K-Pop Blorean Upcoming Star: Lee Michelle (이미쉘)

Like most other Asian nations where American soldiers have tread, there are born the babies from the union between the local women and American servicemen.  In Korea, Philippines, Okinawa, Mariana /Solomon Islands, former South Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, etc.– the Americans have ‘fun’ there, and then go back to the Mainland U.S.A. to join their American families (or are single).

The plight of these children are often spoken of as ‘tragic’ and par for the course for Asia, as the United States is supposedly ‘protecting’ the world, according to its own propaganda.

The Black Pacific focuses its light on the African-American/Asian mixed children and their mothers, left often in conditions of being excluded, humiliated, beaten up, incarcerated, and are often the target of human trafficking business and the girls often end up sex work, as they are often not hired by the local businesses to be able to live.  Often, however, as is the case with African-Americans, Black, and darker-skinned people around the globe (including the indigenous and tribal persons), the entertainment business (particularly for girls and women) and the sports industry (for boys and men) are the places open for ‘Black-skinned’ persons to be exploited by the larger culture everywhere, and able to become ‘something.’  Of course I am generalizing, but this is the general case.  Mixed-Black Asians are put into that category of Black, while many African-Americans also discriminate against the mixed folk, while others welcome the mixed-race persons openly without problem.  It is a difficult terrain. In any case, the mixed-black is the darker other, exploited, ignored, refused, abused, exoticized.  The paths of the mixed-black in Asia, take on similar paths to the mixed-black and black in the United States.

Enter those I’ve introduced earlier on my blog, singers in Japan and Korea who are mixed Black, and who have lived through tremendous hardships to come through to bring their artistry into the world.

Lee Michelle is an up and coming Mixed-Black Korean Pop singer who grew up in Paju, South Korea with her single mother, facing tremendous discrimination and violence.  She is now debuting her first single– Without You, which is related to her history of being bullied and excluded in Korea.

One of first exposures of both her as singer, and the discrimination that exists in Korea against mixed-Black people, was on a popular singing contest nationally televised.  She was clearly the best singer, but lost out to another Korean singer.  This opened up the social media and calls to the television station, of course, to both the typical ‘get the monkey off television’ type comments, as well as outrage against the obvious problem of racism in the final decision.

But time as passed.  She has grown as an entertainer and now is releasing her song.

A brief general history can be found on the Wikipedia page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Lee_(singer)

Enjoy, feel.