Table Of ContentMEN AND SPIRITUALITY:
A STUDY ON GENDER AND SPIRITUALITY AMONG
SECOND-GENERATION KOREAN AMERICANS
A Dissertation
presented to
the Faculty of the
Claremont School of Theology
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Mark Chung Hearn
December 2011
Acknowledgment is made for permission to adapt the informed
congregational consent model as developed by Mary Clark Moschella in
Ethnography as a Pastoral Practice: An Introduction, © 2008 by Pilgrim
Press. Used by permission.
©2011
Mark Chung Hearn
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
£K\ CLAREMONT
5tV SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
This Dissertation, written by
Mark Chung Hearn
under the direction of his Faculty Committee and approved by its members,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of
Claremont School of Theology
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Faculty Committee:
Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, Chairperson
Frank Rogers, Jr.
David K. Yoo
Academic Dean: Philip Clayton
December 2011
ABSTRACT
MEN AND SPIRITUALITY:
A STUDY ON GENDER AND SPIRITUALITY AMONG
SECOND-GENERATION KOREAN AMERICANS
Mark Chung Hearn
This dissertation studies second-generation Korean American men
through the lens of gender, spirituality, and race. It explores how spirituality
affects Korean American men and the inverse, how Korean American men
affect their spirituality. Using social construction theory and critical feminist
critique, a foundational argument is that Korean American men are in part,
products of social, historical, and cultural forces. These forces have
produced gender, racial, and religious scripts that manifest in their lived
experiences and their held beliefs. In order to understand these scripts, the
author has situated Korean American men within the larger social and
historical context of the United States. The author asserts that Korean
American Christian men and their spirituality exist in a mutually shaping
relationship. As spirituality provide men alternative scripts with which to live,
social forces as witnessed in lived experience also help to form them.
Sometimes these scripts are the same. This interdisciplinary study uses a
variety of scholarly literature from several disciplines including Asian
American studies, gender and men's studies, spirituality, sociology of
religion, sociology of sport, and religious education. It also pulls data from
qualitative research the author conducted—ethnography with a second-
generation Korean American church and semi-structured interviews with
second-generation Korean American men.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As the final step in a PhD program, the dissertation is not only a
culminating demonstration of one's ability and expertise, but an opportunity
to reflect upon the vast community of persons who have helped one get
through the process. In my case, it truly took a community of people to finish
this dissertation and program. Therefore, it is with much enthusiasm and
gratitude that I acknowledge different individuals who have been my
community along the way.
I want to first thank my committee members. During a time when I felt
I was making little progress with my degree, Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-
Holbrook came to Claremont School of Theology and infused myself and our
program with a boost of energy and direction. Her ability to balance the
exhortation to "just get it done" with a pastoral presence of understanding is
truly a gifting of hers and a gift to those who have the privilege of working
with her. I am grateful for her sense of humor and her ability to push people
through what can often be a laborious process. I am grateful to Dr. Frank
Rogers, Jr., whose consistent presence was the glue that held my program
together through many transitions. His ability to create narratives and stories
that are engaging at cognitive, affective, and spiritual levels became
nourishment for my soul during times when I needed it most. I am thankful for
Dr. David K. Yoo who took the time to counsel me, a relative stranger, about
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PhD work long before I had thought seriously about Claremont. The
generosity he extended in that conversation communicated to me that this
was someone from whom I could learn a great deal. I have not been
disappointed as he helped to open up the world of Asian American studies
particularly through the lens of history and Korean American spirituality.
In addition to my committee members, there are two other professors I
wish to thank. Though I was unable to finish my program with her, I am
grateful to Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier for the mentoring and nurturing she
invested in me as a scholar and a practitioner during her time here. In her
personhood and in her professional life, she gave me a vision of what a
practical theologian and a religious educator can look like in integrating the
academy with the church. I also thank Dr. Kathleen S. Yep, an instrumental
figure in opening the door to Asian American studies and the discipline of
sociology. I, who had never taken an Asian American course, was intrigued
by her class title, "Asian Americans and Sociology of Sport." She was
gracious enough to open up space for me in that class, one that helped
conceive the chapter on sports and Korean American men.
