crossposted.
This trip has been eye-opening in many ways. I’ve reaffirmed my distaste for traveling, discovered that the ability to speak Korean is impressively useless to ever-present Chinese and Japanese-speaking tourists, and realized that becoming a Korean history go-to guy may not be in the cards for me.
It’s not that I didn’t enjoy myself; well, actually, maybe that’s precisely it. Yes, I didn’t enjoy myself. But, I must allow into consideration that I had many factors stacked against me. Taking a travel-hating country boy far away from the comfort of long, open highways, the Dallas Mavericks and locally brewed Shiner Bock, I was already cranky by the time I left Dallas. Away from my picturesque wife and stunningly sweet little girl, I was missing home mere moments after takeoff. I attempted to remedy this by calling and/or texting every five seconds. Think I went over on my minute plan. Is that even possible anymore?
Regardless, traveling is expensive I usually don’t feel more enlightened as a person after I get back. I usually just feel a little fussy. I mean, really? An eighteen dollar hamburger? What do you mean twenty five dollar “checked baggage” fee? And you, how do you sleep at night, Mr. Overpriced Surfing Instructor? I didn’t mean to put my head through your windsurfing sail; it just happened during one of many falls off your one hundred thirty dollar windsailing board. You don’t have to rub my nose in it. I already did that, clearly.
Secondly, I didn’t know anyone at the conference other than my hotel rooming buddy. All other social engagement responsibility rested solely on my sunburned shoulders. I tend to give up easily when it comes to making friends. Call me shyly introverted, please, but don’t call me cynical; I’d hate to start avoiding you, too. Making friends is hard.
Finally, and most importantly, I was out of my professional element. I was at a conference with some of the world’s most brilliant academics; men and women who have dedicated the better part of their lives on a hyper-specified subject that has questionable real-life application. Multilingual and perfectly drilled to recall random facts and figures, I was but an unwelcome fly on the wall.
The conference was for Asian studies academics, which I am not. I knew that going into it but I didn’t realize the level of detail and hair-splitting involved with post-doctoral panels pursuing the difference between 노예 and 노비 or Joseon dynasty codes of punishment; let alone arguing the value of said distinctions over the course of several hours. In truth, I found several panels delightfully stimulating while others seduced me into believing I was at my grandmother’s house relaxing in the back bedroom on Thanksgiving; the only place on Earth capable of bringing even the most pill-popping, energy-drink fueled teenager to a gentle lull. Some non-native speakers spoke almost poetically while others struggled to finish a coherent sentence. Some had dazzling visuals while others monotonously read right off their paper with nary a powerpoint slide or handout. Shame.
Most of all, I found myself in utter mediocrity. The “Independent Scholar” label stamped on my name badge was ambiguously mysterious and erroneously led to some asking when I finished my dissertation. I humbly corrected them by meekly replying that being an “Independent Scholar” actually meant that I was a bottom feeder located snugly at the bottom of the academic food chain – just above summer interns but decidedly below pretentious first year grad students.
What could I have expected, though? I haven’t formally studied anything yet. I suppose that the aspect of trying to hang with the big boys in the future is almost too much to live up to. No matter if I started grad school today would I ever be able to live up to some of the panelists I met. Yes, I’ve read their books. Yes, they are rock stars to my world. No, I can never match their linguistic ability let alone academic ability. I am Jack’s sense of defeat.
I’ve rethought my (future) position very much this past week. It all comes down to a few basic questions that are still not adequately answered: What am I? Who am I? Am I a school teacher? A future professor? A would-be scholar? Am I a sailor? Or am I just a husband? A father? A family guy? Is there room for a real balance?
When I get in ruts like this, I try to count the good in my life and I’m relieved to be able to list so many blessings. I’ve got a good job, a good looking future job with the Navy, health insurance, a car, clothes on my back, a college degree, and, most importantly, an incredible family. I am the world’s luckiest guy just to know my wife and daughter, let alone be a part of their lives. I got it good, it’s just not the same type of good that I was aspiring to.
