Doorey Chung, a member of the LR-6 cohort, served in Grand Gedeh County, Liberia from 2016 to 2018. In honor of Asian American/Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2018, Peace Corps shared his story. Here is an excerpt:
“To be honest, I had no idea that May is Asian American Heritage Month. I have most likely heard this at some point in my life, but promptly forgot.
The fact that I am Asian American (or more specifically Korean American) is not typically at the forefront of my mind. In my daily life in the U.S., I could go days or weeks without giving thought to this sort of hyphenated identity that categorizes me based on my ancestry. But in Liberia, strangers seem to remind me every day that I look like a ‘Chinese man.’
These constant observations and remarks frustrate me, but I try to use them as teaching moments. It’s in these instants that I explain that although my parents are from Korea, I was actually born and raised in America.”
You can read the full story here on the Peace Corps website.
Doorey’s family