Event Title

Sa-Rang Community Church: Anchoring a New American Identity and Forging a New American Landscape

Presenter Information

James Kim, Colby CollegeFollow

Location

Diamond 342

Start Date

1-5-2014 1:00 PM

End Date

1-5-2014 2:45 PM

Project Type

Presentation- Restricted to Campus Access

Description

America is shaped by movements of people, their cultures, and their markers of identity. The geographical and socio-cultural landscapes of the United States embody the robust multicultural identity of its communities ingrained in the immigrant experience. Particularly, for the Korean American community, the church has become the epicenter; it is a space of cultural preservation and identity formation. As the Korean American population in the U.S. shifts from a first-second generation dominant community to a second-third generation dominant community, it is important to trace the changing face of the group as a whole.This study focuses on Sa-Rang Community Church in Anaheim, California, as a case study to examine how context shapes place and place shapes context. I interpret the Korean American church as a vantage point where the first generation immigrant culture and American culture intersect to forge a new, hybrid Korean-American identity. This paper will explore the dialogical relationship between the immigrant church and its geography. The terms space and place are intertwined in my observation of Sa-Rang in its spatial contexts: 1111 Brookhurst Street, Orange County, and America. The paper will suggest that the church is one of the most important social assets for the Korean immigrant community in providing an active and central source of stability. My goal in this paper is to illuminate that the Korean American church anchors a new American identity and a new American landscape.

Faculty Sponsor

Laura Saltz

Sponsoring Department

Colby College. American Studies Program

CLAS Field of Study

Interdisciplinary Studies

Event Website

http://www.colby.edu/clas

ID

505

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May 1st, 1:00 PM May 1st, 2:45 PM

Sa-Rang Community Church: Anchoring a New American Identity and Forging a New American Landscape

Diamond 342

America is shaped by movements of people, their cultures, and their markers of identity. The geographical and socio-cultural landscapes of the United States embody the robust multicultural identity of its communities ingrained in the immigrant experience. Particularly, for the Korean American community, the church has become the epicenter; it is a space of cultural preservation and identity formation. As the Korean American population in the U.S. shifts from a first-second generation dominant community to a second-third generation dominant community, it is important to trace the changing face of the group as a whole.This study focuses on Sa-Rang Community Church in Anaheim, California, as a case study to examine how context shapes place and place shapes context. I interpret the Korean American church as a vantage point where the first generation immigrant culture and American culture intersect to forge a new, hybrid Korean-American identity. This paper will explore the dialogical relationship between the immigrant church and its geography. The terms space and place are intertwined in my observation of Sa-Rang in its spatial contexts: 1111 Brookhurst Street, Orange County, and America. The paper will suggest that the church is one of the most important social assets for the Korean immigrant community in providing an active and central source of stability. My goal in this paper is to illuminate that the Korean American church anchors a new American identity and a new American landscape.

https://digitalcommons.colby.edu/clas/2014/program/199