What Type of Asian Guy Am I?

Well ain’t this some shit.

I recently came across a YouTube video by the FungBros titled 15 Types of Asian Guys. Hmm, well let’s see what these dudes have to say, I thought.

First of all, along with being a Millennial and adjusting to the constant advancements in technology and the resulting shifts in social norms, I am an Asian-American. My parents immigrated to the U.S. from Korea (South Korea. If I’m ever asked again which Korea, north or south, I may hit this person). I was born in Los Angeles and have lived in Southern California my entire life.

But here’s the problem: to Whites Blacks Hispanics Americans, I am Korean Chinese Asian, and to Koreans, I am American. So what the fuck?? It’s as if Korea and the U.S. are picking teams for kickball and neither country wants to pick the American-born Koreans. This struggle for identity is real and something that I feel constantly, and it definitely plays a part in defining the type of “guy” I am.

Back to Asian guys. Here’s the clip:

The clip is pretty amusing and well-made, yet it left me with an odd, slightly unpleasant feeling.

One may think, 15 types? Why so much? It’s rather necessary to have this many types because Asians in America are, for the most part, segregated. Central and South Americans share a common language whereas Asians do not, and this language barrier is why I think a lack of unity among Asians in the U.S. exists. I can’t understand a lick of Vietnamese, and a Thai person wouldn’t understand any Korean – unless he/she is into Kpop and Korean dramas. So naturally there would be many different types of Asian guys.

After writing down the list that the FungBros created, here’s what I’ve concluded about myself:

1. Hip-Hop Asian Guy
2. Nerdy Asian Guy
3. Thug Asian Guy
4. FOB Asian Guy
5. White-Washed Asian Guy
6. Bad Ass Asian Guy
7. Young Business Professional (YAPPIE) Asian Guy
8. Party Asian Guy
9. Fitness Asian Guy
10. Hipster Asian Guy
11. Hustler Asian Guy
12. Rich Asian Guy
13. AZN Asian Guy
14. Underachiever Asian Guy
15. Church Loving Asian Guy

Of course, my knee-jerk reaction is to discount generalizations, but there is some truth to this list. In my experience with Asian guys (and being from SoCal, I’ve had a lot), much of this has to do with life stage. At some point, I probably would have been a Party Asian Guy or a Fitness Asian Guy; it just depends on what we’re into at the moment. This comes back to the identity struggle: we’re trying to find ourselves in a country where we experience a lack of acceptance even though we’re a member just like everyone else.

A list like this can also be problematic because of its stereotyping nature. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that most non-Asians in the U.S. think almost all Asian guys are nerds. Do we need another list to further typecast us? Maybe it’s not a big deal; these guys were just joking around, after all. I just hope non-Asians don’t view this clip and actually believe that all Asian guys fit into these molds.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on Asian guys. Are we all great at math? Do we all love sneakers? Are we all either super soft-spoken or batshit-crazy gangster, with nothing in between? Do we lack the qualities of leaders? Are we just weird?

By the way, there’s also a video for 18 Types of Asian Girls– equally amusing, equally well-made (since Asians are so tech-savvy), and equally unintentionally somewhat offensive.

– Chris.