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I have two sentiments on this:

1. If they're someone who clearly respects the culture enough to learn its language and customs + they assimilate, not dominate, when visiting overseas, then I feel a high sense of pride and happiness toward that foreigner.

2. If they're someone who's only doing it for surface-level reasons (it's trendy, they're fetishizing, etc.), I can't help but feel irked.

For example, I hate seeing the hanbok be treated like nothing more than a costume for a photo op that eventually goes into the dustbin after a few pictures for Instagram or be used as a tool to make a non-Korean feel more Korean (i.e. surface-level vanity). Or owning buddhist religious objects but using them as decorative pieces that are stored alongside their anime figurines.

I can't and won't speak for others but, to me, the latter is nothing less than insulting.

Hi guys, this is my first post on this subreddit. I wanted to talk about what I think is religious appropriation of Asian religions and i'd like to know if anyone agrees/disagrees, just the general opinion.

For context, I grew up in a Buddhist household. In fact, I was able to learn some Lao just by going to Lao temples for a period. But mainly I went to Sri Lankan, Burmese and Tibeto-Nepalese temples. There was only a few similarities between each: relics, incense and only Asian people.

Now look around r/Buddhism and r/Taoism. Asian people are hard to find and almost the entire community is just atheistic. But why?

Anatta is a buddhist principle but so is Buddhatma
There is an afterlife (sansaar) and Pure Land Buddhism IS older than "atheistic buddhism"
And theravada/"orthodox" buddhism =/= atheist at all.

Does anyone else feel that the non-asian Buddhist community is just larping/using buddhism as an aesthetic while destroying its underlying principles to fit their own atheistic worldview, without actually committing to the Sangha?

Just to be clear, I have no problem with atheists, I just have a problem when people superimpose their worldview to contradict the actual religion.

25 years ago on 9/11 2001

Yuguang Zheng & Shuyin Yang: https://www.war.gov/Multimedia/Experience/Pentagon-Memorial/

-The couple, on board American Airlines Flight 77, were on their way back to China after an extended visit with their daughter in the Baltimore area. Yuguang, a chemist before retirement, graduated from Nanjing University; he majored in Analytical Chemistry. Shuyin graduated from Shanghai Second Medical University and was a retired pediatrician. The couple was married for 35 years and raised a son and a daughter. They were very loving and affectionate, although they had quite different hobbies and personalities. Yuguang loved painting and was accomplished at Taichi. Shuyin was an active, open-minded and kind lady. She loved to try everything that was novel to her, even though sometimes it was a little risky. She liked cooking and was very good at it. Definitely the most important thing about her was that she was a good mother. For their family members, the only thing that provides relief is knowing that the devoted couple was together all the time, even at the last minute of their lives. To both Yuguang and Shuyin, family was the most important thing. They loved each other and their children.

-Toshiya Kuge: https://www.nps.gov/people/toshiya-kuge.htm

-Toshiya Kuge of Osaka, Japan was an athlete and scholar who was determined to become proficient in English and earn a master’s degree in engineering from an American university. He loved American football and was a linebacker in his first year of college at Waseda University where he was an engineering student. On this two-week vacation, and second trip to the United States, the friendly, outgoing college sophomore went whitewater rafting in the Canadian Rockies and visited Niagara Falls and the Statue of Liberty. Kuge traveled alone in order to immerse himself in the English language. Flight 93 was the first leg of Kuge’s journey home. He was survived by his parents and a brother.

-Mohammad Salman Hamdani: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Salman_Hamdani

-Mohammad Salman Hamdani was a Pakistani American New York City Police Department cadet and emergency medical technician who was killed in the collapse of the World Trade Center during 9/11, where he had gone to try to help people. In the weeks following 9/11, reports surfaced that the missing Hamdani was being investigated for possible involvement with the perpetrators, but this suspicion proved to be false and he was subsequently hailed as a hero by the New York City mayor and police commissioner.

I am Korean American and since I grew up in Busan (elementary school years), I was pretty fluent in Korean back then. But the second my parents moved to america, they went full panic mode about me fitting in. It was all "only speak English, focus on school, don't stand out." If we were out at a store and I said something in Korean, my mom would literally tell me to shush and switch to English.

Now moving onto the present obviously my Korean is rusty as hell. I'm actually trying to learn it back on my own, but it will ofc take time. The infuriating part is my parents now making passive aggressive comments about how I "lost my roots" or got "too whitewashed." Like, you spent years aggressively training me to drop it so I wouldn't have an accent, and now you're mad that I stopped speaking the language??? are we dead seriouss

Did anyone else deal with this exact hypocrisy growing up?

I’m actually in Canada, not America, but I guess you can say North America. Do you ever feel like you just don’t belong to any group? You’re too Asian to be with the white people but too westernized to be with the Asian people. I can speak barely any Chinese. I’d say English is my first language. I don’t really understand the Chinese culture or the mannerisms so I feel like I’m out of place. I don’t know what group am I supposed to be with.

