- [Jang Min] I mean you also taught them both languages right?
I didn’t learn Korean when I was a kid.
- [Sam] Okay.
- [Jang Min] So I think the fact of them having those both cultures,
it’s going to be very rich for them.
- [Sam] Mmm.
- [Sam] Like, in terms of identity as well, has that been…
I mean… My children are obviously in the same situation you’re in.
- [Dave] Oh yeah.
- [Sam] So it’s something that’s always in the back of my mind.
Is that being a parent, I have to be able to allow them to understand two different cultures.
Two different languages.
But I’m also worried that not being in their shoes.
I’m not gonna understand—
I won’t understand them completely.
And they can also be in an identity crisis that they may have to go through.
- [Jang Min] Yeah. That’s… That’s… That’s tough.
- [Dave] You got to deal with it. - [Jang Min] That’s tough.
I mean…
When I was a kid, I had a lot of rejections.
Because the way I looked.
Because I was different.
By that time there were no other Asian people.
So for me it was very tough to… accept.
I didn’t want to be… To be different.
I didn’t like at all the fact of being half Asian.
Because I had a lot of rejection because of that.
In Korea, I think...
It’s much easier to have both cultures.
Because it’s…
I don’t know. Like people take it in a different way.
They don’t look at you like, “Hey you are different.”
Or they don’t give that kind of rejection I think.
So it can be a very good thing for your kids.
Always to—
I mean you also taught them both languages right?
I didn’t learn Korean when I was a kid.
- [Sam] Okay.
- [Jang Min] So I think the fact of them having those both cultures,
it’s going to be very rich for them.
- [Sam] Mmm.
- [Dave] Can I transition the question to you?
You grew up Korean-American.
- [Joon] Korean-American.
- [Dave] How was being a Korean-American changed for like when you were growing up as a kid to—
‘Cause I grew up in Atlanta as well.
Like Koreatown. Straight up in Duluth.
And I know that…
For example, within the last ten years…
You know…
Korean-American culture has been, I guess, celebrated a lot more.
You see all kinds of platforms… So many online personalities…
Even stuff like 88rising.
So many good movies coming from Korean-American culture.
Or Asian-American culture.
How’s things changed a lot throughout you’ve grown up till now?
- [Joon] Oh man. So much…
I’m more on the optimistic, hopeful side.
And what I mean by that is...
Growing up, Korean-American, the early formative years like especially like
elementary, middle school… Even high school.
I wanted to be white so bad.
‘Cause Asian guys weren’t it.
- [Sam] Yeah.
- [Joon] You know what I mean?
And just white people matured faster.
They got facial hair faster.
It’s just like, every little thing, I just like...
And just my own little grudge was like…
I just had this tendency to compare myself to every person.
Everything that I thought I lacked, I saw in someone else.
And so, growing up Asian-American was tough because…
A lot of the native Koreans that lived in America…
Didn’t see me as Korean. They saw me as American.
And a lot of the Americans saw me as Korean.
So there was that kind of this weird divide.
So I think that’s why a lot of Korean-Americans
or just Asian Americans in general…
Tend to flock together.
Hang out with other Asian-Americans.
Because a lot of us struggle with our native Korean tongue…
And it’s hard to really form deep relationships with fellow Koreans.
So we tend to stick with Korean-Americans because we look alike and we can kind of relate.
And I’m sure with like… You know growing up half too…
There was that own identity crisis for me but…
I think it’s beautiful and I think now,
fast forward, it’s like one of my strongest assets…
And avenue as an actor. As a creator.
Because that’s my avenue as a Korean-American.
I’m 100 percent American. I’m 100 percent Korean.
‘Cause I was born in Guam.
And so I was born an American citizen.
So no one can take like—
No one can say anything otherwise.
And so that’s my avenue.
And I think I can represent so many people in America.
Even internationally, that just like…
Have immigrant parents.
Or they just migrated to other countries…
And so I’ve learned to really embrace it.
And I think it’s… I think it’s an advantage.
That same with you now… Fast forward to now.
You can use that as your advantage.
That’s your edge. And that’s your brand.