No Courage in Conformity

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By Daniel Song

Korean parents do not own their children. My father and mother raised their three children with this mantra in mind. They watched their own parents place a frame over their children and paint them as portraits of success in the hope that their progeny would redeem their existence. To that end, we hear many Korean parents whispering in their child's ear: be a lawyer, be a doctor, be better than Mr. Kim's son. My parents refused to participate in such folly.  

The irony is that I have become a lawyer.  But my vulnerable ego is assuaged by the fact that I'm a criminal lawyer. And I further find solace in the fact that I'm a criminal defence lawyer. While I have met many bright, young, ambitious Korean lawyers across Western Canada, I can tell you that to my knowledge I am the only Korean in Edmonton or Vancouver who practices criminal defence. Why is that? 

I often read the articles in C3 News & Views and am encouraged by the number of Korean-Canadians who find meaning in their journey of discovering and embracing their cultural heritage. Their message is often the same: be proud, be humble. What I find absent, however, is frank introspection on the failures, insecurities and pitfalls of the Korean ethos.   

In Vancouver, many of my good friends are Korean. I was fortunate to find some very entertaining, and often silly, friends on the West Coast. In Edmonton, however, I am an outsider looking in. Despite braving these biting winters for the first 22 years of my life, my connection with the Korean community here is remarkably tenuous. My frustration with the Korean community in Edmonton is the hypocrisy and fanatic-like religious-right conservatism that defines the community's cultural consciousness. 

There's no doubt that conservatism is safe. Conservatives, by their very nature, conform to the dominant (Western) ideology and resist change. Conservatives do not question authority. And if you are satisfied with the systemic racism in our country, with the way we dispose our garbage in indestructible plastic bags, with the corporate suits paying less tax than their employees, with the government's feeble attempts to appease two hundred years of colonialism, with the pervasive scorn of homosexuality, then by all means, go conservatives go.  Be a lawyer, be a doctor and be better than Mr. Kim's son.  

But it's my hope that one day, a Korean will rise on the world stage and become an icon. Not because of her accomplishment in sport. Not because of her great wealth, good looks or fleeting fame. But because she courageously stands firm against the tidal wave of public vilification with an unpopular idea in her hand.  

Unpopular ideas abolished slavery, established women's and civil rights movements and eradicated Apartheid. Those with the vision to challenge the status quo with penetrating foresight have had the potential for the unprecedented.

Admittedly, being unpopular is not easy: Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi were assassinated, Nelson Mandela spent many years in prison, and Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be a captive in her own country.  However, a tall, dark-haired, white guy prancing around in a red cape and blue tights is not my idea of an icon.  

In order to stand out as Korean-Canadians, we must grapple with this reality: the Korean-Canadian identity is inherently a political question. The reason why that identity is elusive is that its formlessness begs us to shape and create. 

And so be proud, be humble.  But be different.  Even if it's unpopular. 

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