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UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Elderly Korean Women In UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Elderly Korean Women in Little Tokyo Towers: Dispelling the Myth of Homogeneity A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Asian American Studies By Jane Lee 2013 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Elderly Korean Women in Little Tokyo Towers: Dispelling the Myth of Homogeneity By Jane Lee Master of Arts in Asian American Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2013 Professor Valerie Matsumoto, Chair This ethnographic, sociological, and historical project explores the underrepresented diversity of experiences of elderly first-generation Korean women living in Little Tokyo Towers, and critically analyzes how gender, class, age, and homeland experience have impacted the ways that they navigate their relationships with their Japanese American neighbors, as well as within their own Korean community. Through my collection of oral histories, this project opens a window into examining an array of issues that challenge popular assumptions about the elderly, inter- ethnic relations, and community formation. iii The Thesis of Jane Lee is approved. Namhee Lee David K. Yoo Valerie Matsumoto, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2013 iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my grandmother, Ki Deuk Lee, for her prayers, love and encouragement, and our weekly Sunday lunches. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vii INTRODUCTION 1 LITTLE TOKYO TOWERS: A BRIEF BACKGROUND 5 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 9 METHODOLOGY 12 A. Profile of Interviewees 16 HISTORICAL CONTEXT A. Japanese Occupation of Korea 18 B. Korean War 23 C. Little Tokyo 27 D. Situating Little Tokyo Towers 32 ANALYSIS 33 A. Generational Divisions 34 B. Class 35 C. Inter-ethnic Relations 38 D. Social Networks 42 E. Social Services 46 CONCLUSION 49 BIBLIOGRAPHY 53 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the help and support of a great number of individuals, and I would like to thank them all for being a part of this experience. First and foremost, I would like to thank my committee chair, Professor Valerie Matsumoto, for her guidance and support. I can’t emphasize enough how important her valuable insight, patience, and encouragement was for me in completing this project. I would also like to thank my committee members, Professors Namhee Lee and David K. Yoo. It was a privilege and honor to get the opportunity to work with such inspirational scholars. Additionally, I’d like to express my gratitude to the UCLA Asian American Studies Department staff, Anne Bautista, Natalia Yamashiro- Chogyoji, and Jessie Singh for their moral support, and for tirelessly giving their time and energy to assist me throughout the program. I am forever grateful for the institutional and financial support I received from the American Association of University Women and the UCLA Asian American Studies Department, for providing the resources needed to carry out my research. I’d also like to acknowledge the Little Tokyo Service Center staff: Hongsun Kim, Yasue Clark, Mike Murase, KJ Suh, and Jessica Kanai who provided great insight for my project and played a key role in connecting me with residents at Little Tokyo Towers. I am especially thankful to each person who participated in my study and took the time to share their experiences with me. I will always admire their great wisdom, courage, and strength. In chronological order of date interviewed, I would like to send special thanks to Young Shin Park, Myung Ja Kim, Min Jung Choi, Sung Mi Lee, Kyung Sook Kim, and Yukiko Yamanaka. I learned more than I could’ve imagined from speaking with each of these women, and am indebted to them all for enabling me to gain a deeper understanding of Korean and Korean American history. I would vii also like to recognize Daisy Kim, Jeff Holliday, and Eri Kameyama for assisting me in interpreting, translating, and transcribing my research materials. Finally, I would like to express my love and appreciation for my family and friends who have been a constant source of inspiration, motivation, and support throughout this program. Thank you to my colleagues and coworkers: Aakash Kishore, Alex Margolin, Ami Patel, Asiroh Cham, Barbra Ramos, Casey Gin, Daniel Woo, Ger Xiong, JP deGuzman, Jessica Solis, Kate Viernes, Lai Wa Wu, Mana Hayakawa, Mary Kao, Melany De La Cruz-Viesca, Mengning Li, Preeti Sharma, Sharon Chon, Sophia Cheng, and Wendi Yamashita. I never once felt alone in this sometimes tedious process, and I feel extremely lucky to have such a strong support network at UCLA. I’d also like to thank my church family at Kardia UMC: Stephen Kim, Suzana Kim, Danny Chung, Don Kim, and Eric Ferguson who have spoken truth into my life and reminded me again and again of God’s love and faithfulness. Lastly, I give my deepest gratitude to my family: my grandmother, Ki Deuk Lee; my mother and father, Byung Eun Lee and Ja Sung Lee; sister Mijin, brother-in-law Tim, niece Olive, and