Why did they make Linda Park's character Japanese?

[Mr. Scott]

Why couldn't she have been a Korean character like the actress? It is not so much like, why wasn't Captain Kirk Canadian or Jean-Luc Picard English. It's more of an ethnic thing.

Rosiland Chao is another example, she's Chinese, but on the show, she's Japanese! (I live in China and have a Chinese wife, why not make her CHINESE!) （我爱你趙家玲！）

At least Mr. Sulu's ethnicity is correct, even though "Sulu" was some made up name our heroic 1960's whisky swilling TOS writers came up with. I guess WWII was still in their recent past and having a Japanese in a series would be unpopular. I remember as a kid in the 1980's and many Americans then were resentful to the Japanese for the war.

I don't think Harry Kim the character ever revealed where his family was from. "Kim" however is the most common family name in Korea. Kim comes from the Chinese character “金” which means gold or golden. His family name sounds more like "Wong" than "Wang". Maybe Wong sounds to Chinese.

I lived in South Korea and now live in China. Contrary to many, Chinese, Japanese and Korean people are different. I love China, and was so-so about South Korea. I have never been to Japan, but I have met Japanese people, so I know. When their drunk, a Chinese is screaming loud, a Korean is silent and the Japanese guy is dead in the corner with a lampshade on his head.

 

[DevilEyes]

I lived in South Korea and now live in China. Contrary to many, Chinese, Japanese and Korean people are different. I love China, and was so-so about South Korea. I have never been to Japan, but I have met Japanese people, so I know. When their drunk, a Chinese is screaming loud, a Korean is silent and the Japanese guy is dead in the corner with a lampshade on his head.

Jokes aside, the issue is, can you (definitely) tell a Korean person from a Japanese person, or a Chinese person from a Japanese person, from their looks? Your post doesn't make it clear. But that's the only issue with casting that would actually be relevant. They speak English on the show, so it's not like accents and command of language would be an issue.

Also, who says that Hoshi's mother (or father - why would 24th century Earth necessarily follow the same rules of patrillinear naming that we do?) was not Korean, or that one of Keiko's parents was not Chinese? People often move from place to place and country to country and marry people of a different ethnicity, imagine how much more often that will happen in the United Earth, with no state boundaries, and probably less cultural boundaries as well.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

They didn't make Linda Park's character Japanese.

They created a Japanese character, then some time later cast Linda Park to play her.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Hoshi could be of Korean decent no matter where she was born and raised.

 

[gblews]

Jokes aside, the issue is, can you (definitely) tell a Korean person from a Japanese person, or a Chinese person from a Japanese person, from their looks?

"You" may not be able to tell the difference but that certainly doesn't mean there is no difference, nor does it mean that "people" cannot tell the difference.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Why couldn't she have been a Korean character like the actress? It is not so much like, why wasn't Captain Kirk Canadian or Jean-Luc Picard English. It's more of an ethnic thing.

Rosiland Chao is another example, she's Chinese, but on the show, she's Japanese! (I live in China and have a Chinese wife, why not make her CHINESE!) （我爱你趙家玲！）

At least Mr. Sulu's ethnicity is correct, even though "Sulu" was some made up name our heroic 1960's whisky swilling TOS writers came up with. I guess WWII was still in their recent past and having a Japanese in a series would be unpopular. I remember as a kid in the 1980's and many Americans then were resentful to the Japanese for the war.

I don't think Harry Kim the character ever revealed where his family was from. "Kim" however is the most common family name in Korea. Kim comes from the Chinese character “金” which means gold or golden. His family name sounds more like "Wong" than "Wang". Maybe Wong sounds to Chinese.

I lived in South Korea and now live in China. Contrary to many, Chinese, Japanese and Korean people are different. I love China, and was so-so about South Korea. I have never been to Japan, but I have met Japanese people, so I know. When their drunk, a Chinese is screaming loud, a Korean is silent and the Japanese guy is dead in the corner with a lampshade on his head.

Like Dennis said, they write the part and then cast it. And yes, its exactly like casting Shatner, a Canadian Jew as the American WASP, Kirk. Matching religon, nationality and ethnic/cultural background is rarely 100% in the movies. Otherwise Brando and Caan would never have been in "The Godfather".

Please, by 1965 Japan was one of America's closest allies. Japan was full of American servicemen who were intrigued by Japanese culture. I even lived there as kid when my dad was in USAF. Only a few people still hated the Japanese for WWII. And Sulu was only transformed into having Japanese ancestry after Takei was cast. ( and it was a slow transformation) The character was conceived as "pan-Asian".

