Asians Around Appalachia: Hahnser Lee
- aaajournal25
- Aug 19
- 1 min read
Updated: Sep 1
Hahnser Lee is an Asian-American from Morgantown, West Virginia.
Interview
Have you ever felt out of place due to your identity? If so, where did you find a sense of community?
Yes, but it was in elementary school and no one knew what Korea was. It just became less of an issue as I got older.
Can you tell us about one of your stories related to being an AppalAsian? (e.g. household traditions, bullying/harassment, family business, etc.)
Being asked if I was from North or South Korea was common but that's kind of understandable.
What is one Appalachian / Asian American related policy issue that’s important to you and why? (e.g. lack of representation, barriers to education/healthcare, economic inequality, etc.)
We're not well represented everywhere clearly but it's not much of an issue to me. People who care will care and people who don't care about minorities won't start caring magically.
What is one piece of advice you would give to AppalAsians struggling to fit in?
Just embrace it, we have fire food compared to the racist majority.
