Author Archives: Yuna (Natalie) Lee

Family Nicknames

AGE: 53

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 02/19/2025

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: American 

OCCUPATION: Attorney

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: English 

RESIDENCE: New York 

For context, I am the youngest daughter out of two girls, and my mother is the oldest daughter out of three girls. Ever since I could speak and act, I have been consistently compared to my mom’s youngest sister, my aunt Janis. In interviewing my mother, I sought to answer why.

Interviewer: Is there a running tabooistic joke or joke in general that runs among our family?

TL: “Well, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but we did use to call you Lil Poo Poo or Stinker! To be honest, we still call you that now. We never really had a nickname for Nicole [my older sister] though.”

Interviewer: Is there any particular reason that you called me that?

TL: “I can’t quite remember, but one day it just came out and it stayed. I think it’s because you’re the youngest and the baby of our family.”

Interviewer: Was there any other jokes that ran in our family?

TL: “Well your Aunt Janis also had a nickname when she was younger. We used to call her Gani [가니], which means little jokester in Korean. She was always running around and had the reputation of a jokester… plus her Korean name is Eunhae [은헤] so we used to combine the names together. She’s also the youngest like you.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

It’s completely natural for families to joke with each other and give each other nicknames. Especially in Korean culture, there are designated titles that we call someone depending on their age, their relation to us, and down to what side of the family you’re on. However, I think that the youngest of the family always earns a certain reputation and thus, receives a nickname from it. Being completely honest, when I was younger I was known to have smelly feet (I am fine now, I promise). So even though my mother might not remember, that could be the possible inspiration behind my nickname. As for my aunt, because she, too, is the youngest and was known to be silly and a trickster, she was named Gani.

Tiger’s Wedding Day

AGE: 53

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 02/19/2025

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: American 

OCCUPATION: Attorney

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: English 

RESIDENCE: New York 

INTERVIEW SUMMARY:

When asking my mother of any proverbs she grew up on she told the story of the Tiger’s Wedding Day. Whenever it was raining on a sunny day, her mother [my grandmother] would say “it’s tiger’s wedding day,” referencing the tale. While my mother does not remember the exact story of it, this is the basic premise of how the story goes:

The Tiger, the King of the Mountain, was getting married to the Fox. During the wedding ceremony, the Cloud fell in love with the Fox, causing it to weep.

This story comes directly from the translation of sun shower from Korean to English. In Korean, the term for sun showers is yeowoo bi (여우비), which directly translates to “fox rain” in English.

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

I think it’s interesting how our culture can weave into parts of the proverbs and phrases we use and pass down generations. Even though my mother didn’t remember the actual story itself, she remembered the phrase that her mother would say every time there was a sun shower. Storytelling is such a deep part of Korean culture (and especially culture as a whole), so there is no surprise that it shows up in the every day phrases my family uses.

Shaking the luck out of your leg

AGE: 53

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 02/19/2025

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: American 

OCCUPATION: Attorney

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: English 

RESIDENCE: New York 

Interviewer: Are there any superstitions or other phrases you remember being used around your family growing up?

TL: “Well there’s not anything distinct that I remember people saying, but my grandma was a very superstitious woman. There’s a saying in Korean that when you shake your leg [like a habit], all the luck will come out. When my grandma first met your dad, she saw the dent in his forehead and lost her mind. She thought all the luck was about to come out of his head.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

This superstition of “losing your luck” reminds me a lot of when parents will tell their kids scary stories to prevent them from going out and causing trouble. For example, the story of La Llorona or of skin walkers. In East Asian cultures, there’s a lot of superstitions and phrases surrounding luck. Such as, in Chinese culture, having an “auspicious nose” means you have a lucky nose and you’re bound for success and wealth. In this case, I guess my great grandmother saw my dad’s “deformity” (for lack of better terms) and deemed it as unlucky. Although he wasn’t born with the dent, but was just dropped as a baby, there is some tie between body parts and the luck they hold. Could breaking a bone cause luck to pour out of me then? And would there be a way to earn it back or is it gone forever? These are some questions I have about this concept.

Dad’s Favorite Sayings

AGE: 59

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 02/19/2025

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: American 

OCCUPATION: Doctor 

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: Korean

RESIDENCE: New York 

For context, my dad is a very dry and sarcastic man.

Interviewer: Are there any particular phrases you remember growing up hearing? Or any of your own that you use?

TL: “No.” [Proceeds to think of any phrases he uses]

Interviewer: Oh well I remember your most common one: “Suck it up buttercup!”

TL: “Oh yes.”

[My mother]: “Your dad loves to say ‘Don’t be a knucklehead’ to you and your sister!”

Interviewer: Oh yes! You also say “You can’t teach stupid” a lot.

TL: “Mmm.” [This is him agreeing]

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

Because of my dad’s nature, it ended up with my mother and I leading the conversation from things that we remember my dad saying. While my dad might forget the things he says (which I personally feel that it’s common for people to forget the habitual phrases and words they use), my family and I remember it quite well. My dad loves to use proverbs or phrases that teach a lesson of some sort. After the interview, I asked my father where he learned these from and he stated it was a mix of his dad, TV, and the people he grew up playing sports around in NYC. What’s even more interesting is that I find myself using one of his phrases, “you can’t teach stupid” myself when giving advice to my friends. It’s incredibly interesting how common phrases and things we hear in our environments and families become a part of our subconscious.