The Korean Americans (The New Americans)

208 Pages·1998·11.06 MB·English

by  Won Moo Hurh

Korean
Americans
Other Titles in
The Greenwood Press New Americans Series
Ronald H. Bayor, Series Editor
South Asian Americans
Karen Isaksen Leonard
The Cuban Americans
Miguel Gonzalez-Pando
The Dominican Americans
Silvio Torres-Saillant and Ramona Hernandez
The Taiwanese Americans
Franklin Ng
~Krf orTmheee an
Americans
Won Moo Hurh
THE NEW AMERICANS
Ronald H. Bayor, Series Editor
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hurh, Won Moo.
The Korean Americans / Won Moo Hurh.
p. cm. — (The new Americans, ISSN 1092-6364)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-29741-X (alk. paper)
1. Korean Americans. I. Title. II. Series: New Americans
E184.K6H875 1998
973'.04957—dc21 97-45648
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 1998 by Won Moo Hurh
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 97-45648
ISBN: 0-313-29741-X
ISSN: 1092-6364
First published in 1998
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
@r
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 32
To my mother, Myong Sum Eum
with love and thanks
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Illustrations
XI
Series Foreword xiii
Preface xv
PART I BACKGROUND 1
1. Korean Ethnic Roots: The Land, History, People, and
Culture 3
Land 3
History 4
People 11
Culture 12
PART II COMING TO AMERICA 29
2. Korean Immigration to the United States: A Historical
Overview 31
General Background of Korean Immigration 31
Causes and Characteristics of Korean Immigration 36
PART III ADJUSTMENT AND ADAPTATION 49
3. Economic Adjustment 51
Demographic Characteristics 51
Socioeconomic Characteristics 53
viii Contents
4. Cultural and Social Adaptation 69
Cultural Assimilation 70
Social Adaptation 73
Strong Ethnic Attachment and Selective Assimilation 79
The Next Generation of Korean Immigrants 80
5. Family Life 83
The Korean American Family-Kinship System 83
The Structure of the Korean American Family 85
Korean Immigrant Wives' Burden of Double Roles 88
Socialization of Korean American Children 93
Care of the Elderly 101
6. Korean Ethnic Associations 105
The Korean Ethnic Church 107
Korean Buddhist Temples in America 114
Other Ethnic Associations 115
7. Intergroup Relations 121
Relations with White (European) Americans 123
Relations with African Americans 131
Relations with Other Asian Americans 137
8. Psychological Adjustment 141
Gender Differences in Mental Health 142
Length of Residence and Mental Health 142
Profiles of Korean Immigrants' Mental Health 146
PART IV CONCLUSION 159
9. Unique Characteristics of Korean Americans and Their
Impact on American Society 161
Korean Ethnic Church 162
Self-Employment in Small Business 162
Urban Middle-Class Background and Its Implications 163
The 1.5 Generation Phenomenon 164
Korean Americans' Impact on American Society 165
Contents ix
Appendix : Notable Korean Americans 169
References 173
Further Reading 18 5
Index 187