Chao also played a Korean on MASH.

Why shift to a discussion of Garrett Wang's name when talking about Harry Kim origins?

Yeah, people act differently. Thats just as true in Europe as it is in Asia. And actors are hired to play people that aren't who the really are. Even in real life nothing is cut and dry. My uncle is an American with a Chinese surname, raise in Spanish speaking Mexican-American household. His children and grandchildren will carry that Chinese name forward even though they're not 100% Chinese. So whats the point?

 

[DevilEyes]

Jokes aside, the issue is, can you (definitely) tell a Korean person from a Japanese person, or a Chinese person from a Japanese person, from their looks?

"You" may not be able to tell the difference but that certainly doesn't mean there is no difference, nor does it mean that "people" cannot tell the difference.

FYI, second person singular/plural can is often used to denote the person one is addressing. In this case, "you" referred to the OP (MrScott)), because I can't tell if he can tell the difference (which he didn't make clear in his post). Se, I was asking him if he can see it or not. And since he is also included in "people" - being a person - that makes your comment utterly pointless.

Now if you actually bothered to say if YOU ("you" as in gblews) can see the difference, it would have been useful.

As to whether "I" (as in first person singular) can see the difference, there are times when I can guess that a person is Japanese rather than Chinese or Korean, but then there are those when I can't, and I admit can't tell the difference between a Chinese and a Korean just by looking at them. Maybe that makes me incredibly ignorant, but that's why I am asking such knowledgeable people as yourself to tell me whether you can see the difference or not. Maybe you can, maybe you can't. I've seen people complain that, say, a Swede cannot play an Italian, but it usually turns out that's because they expect every Swede to be tall, blond and blue-eyed and every Italian to be short and dark. I've also learned to be doubtful of such claims since the time my cousins tried to convince my other cousin from USA that they can tell apart an Albanian from a Serb just by looking at them, which is IMO complete and utter bullshit.

 

[MANT!]

From a British friend of mine in the local pub..back in the '80s

"You Yanks all look alike to me!!"


Sorry, but to me it's much ado about nothing..

Star Trek was created and filmed in North America...and shows a rather North American bias as to how the world would be in the future...

Asians with ambiguous names that truly don't match up with the actors portraying them.. A French captain speaking perfect Queen's English... a Scot played by a talented Canadian that speaks gibberish every so often....


It's Hollywood..

no need to get your panties in a bunch...

 

[JiNX-01]

A French captain speaking perfect Queen's English...

When I was in college I took a class in German -- since I have no gift for foreign languages, no I don't speak any -- but I digress... My (frustrated) professor was actually German and he spoke English with a British accent because he learned it at Oxford. So I just figure Picard might have lived in England where he learned to speak English.

 

[Dukhat]

The thing about Hoshi Sato was that, to me, she seemed nothing more than an American of Asian descent. There was nothing about her, other than her exotic sounding name and her physical features, that was Japanese in any way.

 

[gblews]

Jokes aside, the issue is, can you (definitely) tell a Korean person from a Japanese person, or a Chinese person from a Japanese person, from their looks?

"You" may not be able to tell the difference but that certainly doesn't mean there is no difference, nor does it mean that "people" cannot tell the difference.

FYI, second person singular/plural can is often used to denote the person one is addressing. In this case, "you" referred to the OP (MrScott)), because I can't tell if he can tell the difference (which he didn't make clear in his post). Se, I was asking him if he can see it or not.

Nice backpedal. Don't trip and fall.

 

[DevilEyes]

"You" may not be able to tell the difference but that certainly doesn't mean there is no difference, nor does it mean that "people" cannot tell the difference.

FYI, second person singular/plural can is often used to denote the person one is addressing. In this case, "you" referred to the OP (MrScott)), because I can't tell if he can tell the difference (which he didn't make clear in his post). Se, I was asking him if he can see it or not.

Nice backpedal. Don't trip and fall.

Ah well, a discussion about ethnicity always has to end with a conversation about cyclists. Makes sense...





So... cyclists aside, why don't you* answer? Can you tell if someone is Korean or Chinese just by looking at them? It's a simple question. The OP hasn't answered yet. All he came up were jokes about cultural differences = irrelevant in the context.

(Yes, that's "you" as in second person singular... addressing the person one speaks to...)

 

[SFRabid]

There was a time when people thought they could tell the difference between Americans and Mexicans, Chinese, etc.... Truth is, it does not always work. Nationality means less and less when it comes to looks or names. I can only imagine what it will be like by then.

