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Published by the Asia Society, this collection of nine essays by leading Korean and Korean American authorities is readable and at the same time highly informative and scholarly. The map, glossary, and chronology provide geographic and historic detail while the essays focus on a broad range of contemporary topics including Korean economics, politics, literature, dance, and music. U. S. and Korean perceptions and policies toward each other are highlighted, and there is an outstanding chapter about the Korean American Community by Eui-Young Yu. Suggested readings for further study are made by each contributor.
This fascinating history of Asian Americans combines traditional research with oral biographies and includes material and perspectives not previously found in our textbooks. Several chapters are devoted exclusively to the experience of Korean Americans.
This is a well-written and researched autobiography by a woman who is currently a reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering Asian American affairs. Ms. Kang immigrated here in 1961 and has much to say about the personal struggles she has faced trying to reconcile two vastly different cultures and the personal struggles she has faced trying to reconcile them. There are entire worlds that the media does not portray and the American mainstream rushes past. It is this kind of story that the author, as a reporter, yearns to dig out so that we may have a better understanding of the diverse mix of peoples that is America.
This recently published collection of thirty-eight oral biographies of contemporary Korean Americans provides a rich portrait of this diverse community. Anna Deavere Smith, in her foreword, suggests that by spanning generations, social classes, and a wide variety of experiences, this collection provides those outside the community with the opportunity to reevaluate stereotypes. One of our favorite selections is the chapter by Im Jung Kwuon who is on the Center of Cultural Fluency advisory council. The collection would be an excellent vehicle for stimulating discussion among Korean American students about their personal experiences. Includes a brief overview of Korean and Korean American history.
This is the story of a woman, born and raised in North Korea during the Japanese occupation, who endured many hardships. She fled with her family to Manchuria then to South Korea during the Korean War and finally to America to be reunited with her family. Her Americanized granddaughter uncovers her life story, and in the process, finds her own identity as a second generation Korean American.
Mrs. Lee describes her life as a Korean American "pioneer," one of the comparatively small group of Korean immigrants whose families came to work on the Hawaiian sugar plantations at the beginning of this century. She later moved to California, and her book describes her life in the agricultural and mining communities there and the hardships of raising an Asian American family in a prejudiced society. Interesting discussion in appendix of historical verification done by editor Suheng Chan.
Hard to put down. This book has been heralded as the Korean American literary equivalent of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. It is as powerful and honest, but not as daunting to read. If you only have time for one book now, you won't be disappointed if you choose this one.
Kim tells the story of Korean immigrants to Los Angeles prior to World War II interweaving the themes of Korean culture and nationalism and the racism of an American culture unfamiliar with Koreans. This book depicts a life full' of trials and hardships which a Korean family must overcome to survive and educate its children. The first generation of Korean Americans slowly but surely lays down its roots for the generations to come.
Who am I? asks Ms. Ko. The author, who was born in South Korea in 1964 and immigrated to the United States in 1982, is part of the il-chom-o-se, or 1.5 generation. This highly personal collection of poems describes Ms. Ko's personal pain as she feels torn between her Korean and American identities and confesses she can feel neither fully Korean or fully American. All poems written in both Korean and English. Accessible and poignantly written, these poems could serve as both catalysts and models for student discussion and poetry about the immigrant experience. |
Books
Lee, Mary Paik. Quiet Odyssey: A
Pioneer Korean Woman in America. 1990. University of Washington
Press. ISBN 0-295-96969-5.
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