Files
Abstract
This dissertation presents a portrait of Korean American community organizations in metropolitan Chicago, focusing on their provision of direct services, community advocacy, and cultural programming for Korean American and other immigrant populations. It explores how these organizations have been rhythming with the community to respond to the needs of coethnic members while gradually expanding their pulse of sharing beyond the community’s original boundaries. As the community’s history has lengthened in the United States, these organizations have been mandated to move beyond an ethno-specific mission and operate within the multicultural and multiracial contexts of American society. Some specific examples of this outward engagement include providing services to Latinos and other immigrants residing near their facilities and mediating the conflict between Korean American merchants and African American residents in the inner city during the 1990s. The chapters examine senior services, community health, cultural programs, advocacy and organizing, a revisit to the Black–Korean conflict, and racism and discrimination experienced by the community, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each chapter presents a distinctive vignette, yet together they form a coherent and integrated narrative. Four key ideas run as an undercurrent throughout the study: (1) post-settlement as a way of life for the aging first generation, reflecting on their immigrant journey, now pausing to appreciate leisure and share their resources, while acknowledging their limitations and finding contentment; (2) the increasing salience of transnational cultural flows from Korea; (3) the calling of community organizations as an embodiment of coethnic empathy in providing services to Korean Americans; and (4) the expansion of coethnic empathy into broader immigrant empathy, extending to all immigrants and their children. While this study examines the Korean American community as a whole, it places particular emphasis on the immigrant generation and its less privileged members. This ethnographic study draws on fieldnotes and personal reflections from my long-term involvement in the community. Although the portrait may emphasize the positive over the negative, it strives to maintain objectivity. Ultimately, this dissertation seeks to offer insights for the future growth and development of the Korean American community.