Who We Were, We Are Becoming: Narratives of K-Eldest Daughters

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Nine
  In Roundtable Session: Roundtable Two: Critical Perspectives on Model Minority, Global Experiences, and Identities (Table 18)

Abstract

This collaborative autoethnography explores shared narratives of four eldest daughters among siblings from South Korean families, who are also called K-eldest daughters. Four Korean transnational female researchers in the Mid-Atlantic universities participated to explore life experiences as K-eldest daughters and as transnational scholars in the U.S. We shared narratives of how we grew up as K-eldest daughters in South Korea and how such cultural and societal norms have influenced our personal becoming processes and professional lives across time and space. Two theories, Asian feminism and Spatiality, guided our inquiry. Not being enough, being a perfect model, and burdened roles emerged as shared themes that affected our lives as K-eldest daughters.

Authors

• Eun Young Yeom, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author

• Jiyea Park, University of Georgia
  Presenting Author

• Seongryeong Yu, Old Dominion University
  Presenting Author

• Hyoju Ahn, Northern Illinois University
  Presenting Author