僑胞

Gyopo, or there is no word for "diaspora" in Korean

I edited this image together from screenshots from Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name. The East Asian concept of a “red string of fate” is definitely something I think about often.

I first heard the word 교포 (gyopo) to refer to the Korean diaspora from RM of BTS. I can’t remember the context, but I think it was during one of his VLives, back when I was still mainlining all their content in a misguided belief that I could catch up.¹

In the years since I became a literal card-carrying member of ARMY, my Korean comprehension has improved significantly, but back when I was dipping my toe in the waters of fandom, my facility with my first language had declined to the point where I still needed subtitles to keep up with the boys. I remember pausing the live when Namjoon started talking about “Koreans abroad,” sliding the progress bar back and…