This paper examines how South Korean artists use performance art as a medium to explore the complexities of identity formation and the transnationalism in the context of globalization. It focuses specifically on South Korean artist Nikki S. Lee's Projects (1997-2001). I argue that Lee addresses the relationship of self and other through a conceptual strategy of simulated assimilation to reveal how transnational identity formation is shaped by imagined communities and a desire for group belonging. Lee's conceptual approach to identity formation is contextualized through a discussion of the relationship of performativity to photography, and by a comparison of Projects with artworks by South Korean artists such as Do Ho Suh, and Sooja Kim. In so doing, the paper seeks to demonstrate how contemporary South Korean artists have challenged their derivative ties to international Western art practices, and made unique contributions to the contemporary art scene.