🌏 Belonging in Between: Holding On to Identity Across Borders

I left Korea at 15 after completing middle school, studied in the Philippines for high school, and moved to the United States for college. When I first arrived in the U.S., I found myself asking: How much do I need to change to fit in? Should I become “Americanized” to belong?

That’s when I came across the metaphor: the “soup bowl” vs. the “salad bowl.”

🥣 In a soup, all the ingredients blend together into one unified color and flavor.

🥗 In a salad, each ingredient keeps its original shape and color — but together, they still create something harmonious and delicious.

I wanted to be the salad bowl — to keep my Korean identity, while learning to live in harmony with new cultures. I want to contribute to the society I live in without erasing where I come from. Instead, I choose to bring it with me — and find spaces where that difference is seen as strength, not something to hide.

This mindset also influenced a small but meaningful decision: 👉 Keeping my Korean name. I understand why many immigrants or international students adopt English names — it’s practical, especially when your name is hard to pronounce. But I thought: Maybe I can be someone who’s worth the extra effort — or at least a sincere attempt — to say my name correctly. It’s a small stand, but a meaningful one.

Still, identity is not simple. When I go back to Korea, I often feel like I’m not “Korean enough.” And in the U.S., I’m not quite “American enough” either. I live somewhere in between — not losing my roots, but reshaping them into something uniquely mine.

I’m learning that it’s okay to live in that space — to belong to more than one world, even if I don’t fully fit into either. And I’m starting to see that being in between is not a weakness — it’s a different kind of wholeness. 🌱

#Belonging #CulturalIdentity #OverseasKorean #NameIdentity #LivingInBetween #InclusionMatters #GlobalCitizen #Authenticity