Here's another lil' something I wrote for my intercultural communication class last week. I'll be presenting on it tomorrow. It's a cultural resume, explaining a culture in much the same way that an occupational resume would define you: in quick, rough summations and facts. In both cases, the hope is that the resume would pique your interest enough to prompt further investigation.
So with no further ado...
This cultural resume is an introduction to the culture of Korean Americans, defined as American residents of Korean origin. The first records of Korean immigration date back to 1903, when laborers arrived in the U.S. territory of Hawaii. The greatest influx of Korean immigrants, however, arrived after the acceptance of the 1965 Immigration Act. During this century of immigration, Korean Americans have become a small but well-established community in the United States.
While to the outside world it may be satisfactory to classify their community at this level, Koreans and Korean Americans themselves identify microcultures of 1, 2, and 1.5. These numbers refer to generation; an adult who immigrates to the United States would be considered a 1, while their American-born child would be considered a 2. The 1.5 classification falls upon those Korean-born individuals who were immigrants to the United States at an early age.
Outside of these microcultures are also at least two ancillary cultures: Koreans with mixed heritage or those who were adopted by families of non-Korean origin, and those who are not permanent residents but study or work in the United States. While the population of Korean Americans is generally quoted at around 1.4 million, including these other people groups increases the number of ethnic Koreans in the United States to approximately 2.1 million, according to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
The Korean American community originally developed in the western regions of the U.S., including Hawaii. Even today, Los Angeles is home to more ethnic Koreans than any other place outside of Asia. Still, major Korean American communities have been established around the country, with the latest region with Korean American growth being the states in the south. The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area (combining Korean populations with Maryland and Virginia) has the third largest concentration of Koreans, bested by California and New York.
Korean Americans as a people group have one of the highest educational levels in the United States. Nearly half have a college degree or higher. Additionally they have been noted as a model minority for their sense of community and low levels of crime and unemployment. Much of this is attributed to cultural and ethnic rules and traditions. Koreans, says participant and film director Paul Kim, have “a commitment to persevere.”
America has often been portrayed as a land of opportunity for many people groups, and for many Koreans throughout recent history, America also represented hope of prosperity, evasion of invading cultures, and freedom from strong traditional norms. Yet South Korea has developed rapidly in the last 50 years and advanced stature in the international community. As a result, though America is still regarded highly for its academics, particularly in college and graduate studies, the number of immigrants to the United States in the last decade has dropped dramatically.
While Korean culture is definitely one of a collective ilk, the Korean American must walk the line between the traditional ethnic community and the geographically held perspective of individuality in order to achieve successful outcomes in American life. This can cause dissonance within and make it difficult, especially for 1.5 and second generation Korean Americans, to interact seamlessly with members of various circles.
Identity also is called into question, as even within the culture there are clear divisions based on birthplace and time spent in Korea. Kim, 28, and a U.S.-born Korean American, postulates that he and many others are part of a third culture. “I consider myself a third-culture individual, having been raised in two cultures, but whose intersection has created a unique culture of its own, and thus the Korean-American distinction. I identify with both groups, but also recognize the paradox of being neither.”
Many Koreans struggle to adapt to North American systems and values and may take years to feel fully integrated. Conversely, Korean Americans face difficulties when visiting Korea; their features render them completely indistinguishable from a native Korean, and, therefore, they are often expected to intrinsically follow cultural norms that are completely foreign to them. While one Korean American struggles to develop a more American perspective, another fights to remove the barriers between Korean Americans and Americans altogether. Still another Korean American takes a long trip back to their homeland to “become more Korean.” It’s easy to see where intra-cultural miscommunication can occur.
The search for identity, in itself, may be distinctly Korean American. In Korea, where the total non-Korean population is only 1.1%, the search for who you are is in nearly every face you will see. This only reinforces the collective qualities and principles of the Korean society. When asked what differences she found in Korean and Korean American cultures, survey participant Lee Soo Youn immediately commented, “Individualism. Korean people tend to share a number of things [with each other]. Meanwhile Ko-Ams tend to be more independent.”
Lee, 32, moved to the United States about ten years ago with her parents and younger brother. She has two degrees, one from a university in Daegu, South Korea, and the other from a design school in Washington, D.C. “I strongly feel I have both [Korean and Korean American] values and balance it well,” she says. “Yet if I only have one option to choose, I’d more likely consider myself Korean-American. I am comfortable being with and interacting with America and its society, and I’m willing to contribute personally to the society and communicate with Americans as a part of community.”