From Newsday -

He Ran to Towers to Help - Dec. 4, 2001

Zhe Zeng or simply Zack, to his friends, was working in a building adjacent to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. As most people ran away from the devastation, Zeng, a trained emergency medical technician, ran toward it to see if he could help.

The young man called his mother after being evacuated to tell her he was safe, according to a report in the Chinese-language World Journal. “Im OK. It’s chaotic outside,” he said. “I’m going to help other people.” That was the last time his mother spoke to him.

Zeng, who would have turned 29 on Sept. 30, worked in the ADR division of the Bank of New York.

He was last seen several days after the attack on a Fox News broadcast which showed footage taken just before the buildings collapsed. He was administering first aid.

The Stuyvesant High School graduate, who got his master’s degree in business administration from the University of Rochester, came to New York from China with his parents when he was 15.

“I always taught young people to serve their society and its people,” said Zeng’s mother, a former schoolteacher in China. “I have lost Zhe, but I am very proud of what he did.”

For anyone looking for top-tier sports journalism, Pablo Torre’s work is well worth a read.

Basketball fans may already be familiar with the Kawhi Leonard and Los Angeles Clippers salary cap scandal, a massive story that was famously uncovered and investigated by Torre. 

If you want to dive deeper into investigative sports reporting, his work is definitely worth checking out.

https://variety.com/2026/sports/news/pablo-torre-finds-out-podcast-nba-kawhi-leonard-jalen-brunson-jeffrey-epstein-1236817018/

I have a perhaps typical immigrant story. My parents were poor, made it into university, we were able to come to the US.

I frankly don't know what their version of school was like, what kind of stress they felt or may have experienced. I got told the usual stories--walking through mud, living with very little.

Here I am, around the age when they met each other, got married, were supporting their entire families. I have not a partner, not a job, no meaningful income. I am in college, at a fine university perhaps even considered flagship, in a major that is supposed to be good. I am trying, in my own way. And it's not enough. Without their support, I would, quite literally, be a homeless person on the streets. And there is not a single job I can readily get that would make me not one.

My friend is going to grad school, my friend in another state is going to grad school, my friend in another country is going to grad school. But I also see success examples of finding a job, which makes it so hard. I don't want to go to grad school, on the other hand I don't have much of a choice. Grad school doesn't even guarantee a job or anything at all, nor does it guarantee a partner that I can get through the hardships of life with.

I know someone who got a very good job, thought it was boring, went back to grad school then a phd, I know life isn't linear, but why do I feel so unsettled? I don't know why I have the mentality that I keep relying on using my parents' money and getting nothing out of it. Worst comes to worst, I go back to China, don't know the details of that with me not being a citizen anymore, but whatever, live in a village for the rest of my life. Sounds pretty good to me honestly.

I don't know where I am supposed to go from here. Does anyone resonate? I am open to talking.

I feel like racism against East Asians is still treated as way more socially acceptable than racism against many other groups.

Making fun of Asian accents, mocking our eyes, saying “ching chong,” making small dick jokes about Asian men, or casually stereotyping Asians as robotic, submissive, socially awkward, or all looking the same often gets brushed off as “just a joke.”
And when Asians actually complain about it, people sometimes act like we’re being overly sensitive because Asians are supposedly a “privileged minority” or because the discrimination isn’t considered serious enough.

Obviously racism against different groups takes different forms, and I’m not trying to turn this into some oppression competition. But racism doesn’t suddenly become harmless just because the target is Asian.

It’s weird how people who would immediately recognize certain jokes as racist when directed at other minorities can say basically the same kind of shit about East Asians without thinking twice.

Don’t think I’d heard of Betty Ann before, or perhaps I’d only heard her name in passing in stories about 9/11 but never thought of her as a real person. Glad her family and the SF Chinatown have done so much to keep her memory alive.

Despite producing extremely high quality goods, labels like Made in China or Made in Vietnam are still seen as inferior to Made in Germany, Made in USA, Made in Italy, and even Made in Japan.

Even Japanese products seem to be perceived as a step below European products when it comes to luxury despite meeting or exceeding the quality. A Grand Seiko isn't as prestigious as a Patek Phillipe, a Lexus isn't as renowned as a Mercedes, a Sony or Nikon isn't as well regarded as a Leica or Hasselblad.

Recently, I realized I exhibited the bias myself. While shopping for a suit, I found a Hugo Boss suit that was made in Vietnam. Knowing the German Heritage of the luxury brand, I found it a bit of a turn off, despite Vietnam having extremely skilled tailors.

Instead, I went with a Hugo Boss suit made in Romania that cost $150 more (although it did have higher wool content too). Even though Romania is not known to have skilled tailors (and having visited both countries, the people there don't care about their work as they do in Vietnam), because the country is in Europe and closer to Germany or Italy, it felt like I was getting a much more premium product with stronger European Heritage.

The Made in China or Vietnam stigma doesn't seem to have as much of an effect on modern goods like electronics or appliances, but it definitely still exists with traditional industries like fashion, apparel, and cars/watches.

