Janet Russell
Janet Russell was a military kid born in Germany to a Korean mother and a Belizean father. She didn’t grow up seeing any Koreans around her, and since she was more acquainted with her father’s family, they told her that she was Black and needed to identify with her father’s race. So she lived her life identifying as Black.
After graduating college and working in finance and banking, life became mundane for her until a friend proposed that they teach in Korea together. Not knowing anything about the culture, her mother’s family, and even having her father tell her not to go, Janet took the chance and arrived in Korea in 2010. Being in Korea allowed Janet to connect with her mother’s family for the first time and learn about a culture that has always been so distant from her. She hopes that the next generation embraces who they are and never allows someone to judge them because of the color of their skin.