Are you a halfie?

Sunya (left), Loren (right) and their two children Anika and Neptune.

By David Tizzard

David Tizzard

Since the mid-20th century, South Korea has clung to a message of homogeneity and race as a cornerstone of its national identity. It has advocated genetic purity (and at times superiority) as it looks in the geopolitical mirror and asks the most existential of questions.

Yet the story delivered through school text books and the broader public consciousness has often come into conflict with the reality of history. It also ignores the generations of halfies living both here and abroad, often the product of the tragic Korean War that tore the peninsula in two.

While that particular conflict is labeled "the forgotten war," many see halfies as "the forgotten race." Throughout the early years the first generations faced discrimination, sometimes growing up in single-parent households, orphaned, or simply socially reviled.

To be a halfie anywhere is difficult. To be a halfie in Korea is a tale unto itself.

Today there are half-Koreans from all over the world: Korean-Germans, Korean-Kazakhs, Korean-Egyptians, and, in my house, Korean-Britons. While they all share a similarity in half of their genetic composition, their journeys and experiences are vastly different.

And it is those many divergent journeys that have prompted model and photographer Becky White to investigate the lives and stories of people of mixed Korean heritage. Through the use of social media and various other platforms, she is demonstrating that there is no need for people to be forgotten any longer.

It is time to remember who we are. It is time to ask where we are from.

Tony Smith

Becky White

The Halfie Project has been three years in the making and has been created by Becky so that she might not only come to terms with her experiences growing up, but also create a community in which concepts such as culture, mixed ethnicity, and ― more specifically ― the half-Korean heritage can be discussed and expressed freely.

Becky describes it as "somewhat part art, part research, but ultimately born out of the question of identity." And it seems that in finding others, one finds oneself.

She describes herself as a "halfie" and distinguishes it from other classifications such as gyopos or Koryo Sarams. Becky has an American father and a Korean mother and since moving to Seoul six years ago, she has had her identity drastically challenged.

A halfie is said to be the combination of two whole identities coming together yet sometimes leaving people with a "one foot in, one foot out feeling," which many like Becky experience as they make their way through the 21st century.

And they are right to feel a little disoriented. A recent survey Seoul Metropolitan Government survey showed there is still a perception that some Koreans discriminate against foreigners based on their nationality, as well as skin color and linguistic ability.

Becky says she has had her own story ignored by some for being "too white" and not "minority enough" while her half-black half-Korean friend caused some controversy among the black viewing audience. The halfie experience is complex.

In an increasingly politically charged world, in which talking of other people's cultures can bring with it charges of ethnocentrism, the project is not only courageous, but necessary.

Daniel Taendler, a half-Korean, half-German architect, says that for some it is akin to a limbo between worlds: an inability to settle in one place or find a "motherland." In his interview with The Halfie Project he spoke of his struggles to be accepted here.

The ability to speak Korean fluently pushes one further up the halfie spectrum according to Becky because "through language so much of the culture and unspoken context can be understood." Thus there are layers to the halfie conversation and while they may gravitate toward each other through a sense of familiarity and kinship, there is still so much that is idiosyncratic and unique to each individual experience.

Tony Smith, a half-black, half Korean dancer and photographer, has been living in South Korea for nine years and has faced his own trials and tribulations. When Korean co-workers and friends discover his heritage it often results in more judgment ― normally related to what they see as a lack of knowledge of the language or culture.

In that sense, one learns that not only is the halfie journey a multifarious one, the Korean one is too. Being Korean is still not just a nationality for many. There are prerequisites.

Deep-rooted beliefs as well as a lack of both exposure and education still lead some to insult and disparage the work being undertaken in this project. However, Becky and her team remain motivated by those they interview, and determined to tell these thought-provoking stories and stay bold and curious.

And they should because the future is coming. And, at the risk of stating the obvious, South Korea's future will likely be very different to the world we inhabit today.

Headlines, stories, and tweets about the ever-changing demographics normally bring with them a sense of trepidation. Whether it is the declining birth rate, the poverty suffered by the elderly, or the seemingly growing gap between the genders, these issues have increasingly become part of our daily coffee-fueled conversation.

It is estimated that one-third of all children born here will be of mixed South Korean and other Asian descent by 2020, reflecting the increasing trend of people looking for love ― or children ― beyond borders. It also points to a growing reluctance of Koreans to marry each other and have children, with neologisms such as the "sampo generation" and "han-nam" becoming more ubiquitous online.

This future vision stands in stark contrast to what was reported just over a decade ago. In 2006, only 536,627 foreigners were living in Korea. Fast forward 10 years and in July 2016 more than 2 million people were using an "alien" card and calling the land of the morning calm their home.

Amid all the fears and worries that change brings, there is perhaps the opportunity for some positivity and encouragement looking forward as well as some Heraclitian?acceptance.

For Daniel, while his interview was about sharing his halfie experience, there was also a desire that Korean people engage with it so they can learn and understand more.

Thus the Halfie Project tells the stories of people with mixed Korean heritage, but it is not just for them. It is for me, and you. And your neighbor. And the woman downstairs who does not talk to you much.

It is for the man who runs the dumpling shop around the corner, the couple seemingly joined at the hip, and the down-trodden kids you see getting on the bus each morning. The Halfie Project is a story about humans. And we all have that in common.

Becky says, "There's no need to feel obligated to fit in with Koreans or with white people or with black people or whoever you feel like you should be accepted by. You are you, and that's enough. Let's ask questions about culture and identity; let's talk about it."

And so, talk about it we shall.

The Halfie Project can be found online at thehalfieproject.com. It also has a strong YouTube and Instagram presence with interviews and stories shared regularly. People interested are encouraged to contact them at thehalfieproject@gmail.com