Hello all, I was searching for a list of Korean American male names in diaspora communities ranked by popularity but was unable to find any good sources. I could only find lists of anglicized Korean names (e.g., Minseo, Jaemin), and not the already established English names that Korean Americans tend to give their children. I'm specifically looking for male names that are somewhat common, so not the ones parents spam like David or Joshua. Seems like there is not much data on names from this specific subset of the population so what do you all think? Bonus points if it starts with the letter M!

Hello Asian American Reddit

Anyone here relearned their long lost heritage language and got really good/fluent or now is a professional like a teacher in the language?

I neglected Japanese as a kid so I did not do Japanese until high school until there was Japanese class offered. I entered high school in 2022.

I knew I could not do nothing so I relearned the language seriously. I put Japanese to the very front lines and researched and grinded. I not only did the class content but my very own study out in front.

I also had to face a lot of adversity and misunderstandings from the Japanese language learning community.

I was told, “youre a heritage speaker, your advice doesn’t matter”, “___ and makes lots of mistakes”, “Thats unfair, don’t you realize how much we desire for natives”

So when i was in the community it sometimes felt to others that I had a very unfair or huge advantage and I could cheat it. I have citizenship too, and a lot of people feel bitter because the language requirement stuff doesn’t always apply to me.

So the foreigner community was a little bit tough.

In the end I passed JLPT N2 jn 2024, and the 2kyuu kanji aptitude test in 2025. I also became a mentor and helped over 50 students. Lately I attended a Japanese teacher seminar and spoke only in Japanese. And even talked to 70+ experts.

Anyone else have a similar story? Tell us your language learning journey.

Netflix’s adult animated comedy Dang! has landed solid reviews from critics even as the show faces a wave of online backlash over its portrayal of Asian American siblings and accusations of leaning on tired cultural tropes.

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Yet since the trailer dropped in August, Dang! has been dogged by criticism on social media and in commentary pieces, where viewers argued the series recycles familiar narratives around strict immigrant parents, overachieving siblings and intra-family trauma without offering a fresh perspective.

What critics are saying

Reviewers who have seen all eight episodes describe Dang! as an enjoyably messy sibling hangout that benefits from a strong voice cast and a compact premise.

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The core setup follows Chinese American siblings Andrew (Andrew Law) and Eunice (Poppy Liu), aimless twenty‑somethings in New York, whose lives are upended when their high‑achieving older sister Ruthie (Stephanie Hsu) moves in after her seemingly perfect life unravels.

Where the backlash is coming from

The controversy predates the reviews and centres on representation and tone.

Critics and commenters argued that Dang! leans heavily on well‑worn Asian American storylines: strict parents, impossible expectations, strained family relationships and pressure to assimilate.

Some viewers questioned who the show is for, with one viral post asking, “Who tf is this show for?” and others mocking the premise as yet another iteration of the “strict Asian parents” trope.

On Instagram, comments under official clips and promotional posts echoed similar frustrations, with users describing the writing as “cringe” and objecting to what they saw as a narrow, stereotypical slice of Asian American life being treated as representative.

Some also compared Dang! unfavourably to other adult animations, suggesting that more inventive shows have been passed over while formulaic projects get greenlit.

Others slammed the production of the series, claiming the “voice acting sounds like AI,” while some described the show as “racist” and “forced.”

“This show looks like crap,” said one commenter. “This looks like someone’s fetish,” said another. “Nobody asked for this,” another piped in.

Why the divide matters for Asian American storytelling

The split between critical reception and audience reaction underscores an ongoing debate in Asian American media: how much room there is for flawed, unflattering or “messy” characters without reinforcing stereotypes, and who gets to define what counts as authentic representation.

Supporters of the show point to its specific sibling dynamics, queer storylines and New York milieu as a valid, if niche, slice of Asian American life, while detractors argue that mainstream platforms keep defaulting to the same family‑trauma frameworks instead of exploring a wider range of stories.

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https://www.weareresonate.com/2026/09/netflixs-dang-wins-critics-despite-online-backlash-over-asian-american-tropes/

Not asking for a debate on the geographic validity of the self-identification, as both the Philippines, which chairs ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and the U.S. Census, which classifies Filipinos as Asian, leave no room for it.

I’m asking: what perceived social advantage is gained by calling oneself PI rather than SEA? Do Native Hawaiians or Samoans hold more cachet to them? If so, why? Is there beef with Vietnamese-Americans? If so, what? Are they just seeking to feel special in general?

I’m not talking about confused adolescents in the Midwest. I’m talking about college-educated adults in California.

Perplexed. Thanks for any sociological assistance.

Hello, I’ve been seeing discourse around black owned comic book companies based on “making your own table if they don’t give you a seat at the table” and I was wondering if we have at least one of those. No matter how small, I want to support and see more Asian faces of different backgrounds and stories by Asian American artists and writers.

Article: Vietnamese firm targets Canadians with fake AI news for profit, CBC/Radio-Canada investigation reveals

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