Younghill Kang
Encyclopedia
Younghill Kang was an important early Asian American
writer. He is best known for his 1931 novel
The Grass Roof (the first Korean American novel) and its sequel, the 1937 fictionalized memoir
East Goes West: The Making of an Oriental Yankee. He has been called "the father of Korean American literature."
, pro-independence activism
; he went first to Canada
, then to the United States
. He studied at Boston University
and received a graduate degree from Harvard University
.
Kang at first wrote in Korean and Japanese, switching to English only in 1928 and under the tutelage of his American wife, Frances Keeley. He worked as an editor for the Encyclopædia Britannica
and taught at New York University
, where his colleague Thomas Wolfe
read the opening chapters of his novel The Grass Roof and recommended it to Scribners publishing house. The book was admired by such other authors as Rebecca West
and H. G. Wells
, and was considered for a movie adaptation by Hollywood. The Grass Roof was well-received in its time, since it seemed to confirm American disdain for Korea. East Goes West, however, criticized the United States and therefore was less popular until the multicultural movement gave it renewed attention.
In addition to The Grass Roof and East Goes West, Kang translated Korean literature into English and reviewed books for The New York Times
. Kang also traveled in Europe for two years on a Guggenheim Fellowship
, curated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
, and worked as an Asian expert for the U.S. government in both U.S. Military Office of Publications and the Corps Office of Civil Information.
Kang received the Halperine Kaminsky Prize, the 1953 Louis S. Weiss
Memorial Prize, and an honorary doctorate from Koryo University.
fighting for independence from the Japanese; he has been influenced by Western literature and prefers the promises of individualism in the West to the mass movements and nationalism and emphasis on family connections that he sees in Korea, which he views as dying.
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
writer. He is best known for his 1931 novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
The Grass Roof (the first Korean American novel) and its sequel, the 1937 fictionalized memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
East Goes West: The Making of an Oriental Yankee. He has been called "the father of Korean American literature."
Life and career
As a child in Korea, Kang was educated in both Confucian and Christian missionary schools. In 1921, he fled Korea because of his anti-JapaneseKorea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
, pro-independence activism
Korean independence movement
The Korean independence movement grew out of the Japanese colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. After the Japanese surrendered, Korea became independent; that day is now an annual holiday called Gwangbokjeol in South Korea, and Chogukhaebangŭi nal in North Korea.-Background:In...
; he went first to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, then to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He studied at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
and received a graduate degree from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Kang at first wrote in Korean and Japanese, switching to English only in 1928 and under the tutelage of his American wife, Frances Keeley. He worked as an editor for the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
and taught at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, where his colleague Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
read the opening chapters of his novel The Grass Roof and recommended it to Scribners publishing house. The book was admired by such other authors as Rebecca West
Rebecca West
Cicely Isabel Fairfield , known by her pen name Rebecca West, or Dame Rebecca West, DBE was an English author, journalist, literary critic and travel writer. A prolific, protean author who wrote in many genres, West was committed to feminist and liberal principles and was one of the foremost public...
and H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
, and was considered for a movie adaptation by Hollywood. The Grass Roof was well-received in its time, since it seemed to confirm American disdain for Korea. East Goes West, however, criticized the United States and therefore was less popular until the multicultural movement gave it renewed attention.
In addition to The Grass Roof and East Goes West, Kang translated Korean literature into English and reviewed books for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
. Kang also traveled in Europe for two years on a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, curated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, and worked as an Asian expert for the U.S. government in both U.S. Military Office of Publications and the Corps Office of Civil Information.
Kang received the Halperine Kaminsky Prize, the 1953 Louis S. Weiss
Louis S. Weiss
Louis Stix Weiss was a name partner of the international law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, a firm that traces its roots to one founded by Louis's father Samuel W. Weiss in 1875...
Memorial Prize, and an honorary doctorate from Koryo University.
The Grass Roof
The Grass Roof uses the character of Chungpa Han to depict Kang's life in Korea and to explain his decision to leave. Han chooses to leave Korea rather than join the popular resistance movementKorean independence movement
The Korean independence movement grew out of the Japanese colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. After the Japanese surrendered, Korea became independent; that day is now an annual holiday called Gwangbokjeol in South Korea, and Chogukhaebangŭi nal in North Korea.-Background:In...
fighting for independence from the Japanese; he has been influenced by Western literature and prefers the promises of individualism in the West to the mass movements and nationalism and emphasis on family connections that he sees in Korea, which he views as dying.
