For some people, finding who you are is a process and a journey according to Dr. John Palmer who shared his story about being a “Corean adopted American” last Tuesday.
Palmer, an assistant professor at Colgate University, began his presentation to about 50 Winona State University students and faculty by explaining that when Japan colonized Korea in 1910, they changed the ‘C’ to a ‘K’ so Korea would fall after Japan alphabetically in the League of Nations.
With part of his presentation, titled, “Karate Chops, Geishas, Nerds and the Asian Invasion,” focused on his life story, Palmer discussed the process he went through to figure out who he was, including how stereotypes affect his life.
As one of several adopted children in his family, Palmer said it was hard for his parents to understand how he was affected.
“My parents would say, ‘Just ignore them, it’ll all go away someday, be the better person,’” Palmer said. “I never went to talk to them again about race because it was painfully clear that they didn’t understand.”
Along with the stereotypes he faced, Palmer mentioned it was difficult to not have Asian role models.
“The early days of Asians in the media weren’t Asians at all,” Palmer said. “They were whites playing Asian roles, and Asian women were seen as exotic and submissive.”
After being told he wasn’t white, Palmer spent three weeks in Korea and his experience there made him realize he was American. He later returned to Korea for three years where he discovered he was Korean-American.
“All this time I am running away from whiteness, I am running away from my background, I am running away from the people who love me the most,” Palmer said.
Philip Butenhoff, a junior at Winona State, said he thought the presentation was eye opening and gave students an insight to what other racial groups go through.
“I learned that there might be more people like him who are American but just don’t look like “Americans” and are still discriminated against just by the way they look,” Butenhoff said.
According the Butenhoff, Palmer presented the information in a fun way and helped the audience feel more comfortable.
“He made the subject matter easier to talk about and listen to by making the setting more laid-back for us,” Butenhoff said.
According to Palmer, everyone’s identity is being challenged and adapted all the time. He said he hopes people can begin to look at race differently.
“I want us to think about race relations in not learning about the other race, I want us to think about race relations in learning about self, yourself as a racial being,” Palmer said, “so, when they say multicultural students, everyone in the room will raise their hand.”
The Office of Inclusion and Diversity sponsored Palmer’s presentation. Cultural Diversity Director, Alex Hines, ended the presentation by inviting all students to learn about cultural diversity.

Contact Courtney at CLZinter8738@winona.edu