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A Comparative Study on the First-Generation Korean Immigrant Novels in Inter-America

  • Korean Language & Literature
  • 2010, (72), pp.377-414
  • Publisher : Korean Language & Literature
  • Research Area : Humanities > Korean Language and Literature

lee,ki-in 1

1한림대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Recently we have witnessed an increasing publication of the first- generation Korean-American immigrant novelists. They belong to the first group of immigrants after the amendment of the American immigration law in 1965. At that time the environment in which immigrants found themselves was far worse than now, and this poor condition was reflected in their novels. The present study examines characteristics of the first-generation Korean-American novels, paying attention to their distinctive features compared to Korean-Canadian, and Korean-Argentinean novels. In Korean-American novels, white and black characters are few and far between, and Korean-American social and domestic problems barely show up as their main themes. Immigrant realities and human relationships are ignored and do not receive literary spotlight. Instead, these novels focus their attention on inner world of individual immigrants. In that world, the feelings of loss, sorrow, resentment, despair, and self-consolation reside. The fist-generation Korean-Canadian writers have an affinity with Korean-American novelists in that subject-matters like childhood memories and lost love are their favorite choice. Conflicts with the natives, inter- generational antagonism, and other mundane realities, however, are some of the relatively unique thematic features of Korean-Canadian novels. The literary representation of these realities is largely negative, but characters often show the strength of will and long for the brighter future. On the other hand, in the case of Korean-Argentinean novels, the life of immigrants are usually depicted in a tranquil mood. The first-generation immigrants are interwoven with natives and second-generation children more easily than their American and Canadian counterparts. Protagonists strive to make a smooth entry into local society, and often settle in it successfully. These differences are primarily a reflection of literary traits of the individual writers, but it is arguable that they are significantly affected by the respective immigrant social milieu. The multi-level sources of these literary heterogeneities in immigrant novels in the Inter-American area should receive more serious attention from various theoretical viewpoints.

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This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.
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