K-Jackson.qxd 7/12/2006 11:54 AM Page 283 K sharing intimate information can make research with KOREAN AMERICANS Korean Americans challenging. For example, tradi- tional Korean values discourage self-disclosure and According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Korean Americans emotional expression, making it unlikely that this are one of the fastest growing immigrant groups in the population would feel comfortable with the process of United States. More than a million Korean Americans psychotherapy or with personal questions in research. live in the United States, representing the fourth largest Furthermore, traditionally oriented Korean Americans Asian American ethnic group. The majority of Korean often underutilize modern mental health services, Americans live in California. As the number of Korean reducing their contact with professionals in the field. Americans in the United States grows, our modern Those who do participate in Western therapy tend psychological understanding of this population needs to have higher premature termination rates than do to grow as well. To better serve Korean Americans, Caucasian clients. researchers have begun to clarify what is known about traditional Korean values and how these values might HISTORY be relevant to psychological research and practice. Like other Asian American groups, Korean Korea is a modern nation with a history of more than Americans are often described as part of the “model 5,000 years. According to Korean mythology, the minority,” having few personal or professional prob- Korean nation was born when a god named Hwanung lems. Generally, researchers have neglected the study left heaven and transformed a bear into a woman. of Korean Americans because of a belief that the cul- Hwanung married the woman, and she gave birth to a tural values of Koreans protect them from psycholog- son, Tangun. Tangun established the first capital of the ical difficulties. For example, in the 1990s, research Korean nation in 2333 BCE and called it Joseon, documented lower rates of mental illness, juvenile “land of the morning calm.” delinquency, and divorce among Korean Americans The Korean nation has a long history of war with than among their Caucasian peers. It is now clear, China and Japan. In 1919, many Koreans were killed however, that no ethnic or cultural minority group is or put in prison nationwide as they protested Japanese immune to acculturation and adjustment problems. colonial rule. Korean Americans, like other Asian American groups, On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to the experience a variety of emotional, psychological, and Allies, ending the war in the Pacific. Ten days later, social problems. It is believed that traditional Korean Korea was divided into North and South Korea. The Americans are at risk for misdiagnosis and that their United States took control of surrendering Japanese rates of mental illness are underestimated at best. soldiers south of the 38th parallel, and the Soviet Knowing how to identify and measure the needs Union took control of the North. The United Nations of Korean Americans has not come easily to the field. called for elections in 1947, but the North Koreans Language barriers and traditional prohibitions against refused. A communist form of government came into 283 K-Jackson.qxd 7/12/2006 11:54 AM Page 284 284———Korean Americans power in North Korea (known as the Democratic Americans suggested that sa-i-gu was a backlash People’s Republic of Korea). The United States turned against the model minority myth of Asian Americans over its authority to South Korea (the Republic of in general. Korea) in 1948, leaving behind a small group of mili- tary advisers. North Korea invaded South Korea on CULTURAL VALUES June 25, 1950, starting the Korean War. This war lasted three years and inflicted terrible damage on Perhaps no other ethnic group in the United States has Korea before a cease-fire ended the conflict in 1953. retained so strong an attachment to the values and prac- The 4-kilometer-wide area along the military demar- tices of their native culture as Korean Americans. Most cation line that divides North and South Korea Korean Americans can and do speak some Korean, eat became known as the DMZ, or demilitarized zone. mainly Korean food, and practice Korean cultural Since the end of the Korean War, conflicts have con- behaviors. In 1998, a study found that 90% of Korean tinued to arise along the DMZ. South Korea continues immigrants in Chicago spoke mainly Korean at home, its efforts to unify North and South Korea. and 82% were affiliated with an ethnic organization. Immigrants from Korea to the United States repre- The strong attachment to Korean values seen among sent both North and South Korean heritage. Koreans Korean Americans is likely the result of several factors. immigrated in three distinct waves beginning in First, Korea, especially South Korea, is a homogeneous 1903–1924. From 1903 to 1905, some 