If you ask Joan Sung to describe herself, she will say "Kinda Korean" hence the title of the book.

I love memoirs. Especially ones with someone who had a childhood very different from mine. Joan struggled with being considered too Asian at school and not Asian enough at home. She deals with tremendous pressure from her mom. As she moves through her school life, she finds herself feeling lost and struggles with drinking. The book also describes several incidents of sexual assault.

I feel for Joan and anyone else who has gone through sexual abuse. Especially in a society that blames the victim more than the abuser. If you are currently struggling with the effects of sexual abuse, I recommend preparing yourself before reading this or waiting until you are in a better place.

I love the title and the cover but I had a hard time getting through the book. Some of the writing felt disjointed to me and I had to force myself to finish it. I didn't think the writing was bad but maybe the way topics went back and forth didn't work for me as much.

Thank you to NetGalley, Joan Sung, and She Writes Press for the opportunity to read Kinda Korean. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

This novel is about a Korean-American girl's immigrant Tiger Mom, but it's about much more too that's just as, if not more, important. It's about growing up Asian in a society that "fetishizes" and "hypersexualizes" Asian woman. The writer discusses being assaulted so many times and "brainwashed" to believe that you should live in shame for who you are.

I found the memoir enlightening about experiences and challenges faced by triple threats - having immigrant parents, being Asian, and being an Asian woman. To be made to feel that "being different" is always a bad thing. It was interesting that even a positive for Asians, being considered studious and hardworking, could be turned into a stereotype that implied that Asians could not experience racial discrimination.

The honest and forthright stories are compelling, amazing, and disturbing. It's good that so many Asian women are finally speaking up, writing books, memoirs, histories that tell their stories and show their points of view and experiences.

I would encourage all readers to read this book, to understand in more depth the immigrant experience in the U.S., which may be similar to those in other countries as well.

Kinda Korean by Dr. Joan Sung is a lesson in self discovery and acceptance, in addition to intersectionality, as a Korean American daughter of immigrant parents. Sung demonstrates how, throughout her life and across various settings, she is othered - used as and assumed to fit a stereotype when it benefits those in privileged positions, and dismissed, discriminated against, and silenced when she doesn’t meet expectations. The common thread in her stories is the questioning of her own identity and not being welcome or “enough” in any space.

As a woman, there are plenty of things to relate to throughout her stories, including her experiences with sexual assault and harassment, the impact of generational trauma, career obstacles, and being a mother to a biracial child.

As an Asian American, she was subjected to the model minority myth starting at a young age. This, at times, elevated her above other POC when her identity was being weaponized against them, yet still kept her excluded from white spaces, making it easier to deny her experiences with racism (even amidst, for example, the dramatic increase in violence against Asian Americans in relation to COVID).

As a Korean American with immigrant parents, she grappled with being born and raised in the US, yet not being welcomed or represented in American culture. Too close yet too removed from her family’s culture, she also didn’t gain a sense of comfort in other Korean Americans either - not feeling like she measured up in terms of Korean language fluency or economic status amongst her peers, let alone criticism she received from her immediate family.

On top of it, each piece of Sung’s identity is inseparable from another, and you feel the weight of these intersecting forms of discrimination adding up throughout her stories.

Despite tackling such heavy topics, Kinda Korean is a book I breezed through and found to be an easy, engaging read. It is ultimately a collection of stories that demonstrates how one can grow to feel secure in herself and embrace the in-betweens of identity, despite living in a world where she is constantly confronted with a societally-constructed box that she doesn’t fit neatly in. This is a book I would recommend to everyone.

Thank you to She Writes Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Although it feels weird to rate someone's memoir, I will heartily give this 5 stars because it told Sung's story thus far in a compelling way without being overwrought, and the style itself was appealing and easily digestible. I felt invited into her world and ever-evolving viewpoints and perspectives, and those also came across as genuine. She didn't give the impression that she had it all figured out, but instead showed areas of ambivalence, confusion, frustration, and all the stuff that we often perceive as negative when it can be a necessary part of our growth and development as human beings in relation to one another.

Kinda Korean by Joan Sung is a heartfelt memoir about the complexities of being Korean-American. While it shares similarities with Crying in H Mart, Sung’s narrative is more intense and dramatic, offering a deeper look into family dynamics and identity struggles. A solid read for those interested in personal stories of cultural conflict and self-discovery.

"Umma, we're American! This is the American way!" I exclaimed. "You are Korean! I am Korean! It is Korea in this house!" she shot back. Like many other moments before this, I felt torn between the demands of two worlds."

