Korean Americans: A Concise History tells the untold stories of the pioneering immigrants, the newly discovered tale of the first Koreatown USA, and about the first Korean aviator. The textbook conveys the Korean American experience by highlighting important moments, people, and incidents that defines this small community. The book takes readers on a journey starting with the beginning of Korean immigration to the United States, to present day issues, trends, and identity.

This in-depth look at one of the fastest-growing immigrant groups in the Pacific Northwest provides a much-needed overview of the Korean American experience as well as moving personal anecdotes. Graphs offer information about Korean immigration patterns over time, while black-and-white portraits reveal the people behind the statistics. The Korean American Historical Society is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to enrich the collective memory of Korean Americans by collecting, maintaining, and transmitting their stories.

Contains essays by U.S. scholars and activists from a variety of fields on topics relevant to the study of Korean Americans.

Korean Americans are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States. Although they share many similar cultural characteristics with other Asian Americans, the Korean Americans are unique in terms of their strong ethnic attachment, extensive participation in Christian churches, heavy involvement in self-employed small businesses, wide geographic dispersion in settlement, and the emergence of the 1.5 generation phenomenon. This book answers the following questions for the student or interested reader: • Who are the Korean people? • Why did they come to the United States? • How did they adapt to their new country? • How are they received by the majority of Americans? • What are their accomplishments, problems, and contributions to American society? Other special features include: • An extensive coverage on the ethnic background (history, language, religion, customs, and other cultural heritage) of Korean Americans. • Current statistical data on Korean immigration to the United States. • A comprehensive analysis of socioeconomic characteristics of Korean Americans as compared with those of other minority groups. • A succinct analysis of the unique characteristics of Korean Americans. • Effective use of personal narratives. In 1970 there were about 70,000 Korean Americans—the number grew tenfold to about 790,000 in 1990. The Korean American population is now estimated at well over a million, and demographic projections indicate that the number will reach about three million by the year 2030. Korean Americans are thus among the new groups of Americans to become another integral part of the American history of cultural pluralism and ethnic diversity. Examined are the most significant areas of Korean American's adaptation—economic adjustment, sociocultural adaptation, family life, ethnic associations, intergroup relations, and psychological adjustment. In each area of adaptation, positive attainment as well as the problems of adjustment are analyzed in light of current theories and empirical research. The book concludes with a discussion of the unique characteristics of Korean Americans and their impact on society.

Korean Americans: A Concise History tells the untold stories of the pioneering immigrants, the newly discovered tale of the first Koreatown USA, and about the first Korean aviator. The textbook conveys the Korean American experience by highlighting important moments, people, and incidents that defines this small community. The book takes readers on a journey starting with the beginning of Korean immigration to the United States, to present day issues, trends, and identity.

"A very exciting book on Koreans in the United States!" This book is very helpful for understanding the nature and the history of the Korean community in the USA. There are over one million Korean-Americans in the USA. Despite the small number and a short immigration history, Korean-Americans have been able to contribute to America in important ways. Korean-American students generally comprise the biggest block of ethnic minorities in Ivy League universities and other leading research universities. The current Yale University Law School Dean is Korean-American. A Korean-American has been the leader of the biggest Presbyterian denomination in the USA. Korean-Americans can be found all over the USA in every profession, and they have been very successful. And, perhaps, the Korean-American community is the most evangelical Christian ethnic community in America. In fact, many InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Campus Crusade for Christ leaders in America's major universities are Korean-Americans. How is it that Korean-Americans came to play such an important role in the American society, particularly in the area of religion? This is a very good book to understand what makes the Korean-Americans "tick." Particularly insightful are the ways in which Christian Kim, the author, captures general patterns for the Korean-Americans and their successes. This is by far the best introductory book on Korean-Americans in the market and will be very useful for use in classroom settings, both on the high school and college levels, in courses dealing with ethnic studies and the Asian experience in American history and society.

Contentious Spirits explores the role of religion in Korean American history during the first half of the twentieth century in Hawai'i and California. Historian David K. Yoo argues that religion is the most important aspect of this group's experience because its structures and sensibilities address the full range of human experience. Framing the book are three relational themes: religion & race, migration & exile, and colonialism & independence. In an engaging narrative, Yoo documents the ways in which religion shaped the racialization of Korean in the United States, shows how religion fueled the transnational migration of Korean Americans and its connections to their exile, and details a story in which religion intertwined with the visions and activities of independence even as it was also entangled in colonialism. The first book-length study of religion in Korean American history, it will appeal to academics and general readers interested in Asian American history, American religious history, and ethnic studies.