I know that graduate school is still very much a goal for me, but as far as what type of profession I want to get into later in life, which specific field of Korean studies do I want to focus on, or if I even want to go past the master’s and go for the PhD is still up in the air. I come away from this a little more wise and a lot more open to possibilities. Oh, and sunburned and jet lagged. That too.
Monday, 4 April 2011
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Not Forgotten
What's that you say? I've given up on the Korean studies? Not a chance!
However, teaching fourth grade doesn't exactly give me a lot of free time to pursue the passions, now does it? Take that plus a little baby due next month and there you have a perfect reason for why nothing seems to have gotten done.
How I miss the free time allotted to English teaching in Korea. I could knock out a book in a month; now I'm more like a book every three.
However, I am approaching a career change that just might give me the chance to not only study independently but to go to graduate school. More on that later.
Have faith and stay tuned!
However, teaching fourth grade doesn't exactly give me a lot of free time to pursue the passions, now does it? Take that plus a little baby due next month and there you have a perfect reason for why nothing seems to have gotten done.
How I miss the free time allotted to English teaching in Korea. I could knock out a book in a month; now I'm more like a book every three.
However, I am approaching a career change that just might give me the chance to not only study independently but to go to graduate school. More on that later.
Have faith and stay tuned!
Friday, 17 December 2010
December Link Dump
- Perfect timing. Just as I email Charles over at Korean Modern Literature in Translation for a request, he publishes this excellent newbie's guide to Korean literature. Read. Absorb.
- Psst. Knock it off already.
- Ah the Gapsin Coup. Always an interesting topic.
- Learned a lot about the Tokyo Rose the other day.
Happy Holidays. Miss you, Korea. Here's a laugh for you.
- Psst. Knock it off already.
- Ah the Gapsin Coup. Always an interesting topic.
- Learned a lot about the Tokyo Rose the other day.
Happy Holidays. Miss you, Korea. Here's a laugh for you.
Monday, 15 November 2010
AAS 70th Annual Conference
Who's got two thumbs and going to be in Hawaii from March 31st to April 3rd?
This guy.
I somehow convinced my loving, supportive and incredibly pregnant wife to let me go to the 70th Annual Conference put on by the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). Not only does 2011's event plan to be the biggest it has ever been boasting three times the amount of presenters, it will also be jointly hosted by the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS). What does all this mean for an aspiring Korean historian? History Nerd Overload. I can't wait.
This will be an especially memorable event for me because my new job has taken up virtually all available time to do the things I'd like to do. This is a real treat. I know that AAS will have other conferences in the future but this one really seems like it'll be one to remember. Sure the flight ticket is unnecessarily expensive, I have to take off quite a chunk of work to attend and the conference just happens to be taking place roughly two weeks after the birth of our daughter, but hey, why not, right?
If you'll be there too, shoot me an email or a comment and let's meet up.
UPDATE: Thoughts on conference.
This guy.
I somehow convinced my loving, supportive and incredibly pregnant wife to let me go to the 70th Annual Conference put on by the Association for Asian Studies (AAS). Not only does 2011's event plan to be the biggest it has ever been boasting three times the amount of presenters, it will also be jointly hosted by the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS). What does all this mean for an aspiring Korean historian? History Nerd Overload. I can't wait.
This will be an especially memorable event for me because my new job has taken up virtually all available time to do the things I'd like to do. This is a real treat. I know that AAS will have other conferences in the future but this one really seems like it'll be one to remember. Sure the flight ticket is unnecessarily expensive, I have to take off quite a chunk of work to attend and the conference just happens to be taking place roughly two weeks after the birth of our daughter, but hey, why not, right?
If you'll be there too, shoot me an email or a comment and let's meet up.
UPDATE: Thoughts on conference.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Statistics on Foreigners in Korea
*This is actually a few year-old post from my personal blog migrated here for keepsake.