I've been on a memoir kick, and I typically love immigrant memoirs. This one starts off strong and half way through the book becomes too detailed, too repetitive, and loses steam. I rushed through the last quarter. Joan Sung's story of being born to Korean parents with a difficult past is a hard one. She grows up with (as she calls it), a "Tiger Mom," who is cold, abusive and distant, and a father who lives in her mother's shadow. They pass their generational trauma on to Joan, who struggles to get away, losing herself to alcohol and other acts that seem to allow her control over her own life. This includes joining the Air Force after college. Once she becomes a mother herself (to a biracial child), she begins to understand her mother somewhat more.

While there is a lot of commentary in this memoir about being Asian American that is moving and important, I feel that this book needed further editing. It is simply too much like a lot of other books of this genre and doesn't stand on its own.

Provides an intimate glimpse into the life of a daughter of Korean immigrants in the U.S.
Through a collection of short stories, Sung portrays the challenges and traumas of her upbringing, with a particular focus on her relationship with her Tiger Mom.
The book offers an insightful look into cultural identity.
Kinda Korean delivers both personal and cultural stories that are bound to leave a lasting impression.
Although the stories are not presented chronologically, they come together to form a powerful a powerful narrative.
The book addresses heavy themes such as sexual assault, racism and parental physical violence, yet it remains accessible and easy to read.
Sung’s interactions with her mother added further depth to the narrative.
One of the most interesting stories I've read in a long time and a nice change to read something non fiction.

i love cultural stories and reading other people's pov from all over the world. this memoir was written beautifully & it was super relatable.

was i confused at times? yes, because they were written and divided into short stories explaining different issues she has growing up with immigrant parents and the trauma she has to faced growing up that went on for years and years.

i found myself moved by her unflinchingly honest yet tender portrayals of her mother, which by the way is a Tiger Mom. the author dives into the good, the bad, and the ugly when talking about her mother, which is what makes the book so compelling. I think anyone who has a lady bird kind of relationship with their mom could identify with the highs and lows between Joan and her mother. and while touching on broad themes of mother-daughter bonds & generational trauma, she remains committed to her own story without making any broad generalizations about culture.

i loved this. her story was very inspiring. i laughed, cry and was angry at times because i just wanted to save her. this was a very eye opening biography. definitely a must read.

thank you @shewritespress for an early copy.
this book comes out in Feb. 25 2025.

[tg: SA, verbal abuse, physical abuse, rape]

Kinda Korean is a mesmerising memoir that is deeply upsetting, insightful, and is an incredible exploration, or more appropriately, a revelation of cultural identity, family relationships, racism and misogyny. Sung writes her memoir in a way that pulls at your heart strings, whilst dampening the pain with humour.

Sung shares her experience of the discrimination and racism she experienced as an Asian American of immigrant parents from Korea, with a ‘tiger mum’ who expected her to be ‘the perfect, obedient Korean daughter’, and who felt ‘too Asian in my American community, yet too American living in my own house’.

As Sung navigates her own existence through her youth, she is honest in her naivety when it comes to steering her own experiences of alcoholism and as a victim of assault, and has incredible insight into the stereotyping and fetishising of herself and other Asian women, ‘I could never distinguish when white men were interested in me just for sex, to fulfil some exotic sexual fantasy or if they were genuinely interested in getting to know me better’, and ‘we Asian women were expendable because we are not people; we are objects for white men’s sexual objectification and desires’.

Sung has paced her memoir wonderfully as she goes through her schooling years, enters the Airforce and retrains to be a teacher, with chapter headings that really encapsulate the topic with an almost rhythmic transition from one chapter to another. Sung has written an immensely important piece of non-fiction which is not only a must-read for every Asian-American who is seeking to figure out their identity, but for everyone, regardless of race and gender, as we are all witnesses to the topics Sung highlights, directly or indirectly.

I am so grateful to have received the opportunity to read this riveting advanced copy from She Writes Press (via NetGalley).

At first, this book will be compared to Crying in H Mart, but the two differ for me on many levels. Yes, it is about a young Korean American who has problems with her mother and a rebellious streak, but the similarities end here. Kinda Korean has a little more Trainspotting and SA and is written as a series of events in the author's life that shaped her in some way. I know that’s a lot of what an autobiography is, but this one felt more choppy, almost as if the chapters could stand alone.
Kinda Korean touches on many hard subjects from someone who has dealt with and continues to deal with them. The idea of not being American enough that many POC face, along with the intense pressure to assimilate combined with the pull to stay connected with one’s culture. The microaggressions Asian American women face on a daily basis and internalization of intergenerational and societal trauma in a way that kept me interested and able to read, even when she was discussing very difficult topics. Alcohol addiction, abuse, assault, suicide, and trauma are all explored within the pages of this novel.
I found Kinda Korean to be very relatable and written in a way that makes it approachable. Joan Sung's story is unique, but it shares many similarities with the stories of Asian Americans.

