American Koreans vs Korean Americans - Research Paper Example

Cultural Anthropology 31st May American Koreans Vs Korean Americans Korean Americans are Koreans of American descent and are mostly from South Korea. A key reason for rapid increase in the migration of Koreans to North America has been the desire to actually live a better life. Earlier migrants were mostly concentrated in Hawaii and were recruited to work in sugarcane fields in Hawaii region. Over the period of time, regional dispersion of Koreans increased throughout the mainland. From 1990 to 2000, concentration of Korean Americans was mostly in Georgia (Suarez-Orozco, Suarez-Orozco and Qin-Hilliard 192). Pre and Post 1965 wave of immigrants from Korea was associated with particular industries such as retail stores, nail salons, travel agencies, liquor stores etc. Most of such industries were labor intensive in nature; however, the major reason of why Koreans engaged into such labor intensive industries was to create better opportunities for their children to get into better schools (Choi 55). American Koreans however, is a very small group comprising those who were either defectors or were taken as prisoners during the war in Korea (Hastings 35). This group is relatively small; however, it is significant in the sense that it also represents dual cultures of America and Korea. What is critical to note also that some of the POWs were taken by China from North Korea, indicating involvement of multiple players in redefining the overall future and cultural identity of this new group. Most of the POWs were largely influenced by the Chinese ideology. As such, both groups have now developed their distinct and separate identity and political ideologies. Their distinct cultural identity is considered as an important way through which they actually separate themselves from other groups, and this also reflects their overall perceptions for admission process. This paper will discuss this, and it will also explore how American Koreans and Korean Americans actually carry the overall cultural identity for their admissions. 1. Cultural Identity and Admission Process Having students from countries where English is not a dominant language or students belonging to different cultural groups always raises certain important political as well as cultural issues. Universities require declaration of ethnic origin of the students and gaps have been observed in the admission scores of Asian and White students. Universities like Vanderbilt publically announced to increase the number of Jews students over a certain period of time however, ignore to take into consideration more able Asian students with better SAT and other scores. (Golden 69) Conflict theory, however, suggests that admission exams are often culturally biased and are made in such a way that only members from dominant groups can get admission into such universities as well as colleges. It is also critical to note that most of the American-Koreans have actually failed to get into the inner and deeper level of American society. This cultural aloofness therefore also reflects how American Koreans actually perceive the overall admission process. The monolithic and historical representation of Asian American students in universities has largely remained unstable. The race based characterization of the students not only remained contextual in nature but also shaped by multiple motives. (Hurh 65) Applying this theory on the American Koreans clearly suggests that American universities have certain preferences. The overall tests are designed in such a manner that only people belonging to certain ethnic and cultural groups are able to get through the admission process. Most of those who attend the church with me feel strongly that admission process is developed in a manner that favors certain groups, and despite all the merit and skills required to get into top universities, not many American Koreans are able to get through this. (Kibria, 30) There have been significant decisions by universities such as Yale and Harvard wherein minimum SAT scores were increased for the immigrants or for the applicants with English as the second language. The affirmative action as well as the University of California’s proposition 209 affected many Asian American students. In 1984, UC Berkley removed approximately 25% of the Asian American students from the list of unrepresented minorities who qualify under the affirmative action. (Hsia 129) Asian Americans, in general, require 140 more points on SAT, compared to White students. This is often based upon the notion of declaring race during the admission process. IVY League institutions are particularly more demanding in this regard. Such episodes leave a strong message that they may not be welcomed at particular institutions; therefore, they should reconsider their overall ambitions to get into the school of their preferences and choices. In the overall process, they play an important role of being culturally victimized of the crimes they actually have never committed. (Kim, 230). This cultural aspect, however, may also be attributed to the way the second generation has actually been trained and developed. The first generation, i.e. the parents, despite being part of the American society failed to integrate themselves into it and also could not facilitate their children to properly integrate into the mainstream American society. This factor also distinguishes the group from others because of their lack of trust and better integration into the overall mainstream American society. Same perceptions are being carried out when American Koreans actually apply for admissions. There is generally a greater perception among the Asian Americans as well as the American Koreans who feel that universities as well as colleges have set a higher bar on the admission process. There is therefore the automatic