persons while boiling this lived experience down to a monolith of “just learning a language.” And when I say Asian, I don’t just mean eastern Asians, I mean ALL Asians.
Asking yourself this question is good. Other questions you could ask are “why am I learning Korean?”, “am I learning Korean in a culturally sensitive way?”, or “how can I centre Korean voices in my Korean language journey?”. You cannot learn Korean without becoming familiar with the culture. It’s impossible.
I would recommend following these people on TikTok: @ellenacuario (YourFunnyUnni), @soogia1 (Soogia), and @thekoreanvegan (Joanne L. Molinaro / 이선영)! The first two talk a lot about the problem with non-Koreans appropriating Korean culture and how to respectfully go to Korea and the last one talks about Korean food and how it’s often appropriated by non-Koreans. Of course, this is not the only content they make, but they do address these issues in a concise way. Also, YourFunnyUnni is, as the name suggests, hilarious. If you know others, don’t hesitate to drop a comment with their handles!
In order to clear up some confusion before I get asks like “this is hypocritical because you’re posting about the Korean language! And you’re not Korean!” Good eye, first of all. Be critical of the creators that you follow. Second, it’s not uncommon to ask the kid in your class who knows the subject for help.
For example, this past year, I took a Korean class and oh, my, gosh, every time we finished a test or an exam, or had a problem in class we needed to solve, the other people in my class would run up to me and ask me for help or ask me what I wrote for Question XYZ. It even got to the point that my TA said “헷갈리면 희주 씨에게 물어보세요—If you’re confused, ask Mal”.
A big reason why a lot of these popular (ahem, hwite) Korean language YouTubers are famous, is because they speak Korean with a native-like proficiency.
I’m not going to sit here and claim fluency or pretend that I’ve never been wrong in my Korean journey because I’m not fluent and I have been wrong. I started this blog to document my progress in Korean—it’s crazy how far I’ve come. Even seeing old posts, shocks me. I never thought I would gain all the followers I have (which, thank you for following me, I don’t say it enough and I apologize for that) and I am happy with how far I progressed. I’ve learned a lot about myself through learning Korean and I’ve been learning for so long that I actually think my life would be different if I didn’t start learning almost 8 years ago. Learning Korean has taught me to be a better ally, has helped me break down learned racism I subconsciously had, and even helped me in my linguistics degree.
If you wanna learn Korean because you wanna learn Kpop songs, go for it. If you wanna learn Korean because you don’t wanna rely on subtitles, hell yeah. If you’re learning Korean because it’s one of the 100 languages on your roster, you got this. As a hobby, or as a serious goal, no matter what, learning a language is beneficial in more ways than you think.
In summary, no. You are not a Koreaboo for learning Korean. If you do feel this way, I think being critical of your actions and seeking information to help you better understand your own intent and interests in Korean culture is a good place to start.
I’m sorry your friends treated you that way and upset you. I know how much that can hurt to be insulted by people that you care about—this is a pretty lived, human experience, but your feelings of being humiliated are valid. I hope you find comfort in that.
Happy Learning
~ SK101
P.S. any discourse pertaining to what is and isn't violence against Asian bodies NOT made by those with Asian identities will be blocked. This blog isn't a safe space for bigots and racists
P.P.S. You should not be learning Korean from anyone who isn’t Korean unless they have native-like proficiency AND some form of a language teaching certificate