Hellobee

Mrs. Bee’s parents are first-generation immigrants. They came from South Korea to America in the early 80s with $50 in their pocket. Bee is their child, so you’d think that she would be a second-generation immigrant. But she was born overseas and then moved to America as a child… so she didn’t immigrate by herself like a 1.0 but also wasn’t born in the US like a 2.0. Koreans have a word for this: ilchom ose, which literally means “1.5.” Bee is definitely a 1.5, although there are different levels:

There’s a 1.5-generation scale: [sociologist Rubén] Rumbaut, who studies immigration as a professor at UC Irvine, came up with sub-categories to describe who arrived at what age.

According to the scale:

• Those who arrived between ages six and 12 are the truest 1.5s
• Those who came at age five or younger are “1.75s,” closer to the second, with little or no memory of their native country.
• Older youths who arrived between ages 13 and 17 would be “1.25s,” more likely to have an outlook similar to the first generation.

Source: Gen 1.5: Where an immigrant generation fits in

Bee came over when she was under 5 years old, so according to this scale she would be considered a 1.75. But there are a few factors that bring her closer to a 1.6:

• She didn’t speak any English upon arriving, so she had to learn it here.
• She lived through the process of her family’s assimilation. She grew up eating Korean food and her family spoke Korean at home.
• Her parents started a family business with Korean clientele, and the entire family (including the kids) worked there from a young age.

So where do I fall in the scale? As a half-breed, I live between the categories. I was born in Taiwan and lived in Korea and Japan before moving here when I was 3 1/2 years old.  So technically I am a 1.5…  but not really as my dad was born and raised in America. But my dad was so quiet and my mom raised us on her own a lot… so we were raised mostly as the children of immigrants. One wrinkle to my immigration story is that my mom didn’t have the full immigrant cred that Bee’s parents have.

• My mom met my dad in Japan, and they came to America together. So she did have my dad’s family here when she moved.
• She had more than $50 in her pocket. Well not much more, but every dollar makes a big difference when you move to a new country.
• She didn’t have to start a business in the US, as my dad was able to earn a good salary as an engineer.

So if my mom isn’t considered a full immigrant, you can imagine how non-immigrant-y my own experience feels sometimes! What snaps it back into place a bit is that I basically lived the Asian stereotype:

Because we practiced violin every day, we would listen to Itzhak Perlman’s LPs all the time.  He was our hero! Also I forgot that I used to listen to classical music LPs… dang I am old.

• My brother and I started playing violin when I was 4 and piano when I was 5. We practiced 2-3 hours a day every day, 7 days a week.
• We competed in piano competitions on most weekends for about 15 years or so. (Couldn’t help but notice that a lot of the other kids at the competitions were 1.5s of Asian descent.)
• We also were given supplementary textbooks by our mom (this is a very Asian thing). The way it works is, basically you do your homework for school… and then when you’re done with that, you break out out your own textbooks and workbooks that your mom bought for you and study entirely new material on your own. So when I studied something in school, it was usually review for me. That helped a lot because I struggled in school in grades 3-4.
• My mom cut my hair herself (very Asian) and I had the worst bowl cut you could ever imagine (also very Asian). I wore thick black glasses (Asian trifecta?).

Asian parents of my mom’s generation usually wanted 3 things from you: to get good grades, to play the piano and to listen to them. I did those things, so I get an A as an Asian. Does that make me more of an immigrant? I dunno but I personally rate myself as a 1.6 – 1.7. I never tell anyone that though as I don’t really want to argue with others about my own identity.

In any case, my entire life, I have always clicked right away with 1.5s and their parents. Where I grew up in Virginia, that meant I was always friends with Koreans, Indians and Jews (the perpetual immigrants). As Asian immigrants have gotten older, I’ve noticed over time that I no longer always click instantly with Asians! When Asians become 2.0 or 3.0 in America, then they are sometimes more like Americans than Asians… so we don’t always have as much in common.

Over time, I have come to identify as much as an immigrant than as an Asian. I feel bad for my kids: American citizens that are 1/2 Korean, 1/4 Japanese and growing up in the Philippines. I’m sure it’ll take a long time to figure out their identity!

Are you an immigrant or child of immigrants? If so, what type of immigrant are you?