By Kim Young-jin
Yonah Kim-Martin, now Canada’s first parliamentarian of Korean descent, thought she’d left her struggles with cultural identity behind her. A respected educator in multicultural Vancouver, married to a man with deep local roots and a working mom to boot, she had found her version of the Canadian dream.
Or so she thought.
That was when her daughter, then in elementary school, began asking questions about race and identity for which Kim-Martin, a teacher of 15 years, had no answers ― at least not then.
The 46-year-old senator, in Seoul last week for the G20 Speakers’ Consultation, a meeting of parliamentarians from the world’s twenty largest economies, said the situation led her to embark on an inner journey to connect to her heritage.
“I realized I had to look deeply at my own roots and be clear and proud of who I was. That was the only way for Kiana to understand where she’d come from,” said Kim-Martin, who came in place of Senate Speaker Noel Kinsella, in a phone interview.
Appointed in 2008 by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the conservative senator has become a leading advocate for the growing Korean-Canadian community that has been chronically underrepresented in public office.
As much as any person of Korean descent, Kim-Martin’s family history is inextricably tied to the Korean Peninsula’s turbulent past.
Her father, born in Pyongyang, fled the North during the Korean War, never to see his mother or sister again. Her mother was born in Japan during its occupation of the peninsula. Amidst growing unrest, the family returned to Korea, going “from riches to rags.”
Kim-Martin, whose father brought the family to Canada when she was seven, had little problem straddling the cultures. But her daughter, Kiana’s mixed heritage left her feeling “in between," troubling Kim-Martin and her husband, Doug.
“At a very young age, she noticed she looked different from me. So she started asking all these questions,” she said.
Searching for a way to uncover her own Korean identity, Kim-Martin became an activist giving voice to the Korean community. The work “naturally” led her to politics.
She began delving deeper into Korean history, finding pride in its ability to become the most recent host of the G20 despite struggle through countless foreign invasions and a devastating fratricidal conflict that continues.
She also turned to her elders. Sandy Lee, a trailblazing Canadian-Korean politician, urged her to be “strong as two” ― embracing her relationship with both Canada and Korea.
Last year, she visited Seoul to observe the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Seoul with Canadian veterans of the war, along with delegations from other countries that comprised the U.N. forces.
Over tea at Cheong Wa Dae, President Lee Myung-bak invited the guests to address the group. As Kim-Martin stood to speak, Lee interjected.
“He said, ‘This is Kim Yon-ah, and she is the daughter of Korea. She is here as a senator of Canada.’”
“In that moment, to feel I truly embodied both (cultural identities), was a great sense of fulfillment of destiny. To be in Korea, with Canadian veterans, to feel as though I was truly Korean-Canadian, that was very special.”
The senator relays the “strong as two” philosophy to those of Korean descent everywhere she goes.
“Our Korean-ness is whole; it is not incomplete or impartial. We can tap into the fullness of our potential by being as strong as two people,” she said.
Kiana, who also got involved in community work, has fully embraced that dual identity, Kim-Martin said. Now 15, she has visited Korea and, along with her friends, is a huge fan of Korean pop music and dramas.
“I’ve got to thank the pop stars,” the senator said with a laugh. “They’ve been a real catalyst for Kiana to become an expert in things Korean. Her Korean-ness is something her friends don’t have.”