7,000 Koreans country. Unlike China or Japan, where several dialects migrated to Hawaii to labor on the sugar plantations; and languages are spoken, South Koreans have only approximately 1,000 of them came to the continental one language. Second, Korean Americans tend United States. In 1905, Korea became a protectorate to be affiliated with Korean churches. The church pro- of Japan and was later annexed by that nation in 1910. vides a place for meeting other Korean immigrants and Japan severely restricted further emigration to the maintaining social ties to Korean culture. Third, Korean United States to stop the exodus of skilled labor and American immigrants tend to work in Korean busi- to stem the Korean independence movement. In 1924, nesses and maintain interactions with other Koreans. the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act limited Koreans Furthermore, working in small businesses increases entering the United States to 100 per year. ethnic solidarity as Korean store owners work to com- The period from the end of the Korean War in 1953 pete together in the mainstream marketplace. Attacks through 1965 marked the second immigration wave. on Korean-owned businesses during the 1992 Los It was facilitated by an earlier law, the War Brides Act Angeles riots, though tragic, promoted more ethnic and of 1945, which allowed spouses and adopted children cultural unity among Korean business owners and of U.S. military personnel to enter the United States. workers and provided an opportunity for the commu- Today, it is estimated that one in four Korean immi- nity as a whole to contemplate its future. grants can trace their lineage to the arrival of a Korean Many Korean Americans have been exposed to war bride. The end of the Korean War also marked and have adopted the laws of Confucianism. The the beginning of American families adopting Korean Confucian rules of conduct are clear in many of the children. cultural practices of Korean Americans. For example, The third immigration wave began with the Korean Americans tend to display a strong respect Immigration Act of 1965, which removed “national for educated people and emphasize their children’s origins” as the basis for American immigration policy. education. Social mobility is seen as possible mainly Until then, Koreans were a small minority with a through education, and it is a focus for parents want- population of around 10,000. ing to enhance their children’s socialization. Most The 1992 riots in Los Angeles, which became Korean immigrants with school-age children decide known as sa-i-gu by Korean Americans, transformed where to live based largely on the quality of the the Korean American community across the nation. schools in the neighborhood. Assisting children in Nearly half of the city’s $1 billion in damages was getting a good education often involves tutoring, pri- suffered by Korean Americans. Only the World War II vate lessons, and private schools. Most traditional incarceration of Japanese Americans hurt a large Korean American parents are willing to make personal Asian American community so deeply. The extreme sacrifices to make sure that their children are well and disproportionate damage suffered by Korean educated. The results of their efforts seem to bear K-Jackson.qxd 7/12/2006 11:54 AM Page 285 Korean Americans———285 fruit: Two or three of the annual recipients of the pres- some Korean American families, as they are for idential merit scholarships, given to the two best high members of many other ethnic groups. Because most school seniors from each state, are Korean American. immigrant parents speak Korean, whereas their U.S.- born children speak little Korean and mostly English, language barriers within the family also contribute to ISSUES TO CONSIDER family conflicts. Value differences tend to increase Stigma toward mental illness is a common finding family distress and individual psychopathology—for among samples of people of color. Like most groups, example, Korean parents may value hard work, edu- traditional Korean Americans view the presence of cation, social status, and family ties, but their children mental illness to be a sign of weakness on the part of may adopt more mainstream U.S. values. Moreover, the individual. The effect is often a sense of shame, Korean parents often have to spend long hours at not only for the person but also for the family of the work, leaving little time to supervise and play at home afflicted individual. Because they feel they will be dis- with their children. At the same time, traditional honored or “lose face” if others outside a trusted Korean parents may put pressure on their children to minority are told of the mental illness, traditional be successful at school, a task the children may be less Korean Americans are often reluctant to seek Western interested in when unsupervised and available to mental health services until all other resources have spend time with friends and enjoy other activities.