Her last statement speaks volumes. In the past, Korean Americans seemed reluctant to or disinterested in building personal relations with those of other people groups. Even today, it is not uncommon for a Korean parent to make a long commute from their home in an affluent suburb to a inner-city or low income community where they own and operate their family business (In 1990, 1 in 4 Korean Americans were self-employed, higher than any other ethnic group in America). In the late eighties and early nineties, tension grew between these business owners and community residents who felt that the Korean community was taking their money with no interest in their situation.
In the L.A. riots of 1992, more than 3,000 Korean businesses were destroyed as emotions flared about interracial justice and community. The first generation of 1.5 and 2-generation Korean Americans were beginning their professional lives around this time, and, having affinity to both Korean and American cultures, actively worked to bridge the gap between these groups that required a positive outcome.
In doing so, Korean Americans risk eroding their distinct culture. Korean American groups and organizations have been created to maintain and promote Korean history and language. “Those are major elements to reflect your identity,” says Lee. “If those two are missing in me, I am no longer Korean. I would technically be American without them.” Yet, according to the 2005 U.S. census, one in four Korean American households speak only English at home. With so much meaning and nuance embedded in the language, a lack of Korean language skills can not only mean a misunderstanding of personal culture but also a heightened propensity for miscommunication when interacting with 1-generation and Korean nationals.
One way that Korean Americans have found to maintain intra-cultural ties is through worship. Even though Christianity is still considered a minority religion in Korea, seventy to eighty percent of Korean Americans attend church, mostly protestant. These religious groups create social networks that provide activity groups, professional services, and even modes of acquiring housing or sponsorship for new immigrants. Of the three participants I questioned, all had parents who were active church attendees and one participant was professionally employed by their denomination. Two participants were protestant, and one was catholic.
This predisposition to connect and interact in such a way as to imply a cohesive role may be one of the reasons why both Koreans and Korean Americans think of the successes and failures of one to be addressed by all—regardless of location. Recently, a 1.5-generation Korean American killed 33 people including himself. Korean American organizations expressed expected concern and regret. But, surprisingly to many Americans, Koreans in South Korea also expressed their shame and guilt. The president of the Republic of Korea sent at least three messages of condolence to the U.S., and the Korean ambassador to the U.S. vowed to fast for 32 days—apparently a day for each victim. Previously, a Korean American of mixed heritage was praised in South Korea for being named Most Valuable Player at the Superbowl. Though he had never been back to Korea and had little cultural understanding, many in South Korea considered him a hero.
Says Kim, “I don’t think there is such a thing as a definitive distinction between Korean and Korean-American culture. It is not about differences or similarities. It is rather a sequential progression from the other, and a small continuum in the overall development of humanity.”
Indeed, in a country as culturally diverse as the United States, the path of the Korean American is one of many sequential progressions to an overall development of Humanity.
References
Coffman, T. (2003). Arirang - An Interactive Classroom on the Korean American Experience - Korean American History. Retrieved April 24, 2007 from http://arirangeducation.com
Korean American. (2007, April 19). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 22:47, April 24, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Korean_American&oldid=124157508
Korean American Coalition-Census Information Center in partnership with the Center for Korean American and Korean Studies, California State University, Los Angeles. (2006). Educational Attainment by Race/Ethnicity 25 Years and Older. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/ckaks/census_tables.html
Korean American Coalition-Census Information Center in partnership with the Center for Korean American and Korean Studies, California State University, Los Angeles. (2006). Korean Population by City/Place, 2000 ("The Top 100 Cities in the United States for Koreans"). Retrieved April 24, 2007, from http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/ckaks/census_tables.html
Korean American Coalition-Census Information Center in partnership with the Center for Korean American and Korean Studies, California State University, Los Angeles. (2006). Korean Population by State, 2000. Retrieved April 24, 2007, from http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/ckaks/census_tables.html
Korean American Museum, Community section demographics [Electronic Version]. Retrieved April 24, 2007 from http://www.kamuseum.org/community/
U.S. Census Bureau. (2005) United States - Selected Population Profile in the United States (Korean alone or in any combination). Retrieved April 24, 2007 from http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:042&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=
Veale, J. (2007). South Korea's Collective Guilt [Electronic Version]. TIME Magazine, April 18, 2007. Retrieved on April 24, 2007 from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1611964,00.html
