Welcome back to DIScussion Hub! Recently, the NCHS, the National Chinese Honor Society, collaborated with SOAR, the Student Organization Against Racism, and did a SOARing discussion. So, in this episode,...

From K-pop to K-dramas to mukbang, the Korean wave, also known as Hallyu (한류), swallows the global market. But out of them all, K-beauty dominates the cosmetic scene through constant new makeup products. In...

"That's on period" or "Nah, that's cap" echo through student-packed hallways. Labeled as "Gen-Z" lingo, these words jump from mouth to mouth as countless kids hop onto the linguistic trend. Although framed as hip and new, the root of this language actually dates back far into Black history, one which we should be aware of before we throw around misappropriated terms. 

SOAR switched things up for January’s SOARing Discussion with a special guest. The group collaborated with Stand Together Against Racism (STAR), an organization based in Pennsylvania, USA to hold a global discussion with the topic of racism in different countries on Jan. 24. 

Offensive racial jokes often take the spotlight on social media and garner thousands of likes. It often starts with a slight jab at a stereotype, but eventually expands to full on disrespect. These jokes, despite seeming innocuous, affect real people, relationships, and cultures. So, as president and vice of the Students Organizing Against Racism(SOAR), Selina Son and Leanne Yoon give you the ins and outs of the lunch club’s October discussion topic: racial slurs. 

Students Organizing Against Racism (SOAR) hosted their first-ever in-person SOARing discussion in the Jetnasium before summer break. The group opened a friendly space for over 30 youthful voices to share their opinions on racism in Korea on June 8th.

When people talk about racism, our tunnel vision focuses on the discrimination in the US. But the issue strikes much closer to home than everyone thinks. SOAR hosted their penultimate discourse on April 17th to discuss bias against foreigners in Korea. This session featured a special guest for the first time: Yomi, a student activist who studies in a dual degree program between Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design.

Prejudice against Japanese and Chinese individuals in South Korea grew as a prevalent issue in recent years. Although Japan and China share cultural and economic ties with the ROK, preconceptions and discrimination toward our neighbors still exist in society. To combat this injustice, a SOARing Discussion was held in late January to discuss the topic of “Racism against Japanese and Chinese in Korea”.

Maybe you’ve heard the announcements from Students Organizing Against Racism (SOAR) around school, or seen posters of SOAR promoting its events. But when you did, you may have thought: Is there really anything to do with racism in Korea, though? Or you may have thought: we can’t possibly get rid of an issue this serious with efforts like that. You also could have thought of it as generic issues along the lines of: “Let’s solve world hunger!” or “Let’s save the polar bears!” While scrolling past a post on social media urging you to donate to an activist group, you might have thought, “I get it’s important, but I also have a test to take tomorrow. I’ll worry about this later.” I have to say, this is totally understandable. It’s certainly what I used to think. But I found out that, not only racism and discrimination can be found everywhere, I’m also taking part in making a racist society in some way I might not be aware of. So today, I hope to address and dismantle some of the myths that I used to hold about racial injustice.