I ran across a Marmot's Hole entry that finally gave me the data I have been looking for. I have been super curious as to the actual teaching credentials held by in-service English teachers in Korea. The results weren't surprising, but I was hoping the for the best. Anyways, here's the situation:
20.5% are classified as certified teachers
37.4% hold TESOL certifications
5.4% hold both TESOL and teaching certifications
16.8% hold degrees related to English education
12.6% hold education degrees
48.0% hold a degree not related to teaching whatsoever
I understand that I am a minority in believing that teachers of any subject should be qualified; and by qualified I mean hold educational degrees. I also recognize that some teachers who hold education degrees shouldn't be teaching at all while others who hold a non-related degree are great in front of kids. However, I still stand by my opinion that children in any country deserve the best possible education.
-Thanks again to the Marmot's Hole, here are some numbers of current E-2 holders as of October, 2008:
15,238 Americans
10,111 Canadians
3,021 Britons
1,412 South Africans
1,162 New Zealanders
1,158 Australians
1,051 Chinese
978 Japanese
626 Irish
56 French
-per Galbijim
Only about half of native English speakers working at Seoul schools have renewed their contracts for 2009.
According to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Tuesday, 144 of 273 foreign English teachers who were eligible for a renewal of their contract have signed to stay on another year.
Last year, the city education office also saw about half of its foreign teachers renew their one-year contract, however, it had only 11 who had more than three years teaching experience.
-per Marmot's Hole
"There are an estimated 30,000 foreigners teaching English in Korea. Only 16,000 have E-2 visas, making most of the rest illegal. The problem is that authorities find it difficult to crack down on the illegal teachers, and rely primarily on tips."
-per Korea Herald
The city government information office (서울시 정보화기획단) announced on the 19th that the population of Seoul has increased for the last five years consecutively, reaching 10.45 million people at the end of last year. On December 31st, 2008, there were 10,456,034 citizens and holders of alien registration cards in the city, 34,252 more people than at the end of 2007. 76.3% of the new residents are foreigners, of whom 23,204, or 88.7%, are either Chinese or Chinese of Korean descent (조선족). With the global economy having fallen in the fourth quarter, the growth of the foreign population also paused, decreasing some 3,689 people.
There were 96,241 births in Seoul last year, 3,866 fewer than the 10,107 in 2007. The falling birth rate has thus reversed after increases in 2006 and 2007. 2006 saw a boom in marriages and births after being called auspicious by astrologers and 2007 was a golden pig year, but the effects of those years have disappeared and the birth rate is following suit, the report said.
-per Galbijim
The Ministry of Justice announced Sunday it will allow only nationals of countries including English as an official language that have signed an agreement with Korea to work as assistant English teachers from next year.
The Justice Ministry is currently working on the agreement with India and expects it to be signed next year. So far, only the nationals of seven countries whose mother tongue is English — Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States — have been eligible to work as native English teachers.
With the new measure, member countries will be expanded to include the likes of India, the Philippines and Singapore, where English is one of their many official languages. Currently, there are 4,332 native English assistant teachers in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide.
However, nationals of such countries will have to meet tougher qualification requirements than those from the countries where the mother tongue is English. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has decided to make both a teacher’s license and a bachelor’s degree in an English-related major as prerequisites. Nationals of the seven countries whose mother tongue is English have much more lenient requirement of having graduated from a two-year community college or having finished at least two years of a four-year university course.
A qualification to teach in private English institutes will continue to be limited to nationals of the seven countries.
-per Chosun Ilbo
As of April last year, 63,952 foreign students were studying at Korean universities -- more than five times the 12,314 registered in 2003.
Foreign students studying in Korea are overwhelmingly Asian, accounting for 92 percent of the total. Chinese students number 44,740 or 70 percent, Japanese 3,324 (5.2 percent), Mongolese 2,022 (3.2 percent), and Vietnamese 1,817 (2.8 percent). In contrast, American and Canadian students take up just 3.3 percent of the total and European students 2.4 percent.