segregation of the American Koreans in the overall admission process at the universities of the country (Hurh 45). Many American Koreans, whom I met during my church sessions, speak about their cultural identity and how it has actually been reflected in the overall process of admission. Many parents as well as those who are entering the colleges and universities actually indicate about the racial differences and the strong influence of identity in the overall process of admission. Personally, Korean American students also tend to prefer to have a more conducive political environment on the campuses to easily accommodate themselves. In order to achieve this objective, more focus is being placed on those institutions where earlier generations of Korean American students have already defined the political identity and are now part of the mainstream politics at the campuses. It is also critical to understand that the experiences of American Koreans in colleges, their supposed relationships with other students in the colleges as well as their love affairs critically outline as to how stereotype still exists for American Koreans in the country. Since most of such intimate relationships existing between American Koreans and white girls end at the split therefore, many potential students willing to go through the admission process tend to have such bias towards certain institutions before applying. This has been a regular feature in the lives of many individuals I know and it has created a same sense of aloofness from the overall admission process. Many potential students with relatively good understanding feel pressurized to adapt some of the ways in which American society operates. However, what they face in colleges and universities may be entirely different from what they expect (Hsia 124). There are various reasons for the same, and it is really quite interesting to see multiple factors at play which define the overall behaviors and attitudes of Korean Americans or American Koreans towards the overall admission process. Many of the people in my church continue to expect that their children should bring in high entrance exam scores so that they can end up at best universities. One of the key reasons therefore is that many people I know carry certain expectations when they enter the overall admission process. American Korean parents are demanding for their children, therefore this strict expectations from the parents carry a distinct cultural identity for American Koreans when they apply for admissions. It is also critical to note that many Koreans drop out from the universities because of their failure to uphold the expectations of their parents. It has therefore has almost become a cultural identity for Korean students that their parents are demanding in nature (Takagi 65). A son of my father’s friend failed to get into a top school because the school could not provide an opportunity to get into the best one. One of the significant challenges is to integrate into the American society and be part of its inner working. Many of the American Koreans carry the perception that they will not be able to integrate themselves into mainstream society. This also means that students seek to place themselves in the institutions which can offer them an opportunity to better integrate. But, given the fact that most of the love affairs of American Koreans fail and they are unable to be integrated into the close friendship circles of White friends, they feel more compulsive to find places where they can find similar environment. My experience therefore indicates the deep resentment, as well as the deep sense of bias in American Koreans when they apply for the admissions. This bias is a result of deep resentment towards the American society as such and may also be the direct result of some other factors which influence the way Koreans decide about the overall process of admission. During a recent chat with a group of parents, I also came to understand the overall perception of the parents about their children and what they expect from their children. Children however, are sandwiched between the pressures of their parents as well as the demands of the modern American society. This cultural identity has emerged now and is a very much part of the overall perception carried by the students while applying for admission. It is therefore critical that the parents should critically focus upon making their children part of the overall American society. American Koreans with their particular history in the country may be carrying those perceptions with them for admission. Works Cited Choi, Anne Soon. Korean Americans. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2007. Golden, Daniel. The Price of Admission: How America's Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges--and Who Gets Left Outside the Gates. New York: Broadway, 2007. Hastings, Max. Korean War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988. Hsia, Jayjia. "Limits of Affirmative Action: Asian American Access to Higher Education." Educational Policy 2.2 (1998): 117-136. Hurh, Won M. The Korean Americans. Washington: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. Kibria, Nazli. "College and Notions of “Asian American”: Second-Generation Chinese and Korean Americans Negotiate Race and Identity." Amerasia Journal 25.1 (1999): 29-51. Kim, Eun-Young. "Career Choice among Second-Generation Korean-Americans: Reflections of a Cultural Model of Success." Anthropology & Education Quarterly 24.3 (1993): 224–248. Suarez-Orozco, Marcelo M., Carola Suarez-Orozco and Desiree Qin-Hilliard. nterdisciplinary Perspectives on the New Immigration: The New Immigrant in American Society. New York: Routledge, 2001. Takagi, Dana Y. The retreat from race: Asian-American admissions and racial politics. NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1992. Read More