Sun-Kyung (Sunny) Yi – Life of being a Canadian
Being Canadian is hard to define because there is no concrete definition. We can compare Canadians and Americans and understand that there are differences and similarities. Canadians are very proud of being Canadian and never accept to be mistaken to be Americans. Sometimes I wonder, what is so different from being an American, and how can you tell the difference between Americans and Canadians? Besides different accents, money, and national anthem, each American and Canadian individual are very similar. In class we have learned what really defines who a Canadian is by watching numerous YouTube videos, and discussing what each classmate thought a real Canadian meant. There are many different Hollywood films that relate to this topic of Nationalism but I came along a story by a Korean family that was aired on CBC years ago. The Yi family’s story then turned into a film that was co-written and produced by Sara Wolch.
The Yi family had moved from Korea to the heart of Saskatchewan, Victoria Street in the city of Regina. The story of the family is spoken from the point of view from one of the daughters, Sun –Kyung Yi, also known as Sunny. Her parents had told her and her other siblings that they would be turning into a Canadian and it’s time to take the oath. Sunny was confused and wasn’t sure what it really meant to be a Canadian. She didn’t know if it meant not eating rice anymore, watching any Korean movies or calling herself Korean but Canadian. She says one thing in her documentary that really caught my attention, “everyone was right, except for us. As far as I knew, white people were already Canadian, so what were they doing here?”
Being white doesn’t mean that you are Canadian, being Canadian means being part of the National conversation; to understand why the country functions in a peaceful way. I have a few people who are currently trying to obtain their duel Canadian citizenship, and in order for them to do so, they must study a 60 page book about the history of Canada and then be tested on it. To understand Canadian history is definitely important, but being Canadian isn’t just based on a test. To be a Canadian citizen isn’t easy to answer, but Canadians assume that we have rights and not obligations; rights of mobility, legal, equality, and educational rights.
People from all around the world come into Canada because they want the freedom, the ideas, and economic systems that we Canadians live by. Sunny’s parents had no knowledge about Canada, but they came to Canada because they wanted their children to have the best life possible with educational opportunities, and security and safety. Because the parents were ignorant to the Canadian culture the children were educating their parents on the Canadian history that they were learning in school. It takes more than just a handbook to make you Canadian, or making assumptions that we all like the cold, live in igloos, and like to eat deer meat. Sunny’s life is very interesting in how she considered herself a Canadian and what some of the different experiences that she and her family went through in the process of being Canadian.
Russel Peters (Comedian) talks about what it means to be Canadian.
To hear more about Sunny’s experience of being Canadian, visit these websites to hear her podcasts.
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