-per Chosun Ilbo
Children from multicultural families are becoming a common sight in many Korean neighborhoods, with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security finding last May that there were 140,000 foreign spouses here, accounting for 16.2 percent of the total of about 640,000 foreign residents. Most, or 120,000, were women.
The number of children under 18 from such families was about 58,000, soaring from only 25,000 in 2006 and 44,000 in 2007.
Chinese Koreans accounted for the majority of foreign spouses, followed by Vietnamese, Japanese and Filipinos.
According to the National Statistical Office, foreign-born women accounted for 71.5 percent of spouses from overseas and men for 28.5 percent in multicultural marriages between 1997 and 2007. The majority of children or 57.1 percent were under six, and 32.2 percent were between six and 12, meaning children under 12 accounted for 89.3 percent.
Many of them find it difficult to fit in, often because they do not speak Korean well, are uncertain of their cultural identity and come from poor families. Most Korean men who marry Asian women are from rural areas, and the marriages often do not last.
-per Chosun Ilbo
The law requires those wishing to obtain the E-2 visa to submit a police certificate of their personal criminal history issued in the country of citizenship or residence and stamped by the Korean embassy. The new version also requires the applicants to hand in a health certificate to show the person has no infectious or sexually transmitted diseases, and a transcript from the last educational institution attended in a sealed envelope.
-per ROK Drop
The number of international marriages between South Korean citizens and foreign nationals increased from 12,188 in 1998 to 38,491 in 2007.
-per Korea Beat
...The number of foreigners registered in our country has quadrupled over the past eight years, and the number of intermarriages between Koreans and foreigners has increased 250% over the past six years...
-per Chosun Ilbo
...There are now more than 120,000 foreign wives who are married to Korean men and living in Korea. International marriages accounted for 11.1 percent of the country's total matrimony in 2007 -- one in nine couples being multicultural. Over 58,000 babies were born into multicultural families. Korea has briskly become multicultural...
-per the Marmot
"The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.
According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation’s entire population of 49,593,665."
-per ROK Drop
The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.
According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation’s entire population of 49,593,665.
“The double-digit increase is attributable to the inclusion of overseas Koreans who have lived in Korea for an extended period of time,” a ministry official said. Previously, they were excluded from the survey.
More than 60 percent of the foreign population live in Seoul and its vicinity ? 30.3 percent reside in Seoul, 29.3 percent in Gyeonggi Province and 5.6 percent in Incheon
I ran across a Marmot's Hole entry that finally gave me the data I have been looking for. I have been super curious as to the actual teaching credentials held by in-service English teachers in Korea. The results weren't surprising, but I was hoping the for the best. Anyways, here's the situation:
20.5% are classified as certified teachers
37.4% hold TESOL certifications
5.4% hold both TESOL and teaching certifications
16.8% hold degrees related to English education
12.6% hold education degrees
48.0% hold a degree not related to teaching whatsoever
I understand that I am a minority in believing that teachers of any subject should be qualified; and by qualified I mean hold educational degrees. I also recognize that some teachers who hold education degrees shouldn't be teaching at all while others who hold a non-related degree are great in front of kids. However, I still stand by my opinion that children in any country deserve the best possible education.
-Thanks again to the Marmot's Hole, here are some numbers of current E-2 holders as of October, 2008:
15,238 Americans
10,111 Canadians
3,021 Britons
1,412 South Africans
1,162 New Zealanders
1,158 Australians
1,051 Chinese
978 Japanese
626 Irish
56 French
-per Galbijim
Only about half of native English speakers working at Seoul schools have renewed their contracts for 2009.
According to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Tuesday, 144 of 273 foreign English teachers who were eligible for a renewal of their contract have signed to stay on another year.
Last year, the city education office also saw about half of its foreign teachers renew their one-year contract, however, it had only 11 who had more than three years teaching experience.
