Growing Up Mixed Race In Singapore

When you grow up with a mixed ethnic heritage, how does that affect your sense of identity, and how others see and treat you?

Mediacorp 987 DJ Joakim Gomez is of Korean, Indian and Eurasian descent, though his IC states 'Indian'. YouTuber Umehara Keiji (yes, that is his real name, contrary to some who've thought it fake) gets mistaken for Malay, but he is the product of his Japanese father who migrated here and his Singaporean Chinese mother.

Each shares with series host Haresh Tilani insights both funny and disturbing about their experiences over the years. For Joakim, for instance, the bullying and alienation he felt in a predominantly Chinese SAP primary school, which improved only after he moved to a more multicultural secondary school.

In Keiji's case, it's the awkwardness of strangers assuming he can speak fluent Japanese (he learnt Chinese in school); and of encountering the stories of the World War 2 Japanese Occupation of Singapore in history class.

Watch the On The Red Dot series 'Who We Are, What We Eat', where conversations about race are had over food:
Part 1 - Chowing Down With Singapore's Minorities:    • Chowing Down With Singapore's Minorit...  
Part 2 - Racial Matters With Malay Singaporeans:    • Racial Matters With Malay Singaporean...  

Also watch:
Indian Catholic + Chinese Buddhist:    • Indian Catholic + Chinese Buddhist | ...  
Living As An Orthodox Jew In Singapore:    • Living As An Orthodox Jew In Singapore  
Becoming Singaporean: What It's Like To Grow Up In A Filipino Migrant Family:    • Becoming Singaporean: What It's Like ...  

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