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This study examines how Korean ethnic iden-tity can be represented differently by Korean early studyabroad undergraduates in the U.S. and by their parents. Thedata were collected from in-depth individual interviewswith 22 Korean early study abroad undergraduates and 10of their parents, and the collected data were analyzed usingcritical discourse analysis (Gee, An introduction to dis-course analysis: theory and method,2011). The findingsshowed that both participant groups perceived Koreanethnic identity in relation to English, appearance, andnationality. However, while the Korean early study abroadundergraduates demonstrated heterogeneous Korean ethnicidentity that was influenced by learning English andembracing American culture, their parents believed thattheir children’s Korean ethnic identity was as unchange-able as their Korean faces and passports. The traditionalKorean ethnic identity of the Korean early study abroadundergraduates was challenged by their transnationalexperiences in a way that admitted the partialness ofKorean ethnic identity and expanded the notion to be moreinclusive. This intergenerational gap in Korean ethnicidentity is expected to explain Korean ethnic identity inrelation to transnationalism in more nuanced way.