Kelly: Can you tell us a little about yourself and the environment you grew up in?

Adilack: I grew up in a Parisian suburb. My family is pretty religious and I was raised with Buddhism beliefs. My house is heavily decorated with many Buddha statues and an altar in my parents’ room. I would often visit the shrine with them. I’m Chinese, Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese. So my family cherishes our cultural heritage – a lot.

Park Hyungi: I am the first American born in my family. My parents immigrated from Korea and I was born in Texas… My parents and I don’t get along very well; they assimilated into white culture really quickly and religion never played a big role in our household. I didn’t know much about Korean culture. I left my hometown to study sculpture in Virginia and that’s when my relationship with my parents deteriorated.

What was it like growing up Asian in the USA and France? With the rise of Asian hate crimes nowadays, have reactions towards you in your host country changed?

Adilack: It was mentally draining for a kid to grow up being pointed at constantly. All I remember is wanting to disappear, to be unnoticeable. I thought loneliness was my only escape. I never really identified as French, although I legally am, because I was never accepted by society. Last year, when Covid started to be threatening, I was attacked by a group of people in the street purely because I look the way I do. That was when I realised that, over 20 years, France’s perspective towards Asian people hasn’t changed at all.

Park Hyungi: There wasn’t anything such as a Korean community in Texas, so my family and I were among the very few Asians in the area. I identify myself as Asian American. Being American is a part of my identity although I do embrace my Korean side more than when I was much younger… When it comes to Asian hate crimes, you know there are problematic cities in the US. I live in Los Angeles now. I would say I had a pretty bad experience in Europe, in Paris, but mostly in London. Being an Asian woman, I was targeted by men who had Asian fetishes and was called out in the streets.

You could easily be overwhelmed by negativity and fear. However, you both have looks that could be considered very extreme and exude confidence. When and what was your first tattoo?

Adilack: I was always connected to my Asian heritage, I just wasn’t confident in myself. I grew up watching a lot of Yakuza and gang movies and always looked up to the main characters because they were “super cool Asians” [he laughs]. I started to gain confidence when I took my first dancing lessons. I had my first tattoo at 18 years old and it all went downhill from there. I got the Laotian currency on my finger.

Park Hyungi: My grandparents would always send me talismans every lunar new year. But I got my first tattoo in college, when I was part of an art performance. It is a bad omen in Korean culture to write your own name in red ink because it is for the deceased. So I got my Korean name tattooed in red [she laughs]. It’s probably why I have a thing for black and red tattoos now. To me, this tattoo was about killing my old self to freely be who I want to be. It was also about regaining control over my body from society and from my parents.

Have you ever had the chance to visit your home countries? One would think that you would fit in better but your tattoos might make you a centre of attention.

Adilack: I did visit my home countries, most of them. Tattoos are definitely affiliated with gangs still but I felt in my element for the most part. I did get some funny looks from time to time because my vibe is different to theirs. I do have some occidental manners I suppose. I did not necessarily feel ‘at home’. Despite everything, I still grew up in France so it remains my ‘home’.  In a way it was comforting to understand the culture but to not exactly fit in. I grew to appreciate the feeling of being different wherever I go.

Park Hyungi: I remember my parents forbidding me to go back to South Korea. They didn’t like the idea of people seeing me like that and associating me with them. I went by myself when I was already pretty tattooed and my experience was totally different from how I had imagined. Korean people did not believe I was Korean. Although we shared the same culture, I felt like an outsider because of my appearance but also because they saw and treated me like one.