-per Marmot's Hole
"There are an estimated 30,000 foreigners teaching English in Korea. Only 16,000 have E-2 visas, making most of the rest illegal. The problem is that authorities find it difficult to crack down on the illegal teachers, and rely primarily on tips."
-per Korea Herald
The city government information office (서울시 정보화기획단) announced on the 19th that the population of Seoul has increased for the last five years consecutively, reaching 10.45 million people at the end of last year. On December 31st, 2008, there were 10,456,034 citizens and holders of alien registration cards in the city, 34,252 more people than at the end of 2007. 76.3% of the new residents are foreigners, of whom 23,204, or 88.7%, are either Chinese or Chinese of Korean descent (조선족). With the global economy having fallen in the fourth quarter, the growth of the foreign population also paused, decreasing some 3,689 people.
There were 96,241 births in Seoul last year, 3,866 fewer than the 10,107 in 2007. The falling birth rate has thus reversed after increases in 2006 and 2007. 2006 saw a boom in marriages and births after being called auspicious by astrologers and 2007 was a golden pig year, but the effects of those years have disappeared and the birth rate is following suit, the report said.
-per Galbijim
The Ministry of Justice announced Sunday it will allow only nationals of countries including English as an official language that have signed an agreement with Korea to work as assistant English teachers from next year.
The Justice Ministry is currently working on the agreement with India and expects it to be signed next year. So far, only the nationals of seven countries whose mother tongue is English — Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States — have been eligible to work as native English teachers.
With the new measure, member countries will be expanded to include the likes of India, the Philippines and Singapore, where English is one of their many official languages. Currently, there are 4,332 native English assistant teachers in elementary, middle and high schools nationwide.
However, nationals of such countries will have to meet tougher qualification requirements than those from the countries where the mother tongue is English. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology has decided to make both a teacher’s license and a bachelor’s degree in an English-related major as prerequisites. Nationals of the seven countries whose mother tongue is English have much more lenient requirement of having graduated from a two-year community college or having finished at least two years of a four-year university course.
A qualification to teach in private English institutes will continue to be limited to nationals of the seven countries.
-per Chosun Ilbo
As of April last year, 63,952 foreign students were studying at Korean universities -- more than five times the 12,314 registered in 2003.
Foreign students studying in Korea are overwhelmingly Asian, accounting for 92 percent of the total. Chinese students number 44,740 or 70 percent, Japanese 3,324 (5.2 percent), Mongolese 2,022 (3.2 percent), and Vietnamese 1,817 (2.8 percent). In contrast, American and Canadian students take up just 3.3 percent of the total and European students 2.4 percent.
-per Chosun Ilbo
Children from multicultural families are becoming a common sight in many Korean neighborhoods, with the Ministry of Public Administration and Security finding last May that there were 140,000 foreign spouses here, accounting for 16.2 percent of the total of about 640,000 foreign residents. Most, or 120,000, were women.
The number of children under 18 from such families was about 58,000, soaring from only 25,000 in 2006 and 44,000 in 2007.
Chinese Koreans accounted for the majority of foreign spouses, followed by Vietnamese, Japanese and Filipinos.
According to the National Statistical Office, foreign-born women accounted for 71.5 percent of spouses from overseas and men for 28.5 percent in multicultural marriages between 1997 and 2007. The majority of children or 57.1 percent were under six, and 32.2 percent were between six and 12, meaning children under 12 accounted for 89.3 percent.
Many of them find it difficult to fit in, often because they do not speak Korean well, are uncertain of their cultural identity and come from poor families. Most Korean men who marry Asian women are from rural areas, and the marriages often do not last.
-per Chosun Ilbo
The law requires those wishing to obtain the E-2 visa to submit a police certificate of their personal criminal history issued in the country of citizenship or residence and stamped by the Korean embassy. The new version also requires the applicants to hand in a health certificate to show the person has no infectious or sexually transmitted diseases, and a transcript from the last educational institution attended in a sealed envelope.
