The article that I chose to summarize is “Facing Poverty with a Rich Girls Habits” by Suki Kim. I feel as though the main point in this essay would be the difficulty in transitioning from a rich girl in Korea with limos, maids and a governess, to living in the U.S poor. Not speaking the language and having to do everything for themselves. In Korea the Kim family had wealth and all of the luxuries that came with it and we forced to flee to the U.S when the father went bankrupt because bankruptcy was punishable by jail time.
The author took public transportation for the first time at 13 years old. This was strange for her because before she was driven to school. She also had difficulties understanding some of the terms used here such as “fresh off the boat” when she had in fact flown to the U.S.
In her English as a second language (E.S.L) class she now has to interact with kids that she would have little to no contact with in Korea. The class division is even more pronounced because she knows that the wealthier Korean immigrants migrated to Westchester or Manhattan whereas she and her family were in Queens. Suki Kim stated that she was a part of the 1.5 generation. She stated that “Many of us came to America in our teens, already rooted in Korean ways and language” Kim, S. Facing rich poverty with a rich girls habits. In The interpreter. This generation clashed with first generation immigrants who barely spoke the language they also clash with second generation who were more Americanized and to her even more foreign. I feel as though the audience of the piece is not just Korean immigrants but also Americans that come in contact with them. The purpose of this piece is to explain not just the difficulties faced by coming to a foreign country but having to also adapt to a new lifestyle as well.
I was shocked by the changes that Suki and her family went through and the fact that she had never did her own laundry and was driven to school by a chauffeur. I was born here and the things that were strange to her are everyday living to me. I was also shocked at the class differences in Korea. Here in America the poor interact with whoever and vice versa. I also did not now that going bankrupt could land you in jail in Korea. That is not the cause here even debtors jails are outlawed. I was moved by this article and I am actually looking for the book so I can read her whole story. I am glad this was a part of our assignment.