Korean-Americans Essay Example for Free

Korean-Americans Essay Korean-Americans are increasingly rising in number and have established their own communities in the different parts of the country (Lee, p. 21). They usually settle in the country as entrepreneurs and prosper in this endeavor. The highest concentration of Korean-Americans can be found in California, in the 1990’s census the Korean population in the state was 32. 5% (Min Pyong, p. 33). The increase in number of Korean-Americans in California can be attributed to the fact that it is geographically closer to their homeland and it has a mild climate, moreover, new immigrants may want to live in areas where there is already and existing Korean community. Koreans migrate to the U. S. hoping that they can provide better futures for their children, to enable them to have a better chance at going to college and better employment opportunities for them. Most of those who come to America are from the upper-middle class in Korea and are well-educated. Initially, Koreans live in apartments where the neighborhood is predominantly Korean, then after a few years, they move out to the suburbs to have their own homes. Owning a home is often equated with the first sign of realizing their American dream. In this connection, the Korean-American group did not differ in their perceptions of home ownership with the Northern California informants of Towsend’s which reported that home ownership symbolizes success and social standing (1999, p. 1). The similarity of their views may be due to the fact that most Korean Americans are generally well-educated and have higher social standing in their own country where they are accustomed to having their own homes. The groups are also similar in their choice of residence, which is in the suburbs. The suburbs according to Towsend have become a physical and moral separation from the city which is considered to be unsafe and full of violence (1999, p. 2), it can be said that the Korean Americans choose to have their homes in the suburbs because it signifies that they are becoming assimilated into the American Housing the good life Page #2 community, where they want their children to have the same opportunities as American children have. Towsend’s informants also revealed that although a home represents independence and self-sufficiency, most of them are in debt and are tied to their jobs in order to pay off their debts (1999, p. 3). However, for the Korean-Americans I interviewed, they emphasized that one must strive first to raise the amount needed to buy a house rather than to incur debts. The two groups may have differed in this respect because the Korean Americans in this particular group are entrepreneurs and they are more financially-wise than their American counterparts. To illustrate, most Korean-Americans run their own stores and family members help in the running of the store without being paid in order to keep labor costs at a minimum. The family is highly valued by Korean Americans and parents desire to send their children to the best schools thus they usually prefer suburbs that are closer to the schools or universities they send their children to, whereas the Towsend group use their time commuting from work to their homes and fail to â€Å"be there† for their children (1999, p. 4). The difference in the groups responses indicate the difference in the values that the group espouse, to the Korean American, education is seen as the best way to be successful while to the American informants, owning a home in a specific neighborhood spells success wherein the good provider outweighs being a more involved father. As Towsend (1999, p. 4) found, home ownership has become an integral part of family life. Having a home is equated to being a good family man, a good provider and hence a good father. But as shown by my interview, there are cultural underpinnings in the perceptions of home ownership and that it warrants further research. Although the group I interviewed is small in number, the ideas they have shared nonetheless offer a new way of thinking about the sociological impact of owning a home. Bibliography Lee, Lauren. Korean Americans. Marshall Cavendish Corporation, New York,. p. 21;1995 Min, Pyong Gap. Caught in the Middle: Korean Communities in New York and Los Angeles. University of California Press, Los Angeles, Table 2, p. 33;1996 Towsend, N. Housing the good life. Anthropology Newsletter, 40, 1 pp1-4; 1999 Yu, Eui-Young. Korean Community Profile: Life and Consumer Patterns. Korea Times, Los Angeles, p. 28; 1990.