Hello! May was AAPI Heritage Month, and as of writing this sentence I’m ~45 minutes late to making this post get posted on time. Oops.
I’m 1.5-gen Korean-American. 1.5-gen typically refers to people that aren’t first generation American because their parents were partially educated in the US (usually for college or graduate school, less so for earlier schooling) but not fully so.
I myself have lived in Korea for a few years, so I’m very proud of my Korean heritage. With this year’s AAPI Heritage Month, I wanted to make sure I did at least one mani honoring my heritage. May’s been a super crazy month for me (I started a new internship, moved, and finished school!) so I was only able to squeeze one look in at the end. Regardless, this post is here to commemorate the special occasion!
I present to you, hwatu nails. Hwatu (화투) is a traditional playing card deck that is used to play Godori (고도리), or a Korean fishing card game. The designs for these cards come from a Japanese deck called hanafuda, but have been modified to mirror more of Korea’s culture and colors. Many Korean art pieces follow the white-red-yellow-blue-black color scheme, and each of these colors represent a different element (metal, fire, earth, wood, water).
I remember watching my grandfather play this game (albeit, on his iPad so with graphics of these cards) when I was younger, hence the inspiration.
The whole look was freehanded! A reference image is also included at the end of the carousel – it’s the deck I based my designs off of.
It’s hard to put into words how I feel about this year’s AAPI Heritage month being much more visible than any other year. On one hand, it finally feels like we’re being recognized after decades of silently being cast to the side. On the other hand, it’s heartbreaking to see so much hate towards me, my family, and my people surfacing across the country. I can’t even imagine what the last year has been like for the Black community.
No matter who you are or where you come from, please remember that at the bare minimum, people deserve to be heard. People deserve to walk down the street without fearing for their lives. People deserve respect.
Thank you for reading, and let’s spread love❤️
XOXO,
Lauren