One thing I liked about "Who Killed Seok-Fang Sim?" was how personal it was. Reading the poem, I could tell that the author was growing in strength. At first she seemed regretful over what happened to Seok-Fang Sim. I felt a lot of sadness over the unfair treatment they received, which was described in great detail. I could tell that this treatment led to feelings of impostor syndrome, where the author questioned if she was good enough to be where she is because everyone made her feel inadequate. I could tell this was unfair because she then describes how much they've been overworked for the little recognition they get.
Then, I sensed a shift in attitude. The author started to channel the grief of losing Seok-Fang into anger and motivation. She knows that justice won't be handed to her and that she has to fight in order to make things right. She says fear and silence are no longer options.
Once I read the narrative I could see why the author was in so much grief. It is always sad to hear of people dieing at young ages, but this was especially bad because it seemed like the stress from being treated unfairly contributed a lot. I was also moved when the author admitted that she internalized the discrimination against Seok-Fang herself, which I thought made the story a lot more compelling. Overall I enjoyed the story and I liked to hear the author's determination in avenging Seok-Fang Sim after growing away from her internalized discrimination.
A question I'd have would be what would I do if I was in her shoes? I'm not sure if I could be as strong and risk money or my job by standing up for myself. I'm not someone who can rally popular opinion to spotlight a need for change the way the author did with her poem. I'm sure there are many people who are in a similar situation who are stuck with the dilemma of raising your voice and risk losing your job.
References:
Modi, Kanika. “3 Questions to Ask Yourself to Overcome Imposter Syndrome.” Medium, Noteworthy - The Journal Blog, 8 Apr. 2019, blog.usejournal.com/3-questions-to-ask-yourself-to-overcome-imposter-syndrome-a773b9f07201.
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
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