I thank others at CST who helped my research. John Dickason gave
me an opportunity to work in the library when I first came to CST. This
allowed me to hone my research skills and learn more on how to locate a
good resource. Jean Makunga trained me with the periodicals and journals in
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a little area downstairs in the library I dubbed the "tundra." Betty Clements
often answered hurried research questions I had in a diligent and thorough
manner. Elaine Walker, whose numerous campus roles I saw in action first
hand, was gracious enough as the thesis advisor, to read meticulously
through my drafts for form and notation accuracy. Elaine is truly a person at
CST who continues to serve the institution through the care of students in
ways that far surpass her official roles.
I thank my cohorts and colleagues at CST, in particular, Trina
Armstrong, Christine Hong, Jon Hooten, Eric Kyle, Jill Snodgrass, Kenny
Walden, Anne Walker, Vicki Wiltse, and Susan Young, who not only helped
to refine my research, but shared many conversations and moments that will
last far after our time at Claremont.
I thank the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the
United Methodist Church and the respective selection committees for
providing me the resources to complete my program and dissertation through
both the HANA scholarship and the Dempster Graduate Fellowship. In this
financial climate, these scholarships were generous gifts that helped my
family and me through this time.
I thank my church community of friends, in particular, Minho and Janet
Chung, Scott and Sandy Kim, Carlos and Esther Chong, Mark Lovers and
Jennifer Shim Lovers, Sonny Park and Christina Moon, Robin and Angela
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Choe, James Kim, and Dan Park, who sustained me spiritually and
emotionally throughout my degree program.
I also thank the lead pastor at Christ Church for not only graciously
opening up the church for my research purposes, but for also teaching me
some difficult, but valuable lessons about pastoral ministry. I am grateful for
John H. Kim for allowing me to officially observe Fruit of the Spirit Bowl and
engaging me in conversation about how to make the tournament a more
mutual and life-giving event.
I want to thank both the men who participated in the interviews as well
as the men who participated in the men's ministry over the years. While I am
obligated to anonymity, I would like to have acknowledged each of these
men by name for they were monumental in the shaping of this project. On
account of studying them and their generosity in opening up their lives, I
myself, was given an opportunity to heal within and to reflect upon what it
means for me to be a Korean American man in contemporary North America.
I want to thank my family. I am first grateful for my mother and father
for their selfless support and encouragement. While my vocational call to
teach in the academy has never been an easy path, my parents, Kumhong
and Soogoon Hearn, have continued to support me through many trying
times. They have continued to believe in me and pray for me even when I
doubted my own abilities to do doctoral work. While they would never say
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they were baby-sitting but only caring for their granddaughter, their countless
hours of watching our daughter, in addition to the numerous meals they
provided my wife and me, allowed me the time and human resources to
finish this dissertation and program. Moreover, their sacrifice and work to
establish Korean immigrants in this new country was etched indelibly on my
heart and mind as a young boy. I believe this was a significant formative
experience that instilled within me a strong sense of social work and
hospitality and a reason why I chose this dissertation topic. I am deeply
thankful for this concrete image.
I thank my two older sisters, Debbie and Lydia, and their spouses,
Michael and William, for their emotional, financial, intellectual, and spiritual
support. I never imagined earlier in our childhood that we would all end up in
higher education helping to impact and change lives. As colleagues, you
have engaged my conversations and in doing so, sharpened my thoughts. As
siblings, you have helped me play and remind me that I do have a life outside
of the academy and beyond this dissertation.
I thank my in-laws, Sung Sang, Soon Nam, Suney, and Tim Park for
their presence throughout this process. While deeper levels of understanding
through verbal communication have not always been optimal on account of
primary language differences, I have known experientially a deeper level of
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