On my own : Korean businesses and race relations in America /

Koreans are one of the fastest growing ethnic groups in the US, but comparatively little is known about them. Yoon has done a tremendous job in remedying that situation. He presents an enlightening study on the complexities of the Korean experience in the US. His goal is to provide "... a thorough and systematic analysis of why Koreans immigrated to the United States, why and how they started small businesses, how they interpret their businesses and immigrant lives, and how their entrepreneurial activity causes tensions between them and members of other minority groups." Yoon does exactly what he promises. He clearly outlines his research strategy and weaves together various types of data from Chicago and Los Angeles. This reviewer was impressed by Yoon's professionalism generally, but has some concerns about the objectivity of his discussion of Korean and African American relations, e.g., he suggests that a black Chamber of Commerce attempted to extort money from Korean merchants (p. 177). Nevertheless, this work belongs in the library of anyone interested in Asian Americans. Upper-division undergraduates and above. R. S. Guerra; University of Texas--Pan American

After 1965, as restrictions on immigration by national groups were eliminated and a premium on talent was substituted, the United States experienced an influx of highly educated Koreans. Their heritage included respect for entrepreneurial activity and recent acquaintance with the global economy. Often lacking transferable credentials from Korean professions, many became small business owners. By 1990, Korean Americans ranked among the country's highest groups in self-employment, with a large proportion of their businesses in poor African American and Hispanic neighborhoods. Building on Kim Hyung-Chan's New Urban Immigrants (Princeton Univ., 1981) and William J. Wilson's The Truly Disadvantaged (Univ. of Chicago, 1987), Yoon (The Social Origins of Korean Immigration to the United States from 1965-Present, East-West Ctr., 1993) continues the sociological discussion of Asian immigrant urban dwellers begun by Paul Siu in his 1950s studies (published as The Chinese Landroman, New York Univ., 1987). For academic and large public libraries.‘Margaret W. Norton, Morton West H.S., Berwyn Ill. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.