This is kind of a shot in the dark, but does anyone know of any Asian (actually not just Asian, but specifically Korean) TS women living in the USA? Hopefully someone in the midwest?
I live in the Chicago metro area and have personally met all kinds of TG, CD, TS, and non-binary people. And I've even been lucky enough to personally meet a handful of Asian TS women (Filipino, Chinese). I cherish my friendships with local TS women. But sadly, I have yet to meet any Korean TS women. I am a naturalized US citizen; I was born in Korea but was raised mostly in the US. My parents are first-generation immigrants though and 100% Korean. And although they have adapted very well to American culture, they still value their Korean heritage and embrace many traditional Korean values.
I came out to my parents about 6 months ago. It was a total shock to them, to say the least. They say that they still love me (and certainly show it by their continuing actions), but it's still extremely difficult for them to see me as their daughter. Korean culture is very, very conservative! Probably the most conservative of all the Asian cultures IMO. To make matters more difficult, I was the first-born and only son of my parents. (sons are very important in Korean culture, especially first-born sons!) On top of that, I was the first-born grandchild and first-born grandson of my grandfather on my father's side... so from birth I was destined to be the one to carry on the family name. That cannot be done as a woman, much less a TS woman.
Korea is a very modern society in terms of their economy and technology. As you may know, Samsung (cell phones!), Hyundai (cars!), and LG (tech stuff!) are all Korean companies. But when it comes to progress on social equality, Korea still has a long way to go. To give you an idea of just how conservative Korean culture is, The Washington Post wrote an article last year about how South Korea outright banned an LGBT march. That of course would be unheard of in western nations! The article also wrote, "South Korea is generally an intolerant place when it comes to LGBT issues. In its latest survey on moral issues, Pew last year found that 57 percent of South Koreans thought that homosexuality was unacceptable". So you see, Korea has a long way to go before gays and lesbians are accepted in society, and obviously even further to go for transgender people!
I am a full-time TS woman now, on HRT for about 8 months, have completed my legal name change, and even had additional FFS recently (I'll post about my FFS experience later). I fully accept who and what I am, and am comfortable and at peace with myself. And fortunately, my mother is slowly becoming more accepting of me too (but not my father, who doesn't speak to me at all anymore).
I guess the reason why I'm making this post is that I would really appreciate being able to talk to other Korean-American TS women who are transitioning or have "completed" transitioning. It would be great to be able to share with someone some of the unique struggles we have as TS women coming from a Korean cultural background. If you know of anyone like me, and that woman is also willing to connect with me, please send me a private message to let me know. I would be so very grateful. Thank you!!
oh BTW, my real-life name is Emily (Mirya is my middle name), so if you happen to find another Korean TS woman, please tell them my name is Emily. (I recently updated my signature on these forums to say my name is Emily, but I guess it didn't update on this post yet)