 

[Zaku]

All look same?

Can you tell the difference between a Chinese, Korean, or a Japanese person? Take the test on this website and see how good you are. Check it out and see how many right answers you can get.

 

[AJBryant]

I think the question betrays a misunderstanding of the process.

"Linda Park's character" wasn't "made" Japanese.

They CAST Linda Park in the role that was written, which happened to be Japanese.

 

[DevilEyes]

There was a time when people thought they could tell the difference between Americans and Mexicans, Chinese, etc.... Truth is, it does not always work. Nationality means less and less when it comes to looks or names. I can only imagine what it will be like by then.

I get told often that I look Spanish or Italian. I'm pretty sure I'm not of any Italian or Spanish origin. And I know lots of women in my city who look similar.

When people talk about what certain ethnicities look like, they usually talk about what they see as typical look of that ethbic group. But there are always lots of people who don't fit that description.

All look same?

Can you tell the difference between a Chinese, Korean, or a Japanese person? Take the test on this website and see how good you are. Check it out and see how many right answers you can get.

I got 4 out of 6 Japanese faces right, but I was really awful with the Chinese and Koreans. It would be interesting to have someone do that with a few European and Middle-Eastern ethnic groups.

The title is very inappopriate, since the problem is not people "all looking the same", but people looking too different to easily categorize according to a few facial traits.

 

[Irishman]

I lived in South Korea and now live in China. Contrary to many, Chinese, Japanese and Korean people are different. I love China, and was so-so about South Korea. I have never been to Japan, but I have met Japanese people, so I know. When their drunk, a Chinese is screaming loud, a Korean is silent and the Japanese guy is dead in the corner with a lampshade on his head.

Jokes aside, the issue is, can you (definitely) tell a Korean person from a Japanese person, or a Chinese person from a Japanese person, from their looks? Your post doesn't make it clear. But that's the only issue with casting that would actually be relevant. They speak English on the show, so it's not like accents and command of language would be an issue.

Also, who says that Hoshi's mother (or father - why would 24th century Earth necessarily follow the same rules of patrillinear naming that we do?) was not Korean, or that one of Keiko's parents was not Chinese? People often move from place to place and country to country and marry people of a different ethnicity, imagine how much more often that will happen in the United Earth, with no state boundaries, and probably less cultural boundaries as well.

I so agree with your part here about national boundaries disappearing in the future. I would imagine that, by the time of Kirk and Spock, to be realistic, the cast should be multiracial to reflect that. Have a cast of Barack Obama, Jessica Alba, and Tiger Woods. The Nordic blondes have only about 100 years or so to go before they're a thing of the past.

 

[DevilEyes]

I so agree with your part here about national boundaries disappearing in the future. I would imagine that, by the time of Kirk and Spock, to be realistic, the cast should be multiracial to reflect that. Have a cast of Barack Obama, Jessica Alba, and Tiger Woods. The Nordic blondes have only about 100 years or so to go before they're a thing of the past.

That story is just a popular nonsense with no scientific basis. There's no reason to think that blonds will "disappear in 200 years" or whatever that hoax 'news story' reported. Not even redheads are showing any signs of dying out, even though red hair is a trait transmitted through a recessive gene that only 4% of the human population have. It sounds more like paranoid nonsense than anything. For that matter, straight hair, lack of pimples and freckles, and baldness don't show any signs of disappearing either, and those are recessive genes, too...

Mobility of population and diminished importance of boundaries only leads to more diversity, rather than less.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The thing about Hoshi Sato was that, to me, she seemed nothing more than an American of Asian descent. There was nothing about her, other than her exotic sounding name and her physical features, that was Japanese in any way.

Welcome to Star Trek, where African and Japanese characters are played by American actors without adjustment, and Scottish, Russian and other white non-Americans are played by actors with poor fake accents.

In later decades, of course, the occasional authentic British accent is permitted - doesn't matter where the character is supposed to come from.

Trek has been so popular over the decades in areas like Europe that I always wonder if they don't "get" the implicit and doubtless unintended message - that in three or four centuries the entire world will be American.

 

[KimMH]

My surname is Kim and I am Korean. That said I was raised in America and though realizing that traditionally Koreans and Japanese don't necessarily like each other due to a long, fractious history, I like to think by then such differences will be moot.

That is the entire idea beind Star Trek, no?

Scientists say that if dogs were allowed to breed without regard to breed they would mostly be brown and medium sized. If people were allowed to do the same unfettered by politics and geography and tradition we might also mostly be medium and brown in a few centuries too . . .