What the hell is a Third Culture Kid (TCK)? Our friend Elena Kim enlightens us with stories from her life growing up around the world before eventually settling down in her mother country (Korea). We cover her journey from birth in London, adolescence in Singapore, prep school in Connecticut, college in North Carolina (where she was part of a sorority, no less!), and finally, life as a Korean American in Korea. 

A few other topics we dish on include: the tensions between one’s own identity and the identity others presume of us, being branded the “cool Asian” by white peers, crazy and problematic Greek-life parties, speaking Korean with an American accent, and a critical review of The Side Dish's Instagram, from the perspective of a professional branding consultant. 

Follow us on Instagram @_thesidedish

03/01/21

Episode 18 - The Cultural Chameleon (featuring Elena)

Insecurities, selfish impulses, and mean streaks. From childhood, we are taught to repress these Jungian “shadow” traits, conditioned instead to be prosocial in all aspects of life. The problem is, these traits tend to leak out as we get older. 

That’s right, this episode’s all about leakage. 

What triggers our shadow traits and how can we channel them in healthy ways? Join us as we also discuss the kinds of people we dislike/are turned off by, and attempt to understand why we have these feelings to begin with. We get a little vulnerable and reveal our unsavory characteristics. But that's all part of the self-awareness journey. Your shadow can be your friend, if you'll allow it. And after listening to this episode, you should probably address your own leakage too.

03/09/21

Episode 19 - Excuse Me, Your Shadow’s Leaking

Alien landings, global cabals, and secret assassinations: conspiracy theories have long captured our collective imaginations and, in some cases, even turned out to be true. If you’ve ever wondered where conspiracy thinking stems from, or just want to hear us debate their veracity, then allow us to enter your minds.

Dropping buzz words like “magical thinking”, “intuition”, “malicious intent” and “Ted Bundy’s pajamas”, we come to learn that while some beliefs are benign, others can lead to insidious distortions of reality with real-life consequences. And yet, they all stem from a very human impulse to find meaning in an otherwise chaotic and irrational world.

03/08/21

Episode 20 - The Fear of Magical Thinking

Asian-American & Third Culture
Potluck of ideas
Where the main course is friendship~

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IG: _thesidedish