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Writing Selves in Diaspora is a work born out of long-term fieldwork by the author, Sonia Ryang, in Japan and the United States, spanning more than one and a half decades. It offers an unprecedented insight into Korean women's lives and their formation of self in diaspora in Japan and the United States. ... Read more

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Park examines the process of identity transition and renegotiation among immigrant women. Taking the conceptualization of identity as a structural construct, connected to and reflected upon social inequalities, Park shows the ways in which immigrant women s pre-migration class, gender, and national identities are confronted and redefined in the host society. Using in-depth interviews with a sample of Korean immigrant women, she documents various fronts where renegotiation of identities takes place in the social contexts of the U.S. The analysis underscores the ways in which identity links individuals to social structures, and highlights the interplay between macro-identity categories and micro-identity practices. ... Read more

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This digital document is an article from MELUS, published by The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnics Literature of the United States on December 22, 2008. The length of the article is 10721 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Science fiction and postmemory han in contemporary Korean American literature.(Critical essay)
Author: Seo-Young Chu
Publication: MELUS (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 22, 2008
Publisher: The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnics Literature of the United States
Volume: 33Issue: 4Page: 97(25)

Article Type: Critical essay

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

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Contemporary American Immigrants provides an overview to the immigration history of three of the largest groups of Asian immigrants to the United States--Filipinos, Koreans, and Chinese. This timely volume addresses such questions as: how do these Asian immigrants adapt to our culture?; to what extent do they adjust and integrate? and are Asian immigrants a credit to American society? Using 1980 census data, the author reviews in detail the social and economic characteristics of these three immigrant groups. He also explores those characteristics for the most recent arrivals--those who came to the United States between 1980 and 1985--using data he collected in 1986 through interviews with 849 Filipino, Korean, and Chinese households. From his extensive research, Mangiafico concludes that the Asian immigrants surveyed and studied are enterprising, well-educated, and motivated individuals who greatly contribute to our society. He thus challenges the notions that immigrants in general are a burden to our society, and that they are changing our culture in ways which are not in the best interests of the United States. ... Read more

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Lee examines gendered processes of becoming small business owners among Korean immigrants in the New York City metropolitan area.Immigration necessitated Korean wives to work outside the home, but this economic transition did not change gender relations. Married couples run small businesses together, but husbands exercise rights as owners and wives are primarily viewed as sources of labor. The immigrants hold onto traditional gender values and patriarchal family relations. Paradoxically, immigrants’ deep-seated gender norms have been catalysts for the dominance of women as nail salon owners. Korean immigrant men were unwilling to acquire on-the job training in what they considered as a feminine work. ... Read more

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Briefly discusses some of the reasons that Koreans have come to live in the United States, how they have preserved Korean customs and traditions in their new homeland, and what life is like for them here. ... Read more

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Korean Americans
Interesting look at reasons why some Koreans chose to immigrate. Introduces the history of Korean immigration as well as current immigration. Some topics covered are War Brides, Food, Customs and Celebrations. Fabulous historical photos.Karen Woodworth Roman, Librarian, East Asian Children's Books ... Read more

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Emphasizing sociopolitical and cultural behaviors, this collection provides broad insight into the diverse experiences and perspectives of Korean American women in the light of feminism. In their discussions, the authors focus on the status and progress of Korean American women in contemporary society. Twenty-one selections examine the collective experience and Western feminist issues from minority feminist perspectives. The content is interdisciplinary and raises many thought-provoking, seldom-discussed issues. This book will be of interest to students and faculty in sociology, feminist and women's studies, ethnic studies, and Asian studies. ... Read more

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This in-depth study on preaching to second generation Korean Americans, the first of its kind, is based on empirical and ethnographic fieldwork. Matthew D. Kim conducted surveys and semi-structured qualitative interviews with Korean American pastors and second generation young adult respondents in three geographic regions of the United States: the Midwest, the West Coast, and the East Coast. His primary conceptual framework employs social psychologists Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius’ theory of possible selves to facilitate the process of congregational exegesis in the second generation Korean American church context.This book offers a new contextual homiletic model that enables Korean American preachers to engage in deeper levels of ethnic and cultural analysis in their sermonic preparation. Simultaneously, the author reconstructs conventional preaching roles of Korean American preachers and second generation listeners so that they may co-creatively imagine new possible selves that radically advance Christian mission and practice in the world.This book will serve as a primary or secondary source for upper-level undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate courses on preaching, communication studies, ethnic and racial studies, cross-cultural ministry, or social psychology. ... Read more

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Introduction to the history, heritage, culture, and customs of Korean Americans. ... Read more

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Korean Americans
Cynthia Klingel, in Korean Americans, focuses on a hundred years of immigration.She takes care to note differences between Japanese and Chinese immigrants.This book makes an effort to educate readers that Koreans are from Korea and they have a unique history, language, religions, and culture from other Asians.Notes many Korean American first (e.g. first doctorate and American citizen) and a number of famous people (e.g. Margaret Cho, Sammy Lee, etc.). There is a timeline, glossary, detailed index, and lists of additional resources. Karen Woodworth Roman, East Asian Children's Books ... Read more

