Asian American Business: Korean American Experience - Book Report/Review Example

?Q1. Korean American entrepreneurship set its foot firmly by utilizing opportunities that ranged from the sale of garments, to liquor and high tech industry. Moreover, it strengthened from the utilization of ‘body labour’ – labour that dealt with providing services in industries such as salons and nail parlours. Such services were usually targeted at upper-class white females and later came to be associated with middle-class residents of the area as well. The US economy also faced a shift over time. Whereas earlier people belonging to various ethnicities only provided certain, low-income services now they became part of the technological boom. With this shift the role of the Korean Americans became more transnational. In the 70s and 80s the Korean Americans formed around eighteen per cent of the factory work force which amounted to a total of 130,000. With the advent in education, English speaking Korean Americans came to be installed as supervisors in factories. Educational opportunities for women proved beneficial in the regard that married partners living together could both earn their own living and hence contribute towards the financial strong hold of their family. Small businesses sprang up in various parts of Korean American establishments which were quite often spearheaded by women who were becoming more economically independent. The 1990s saw the emergence of the dot com bubble burst which coincided with the demand of Korean American scientists and engineers. American multinationals took to expanding their businesses in different parts of the globe, South Korean being one of them. This initiated a long-term working relationship with the Koreans and proved beneficial for Korean Americans. However, there was a polarization between Korean Americans who took up working in small-business set-ups and those who were a part of the factory working class. The realization of the Korean American dream could not be possible for about one-third of the population. While it is important to note that the Korean American population largely gained from the economic working shift in the United States, it is also true that not everyone benefited from this shift. Q.2 A look at the marriage patterns of the recent Asian American marriages indicates that more Asian Americans took to marrying inter-ethnically rather than inter-racially 80s onwards. The ‘identity shift’ that Lee talks about was inspired by the image embraced by Asian Americans. Settling in the United States, the ‘host country’ their identity was earlier of being ‘Asian American’. The need to construct an identity that was more racially open led to pan-ethnic marriages. Moreover with the increasing educational opportunities for Korean Americans, it became possible for them to interact with people belonging to other ethnicities and races. This increased interpersonal interaction on college campuses was one contributing factor. It is interesting to note that even amongst the Korean Americans there is a difference of opinion regarding co-ethnic marriage. The working class Korean Americans do not consider their ethnic identity a major part during the selection of their partner, while the middle-class Korean Americans consider it to be integral. For many Korean Americans, becoming part of the American culture and embracing the various socio-economic commonalities of the culture became important so as to override their sense of ethnic identity. Socioeconomic factors played a large role in determining a suitable marriage partner for many Korean Americans, since the rapidly developing world with its multi-layered lifestyle demanded a relationship based on sound socio-economic grounds. For lesbian and gay Korean Americans, the way towards realizing the fulfilment of their desires within the confines of marriage were to seek partners outside their Korean heritage and ethnicity since LGBTs were not considered a part of the Korean community. There was a strong influence of the Evangelical church on the Korean community whose effects can still be seen in various Korean American establishments. The issue of gender with regard to the female sex is a vital indicator. Nemoto notes that the interracial relationships that form basis of interaction between white men and Asian women have been subjected to racial stereotypes whereby Asian women submit to violence by White men. There also emerges the complex relationship between power and sexual desire as experienced by Asian women in regard to co-ethnic marriage and the reason why Asian women are more likely to marry someone outside their ethnicity than Asian males. Many times the white male was viewed as being the provider of emotional and financial stability and certain critics feel that this view of the relationship between the white man and the Asian woman is reflective of the neo-colonial dynamics between the United States and Philippines. Q.3 Many times when growing up in a country that is ethically different from one’s origins it becomes imperative to imbibe in both children and adults a sense of their history so as to give them a perspective of their two-dimensional existence. The confrontation of mixed social acceptance is key to living in tandem with one’s surroundings and Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance (KIWA) is one such organization which makes it possible. The organization of Korean workers under one banner works to give these low-wage immigrants a sense of belonging and dignity. KIWA works on various levels, from fundraising to campaigns related to Health and Safety, to justice for market workers and even the preparation of SAT for interested workers. The main idea that drives KIWA is globalization and how it has affected the Korean immigrants. With the resultant privatization of most sectors of the economy, well-paid jobs have become scarce. KIWA’s aims have been to find a ground of solid income for displaced workers and moreover allow workers to benefit from the work that they’re involved in. This has been achieved by targeting the service industry which has a huge demand in Los Angeles. Both the supermarket industry and the restaurant industry was targeted by KIWA in order to work in favour of the Korean American employees who benefited from the newly instated better wages after KIWA’s campaigns. In effect, KIWA