Tag: “What to Say”

Born in the United States, musician Gu is 9 (ne Brian Kim) spent the first six years of his life in Maryland, where his parents attended graduate school. When the family moved to his parents’ native South Korea, he was in for a culture shock. “I said, ‘Mom, everyone is Korean here!’” he said. “I remember in kindergarten, some kids made fun of me for my (poor) Korean speaking skills. I felt like an outcast whenever anyone asked me to speak English for them. Eventually, though, I assimilated to the point where English became my second language.”