I Lost My Grandmother’s Hanbok: A Thematic Series of Paintings Exploring of the Loss of Culture in a Mixed-Race Korean American Home

Abstract

Mixed-race individuals feel conflicted at their place in American society. They fit in with their cultural heritage, but also their American heritage. This creates a split where they may identify more with one or the other. This may be due to the lack of diversity where they live, the desire to fit in, or lack of participating in their own culture. This series of paintings explores the self-identification of me, a mixed-race Korean and White woman from Appalachia. The acrylic paintings explore themes of self-identification and cultural heritage with the goal of determining which group I identify with more. The art consists of five traditional acrylic paintings and one mixed-media painting. The paintings are assisted by research into self-identity and cultural identity in America and the struggles associated with accepting diversity in our changing society. With the conclusion of the research, I have found that I identify more with my White, American heritage. I identify more with this culture because of the Americanization of my grandmother and the lack of acceptance for her Asian heritage after her immigration