brother Jinnam for their unwavering love and prayers. This project would not have succeeded if it had not been for all the people who selflessly offered their time, guidance, and support. viii Elderly Korean Women in Little Tokyo Towers: Dispelling the Myth of Homogeneity INTRODUCTION It is an unseasonably hot October afternoon in Los Angeles and the sun is shining brightly outside Young Shin Park’s tidy fifteenth story apartment. Park has just come home from her daily morning swim at the Downtown YMCA before meeting me for our interview. At 86, her short hair is completely white but her skin is glowing and her eyes are bright. Past her lush little patio garden is a clear uninterrupted view of East L.A. We are sitting at a small square wood dining table and Park is describing her experience of moving into Little Tokyo Towers in 1996 when the doorbell rings. She opens the door and greets her Japanese neighbor who is dropping by to share some Asian pears with her. They exchange a few friendly words in Japanese before Park closes the door and eagerly heads into the kitchen to cut a pear for us to eat as we continue our interview. Within the past five years, the Little Tokyo Towers senior home has attracted the attention of media news outlets including the Los Angeles Times and Rafu Shimpo in their coverage of Little Tokyo’s recent demographic shifts, namely the influx of Korean residents and shop owners.1 Social dynamics between elderly Japanese and Korean residents of Little Tokyo Towers are particularly intriguing given that many of the Koreans like Young Shin Park grew up 1 Julie Ha, “Neighborhood Watch,” The Rafu Shimpo – Los Angeles Japanese Daily News. September 13, 2008. http://www.rafu.com/en/2008/0913/feature.html (Accessed 16 January 2012); Teresa Watanabe, “Japanese and Koreans learn to live together in harmony in L.A.'s Little Tokyo” Los Angeles Times. February 23, 2009. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-korjapan23-2009feb23,0,2634061.story (Accessed 16 January 2012); Ryoko Ohnishi, “Little Tokyo Seniors Gather to Promote Harmony: Friendship party brings together Japanese and Korean seniors,” The Rafu Shimpo – Los Angeles Japanese Daily News. October 14, 2010. http://www.rafu.com/2010/10/little-tokyo-seniors-gather-to-promote-harmony/ (Accessed 16 January 2012). 1 under Japanese occupation from 1910-1945, and are the last generation to experience it first- hand. A prominent theme in these news articles is the efforts of Korean seniors to be “good neighbors,” organizing activities and events to build community with Japanese residents. While several Korean men were highlighted in these news stories, very little attention has been paid to the experiences of first-generation Korean immigrant women My research explores the experiences of elderly Korean women through the collection of oral histories to reveal a much more complex picture of how histories of war have shaped contemporary community dynamics. In doing research among women living in Little Tokyo Towers, this project opens a window into examining an array of issues that challenge popular assumptions about the elderly, inter-ethnic relations, and community formation. These findings are striking because they produce a counterpoint to the depiction of inter-ethnic relations disseminated by both the ethnic media and mass media. For the most part, gender and class have been left out of these accounts. Through my collection of oral histories, gender and class become foregrounded, revealing a diversity of experiences and startling differences in their perceptions of their daily lives. This ethnographic, sociological, and historical project looks at the ways that elderly immigrant Korean women living in Little Tokyo Towers deal with difficult historical legacies of Japanese colonization and war, and navigate their relationships with their Japanese and Japanese American neighbors, as well as within their own Korean community. I investigate key sites including age cohort, socio-economic class differences, social networks, and social services to examine individual perceptions of what it means for these women to be a “good neighbor” as relative newcomers in a historically Japanese American ethnic enclave. Contrary to previous assumptions that these characteristics would be evaluated by Japanese residents, my research 2 reveals that it is actually Koreans who are surveilling and attempting to regulate the behaviors and attitudes of Korean newcomers. This surveillance is deeply imbedded in what I discern as internalized colonial values of what constitutes a “good citizen” or, in this case, a “good neighbor.” This project highlights the underrepresented diversity of experiences of elderly Korean women, and critically analyzes how gender has shaped their role in the public and private spheres. My research explores how gendered assumptions, mechanisms of social control, and expectations relating to family, caretaking, propriety, and work impact the ways in which women relate to their neighbors and their levels of engagement in the broader community.
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