On Camp Naru’s sprawling 640-acre campus, each day began with conversations about the Korean-American experience. Campers then took part in activities such as taekwondo and cooking authentic Korean dishes. Chloe Kim, the Korean-American snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medalist, even stopped by for a day.
“Our upbringing may be unique; however, there are many cultural components that bind us together. I think if we are able to build a community that really understands that, we really feel more comfortable and safe,” said the camp director, Benjamin Oser. A Korean adoptee who grew up outside Princeton, NJ, attended an immersion camp herself in the mid-1990s and estimates that Naru is now one of about 15 such camps in the United States.
This year’s camp will be held in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, on the east side of the Poconos. Bringing the campers together in these unique natural spaces away from their everyday homes “builds that sense of security, and in a way it’s like building a bubble,” he explained. And within that safe haven, the campers find the freedom to explore.
“I didn’t know Korean very well. And I’ve only been to the country once. I felt like my whole life has just been spent in the US – that I’m not Korean Korean I guess,” Ryanright, said.
Camp Naru and the community she found there helped her to highlight and dismantle that discomfort. “It helped me realize that I am who I am, and I don’t think I should choose,” she said.
