Korean American Names are used as a scapegoat for the Recession
A lot of Koreans immigrated to America in the 1990s and 200s, but their children were born here. They’re also adjusting culturally
One way they adjust is by changing their names from traditionally Korean or Asian sounding to more “American” sounding like Jennifer or Johnny
These new first generation Americans may have been given an easier time navigating through schools, jobs, etc because people didn’t see them as being foreign (this doesn’t work on college applications though)
This means that when these kids grow up and go out into the world with their traditional Korean last name it’s not always easy to be taken seriously – especially if
Korean American names are so popular that they’re now the fastest growing name in LA
Nearly one in five children born to a non-Korean mom is given a traditional Korean name.
The truth is, we didn’t even know how much of an influence our parents had on us until this recession hit. And yeah, it’s kind of heavy stuff. But as you can tell from all these reasons below, there might be some silver lining after all..
Number: 15 Reasons You Can Blame the Recession on Korean American Names – Catches your attention with more than just “your money” and “money” but rather what it says about culture too (I’m guessing) which seems cool. Koreans are the fastest growing name in LA, and a lot of parents are naming their children Korean names.
Why? One theory is that they want to show off their “exotic” side or something more foreign than American counterparts like Ashley or Michael. Either way, I’m not going to judge – it’s America after all. And this info makes me feel better about my potential future child: if she has an Asian sounding name then people can’t just assume we’re poor because of her ethnicity.
The truth is, we didn’t even know how much our parents had influenced us until this recession hit. It turns out there might be some silver lining though..
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You can blame the recession on Korean American names.
It’s not just a stereotype that Asian Americans are good with math and science–according to data from the National Science Foundation, Asians account for almost 40% of U.S.-based PhD scientists and engineers in 2011 (compared with 25% or less as recently as 1998). In other words: your future boss is probably an Asian American!
Richelle Shen – Dec 26th 2012 12:00 pm ET
These days, I think about my last name more often than ever before. As we enter 2013, it has never been clearer how important having some sort of ethnic identifier is when you’re trying to get ahead in this world — especially if you’re a Korean American. In the past decade, I’ve seen first-hand how having an Asian last name dictates who you are and what people expect of you in this country. It’s not just a stereotype that Asian Americans are good with math and science–according to data from the National Science Foundation, Asians account for almost 40% of U.S.-based PhD scientists and engineers in 2011 (compared with 25% or less as recently as 1998). In other words: your future boss is probably an Asian American!
The fact remains that if we want America to recover economically, it will take more than all white men working hard at their jobs
we need every single person to be doing his best on behalf of our country. It’s time for us to stop apologizing for our Asian American names by proving that we are all hard workers and good Americans, too. So without further ado, here are my 15 reasons you can blame the recession on Korean American Names: Korean immigrants pay $200 billion in taxes per year while taking out only about half as much from social services (e.g., welfare). This means they’re subsidizing America!
Asian Americans were disproportionately hurt economically during the recent financial crisis because of their disproportionate dependence on construction jobs and small businesses. And yet it is these same groups who have exceeded previous employment levels when recovery began–at a higher pace than other ethnicities in this country -In 2007 there was an
Reason #14: Putting a baby’s name before their parents’ names in the order of “first, last.”
Reason #15: The increasing number of Korean Americans means that more people are finding it difficult to find jobs due to the limited availability of English-speaking skills and education levels. Thoughts on writing style or tone – No one wants someone who can’t speak fluent English teaching them math! When they hire teachers, they want someone from Korea with all this experience but American citizenship so there’s no immigration issues. They just need some kind of green card for these dudes. .think we should explore? One idea is creating an investor visa program where if you invest $500k into
As a Korean American, I have to say that it sucks when you’re walking down the street and someone makes fun of your name. It’s not just me; all Asian Americans should be able to speak up about this issue and stand united as one people who are struggling because others can’t see past our names. You know what? This is why Obama got elected for his first term – we do need representation!
Reason #15: The recession happened shortly after the release of “The Hangover” in 2009 but before its sequel was released in 2013. One thing they had in common was their excessive use of alcohol, which gave America a hangover from partying too hard during that time period (and maybe laughing at Asians’ names).
Reason #14: Along the way, we have to ask ourselves – did you know that most Asian Americans are in fact Christians and not Buddhists?
You can blame it on our parents for naming us with a Christian name! (I guess they were trying to assimilate?)
But the moral of this story is when your parent names you something like “John” or “Michelle,” people will never give you grief. Try being named Kevin..or even Jung Jin! Your workplace won’t be able to stop laughing at your name. This disparity between racial groups really needs some fixing before anyone gets any angrier about their own situation. We need equality now more than ever!
And don’t forget about
We all know that the recession has been tough on many people and their wallets. But some of us may not have realized that it’s also affected our names! People with Korean American names, such as “Kim” or “Seo,” are facing problems because they can’t find jobs due to discrimination based on their name alone.
As much as we’d like to think otherwise, there is a huge problem in the US when it comes to hiring workers with ‘ethnic’ last names.
True; people who have ethnic-sounding last names aren’t getting discriminated against by companies just for having an ‘ethnic sounding name’. However, this type of prejudice does affect them disproportionately more than someone whose last name is Smith or Jones would be. This is a serious issue that needs to be addressed. And it’s not just the hiring process that suffers from this prejudice–people with Korean American names also get judged by potential employers because they don’t know how to pronounce their name, or if it sounds like an English word; for example ‘Kim’ as in ‘kimchi’. The recession has been tough on many people and their wallets. But some of us may not have realized that it’s also affected our names! “People with Korean American Names,” such as “Kim” or “Seo,” are facing problems because they can’t find jobs due to discrimination based on their Name alone. As much as we’d Like To think otherwise, there is a
