Challenging “Other-ness” in Berlin: German Koreans, Multi-raciality, and Diasporic Resources

Multi-raciality is now a recognized phenomenon in Germany. Yet, whiteness is still key to how Germany perceives a sense of belonging to the nation. Based on seven interviews with participants who identify as multi-racial, this chapter explores how my participants, mostly resident in Berlin, construct their diasporic and multi-racial identities. My findings show that my participants utilize diasporic resources, including food, people, places, or the ‘raw materials’ of diasporic consciousness in order to make sense of their multi-raciality. This demonstrates that my participants strategically locate their identity as diasporic in ways to circumvent racism; these include racial ‘othering’ and expectations of racial and ethnic authenticity.