Pastors
and scholars have provided contemporary resources on Korean Americans
and their religious
experiences throughout the years. My hope is that this project is a resource that complements these conversations. This contribution is unique in that it explores in interdisciplinary fashion the second-generation
Korean American religious experiences through the voices and experiences of second-generation Korean American men
. There have been several resources by, and for, Korean American women
and rightfully so; Korean and Asian American communities
have needed them for our churches
and in our theological
and pastoral formation. You will find many of these resources throughout this book and in the bibliography. That said, there has been a dearth of explicit theological and spiritual
resources for Korean American men to address important issues for men and the communities in which they live and lead.
1
Understandably, some may have concern over an explicit work for men. After all, we live in a patriarchal
structure where an unwillingness to name the very power
differentials that stem from gender discrepancies
continues to favor an unspoken societal gender norm
. From casual conversations to scholarly forums in which I have participated with Korean American women, the message of hurt, anger, disappointment
, and resistance
to patriarchy rings clearly and loudly in their voices. We, men, are indebted to the work of Asian American women
who have gone before us pointing out systems
of oppression
and injustice
, and within the church
no less.
Michael Kaufman
brings our attention to the notion of a “triad of violence
.”
2
We must address issues of violence
toward others—particularly women and children
, other men, and within our own individual lives, in order that we, and the communities
in which we live, might exist more freely and peaceably. At the heart of critical feminism
lies a commitment for a deep and true freedom
for all. And in order for this freedom to occur in society and in our communities, men need to be aware of the issues that surround and influence them including issues of power
, patriarchy, and violence. We must also move from awareness
and education
to action
, rectifying broken relationships and systems
in which we have been complicit. Critical studies are not politically free endeavors as they serve prophetic
roles in deconstructive ways that often carry a price calling for change. However, the maintenance of status quo
is neither politically free as it serves to continue existing structures. In this sense, this book, unapologetically, is an attempt to contribute to this freedom work.
To understand Korean American men
and address various concerns and issues, an interdisciplinary approach is needed. As I propose throughout, second-generation
Korean American men are complex sociohistorical
beings who contend daily with others’ interpretations of who they and their bodies can be. We cannot interpret Korean American men solely through a single lens. Rather, we need multiple lenses to comprehend the vast experiences and realities of Korean American men and the communities
in which they participate. For this reason, I use resources from Asian American studies, sociology of sport, men’s studies, spirituality, and religious education to dialog with, and inform, the semi-structured interviews I conducted with fifteen second-generation Korean American men, ages twenty-five to forty-five, around their understanding of manhood
and spirituality.
3
Furthermore, I utilized two other qualitative research methods, ethnography at Christ Church
4
and participant observation at various Korean American sports tournaments
, both in the greater Los Angeles
area, in order to gain a closer look into Korean American religious experiences and the significance of competitive sport among Korean American men, respectively.
Locating Myself as an Author
Some may wonder about my interest in this project, especially with a non-Korean last name. I am the youngest child of two Korean immigrants
who came to the United States separately for different purposes during the mid-1950s to early 1960s. When my father first immigrated, he changed his name from Han to Hearn for various reasons. If he were to transliterate the Korean characters of his family name to H-A-N, he was doubtful people would pronounce it with a soft “a” opting instead for a short one as in the word “hand.” He could have spelled his last name Hahn as many Germans
did but in the 1950s, on the heels of World War II
, this may not have been the wisest move in the United States. A secondary reason, but nonetheless important in light of the social discrimination
Korean Americans and Asian Americans have experienced in this country, my father also changed his name for employment reasons. He did not want himself, nor his future family, to be prohibited
from a job because of an Asian-sounding last name. At least on paper, we would be equals.
My parents eventually fulfilled their life and professional vocation serving the Church
in its Korean Americancontext
. For over thirty years, they, as pastoral
leaders, served Korean Americans
in the Los Angeles
area from the 1970s to the early 2000s. There were many times as a young boy that I remember my father taking me to Los Angeles International Airport
to pick up a family that had just relocated from Korea
and were needing some assistance getting settled in this new and foreign
land. Somehow, they had been given our phone number and hoped this connection would be a portal to a new life. My parents did not call it this, but what I was learning then was social justice
and social holiness
. They gave me my first glimpse into faith in action
and left indelible prophetic
and pastoral images that stay with me today.
The healing and restoration of all people then carries me through this project. I find this no less true as an educator as I have found as an athletic coach, pastor, and consultant. I am reminded daily about how our world can use a good measure of restoration and healing. The stories of the men with whom I had the privilege of interviewing and building relationships with is an example of the pain
, loss
, and disappointment that exists among us
. They carry great
han
, the unresolved angst, bitterness, and disappointment that needs resolution
.
5
Yet, Korean American men do not only need healing for themselves; their
communities need Korean American men to heal as well. This is not simply a personal and individual issue, but a systemic one. Men who do violence
because they feel little sense of manhood
in this country often commit violence to their families, churches
, and eventually themselves. The restoration of Korean American men assists in the healing of their familial, relational, and church communities.
It would be remiss, however, to paint a portrait of Korean American men as simply pained and broken. Several of the men offered glimpses of their experiences that are hopeful for a renewed understanding and interest in one’s internal healing
and social relationships. I also do not suggest for our pardon from the responsibility of any destruction
we have caused. We have, and continue to contribute, to the pain
of many, including our own selves. I believe that as Korean American men work on the healing of our issues, we are in essence, working on becoming whole human beings who can better relate to women, to other men, and to our own selves. As I heard from several of the men, they have begun this journey toward freedom
and wholeness
claiming responsibility for the destruction in their lives and the lives of others. My hope is that you find by the end of this book an interest to understand, if not a willingness to engage, Korean American men and their healing.
Notes
1.
I have yet to come across a work by a Korean American male author that substantially addresses the issue of patriarchy and gender among Korean Americans, while there are significant examples of women scholars doing so. A recent work that addresses the social construction of Psy, the Korean pop-star who ventured into US cultural spaces, previously unreached by Korean Americans, is Joseph Cheah and Grace Ji-Sun Kim’s recent book, Theological Reflections on “Gangnam Style: A Racial, Sexual, and Cultural Critique” (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014).
A Korean American male scholar who addresses briefly the issue of patriarchy is Andrew Sung Park as he theologically discusses the effects of patriarchy in relation to the Korean concept of han. Another Asian American male scholar who has worked on issues of gender and patriarchy as these relate to religion is Antony W. Alumkal. These two, however, are clearly the exception rather than the rule. See Andrew Sung Park, The Wounded Heart of God: The Asian Concept of Han and the Christian Doctrine of Sin (Nashville: Abingdon, 1993); Antony W. Alumkal, Asian American Evangelical Churches: Race, Ethnicity, and Assimilation in the Second Generation (New York: LFB Scholarly Publishing, LLC, 2003).
2.
Michael Kaufman, “The Construction of Masculinity and the Triad of Men’s Violence,” in Men’s Lives, ed. Michael S. Kimmel and Michael A. Messner, 4th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1998), 4–17.
3.
These interviews occurred from March 2011 to July 2011. As semi-structured interviews, I asked the men to consider two questions prior to the interviews which would begin each conversation: (1) What is your symbol of manhood and why? and (2) What is spirituality to you? With regards to the first question, I asked each man to bring an object that symbolized for them their understanding of manhood.
4.
The names of Christ Church and the men I interviewed have all been changed.
5.
Park, Wounded Heart of God.