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Perfect for any elementary-level collection
The 'New Americans' series offers 80-page books for grades 3-5, with each book offering narrowed surveys of different immigrant experiences. Gail Weiss' AMERICANS FROM RUSSIA AND EASTERN EUROPE, Alan Wachtel's SOUTHEAST ASIAN AMERICANS, Joseph Gustaitis' CHINESE AMERICANS, Ken Park's AMERICANS FROM INDIA AND OTHER SOUTH ASIAN COUNTRIES, Jayne Keedle's WEST AFRICAN AMERICANS, AMERICANS AND THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA and MEXICAN AMERICANS and William David Thomas' KOREAN AMERICANS all provide fine stories of assimilation and cultural challenges perfect for any elementary-level collection.
... Read more

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Korean Children's Favorite Stories is a captivating collection of Korean folk tales that have thrived for generations. Some are unique to Korea, while others echo those told in other countries. Written with wit and pathos, they reveal the follies of people everywhere and expose the human-like qualities of animals and the animal-like qualities of humans. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great stories
This is really neat, comprehensive book with Korean stories.Most of them are long and so it's probably better suited for older kids.

Korean children's book
This is a great collection of Korean Children's stories.The illustrations are great as well.I'd say it is about a 5/6 grade reading level.I bought the book for my young daughter that can't read yet but I like to read the stories to her and she can always read them herself when she gets older.

Adoptive parents should be cautious
Two of the stories mention adopted children in an unfavorable light.I know this is just old-fashioned language, but I hope it's changed in the next edition of this book.Otherwise, the stories were sweet and the illustrations were lovely.

"The Great Flood" involves a woman with two daughters, "her real daughter" and an adopted one --"Now the old woman's own daughter was very much the more beautiful of the two girls."

In "The Green Leaf," an adopted son lies about his father and gets him imprisoned, although they are reconciled in the end:"The youth had learned his lesson.Not only once, but twice, had his life been saved by his foster father.From then on, he became a changed person and grew into a good man."

not so famous Korean folk stories
I was born and grew up in Korea until I was 15, I'm not so familiar with these stories though. Translation was not done well either.

Great Stories and Beautiful Pictures!
It is rare to find good Korean fairy tale stories in English.Familiar with many Korean folklores and legends, I found the translation to be accurate and the illustrations very beautiful.With a history of 5,000 years, Korea is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, and this collection of fairy tales is a great way to show Korea's rich folklores and legends to the outside world.I highly recommend this book. ... Read more

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THE KOREAN SPIRIT: POEMS is a collection of poems that captures the hopes and the fears of ethnic Koreans around the world.Korean anxiety heightened by the inclusion of North Korea as an axis of evil power impeding the Korean aspiration for a united Korea has created a search for harmony among Korean individuals and Korean groups.Many of the poems in this collection express the collectively, although often privately, shared sentiment of the Korean people regarding global politics and international relations.Also, there are many poems in the book of poetry that captures the Korean "han" (angst) relating to Korean history and past, such as the Japanese Occupation of Korea (1910-1945).Particularly of note is the way the words of The Lord's Prayer from the Gospel of Matthew is applied through poetry in the Korean historical consciousness and experience. ... Read more

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Koreans have been immigrating to the United States via Hawaii for over a hundred years, although the greatest influx to the mainland began after 1965, making Koreans one of the most recent ethnic groups in the United States. The intimate socio-political links between the United States and the Korean peninsula after World War II also contributes to the ideas and ideals of what it means to be Korean in the United States. As with many people with immigrant background, young people of Korean descent residing in the United States try to understand their ethnic identities through their families, peers, and communities, and many of these journeys involve participating in cultural activities that include traditional dance, song, and other such performance activities.This study is the culmination of a four-year ethnographic research project on the cultural practices of a group of Koreans in the United States pursuing the traditional Korean cultural art form of pungmul in exploring their ethnic identities. Through the accesses and opportunities afforded to the members of Mae-ari Korean Cultural Troupe by the national and transnational networks with other people of Korean descent, these young people begin to understand themselves as "Korean" while teaching and learning traditional Korean cultural practices in performances, workshops, and everyday interactions with each other.Most studies about Asian Americans focus on the immigration challenges, or the conflicts and differences between generations. While these are important issues that affect the lives of Asian Americans, it is also valuable to focus on how new cultural identities are formed in the attempt to hold on to the traditions of the immigrant homeland . This research pays close attention to how young people understand their identities through cultural practices, regardless of generational differences. The focus is on collective meaning-making about ethnic identity across immigration statuses and generations.In investigating their ways of being, author Sonya Gwak pays close attention to the semiotic processes within the group that aid in creating and cultivating notions of ethnic identity, especially in the ways in which the notion of culture becomes indelibly linked with "things" within and across the sites. Dr. Gwak also explores the pedagogical processes within the group regarding how cultures are objectified and transformed into tools of teaching and learning. Finally, the study also reveals how people understand their ethnic identities through direct and active engagement with, experience of, and expression of "cultural objects."By looking at the multiple forms of expressing ethnic identity, this study shows how the young people in Mae-ari locate themselves within the time and space of Korean history, Korean American history, activism, performing arts, and tradition. This study argues that ethnic identity formation is a process that is rooted in cultural practices contextualized in social, political, and cultural histories. This book advances the field of ethnic and immigrant studies by offering a new framework for understanding the multiple ways in which young people make sense of their identities. Be(com)ing Korean in the United States is an important book for all collections in Asian American studies, as well as ethnic and immigrant studies. ... Read more