Identity Youth And Gender In The Korean American Church

This book studies Korean American girls between thirteen and nineteen and their formation with regard to self, gender, and God in the context of Korean American protestant congregational life. It develops a hybrid methodology of de-colonial aims and indigenous research methods, aiming to facilitate transformative life in faith communities.

This book studies Korean American girls between thirteen and nineteen and their formation with regard to self, gender, and God in the context of Korean American protestant congregational life. It develops a hybrid methodology of de-colonial aims and indigenous research methods, aiming to facilitate transformative life in faith communities.

This scholarly examination specifically focuses on Korean-American identity, particularly in regards to Korean-American youth, after 9/11. The text represents an important contribution to Korean-American studies.

In this book, scholars of Korean American Protestant churches address key challenges concerning sociocultural and theological formation of identity and mission. The discussions are arranged in three areas: identity formation, missional and spiritual formation, and inter-cultural formation.

Second-generation Korean Americans, demonstrating an unparalleled entrepreneurial fervor, are establishing new churches with a goal of shaping the future of American Christianity. A Faith of Our Own investigates the development and growth of these houses of worship, a recent and rapidly increasing phenomenon in major cities throughout the United States. Including data gathered over ten years at twenty-two churches, it is the most comprehensive study of this topic that addresses generational, identity, political, racial, and empowerment issues

Many second-generation Korean Americans (SGKAs) are living lives of marginality on the edge of Korean American and American cultures. This double life often leads to heightened mental health concerns. The rise of Asian hate crimes in this country in recent months have added to the distress in this population. Due to cultural stigma, however, SGKAs may not seek out counseling or other mental health services. If they do, their unique cultural formation is often not fully addressed, impeding growth and healing. Red Door Ministry (RDM), a pastoral counseling center that started at a local Korean-American church, serves as a model for addressing this issue. Built from a postcolonial understanding of third space, RDM is constructed with various culturally sensitive elements that allow SGKAs to move from places of shame on the margins to empowered new centers. This transformation is examined by four in-depth interviews of RDM clients. These clients show that healing and empowerment were possible because their complex cultural hybridity was addressed in the process of counseling. This process is analyzed using concepts from Western psychological theories, Korean American theology, and postcolonial theory.