-per ROK Drop
The number of international marriages between South Korean citizens and foreign nationals increased from 12,188 in 1998 to 38,491 in 2007.
-per Korea Beat
...The number of foreigners registered in our country has quadrupled over the past eight years, and the number of intermarriages between Koreans and foreigners has increased 250% over the past six years...
-per Chosun Ilbo
...There are now more than 120,000 foreign wives who are married to Korean men and living in Korea. International marriages accounted for 11.1 percent of the country's total matrimony in 2007 -- one in nine couples being multicultural. Over 58,000 babies were born into multicultural families. Korea has briskly become multicultural...
-per the Marmot
"The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.
According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation’s entire population of 49,593,665."
-per ROK Drop
The number of foreigners based in Korea has exceeded one million for the first time, up 24 percent, or 215,543, from the previous year, a survey said Wednesday.
According to the one-month study conducted in May by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, there are currently 1,106,884 foreigners residing in the nation, accounting for 2.2 percent of the nation’s entire population of 49,593,665.
“The double-digit increase is attributable to the inclusion of overseas Koreans who have lived in Korea for an extended period of time,” a ministry official said. Previously, they were excluded from the survey.
More than 60 percent of the foreign population live in Seoul and its vicinity ? 30.3 percent reside in Seoul, 29.3 percent in Gyeonggi Province and 5.6 percent in Incheon
Thursday, 28 October 2010
October Link Dump
- This is just stupid. Don't they teach you to ignore gossip in Stanford?
- Henry Savenije in the Korea Times. Well deserved.
- What is going on in Seoul these days? Stop the madness, people. Violence here and here. (Update: there's more to the G.I. slash 노인 fight than originally thought. hint hint - he wasn't a G.I.)
- North Korea's future dictator and I are 동갑? Really?
- Hey goober. Where's themeat kimchi?
- And just in time for the blog pressings, an Orlando 한국학교's total lapse in judgement - in song version. A genuine must-see.
- Henry Savenije in the Korea Times. Well deserved.
- What is going on in Seoul these days? Stop the madness, people. Violence here and here. (Update: there's more to the G.I. slash 노인 fight than originally thought. hint hint - he wasn't a G.I.)
- North Korea's future dictator and I are 동갑? Really?
- Hey goober. Where's the
- And just in time for the blog pressings, an Orlando 한국학교's total lapse in judgement - in song version. A genuine must-see.
Book Review: We Married Koreans
Title: We Married Koreans
Edited by: Gloria Goodwin Hurh
Softcover: 212 pages
Publisher: Llumina Press (March 2009)
ISBN-10: 1605942154
ISBN-13: 978-1605942155
Gloria Goodwyn Hurh's book is a unique collection of twelve lifelong journeys of American women who married Korean men in the 1960s. Aside from having the current distinction of being the only of its kind, this book is a curiously telling hodgepodge of women who have stories that many will be interested in reading. However, is it just history repeating itself twelve times over or will there be enough to keep you flipping pages?
As described in the introduction, the undertaking for publishing these personal stories came about naturally but incredibly slowly. However, the final product stands as a social history for those to read in the future; much like the oft referenced 1953 inspiration "I Married A Korean" by Agnes Kim. Although three of the stories were written anonymously, most follow the same pattern of candid exposition and the entertaining frankness that only a seasoned soul can affectionately deliver.
Despite the hopelessly bland and colorfully mismatched cover, I was more than happy to discover that most stories had accompanying photos; usually one from the wedding and another taken decades later. The international appeal to the story and couple really came alive with the photos which were a very welcome addition to the already fascinating stories.
