Dr. Yi-dominate culture

As I was reading Kapitan Lee, the discussion by Dr. Yi of different races stood out to me. The doctor discusses his daughter in the United States, who is going ot marry a white man, and he comments about having a "white offspring." This is not a good thing in his eyes, and he gives his daughter a hard time about marrying someone who is white. He likens it to the pressure under Japanese occupation for Japanese and Koreans to marry, and in the beginning he cringed at it. Desipte his ability to adapt to different groups who were in power in Korea, underneath he is not in support of it. While the Korean people were not necessarily the Dominate culture, since he is Korean he views being pure as something of value. It's quite ironic actually, because he is the one who learns the language of whoever is in power, and changes himself to fit in each time. When the Soviets come and are in power, he refers to them as the big noses, and yet he does all he can to learn the language and assimilate quickly. It's only in his inner dialogue and some of what he discusses with his own family (his wife and daughter) that he reveals his distaste with the outsiders. In my Ethnic Studies classes we discuss the difference between race and ethnicity, and while Dr. Yi wants to hold onto his Korean genetic ancestry, he is more than willing to adjust his ethnicity to survive.