Bloodlines and Boundaries: The Evolution of Korean Identity

For All Those Who Claim More Than One Ethnicity...PROUDLY.

Raise your hand if you’re “pure-blooded” anything—Korean, Chinese, Irish, Mexican. Anyone? Anyone?

If you’ve ever checked a box marked ‘Other,’ if you’ve been told you’re not enough of one thing or too much of another—this one’s for you.

Personally, I’ve been called exotic, ambiguous, and confusing—sometimes all in the same week.

Let me show you where this started for me.

Daniel Henney, half Korean actor and model

In Korea, where I trace half my roots, most Koreans would raise their hand. Their sense of belonging to a nation is derived from the fact that they all share the same blood and prehistoric origin. It can be said they consider themselves ONE.

This sentiment arose in the early 20th century, as a response to the Japanese invasion, when the invaders attempted to erase the Korean language, culture, customs, dress, education, communication, and every aspect of life.

Koreans were forced to adopt a Japanese name, learn the language, their Shinto religion, and even their dress.

It makes sense that Koreans resisted this encroachment into every aspect of their lives by asserting their absolute ethnic uniqueness.

Today, Koreans have a strong sense of ethnic homogeneity and nationalism is important in their politics, strengthening solidarity against division and external threats.

In the world I am half Korean and half Spanish. In Korea, I am 혼혈 or Honhyeol (“mixed blood" or "mixed lineage.") or 하프 Hapeu (“half”). These terms are considered offensive by many.

In my heart, I am Korean, with a smattering of Spanish. I grew up in a Korean household, eating Korean food, hearing Korean spoken around me, following Korean customs.

When discussing the possibility of emigrating to Korea and obtaining Korean nationality, I was assured by Korean friends that I would be welcome with open arms because, as a taxi driver once told me, “you ARE Korean, since your father was pure Korean.”

Still…I had my doubts. I had heard stories on social media about honhyeol who were discriminated against for not being pure-blooded.

My question to my Korean people is: how will Korean society make space for the beautiful generation of mixed-race children now growing up among you?

Will these children grow up facing the same walls of exclusion? Or will you become the generation that finally tears them down?"

This isn’t just a Korean question—it’s global.

In the U.S., the number of people identifying as multiracial grew 276% between 2010 and 2020. In South Korea, the number of children born to multicultural families has nearly doubled in the past decade, and many of them are now entering adulthood, navigating schools, jobs, and social circles that may not be ready to embrace them.

When I see these numbers, I see classrooms filled with kids like I once was. I wonder if they’ll feel proud of all that they are, or pressured to pick a side.

What we do next, how we welcome, listen to, and make room for those whose bloodlines weave across borders, that will define our humanity.

The idea of ‘pure blood’ might sound archaic, yet versions of it show up everywhere. In how we gatekeep who’s ‘Black enough,’ ‘Latinx enough,’ or ‘Asian enough.’ In who gets to claim a culture, and who’s told to sit on the sidelines.

Is being of pure blood more important than belonging to an ethnic group because of blood, culture, and sentiment?

So I ask my Korean people and all people from cultures that pride themselves on purity:

What will you do with the beautiful, growing presence of mixed-race children? Will you pass on the hurt that was once inflicted upon you? Or will you rewrite the script, one where bloodlines don’t limit love or belonging?

And to my fellow 혼혈, hapas, mestizos, Blasians, Afro-Latinas, and every beautiful in-between soul out there, your bloodlines are not a burden. They are an epic story full of love, survival, migration, rebellion, and magic.

Want to start mapping yours?

If you’d like to reflect on your story or start writing your own, I made something for you. Download my free Heritage Identity Map and take the first step toward reclaiming all that you are.

How do YOU live in between cultures?

Have you ever had to “prove” your heritage?

What culture do you feel most at home in—and has the world allowed you to belong there?

DM me and let’s discuss it.