KAGC Student Spotlight: SeongBeen Bae
“It seemed unfair to me that the future I am going to live in might be established without the reflection of my voice.”
Moving to New Jersey in July 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, I found that Asian hate crimes and violence were thriving in the United States. Great fear had conquered me since my family couldn’t speak English fluently enough to get ourselves out of those situations. We didn’t have the courage to go out in public places after self-quarantine, not even to the supermarket. When my family and I went out, I felt like some people were glaring at us even though they didn’t pay any attention to us.
A few months later, my family thought it was “okay” to go out. Unfortunately, the first step towards reality, which was a family trip to Princeton, wasn’t the most pleasant experience. The weather was excellent compared to Seoul, which has lots of dust storms and smog; nothing could have been better. However, after my family got out of the vehicle, an elderly white man saw us and immediately began cursing and expressed his hatred for the Asians and COVID. That was my first encounter with racism in real life — and that was definitely not the last time. In the Christmas season of 2021, I was walking down Times Square and a costumed character tried to force me to take a picture and said, “你好(Ni hao).” I was disappointed by the fact that people perceive all Asians as Chinese, because Asia is home to various nations and cultures. It is very inappropriate to assume someone who looks Asian is Chinese as much as to assume a random white person as Italian and say “Buongiorno.”
U.S. society also views Asians as the “Model Minority,” a group of people who are intelligent and naturally gifted at math. Even some of my friends believe I am talented at math because I am “Korean”, despite the fact that I put a lot of time and effort into it. In addition, “model-minority” homogenizes diverse Asian heritages into a small number of characteristics that are more like personal qualities.
I was also exposed to several accounts from friends and the media about how Asians are viewed by US society as “perpetual foreigners,” regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. Some people had to endure hurtful remarks like “Go back to your home!” while the US itself started with immigration. Others were asked where they “REALLY” came from or how they could speak English so well while they had lived their entire lives as Americans.
Furthermore, I recognized Asians’ voices are often left out from politics, such as legislation. At the end of the day, laws and regulations enacted by the federal government and local governments have an influence on everyone’s life, regardless of their career, interests, or life value. Policies might be controversial, such as gun control and abortion, or they can be as simple as maintaining the town. Therefore, it is critical to make sure politics responds to the interests of various groups of people and balances them, and it should prevent the tyranny of the majority. My dad had told me how dangerous it could be if politics failed its duties. He told me that old generations can colonize the lives of the next generations. For example, older generations have depleted vast amounts of resources, contributing to climate change that will affect future generations without getting their permission, much like a nation that colonized another does whatever it pleases and exploits the resources.
It seemed unfair to me that the future I am going to live in might be established without the reflection of my voice. I realized excluding the voices of minorities, including Asian Americans, is not much different. In this sense, applying policies or legislation without considering the opinion of the people who will be affected by them is irrational.
To make their voices count, people must stay informed and actively engage with the world (whether on a local level or on a national level) since it is the only way to make sure politicians hear them. Engaging can take many forms, such as petitioning, calling politicians’ offices, or even becoming a politician, but the most basic and straightforward option is to vote. It was sad to see that the turnout from Asians is generally low, because even though Asians are a minority, their voices matter. Through some musings accompanied by first-hand and indirect experiences, I hoped to help people who share the same ethnicity as me to speak out and be a part of society.
KAGC, which advocates the policy agenda and empowers the Korean American community, is more than enough to stimulate and fulfill such aspirations. In July 2021, I joined KAGC as a high school volunteer, and it has been a life-changing experience. By collecting and compiling information on specific representatives and policy agendas, I could broaden my understanding of current issues, the political system in the United States, and, of course, Korean American policy priorities. I also had a chance to read and reflect on a variety of resources on Asian American history that made me feel grateful that I could grow up without racial discrimination at a young age.
This summer, I attended the KAGC National Conference in Washington, D.C. I had the opportunity to learn new things and broaden my knowledge of policy priorities, particularly the challenges that adoptees face in the real world, at the conference. My group met with the Legislative Director of Rep. Bill Pascrell and advocated for the Adoptee Citizenship Act, US-Korea relations and trade, small business, and language support. These priceless experiences motivated me to keep up. What KAGC has done and my involvement with the KAGC program have piqued my interest in policies, politics, and their impacts.
KAGC introduced me to many issues and agendas concerning the Asian American and Korean American communities, which helped me discover a genuine interest in public policy. The experiences in KAGC assisted me to grow as a human and expand my perspectives. Moreover, KAGC inspires many Korean Americans by playing a great role in civic-engagement and making Korean American policy priorities to be reflected in reality.
KAGC introduced me to many issues and agendas concerning the Asian American and Korean American communities, which helped me discover a genuine interest in public policy. The experiences in KAGC assisted me to grow as a human and expand my perspectives. Moreover, KAGC inspires many Korean Americans by playing a great role in civic-engagement and making Korean American policy priorities to be reflected in reality.
SeongBeen Bae is a current high school student in New Jersey. She has been a passionate intern with KAGC since Summer 2021, having worked on various projects including the 2022 KAGC Election Guide. During the 2022 National Conference, SeongBeen joined as a volunteer while also preparing with the New Jersey delegation to advocate numerous issues relating to the 2021 KAGC Policy Priorities.
Click here to learn more about KAGC, the largest nationwide network of Korean American voters for opportunities to share the Korean American identity, discuss the key issues of our community, and get our voices heard, counted, and reflected in public policy.