has managed to work for the betterment of the Korean Americans on various fronts. Q.4 a) Nancy Ablemann’s account of the struggle that Korean Americans have to undergo in order to live out their lives in the United States is documented from the perspective of Korean American students from the University of Illinois, alone. The Korean American students face the charge of ‘self-segregation’ heaped upon them by their white counter parts who consider their drive for success as a contributory factor. However, Ablemann’s research showcases various accounts by Korean American students who want to be distinguished from their families. Abelmann makes use of ethnographic research that allows her subjects, the students, to speak out clearly the issues they’ve faced so far. It might be that some details may have been glossed over by researchers in hopes that their study seems more relevant to the topic that it really is – however, Abelmann takes care to include personal accounts which are authentic and genuine. The book is helpful in taking in to account the stories of Korean American students belonging to different economic background and then considering their relationships with students belonging to a mix of socio-economic backgrounds, race and cultures. While Korean American students enrol in colleges to openly explore new choices and different paths of actions, Ablemann argues that this is not the case – in fact, most Korean American students end up having a dissatisfied college experience. It is interesting to note that University of Illinois, on which the book is based at, is primarily composed of Caucasian Americans with only a small percentage (about five hundred students) of Korean Americans attending the university. Ablemann brings forth the idea that in actuality, it is the Caucasian American students who end up benefiting in their interactions with the Korean American students and the new horizons and experiences that they have to offer rather than the other way round. Perhaps, had her focus been centred on a university more ethnically welcoming than the University of Illinois, Ablemann’s study would have attracted different results. b) As stated earlier, Ablemann’s research would yield different results were it to be applied to a more ethnically diverse university such as University of California, Los Angeles. With a 35 per cent Asian American student population, 14 per cent Hispanic and 39 per cent White and 8 per cent international students, UCLA has a much more diverse student body as compared to the University of Illinois. For this reason, the university going experience of the Korean American students at UCLA would be expected to be better. While the complexity of racial interactions is not expected to change, the way those questions are handled is expected to be different. Most UCLA Korean American students would not be a part of the ‘minority’ per se, as in the case of the study carried out by Abelmann. In fact, Korean American students form a major part of the student population – this allows them to interact both inter-racially and intra-racially. Abelmann’s contention that Asian American students are criticized for self-segregation would be the core issue at the heart of any questioning carried out at UCLA. Students who are academically and economically driven would perhaps quality for a self-imposed segregation of sorts – however, most students would just see this as racial profiling. Q5. a) While the 1992 Los Angeles Riots were sparked on account of the African American Rodeny King, the riots quickly escalated to encompass other ethnicities living within Los Angeles. According to estimates, around 2,300 Korean-owned business suffered heavy property losses with the damage estimated at almost fifty per cent of the total damage born by the city of Los Angeles. During the riots, this turned out to be on a large scale, rioters went about setting fires to business centres and destroying public property along with looting shops and markets. Most of the shops targeted during riots belonged to Korean American settlers in Los Angeles. Fifteen per cent of Korean American students dropped out of college once the riots were stopped. Majority of the victims who were either emotionally or physically abused during the riots were Korean Americans and formed nearly half of the population that suffered financial losses as a result of the riots. It is important to take note that the Black and Hispanic settlers banded together during riots to protest against the system they abhorred and more importantly their banding together to target the Korean American population, viewed as the seat of power and exploitation, is cognizant of the socio-economic gaps felt by the Los Angeles immigrant population at the time. b) The riots were based in South Central Los Angeles, mostly composed of African American and Hispanic settlers. As the underlying cause for the riots is stated to be the simmering racial tensions between African Americans and Korean Americans for the perceived injustice by Korean Americans towards African American workers, the Latin Americans banded with African Americans in order to fight against the system. Both African Americans and Latin Americans were unhappy with the treatment of their Korean supervisors as well as the low wages paid to workers. After the unrest, some African American workers were laid off by their Korean supervisors. Interestingly, some African American workers felt an affinity towards their Korean shopkeepers and this then led to efforts by both communities to bridge the gaps between both ethnicities by interacting with each other and making things easier for each other. For Latin Americans the case was worse than African Americans. Their representation in the political set-up almost amounted to non-existence. In South Central Los Angeles, the Latin Americans comprised almost seventy per cent of the population yet they lacked access to good jobs and schooling opportunities. After the unrest their situation deteriorated. Latinos had to undergo not only economic but also emotional and psychological damages. While some lost jobs, others were openly killed on the streets. It was also a lot harder for Latin Americans to obtain insurance premium. Moreover, Latin Americans were subjected to the racial stereotyping of being looters and marauders – which apparently sticks to this day. Read More