So, where do you fit in?

(Image Source: Interaction International)

My brother sent me this article "In Search of a South African Identity," about classifications used in South Africa. So I thought I’d mull the issue over a bit, specifically with regards to South Africa, but also with my experience here in Korea.

It is true that in Korea we South Africans tend to be more united, regardless of our skin colour, ethnic-, or cultural backgrounds. We are all South Africans. When necessary we would refer to people as black South African, coloured South African, white South African, and Indian South African. We tend to stay clear of ethnic or cultural references like Xhoza, Venda, Afrikaner, and so on. At least that has been my experience.

Even though I am of European descent, I was born in Africa and so have my immediate ancestry. Apart from my paternal grandfather who was from Scotland, my other direct ancestors were all born in South Africa for numerous generations. I therefore, like most white South Africans, consider myself to be African. (The Afrikaans term would "Afrikaan.") Of course, some people would not agree with this claim, as I am not black. Nonetheless, for me there is no other “home.” I do not have a dual citizenship somewhere to fall back on. I’ve always been, for generations now, part of Africa. Nor is Africa exclusively black. There are a number of other ethnicities that make up this continent. Look for instance at the ethnicities in Morocco and Egypt, to name just these obvious ones – most of the people living there are not “black” either, yet they are just as much a part of Africa (and “African”) as the people from the Congo is.

My mother’s side of the family is Afrikaans – I am therefore an Afrikaner; which means that part of my cultural heritage is influenced by European cultures, mostly Dutch, French and German. The argument could be that since my culture is not purely African, I am not truly African. That claim falls flat when one considers the (black) African youth of today. Take for example the popular South African music style Kwaito. (You can listen to an example of Kwaito at YouTube.) This genre of music developed in South Africa amongst the black youths in the Gauteng (Soweto/Johannesburg) region, and although the sound is clearly “African,” it is not purely African. Kwaito includes American elements such as Hip Hop and Rap, and electronic dance music (House / Rave). If I am not African because there are European elements in my culture, then young black South Africans cannot be considered purely African either, because their own culture is tainted with American elements.

When a foreigner lives in another country – say, the United States – and decides to settle their, they can become part of that country. A Moroccan that relocates to the US can become a US citizen and will be accepted as an American. For a large part, such assimilation is also possible in South Africa. The same does not go for Korea. As a homogenous culture with only one prominent ethnicity, a foreigner can never truly become part of Korea. The word for foreigner in Korean is “Whee-guk-een” [외국인] – literally meaning outside-country-person. Since the Korean people are so homogenous, based purely on the fact that you (as a foreigner) look different, you will always be an outside-country-person. You can marry with a Korean, you can learn the language and become fluent, you can know the customs and etiquette; nevertheless, you will stay an outside-country-person, because you look like an outside-country-person. This goes not only for Occidentals, or Africans, but even for other Asians. Nonetheless, while back in South Africa after my first time in Korea, there were many a time that I really missed Korea. My Korean experience did not feel "completed;" hence, my return. Although complete assimilation into Korea is for all practical reasons impossible, it is possible to make a living in Korea and to form a social structure. The former is much easier than the latter.

Well now that I’ve established the fact that I’m African and can never be Korean, one would think that I’m certain about my culture. Honesty, I am really confused about where I fit in culturally. I am not Afrikaans enough, nor am I British enough. I am partially vegetarian, which in South Africa is an odd thing culture-wise; I don’t enjoy the national sports (am into martial arts instead); I’ve never been part of the Dutch-Reformed Church (the main denomination traditionally supported by Afrikaners); and grew up on a mixture of cultural inputs from Elvis Presley and Country Music to Classical to Duran Duran, from Chinese stir-fry to Greek cuisine, from American movies to British literature. Not to mention that I spent a great deal of my youth in "other worlds" inspired by Sci-Fi and fantasy-adventure novels. Also, I grew up with an “African” name, rather than a European name; I consider my Zulu nanny as one of my mothers, and spoke Sesotho when I was small; now I speak English and Afrikaans, with a dash of Korean.

And I think I suffer a bit from “Third Culture Kid” syndrome. How about you? Do you know where you fit in culturally?