KAWAP volunteers repeatedly stated that their self-identity shapes how they understand themselves and their association. These women describe their identities as multiple and complex; further, they use this complex identity to explain their motivation for engagement and actions in the association. Therefore, in order to understand the experiences of the women volunteers of KAWAP, I focus this chapter first on the ways they narrate their own identity.
Self-identity as a Korean and Korean woman
One identity that all women in this association reported was their self-identity as a Korean. According to their recollection, six of them left Korea to came to the United States when they were young adults. While these members spent most of their lives in the United States, they identified their ethnic identity as Korean.
So anyway, I am Korean. I was raised like that too. Of course while I’m in the U.S., I have to act like everyone else, but my root is Korean. Also it’s impossible to change what I’ve learned in the past (Chanmi4).
I was born in Korea, and I have many habits of a Korean person. I also have the mindset of a Korean person, and I find Korean the most comfortable to speak (Bongsun).
Yes, I am Korean. Korean, Korean. I came to this country to get my education and married an American, but my identity is Korean (Ami).
Along with their Korean identity, they reported feeling comfortable with speaking Korean and interacting with Korean people. All informants mentioned that they maintain a network with Koreans through their participation in Korean church or Korean
community activities. This strong connection to a Korean community in the United States also becomes the basis for their activity in KAWAP, the goal of which is to help Korean American women.
The existence of a Korean American women's association through which Korean American women can help other Korean American women was described as a deeply significant part of their lives. Despite other differences, both the women offering support through KAWAP and the women seeking help shared experiences and common
understandings as Korean women living in the Unites States. Since these members also experienced difficulties related to being ethnic minority women, they saw the necessity for the service, which became part of the motivation for them to engage in this
association. This shared subject position also becomes an essential asset in offering counseling and education services tailored to the unique context of women in their community. One woman’s account illustrates how their shared experiences as Korean women was reflected in their counseling services:
They can just get something off their chest and get some fresh ideas while doing that. We also lead them to good ideas...I think their suffering can be reduced this way too. Some people seek that, and they're women too. It's easier to talk to
another woman. Both are people who left Korea. I think that allows for the mental barriers to come down to call and share (Hana).
Thus, for most of the informants, their self-identity Korean woman were rooted in their experiences in this association because they were able to sympathize with and recognize the unmet needs of other Korean women through their common linguistic and cultural background. Because the women felt more comfortable being around other Korean women and understanding the experiences of living as a Korean in the United States, they felt the need for a community association to offer broad support to the Korean American women’s community. In other words, being Korean American women served as a key role in creating a self-help group. Based on their common self-identity as Korean women, this group of women acknowledged the need to support Korean women in their community and engaged in action through their association.
Self-identity as an American & Korean American
According to several of these women, they had multiple identities including that of being an American. Their prolonged encounters with American society acculturated them with American culture. Particularly women whose professional lives involved working with other Americans recognize themselves as Korean American. For example, one woman described herself as having Korean American identity “Officially, I'm
Korean American, but truthfully, I'm pretty much Korean. But my citizenship is here. I had my children here, so they are American by birth, but their ethnicity is Korean. I make sure they got their Korean American identity (Paran).” Another woman preferred to state
her identity as American but also recognized her Korean heritage. In her case, her life experiences of suffering in Korea gave rise to her hesitancy to admit her Korean identity.
My identity has melted into American society. I’d like to be a citizen of the U.S. My image of Korea is actually not very good. I’d like to be mingled in this society. I’m very happy to be in this society. I’d like to be identified as a good citizen of U.S. and retired professional, physician. Yes. I lived most of my life, 50 years, here. Even my thinking is Americanized. I like to be an American citizen. I’m sorry for Korean government but we’ve suffered when I was there. I don’t have any good image of Korea. First of all, I admired the founder of this country. They followed whatever God leads them. Jefferson they followed whatever God said. So I like this country and I like the founding philosophy of this country. I’m happy being here... And I owed to the U.S. what they treated us. I think I’ve treated better than I treated in Korea. Korean government wasn’t that good. But you know, I still love Koreans. My husband is also Korean. But I still don’t like the Korean government (laughing) (Bongsun).