My only gripes are aimed at the somewhat narrowed scope of the book and demographic samples. The limitation of American women writing the book of their Korean husbands is one thing but the age limitation is another seemingly pointless requirement. I would have liked to have read more stories from all ages groups. Another puzzling constraint comes from a somewhat lack of diversity in the backgrounds of the groom's family. Most of the stories involve well-to-due Korean men who came to the states to study at universities on official government grants. Furthermore, regarding language, most of the groom's family members spoke English which was likely uncommon and unrepresentative of the population even for today's standards let alone for the post-Korean War era. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be an upwardly mobile bilingual Korean, but it seemed a bit of an elitist sampling.
All in all, though, despite the deceptively similar backgrounds of the people involved, We Married Koreans is an enjoyable easy read. However, you might feel like once you read one you've read them all which is a real shame because each couple is clearly a source for their own incomparable story. Anyone married to a Korean might find these anecdotes worthwhile.
- - -
Okay okay, so this is hands down the gushiest book I've ever admitted to reading let alone reviewing (and yes, I still deny that I ever read any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books because for all you know, I didn't). Yes, this collection of stories is a dedication to Agnes Kim's old school I Married A Korean (which Gusts of Popular Feeling covered quite nicely a few years back if you'll recall). Yes, it was interesting. Leave me alone about it
It's been a while since regular posting and I apologize for the wait but the book title should sum up what I've been up to recently. Since getting married in June, we;re getting ready for the baby next year. Becoming a father might place a bit of strain on free time for the blog, to say the least.
Edited by: Gloria Goodwin Hurh
Softcover: 212 pages
Publisher: Llumina Press (March 2009)
ISBN-10: 1605942154
ISBN-13: 978-1605942155
Gloria Goodwyn Hurh's book is a unique collection of twelve lifelong journeys of American women who married Korean men in the 1960s. Aside from having the current distinction of being the only of its kind, this book is a curiously telling hodgepodge of women who have stories that many will be interested in reading. However, is it just history repeating itself twelve times over or will there be enough to keep you flipping pages?
As described in the introduction, the undertaking for publishing these personal stories came about naturally but incredibly slowly. However, the final product stands as a social history for those to read in the future; much like the oft referenced 1953 inspiration "I Married A Korean" by Agnes Kim. Although three of the stories were written anonymously, most follow the same pattern of candid exposition and the entertaining frankness that only a seasoned soul can affectionately deliver.
Despite the hopelessly bland and colorfully mismatched cover, I was more than happy to discover that most stories had accompanying photos; usually one from the wedding and another taken decades later. The international appeal to the story and couple really came alive with the photos which were a very welcome addition to the already fascinating stories.
My only gripes are aimed at the somewhat narrowed scope of the book and demographic samples. The limitation of American women writing the book of their Korean husbands is one thing but the age limitation is another seemingly pointless requirement. I would have liked to have read more stories from all ages groups. Another puzzling constraint comes from a somewhat lack of diversity in the backgrounds of the groom's family. Most of the stories involve well-to-due Korean men who came to the states to study at universities on official government grants. Furthermore, regarding language, most of the groom's family members spoke English which was likely uncommon and unrepresentative of the population even for today's standards let alone for the post-Korean War era. I'm not saying it's a bad thing to be an upwardly mobile bilingual Korean, but it seemed a bit of an elitist sampling.
All in all, though, despite the deceptively similar backgrounds of the people involved, We Married Koreans is an enjoyable easy read. However, you might feel like once you read one you've read them all which is a real shame because each couple is clearly a source for their own incomparable story. Anyone married to a Korean might find these anecdotes worthwhile.
- - -
Okay okay, so this is hands down the gushiest book I've ever admitted to reading let alone reviewing (and yes, I still deny that I ever read any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books because for all you know, I didn't). Yes, this collection of stories is a dedication to Agnes Kim's old school I Married A Korean (which Gusts of Popular Feeling covered quite nicely a few years back if you'll recall). Yes, it was interesting. Leave me alone about it
It's been a while since regular posting and I apologize for the wait but the book title should sum up what I've been up to recently. Since getting married in June, we;re getting ready for the baby next year. Becoming a father might place a bit of strain on free time for the blog, to say the least.
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