This book is pretty much everything I thought it would be, and I adore that.

This book very clearly outlines a demographic of people that aren't necessarily addressed as often as they should be. This book addresses in a brutally honest and transparent way what it is like to be Asian American, having two cultures but also none. It does a beautiful job of explaining how racism has a double edge for Asian Americans, and how it looks different than that of racism towards other races. It is a great representation of how women are treated poorly in male dominated spaces, or really any spaces at all. All of these things made complete sense how Sung explained them, and in the examples from their life.

The one that got me in this book was raising a biracial child. I have a biracial child, and I felt so much of that portion in my soul. And I think I learned ways for me to handle that responsibility from this book, which I will always appreciate.

It feels a bit like it was written out of order, some things are explained (almost in the exact same phrasing) multiple times, which is what makes me feel like it is a bit disjointed, but maybe it's also just to keep saying it, to really get it into the readers head.

I would definitely recommend this book. No questions asked.

Definitely recommended for readers who have an interest in cultural stories and memoirs, especially if you enjoyed Crying in H Mart.

A memoir of a daughter of Korean immigrants in the US, it is a collection of stories explaining different issues she had to face growing up and all the trauma induced throughout the years. I enjoyed it, even though the writing wasn't the greatest for me at times and some of the stories could have been explained differently. If you enjoyed Crying in H Mart, you will enjoy this.

I requested this book purely because it had the word Korean in the title so I didn’t really know what to expect but I really enjoyed it. A kind of memoir of short stories. Just fabulous.

This was a fascinating collection of stories, loosely organized as a memoir. I was engaged and interested throughout, and found myself rooting for the author and sad when things didn't go well for her. That said, I wish there were smoother transitions between the stories -- many times, it felt like things ended and started abruptly. Overall, a great read, though!

I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s a series of short (some only a couple of pages) insights into the author’s experiences growing up Korean in America, and later raising a child who is ethnically half German, half Korean. The stories are direct and often poignant, some are quite distressing (content includes SA, racism, physical violence from parents), but all are told with the same easy to read writing style.

A poignant and inspiring biography. I love stories like this, stories that explore the complexities of being Asian American and generational trauma. I loved the mini anecdotes in this that turned into larger stories that reflected Sung’s life. She doesn’t shy away from her strained relationship with her mother and how it impacted her as a mother herself. Although these stories were disconnected in terms of a timeline, they all meshed together to form a beautiful and brave story. Sung should be proud for putting her life into such a powerful memoir.

A remarkably direct and sharp look at one Korean woman’s experience growing up in America. Similar to Crying in HMart, we see the author grappling with her Asian American identity and dealing with the racism that goes along with it. Here, we see Sung’s experience growing up in a home with a strict, demanding mother.

I will admit that I requested this book because of the cover and an assumption that it would be more food-central than what ended up actually being on the inside. Still, Kinda Korean was a very moving and powerful memoir about the immigrant experience and a fascinating exploration of family dynamics.

Thank you She Writes Press for the early copy in exchange for an honest review! Available Feb. 25 2025

A memoir about growing up as the daughter of Korean immigrants, dealing with racism, and struggling with a "tiger mom". I enjoyed it except for two things, one minor and one major. First, the cover (a cartoon-style drawing of a bowl of noodles) makes this look like a food memoir, which it isn't. It doesn't represent the content accurately in my opinion. Second, and this REALLY bothered me, the author nonchalantly mentions a time when, in order to get back at her boss, she deliberately pours cleaning fluid into the office fishbowl. At no time does she express regret for killing an innocent creature, and it stuck in my craw. This anecdote comes near the end of the book; otherwise I probably would have quit reading it. I deducted a star for this inclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and She Writes Press for the ARC!

An eye opening look at what it’s like to be a Korean in America.She sharesher childhood from looking different from her classmates being physically abused by her Tiger mom.This si such a heart wrenching raw look at racism in America at trying to fit in.Joan Sung has written a memoir that opens your eyes and breaks your heart.I will be recommending.#netg #shewritespress.