Family is funny
So my coworker KC was telling me about this new geneology site. Geni.com
One that’s a social network for families.
With the latest news on Myspace, sexual predators, and etc etc, I had to take a moment to still my head.
After all, rolling one’s little Asian eyes that far back into your head can cause bystanders to believe you’ve gone through some sort of apoplectic shock.
And besides that, those sites and every last name based geneology site has utterly failed to garner any interest for me whatsoever.
I mean. Please.
“Last name Kim. - 300K results. Wow. Look. You’re all related.”
Which is weird and a sardonic statement, I suppose, re: my Asian American experience, after all.
Because Korean Korean people do know and care about geneology and pedigree. They know (duh) that you might be a Kim but they want to do from which district, which village. Which royalty you might be related to.
I’ve only been asked this question while at student conferences over 12 years ago. More likely than not, I was asked by someone from an Ivy League. By someone who just might be as pedigreed and privileged as Wookie Kim  Who knows, maybe the questioner way back when was even related. We all are, you know.
“What kind of Kim *are* you?”
“Uh… I dunno.”
“Well then where did your father go to college?”
“Uh… I dunno” (Which I realize is a dumb question but it’s not like my dad ever spoke about his life in Korea, being in the Navy, or where he went to college. I only know snippets which I have to drag out of him. Or from recollections of nags that my mother would bemoan like
‘Your daddy…Daddy neber takuh me out danshing likuh he takuh udder lady in school. But he nebber take mommy. So sad poor mommy.’Â
I remember asking my Dad when I got home from that student conference those questions.
He finally told me which university he went to but I promptly forgot. It never came up again. I mean, it’s not like they had a football team and Dad was catching the games at 4AM to root for the Firey Radish Pickles or anything.
But this I do remember.
“So, Daddy. What kind of Kim are we?”
“Who askuh you dat?”
“Someone from school.”
“Oh. I see.”
“So, Daddy, what kind of Kim *are* we?”
“Ah-bee-yushly. We are the *BEST* kinduh.”
“Ah-bee-yushly?”
“Yesuh.”
“Oh! Obviously. That’s just awesome.”
A clever one, my Daddy.
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