East Goes West
East Goes West continues the story of Han (standing in for Kang) and his life in the United States, where he notices how involved his fellow immigrants are in Korean independence and how much they hope to return to their native land. His distance from his fellow immigrants increases his sense of loneliness in his new country; moreover, his hopes for a new life in the West are never realized, as his dreams exceed the reality of American opportunity at that time. He befriends two other Koreans—Jum and Kim—who are also interested in becoming truly American, but they too have never been able to enter fully into American society. He hopes that furthering his schooling will be the solution, but even a scholarship to college does not solve his problems. As the novel ends, Han has found most of his dreams dashed, except for the Buddhist hope of a life beyond this one.Critical studies
(as of March 2008)- Kuo, Karen J. Lost Imaginaries: Images of Asia in America, 1924-1942. Dissertation, U of Washington, 2006.
- Szmanko, Klara. "America Is in the Head and on the Ground: Confronting and (Re-)Constructing 'America' in Three Asian American Narratives of the 1930s." Interactions: Aegean Journal of English and American Studies/Ege Ingiliz ve Amerikan Incelemeleri Dergisi, 2006 Fall; 15 (2): 113-23.
- Lee, A. Robert. "Younghill Kang" IN: Madsen, Asian American Writers. Detroit, MI: Gale; 2005. pp. 159–62
- Knadler, Stephen. "Unacquiring Negrophobia: Younghill Kang and Cosmopolitan Resistance to the Black and White Logic of Naturalization." IN: Lawrence and Cheung, Recovered Legacies: Authority and Identity in Early Asian American Literature. Philadelphia, PA: Temple UP; 2005. pp. 98–119
- Todorova, Kremena Tochkova. "An Enlargement of Vision": Modernity, Immigration, and the City in Novels of the 1930s. Dissertation, U of Notre Dame, 2003.
- Oh, Sandra Si Yun. Martyrdom in Korean American Literature: Resistance and Paradox in East Goes West, Quiet OdysseyMary Paik LeeMary Paik Lee was a Korean American writer. She was born Paik Kuang-Sun in Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea. She left Korea with her family in 1905, arriving in Hawaii in May that year. In December 1906, after experiencing extreme discrimination in Hawaii, the family moved to California,...
, Comfort WomanNora Okja KellerNora Okja Keller is a Korean American author. Her 1997 breakthrough work of fiction, Comfort Woman, and the 2002 sequel, Fox Girl, focus on multigenerational trauma resulting from Korean women's experiences as sex slaves, euphemistically called comfort women, for Japanese troops during World War...
and DicteeDicteeDictee is the best known written work of the artist Theresa Hak Kyung Cha. The book focuses on several women, the Korean revolutionary Yu Guan Soon, Joan of Arc, Demeter and Persephone, Cha's mother Hyun Soon Huo, and Cha herself, who are linked by their struggles and the way that nations have...
. Dissertation, U of California, Berkeley, 2001. - Lee, Kun Jong. "The African-American Presence in Younghill Kang's East Goes West." CLA Journal, 2002 Mar; 45 (3): 329-59.
- Lew, Walter K. "Grafts, Transplants, Translation: The Americanizing of Younghill Kang." IN: Scandura and Thurston, Modernism, Inc.: Body, Memory, Capital. New York, NY: New York UP; 2001. pp. 171–90
- Knadler, Stephen. "Unacquiring Negrophobia: Younghill Kang and the Cosmopolitan Resistance to the Black and White Logic of Naturalization." Jouvert: A Journal of Postcolonial Studies, 2000 Spring-Summer; 4 (3): 37 paragraphs.
- Livingston, James. "Younghill Kang (1903- )." IN: Nelson, Asian American Novelists: A Bio-Bibliographical Critical Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Greenwood; 2000. pp. 127–31
- Huh, Joonok. "'Strangest Chorale': New York City in East Goes West and Native SpeakerChang-Rae LeeChang-rae Lee is a Korean American novelist and a professor of creative writing at Princeton University, where he has served as the director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing.-Early life:...
." IN: Wright and Kaplan, The Image of the Twentieth Century in Literature, Media, and Society. Pueblo, CO: Society for the Interdisciplinary Study of Social Imagery, University of Southern Colorado; 2000. pp. 419–22 - Kim, Joanne H. "Mediating Selves: Younghill Kang's Balancing Act." Hitting Critical Mass: A Journal of Asian American Cultural Criticism, 1999 Fall; 6 (1): 51-59.
- Strange, David. "Thomas Wolfe's Korean Connection." The Thomas Wolfe Review, 1994 Spring; 18 (1): 36-41.
- Lee, Kyhan. "Younghill Kang and the Genesis of Korean-American Literature." Korea Journal, 1991 Winter; 31 (4): 63-78.
See also
- List of Asian American writers
- List of Korean Americans
- Korean American writersKorean American writersKorean American literature treats a wide range of topics including Korean life in America, the interesction of American and Korean culture in the lives of young Korean Americans, as well as life and history on the Korean peninsula.-Korean American writers:...