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[Exploring Korean Culture] (MOMO CAMP) Can Learning About Korea Be Life-Changing? This Culture Camp Founder Thinks So

January 3, 2024

“If you’re not Chinese or Japanese, then what are you?”

The question is likely a familiar one to children of Korean heritage who grew up outside Korea. It certainly was to Sam Paik, who first arrived in the US from Korea at just nine years old. He came of age before the hallyu wave brought pop culture phenomena like BTS, Parasite, and Squid Game to the world.

Can Learning About Korea Be Life-Changing? This Culture Camp Founder Thinks So (http://momocamp.org)

As the only Asian kid in his class throughout elementary and middle school, Paik’s first opportunity to learn about his homeland at school was a single paragraph in a 10th-grade world history textbook. And at home, culture was passed down piecemeal, from stories shared by parents and other relatives. With huge parts of his identity left vague and undefined, he struggled to answer even to himself “Who am I?”

Even though Korea is now in the global spotlight — and is no longer overshadowed culturally by China and Japan — this alienating sense of “otherness” remains common among children of Korean heritage, who don’t have many options for learning about Korea in a fulsome, systematic way from the perspective of a person living outside of Korea.

And it’s what inspired Paik to create Momo Camp, a first-of-its-kind summer camp in Korea. Momo Camp offers children of Korean heritage a place to experience Korea firsthand through fun, culturally immersive activities that fill in the learning gaps left by school, home, and pop culture. Campers from all over the world will gather for a month of exploration in and around Seoul, developing a framework for understanding the massive achievement and impact of Korea’s cultural titans, from King Sejong, a national hero akin to the US’s Abraham Lincoln, to the Scorsese-like figure of Bong Joon-ho.

Can Learning About Korea Be Life-Changing? This Culture Camp Founder Thinks So (http://momocamp.org)

Momo Camp’s mission is rooted in learning, Paik notes, not in drawing lines of division or asking campers to cast loyalty to Korea over the country they grew up — something Paik was repeatedly asked to do as a third-culture kid. Rather, the camp offers an encouraging and supportive space for youth to explore these issues of identity and belonging.

Because learning about one’s roots can be life-changing. For Paik, it inspired him to major in East Asian history at college, a decision that ended up shaping his entire career path. He hopes that Momo Camp will do the same for its campers, offering them a transformative experience of Korea that has the potential to positively impact the rest of their lives.

For more information on Momo Camp and to apply for the summer 2024 session, visit www.momocamp.org.