For half of the informants, they expressed themselves as Korean American. They didn’t see Korean and American identities as distinct entities, but rather viewed them as coexisting on a bridge. Regardless of their emotions concerning their home country, they cared about the image of Korean American women in American society. When they saw successful Korean Americans, they felt proud. When other Korean Americans were successful, they felt that it was their success, and they were proud to be Korean
Americans living in the United States. One woman described the ways in which Korean Americans achieve success, highlighting the way they overcome hardship as ethnic minorities.
Why we're so successful is not because we're smart, but because we work hard. We have a barrier to overcome. We recognize the barrier and know we should do better, or we won't be chosen. They are successful because of that drive and why there are so many Asian doctors. The GI head in Harvard is also Korean. The concertmaster in the Philadelphia Orchestra is also Korean. He went to Julliard University. What the Jews accomplished, Koreans are doing now. Most violinists and pianists were Jewish before. Now, Koreans are taking those positions. It's
amazing how many. Why? Of course they were talented, but because of their disadvantage, they worked harder for it (Paran).
Recognizing Korean American as their group identity, the members of this
association expressed Korean American as “we” during the interviews. Meanwhile, when they saw an unfortunate Korean American, they felt ashamed as a group. Because of this strong group identity as Korean American, KAWAP volunteers did not want women in their community to be labeled as poor, helpless, or unresourceful. Instead, they worked to create a community that could provide support and resources for struggling Korean American women. Rather than ignoring struggling community members, they overcame difficulties by huddling together: leaning on each other to overcome the challenges of living as a doubly marginalized group in the United States. Particularly, this association was started in response to the urging of the first Korean woman lawyer, Dr. Lee, that Korean American women needed to help each other to avoid shame on their group identity. After hearing the stories of Korean American women who had suffered various difficulties in the United States, she visited more established Korean American women living in major Korean enclaves in the United States and told them:
It's good to live in the U.S., but we should have pride for our own country.
Korean women shouldn't be ashamed living in American society, so I want you to help the other women that were suffering.
In response to this summon, several Korean women gathered and initiated the Korean American Women’s Association in the Philadelphia Korean community. This story reflects that the Korean American group identity influenced the establishment of KAWAP.
The informants of this study joined the Korean American women’s association and engaged in its activities for a variety of reasons. For many informants, the most important reason for their engagement was the opportunity to help Korean American women in their community. Witnessing Korean American women going through difficulties while living in the U.S. motivated them to help. For example, one woman recounted the motivation that led her to engage in this association.
I liked the idea that I could do things for others to help them and even more so specifically that I could help women. I told her I would join, and I was with the organization when it was founded in 1986. I thought the purpose of the
organization was good, and there was none like it at the time. I simply joined with the mindset that I would be able to help others, to help Korean women. There was no other special reason. I thought the purpose and the motivation was good, so I
donated my time and money (Bongsun).
For these women, benevolent will toward other Korean American women in their community motivated them to keep investing in this association. As mentioned earlier, this goodwill toward other Korean American women was also linked with their self- identity as a Korean American woman. Because of a shared identity, the women thought that they and those they sought to help had common experiences and mutual
understanding of their problems. One woman stated, “Because I have the same blood as them, I can understand their background. As I’ve said before, I knew all the problems
and traditions of Korea, and how they treat women, so I know (Bongsun).”
Based on their deep understanding of what was happening in Korean American women’s lives, they were emotionally engaged and felt that they needed to help these women. When they heard stories of Korean American women in unfortunate
Yes, there was a story about a woman at our church. The people only spoke about her situation but couldn’t help so the situation became worse. So when I talked to her to offer help, because we both went to the same church, she kept her distance from me even more. She ended up switching churches because of me, and I couldn’t help her. I was hurt because of that. I had good intentions, but it didn’t end well (Chanmi).
The women realized that there were clear limitations to individual assistance, but continued to acknowledge the necessity of community action for the Korean American community of women. Based on this acknowledgement, they were motivated to act collectively as members of the Korean American women’s association.
