Transcript Document

Asian American
Now
Korean Culture
Study Questions
• How is respect paid to an elder as a Korean child?
• What is so highly valued in Korea that they made
a separate curriculum for to be taught in schools?
• What are Korean-American Children taught is
most important to friendship?
Korean Values and Morals
Education:
~ highly valued
~ Moral education in schools
Family:
~ Children are taught at a very young age, and
throughout life, that their elders and ancestors are to
be respected
~ Obedience
~ Large families decreasing
Friendship:
~ Children are taught the importance of loyalty in
friendships
Values and Morals continued…
Religion
~Shamanism
~Buddhism
~Confucianism
~Christianity
~Inner peace
Art
~Harmony, Nature
Folk Culture
~ Ma-ul-gut “town
exorcism”
thanksgiving to gods.
Dance
~Court
~Folk
Study Questions
• What are the two main groups of religions
for Korean Americans?
• Why is Confucianism considered more of a
philosophy?
• What else are churches used for?
Religion
• Religion traditionally important to
Koreans
• Religion more evident in their American
life due to greater spiritual needs in
strange and difficult circumstances
• Two major religions Korean Americans
are affiliated with are Christianity and
Buddhism
• Christianity has become by far the larger
of the two
• About three quarters of the Korean
population regularly attend church or
temples
• There are numerous churches wherever
there is a Korean population
• Churches often function as social places and
classes for learning culture, religion and
language for second-generation KoreanAmericans
• Buddhist temples, which are much smaller
in numbers than Christian churches, are
found in metropolitan areas such as Los
Angeles or San Francisco.
• Confucianism is followed not so much as a
religion, but as a philosophy
Study Questions
1.) What are the three main reasons for Korean
immigration to the United States?
2.) What is one of the greatest hardships Koreanborn children face in the American schools?
3.) What does KAMP stand for and what is the
purpose of the program?
American Born Korean Children
• Need to develop a positive bicultural identity amid the contrary
forces of their parents and American schools.
• Exposed to both English and Korean at home
• Korean usually dominates in regards to such things as family meals,
cultural values, behavioral expectations, and the norms governing
family interactions.
• Korean-American parents expect their children to show certain
traditional Korean values and behaviors in the school setting such as
obedience, respectful deference to adults, and a passive stance
toward the learning experience.
• This could conflict with the child’s classroom experience in which
the student is encouraged and often times expected to ask questions,
speak out, and initiate more communication with the teacher.
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Children Born in Korea
Language is one of the greatest hardships immigrant children in the
American schools encounter.
The younger children have some advantage when it comes to learning the
English language. Critical Period for acquiring language is 0-7 years of age
Integrating customs within their own culture and that of the American
culture.
Their quiet, respectful behavior in the classroom is often mistaken as
showing a lack of initiative or regarded as a sign of ignorance and failure to
comprehend the subject matter.
If the child were to adapt to the American school’s expectations, their
behaviors may conflict with the demands of their parents to their follow
their Korean customs and the parents may feel offended by the
“Americanized” behavior of their children.
Korean-born children are often times in a state of confusion that leads to
lowered self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and anger. Many of these children
seek counseling to help cope with their struggles with assimilation.
Solutions
• The educational need of Korean American children is an effective
bilingual program that promotes rapid acquisition of English while
simultaneously maintaining the home language.
• It is important for educators to consider how culture impacts
developmental stages, assimilation levels, self-esteem, the physical
self, emotional stability, academic growth, clarification of beliefs,
literacy and language, etc.
• Korean American Mentorship Program (KAMP):
• Big Brother, Big Sister to share experiences
• Believes that a child’s Korean American identity plays an important
function in how he/she develops as an individual
• “Korean American Connections” ICT Project:
• Project between Chicago Public Schools and Dae il Foreign
Language High School in Seoul, South Korea.
• Project was launched by CPS to enhance language learning and
cultural exchanges using ICT (Information and Communication
Technology)
Study Questions
Gender Role
• What is the eldest sons responsibility in the
family?
• Why is it so important to have a son rather
then a daughter?
• What are young girls being encouraged to
do?
Gender Roles
• Confucian Teachings
– Males are the head of the household and the decision
makers
– Women are the family care takers and should be
taught to more submissive
• Women are changing their view on genders as
men hold to traditional ways
• Women are becoming more independent and
trying to enter the work force
• Women feel that if they are contributing to
income the men should contribute to household
chores
Gender Roles
• Having a son is important in carrying on the
family name
• The oldest son is to take of the parents as
they age
• Young girls are being taught how to care for
their families but are encouraged to go to
college and be independent
Study Questions
-What is a kye?
-What event caused Korean
American families to lose over
$400 million?
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Social
Class:
Koreans believe that hard work and a low profile ensures social and
economic awards. For the most part, they believe that they have to work
harder than others, especially European Americans, to get ahead in life
because they are a minority in the U.S.
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Often times a Korean coming to America for the first time is highly
educated and holds a graduate degree. But if they have a lack of English and
personal contacts, they often find themselves earning a low income. Small
retail shops, such as a deli or liquor store, that require little capital to open
enable him/her to support themselves and their families. Though small
businesses are a common family background among Koreans, parents want
their children to receive the best education.
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Like many immigrants coming to the U.S., Koreans strongly believe that
school is a stepping stone to success to achieve the American dream.
Korean-Americans will do what they can to send their children to the best
schools in the country. If they do not have the money to do so, like many
families they will apply for scholarships. One way that they can receive
money for a big expense is through a kye. It is a rotating lending system
based on a trust in Korean-American communities.
