Parenting: The Untold Story of Mothers

Meantaek Hwang

Korean American Identities: A Look Forward

• Edited by Hyojoung Kim• Section written by Eunjung Kim• Korean American parents have a hard time raising the kids in newenvironment.

Second Generation Parenting

• Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965

• Second Generation Korean Americans– Face both Korean and American culture

• Essentially, this aspect of history started right after the passing of the act.

Korean vs. American Culture

• “Korea is a collectivistic society, where individuals in society have strong and cohesive ties” (Kim 130).

• Differences– Respect for elderly– Manners– Compliments My parents and I in tradition Korean

clothing, Hanbok on my first birthday.

Modes of Acculturation

Adopt American Culture?Yes

No

Maintain Korean Culture?

Yes No

Integration Assimilation

Separation Marginalization

WHY???

“28% of the adolescents belong to the integration group, 22% belong to the marginalization group, 20.2% to the separation group, and 26% belong to the assimilation group” (Kim 127).

Ok Ja Park

• Born: September 9, 1967• Raised in the rural parts of Korea in Jeolla Nam

Do Province Ganjin County.• MANY brothers and sisters

Blue dot represents SeoulAnd the red area represents Park’s birthplace

Immigration to the US

• Immigrated to Seattle in 2006.• Almost forced to adopt American culture, only

one other Korean student at elementary school.

A celebration of my birthday. My mother was very involved in my life and took care of my education.

Reason for Adopting American Culture

A Cultural Clash

• Had own cultural clash before moving to USA– From rural to the urban Seoul in 3rd grade of

middle school• Rural vs. Urban in society– Dialect– Style of life• Laid Back vs. Busy

My mother and my aunt at the 어린이대공원 right after moving to Seoul

Another Cultural Clash

• Marriage• Rural vs. Urban in household• Higher Middle Class vs. LowerClass• Learned that adopting new culture and maintaining old culture is beneficial

My mom and my dad in his studly suit posing for their wedding shoot

Reason for Maintaining Korean Culture

Japanese Imperialistic Rule

• Korea annexed by Japan in 1910, but imperialism began in 1876. Independence in 1948– Murder of Empress Myeongsung ending the

Joseon Dynasty• After Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points of

moral code, Korean students started demonstrations

March 1st Movement

• Yu Gwan Soon– Organizer, sent to prison and tortured to death

• Precedent: Ahn Joong Geun– Assassinated Japanese General and then

sentenced to death

Seo Dae Moon Prison (Now Museum)

Post Korean War History (1953-)

• Political Instability– Corruption: 1st President Rhee Syngman– From democratic party to dictatorship– Assassination: Park Chung Hee– Bribery, killing of citizens, rigging elections, etc.

• Many uprisings, mainly organized by college students

Patriotism

• Witness of the Gwangju Massacre in the Gwangju Democratization Movement 1980– Movement against Chun Doo Hwan– Approximately 165 killed

• Participant of June Democracy Movement 1987– Movement against Roh Tae Woo for democratic

reforms• Understood the price for freedom– Wanted children to remember that price

College Years

To the very right, my mother was involved in the movements for democratic reforms.

A Good Choice

• “Among these four groups of adolescents, those who maintained Korea identity while actively adopting American culture (integration group) had the least problem behaviors” (Kim 128).

A happy family without problematic behaviors

Relevance to US History

• Shows effects of America’s imperialism on Korea– Capitalism– Democracy

• Culture assimilation– Korean culture affecting American culture

• Education– Raising competition

• Pop Culture– Kpop & Gangnam Style

Surprises

• How evenly distributed the percentage of modes of acculturation was

• My mother’s involvement in democratic movements

• Impact of mothers on history– Misconceptions of fathers doing most work on

history

Discussion Questions

• When it comes time for second generation Korean Americans to raise their children, what problems with acculturation could they face? Interracial marriage, inability to speak Korean or English, etc.

• Which mode of acculturation is the most beneficial to the child? America? Home country? Parent? Future children?