Self-identity as a professional
Seven women informants had professional identities as teachers, doctors,
counselors, and social workers. The demand in the group for these women’s professional knowledge and experience also created an opening for the women’s involvement in this association. Their professional identities gave them a niche in the association and they were able to provide community services that were related to their specialties. For example, one woman who worked as a counselor in Korea joined this association when there was a need for counseling services.
Since 1985. I wasn't there when it was first founded. I didn't know about it then. After they met a few times, one of the members reached out to me asking me how I felt about doing some counseling for them, and I attended their meeting. I took interest, and I joined (Eunju).
For three women, the main reason for participating in this group was self-
development. Women who worked as volunteer counselors in particular tended to name their intentions for career development and character building through their involvement
in free counseling services as reasons. These three women whose professions were related to counseling, involvement with this association could yield practical experience. For example, one woman recalled, "I counseled because of my previous experiences and started thinking that this is all I could do as public service. Since I did go on to graduate school, I thought I should have some kind of contribution to society (Eunju).” For Eunju, engagement in the association activity was not only a way to reuse her previous
professional skills but also a chance to utilize one’s own specialty to give back to a community. Another woman was also involved in this association as a part of her internship experience.
I majored in counselling in school, and I was on a curriculum that required me to get an internship. I was looking for one when I found out about the association (Dana).
For her, volunteering at KAWAP was to develop her counselling skills. Either in the case of utilizing their professional specialties or in the case of developing their skills, these women participated in KAWAP association for their own benefits rather than being altruistic. Interestingly, two women who were engaged in KAWAP continued their participation in this association even after achieving their goals of career development. Dana continued her engagement after her internship as a volunteer counselor so that she could continue providing free counseling services for people in their community. She explained her continuous engagement in this association:
I did have thoughts of quitting after just the internship. Yet, I was challenged by watching the amount of effort the members of the association were putting in to help the Korean women of Philadelphia. They have their own jobs as well, but they always look after others’ needs, and I thought to myself that this is the way I want to live my life as well. Also, I think our goal in life is not to live for
do so. When I was a student, my only goal was for my own studies, but through the internship, I realized that there are so many people in need of help. I felt that my efforts could be put to a good use through my time here (Dana)".
While some women thought of volunteering as a chance for career development linked to their educational background, other women thought of it as an opportunity to learn a life lesson through volunteer work. These women thought that they were not only developing their career skills as counselors but also learning life lessons by hearing the stories of other women. One woman reflected that she had become a better person by participating in counseling activities through this association.
I have tough times in life too, but it helped me get through those tough times better. I also was able to understand people better. I used to also talk a lot back then, but now I’ve become a better listener. I think it helped me to become the person I am today and helped me to become more mature. Those people taught me so much (Chanmi).
Life lessons learned from counseling cases led the women to recognize their engagement in volunteer activity as a beneficial learning experience. Chanmi also accounted that "There are two things. It helped me, but I think the fact that I was able to help others was good.” Whether the goal was to develop one’s career or learn life lessons or both, the volunteers realized that their community service was not only helping others but was also helping them.
In contrast, women who were housewives described themselves as benefiting from the association in different ways. While they were not trying to add a line to their resumes, they were able to do work outside the home, thus satisfying their desire to “not be just a housewife.” For example, one woman stated that:
Personally, I thought it would be better than just being at home and taking care of the kids, and I could help people through the women's association…. So I would take a book and lunch with me to the office. I would pick up phone calls, eat my lunch, and read my book. When it was time for my children to come home from school, I would go back home. I always wished I had a job in the U.S., so I worked at the office (Eunju).
In her case, working at this association was a way of fulfilling her desire to have a job in the United States. Beyond reasons for involvement that were related to their
identities as professionals, these women’s activities in this association were also bounded by their professional ethics. What they learned as professionals in their respective fields influenced every aspect of their engagement in this association. They applied ethical principles from their professions to their work with the group. For example, one woman recalled a situation when she could not give her contact number to a client because of her learned professional protocol.
After about 6 months, when the kids were a bit grown up, she came to the office to thank me. That was when I was leaving the office. I told her that I was leaving and going to Washington D.C., and she wanted my phone number. I told her that if she needed counseling, even if I weren't there, other people would be here, so I