ABSTRACT
I am often asked by well-meaning folks why I speak English so well. Answering their own question, with looks of surprise and relief on their faces, they exclaim, “You must have been born here!” Actually, the reason I speak English so darned good is not because I was born here. I only came to America twenty-one and a half years ago, having spent my two most crucial years of life carousing about Seoul. (In the Korean American community, those of us who came to the United States before puberty are known as the “One-Point-Five” generation .) The turning point came when I arrived in San Francisco one fine day in 1975, with my mother attached to one hand, my brother attached to the other, and not one word of English under my belt. I was nearly two at the time, so you can imagine how cute I must have been, chatting away in Korean like nobody’s business, but completely inept at holding up my end of the conversation should some American approach me from nowhere. Soon it was clear, the choice was mine: adapt, learn the language, get a feel for the new life, or else get out of the kitchen. Since Soon Chul and Kap Soon (my parents) weren’t gonna raise no quitters, I chose the former. That is why, today, after all these years, I speak like a “real American.” That is not to be confused with a Native American, with whose speech patterns I am less familiar.
