Korean American

Paper Summary:

With their dramatic increase in population and the racial unrest that resulted in the destruction of Korean businesses during the Los Angeles civil unrest, Korean Americans have emerged as one of the visible ethnic groups in the country. This paper uses a series of interviews with a typical Korean-American family to evaluate its perceptions of their ethnicity. It compares and contrasts how Father Park and Mother Park's definitions differ from the experiences of their daughter Sunny. It gives particular focus on how the members of the two generations accord a different importance to learning the Korean language. In the conclusion, the paper evaluates how the Park family uses language to shore up their definitions of ethnicity. By looking at the role language plays in the Park's definitions of being "Korean" or being "American," this paper contributes to the larger literature on the different methods people employ to construct their ethnic identities.

From the Paper:

"The Parks would like Sunny to "remember where she came from," and for them, remembering is strongly connected with language and with an acceptance of Korean-ness. While they recognize that Sunny was born and raised in the United States and cannot help but be a product of this social and cultural environment, they also express doubts on whether Sunny can truly classify herself as "American" or be accepted by others as an American.
Part of the Parks' stand is understandable, since they are naturally projecting their experiences of marginalization onto their daughter. Since language was an important foundation in the construction of social identity in their host country, they assume this will be the same for Sunny."

More papers on Korean American:

• Essay # 27566 : "Korean-Americans"
• Essay # 24156 : "Korean Americans And American Society"
• Essay # 27239 : "Korean Americans in American Society"

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