Social Class
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Korean tend to live within urban areas ranging from inner-city ethnic enclaves
such as a Koreatown, which are found in cities such as L.A., Chicago and New
York, to middle-class suburban neighborhoods.
A Korean-American child living in a Koreatown are going to be in a lowermiddle class area. They are obviously going to be more exposed and
associated with Korean culture, language, and lifestyle. They will most likely
have a better sense of belonging with fellow Korean-American children.
Those children living in a middle-class neighborhood are more likely to feel
more tension being a minority in a typical European American culture.
Korean-American children expect to be accepted on equal terms as other
children but are often time denied. This is when the notion that working harder
than others, in order to become equal in society, comes to play.
Statistics
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As of 1990, the median family income is $33,909
Today 35% earn between $40-60,000 per year
Employment (as of today):
Small businesses = 30.2%
Professional, technical = 26.3%
Laborers, operators, fabricators = 17%
Sales, administrative = 13%
14.7% poverty rate
Los Angeles has the second largest population of Korean-Americans with
around 270,000.
In 1992, the L.A. riots caused Korean-American businesses to lose over $400
million because they were attacked and looted.
New York has the second largest population with roughly 98,000.
Study Questions
1. What is the purpose of the Korean
Children’s Day?
2. What is the focus on Christmas Day
MAJOR EVENTS
Korean Children’s Day
 Founded by the Korean Children’s writer Pang Chonghwan in 1923 as a way to instill in the children a sense of
independence and national pride.
- Gifts are are given to children from parents and from
stores visited during the day.
- children are offered free admission to museums, zoos,
amusement parks, & movie theaters.
- traditional games are played
 Korean American communities celebrate with
performances, special foods, activities, and Korean
cultural schools hold day-long programs.
Lunar New Year (Seollal)
 Morning- Korean families offer special foods to deceased
ancestors
 Afternoon- Children perform special low-bow to parents,
grandparents, and other elders.
- Express wishes for happiness and good health in the
coming year.
- children are given a pouch of money
- Children and adults play traditional games but today
Koreans turn to television, video and computer games.
Major Events Continue…
 Arbor Day
April 5 in the U.S. late April and early May.
-Government officials, teachers, and children
throughout Korea plant trees.
 Christmas Day
-celebrated in a similar way as western countries.
-Focus is on the children and on creating a day of
enjoyment for them.
Study Questions
• How is “PLAY” perceived in the Korean-American Culture?
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What factors influence the “play” younger Korean children are
involved in?
• What factors influence the “play” older Korean children or
adolescence are involved in, and how does it compare with their
cousins in Korea?
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Korean
American
Play
In discussing Korean children it is important to know, first, that children are
highly valued in the Korean families. They are treated almost as “Gods”, I
was told by an 84-year-old Korean man, who was a curator at the Korean
Culture Center. There is little to no discipline in the very early years.
In talking about the Korean children it is important to know that the parents
are concerned with the possible loss of their own culture and that children
will become wholly “Americanized”. Therefore, it is frequent that during
summers the children are sent back to Korea to stay with family in order
that they may strengthen their understanding of their cultural values and
traditions. So you will have Korean raised cousins and American raised
cousins re-uniting.
• Young children
There is gender differentiation in Korean families, so when the parents pick
out toys for a young child there is a difference in what they look for in their
purchases. The process of sex role identification is associated with the
Childs play. The parents rarely consider appropriateness of toys, durability,
manufacturer, designs of toys or color.
Korean American Play
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Play is considered a developmental phenomenon for young children. They
rated play as equally critical as nutrition, housing, health care, and
education. Parents recognize that when children play, they figure out how
things work, they understand they can solve problems, learn to talk and
share with others. They develop and express their imagination and
creativity. They see play as an indicator of the childs linguistic, social, and
emotional and physical development.
Boys rooms were filled with toy animals, vehicles, spaceships, while girls
rooms had dolls and doll houses, tea sets, etc., feeling the parents might
increase playfulness and creativity with toys. Clay, building blocks,
computer games, the focus is on playfulness, creativity, and fun rather than
concrete learning such as Leap Pads, or other “educational” types of toys.
Older children are strongly competitive and enjoy things like video games,
jacks, hop scotch, jumping rope, jaegi (Korean hacky-sac), hand ball, kite
flying, Korean seesaw, spinning tops, Yut, Hwat’u, chang-gi (Korean chess),
and Hapkido. Some of these you are familiar with, others are similar to
games we are familiar with.
Kite flying is a pastime, enjoyed, demonstrating their creativity.
Korean seesaw is played with two people, kids or women, standing on each
side of the seesaw, then jump up, forcing their opposition into the air.
Play Continued
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Spinning Tops are spun in an enclosed box, with points scored for various
actions. Also popular is fighting tops where players try to knock their
opponents’ tops out of a designated area.
Yut is a four-stick game, each stick has a flat side and a curved side and they
toss the sticks to determine their number of moves. There is a board with a
pattern of spaces to move and short cuts to be earned to get around the table.
Moving around the table depends on the way the sticks land when they are
tossed.
Hwa-t’u (Go-Stop) is a card game. To properly play you should slap your
card down when playing.
Chang-gi (Korean Chess) is similar to western chess but has different
playing board, pieces, and rules. Like most strategic games, the rules are
easily picked up, but the skills of a good player take a long time to learn.
Hapkido is very popular among Koreans as a form of self-defense, and it is
similar to Japanese Akido and not as famous as t’aekwondo.
In today’s world, in America and globally, kids are kids. They like to play,
they like camaraderie, competition, strive to fit in, and in doing so, have the
opportunity to learn many things from each other.
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