Compare and Contrast Korean and Filipino Americans
According to the class reading by Eui-Young Yu, “Korean American Communities and their Institutions: An Overview” she states Korean Americans have established three broad types of communities: territorial community, associational community and psycho-cultural community. One may ask, are these separate communities needed to constitute a cohesive Korean American community? This question can be answered accordingly, each community works together and actively participates with one another to enhance the likelihood of maintaining a strong ethno-cultural identity of the Korean Americans. This essay will address these types of communities defined by Professor Kashima in comparison to the Filipino American community. Professor Kashima offers the definition of community as “a socially identifiable group of people who may or may not reside in a particular geographical area but who consciously share a common culture and way of life and can act in a collective manner to pursue desired ends” (Kashima, Trust). In particular a territorial community is a forced segregated area where individuals reside and work. Korean Americans created a geographic area in New York and Los Angeles called Koreatown (Chang). Southern California has the highest Korean American population of over 150,000 members in which this community provides ethnic networking for the Korean immigrants and the later 1.5 generation. Koreatown has tea rooms, cafes and nightclubs that allow Korean Americans to make business deals and make friends. On the other hand, the Filipino Americans don’t inhabit an identifiable territorial community; instead, their community has a symbolic approach which they don’t necessarily reside in a particular geographical area but who consciously share a common manner to pursue desired ends (Kashima, Community). As follows, Filipino Americans have established a community in a symbolic perspective, or in other words, an associational community. Professor Kashima asserts that this type
Cited: Chang, Edward. “Korean Community Politics in Los Angeles: The Impact of the Kwangju Uprising.” Amerasia Journal. Ed 14:1. 1988. 51-67. 14 May 2013. Print.
Kashima, Professor. "Community: Symbolic Perspective." Benson Hall, Seattle. 11 Apr. 2013. Lecture.
Kashima, Professor. "Trust." Benson Hall, Seattle. 9 Apr. 2013. Lecture.