By Louis Chan, AsAmNews National Correspondent
People ranging from politicians to journalists to the general public are sharing their experiences with Asian culture using the hashtag #VeryAsian.
The hashtag took off after a viewer accused Korean American news anchor Michelle Li in St. Louis of being “very Asian.” The commenter said she took offense that Li stated that she ate dumplings for New Year’s as part of her Korean culture.
Others came to Li’s defense proudly declaring that they too were “very Asian.” One person is even trying to market a very Asian t-shirt.
“I was being #VeryAsian with my boys by making dumplings on the New Year’s Day!,” posted Rep Andy Kim (D-NJ).
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“We had dumplings for New Year’s too! Proud to be #VeryAsian,” Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said.
Others quickly followed.
“My point is, I thought it was important for me to mention a little line as banter, but I didn’t think it was a big deal,” Li wrote in her blog post.
“We are all just people trying to exist. If I had the chance to actually speak to this woman, I would love to have a heartfelt conversation with her — maybe we could do it over a bowl of dumplings. In St. Louis, there are a lot of great options,” she concluded.
Her station, KSDK, also issued a statement.
KSDK fully supports our excellent award-winning anchor/reporter Michelle Li. A viewer advised Michelle to “keep her Korean to herself” when Michelle ad libbed during a newscast about the Korean tradition of eating dumpling soup for good luck on New Year’s Day. At KSDK, we embrace diversity in the people we hire, the stories we tell, and our local community. We will continue supporting Michelle and celebrating diversity and inclusion.
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I am #VeryAsian, indeed!