[KS] Re: Collaboration

Eugene Y. Park eypark at fas.harvard.edu
Fri Feb 5 13:58:38 EST 1999


Dear Mr. Hoare:

I have some thoughts on your comments, but I send this message to the list.
It might be of some interest to other members.  Actually, my comments are
about the issue of one studying one's own heritage rather than the issue of
collaboration.  I'm sure many of us in the Korean studies community in the
U.S. have begun to notice in the last few years that the racial/ethnic
"balance" of graduate students in the field is shifting from white American
to Korean American.

I myself am a Korean American close to completing my dissertation and
currently teaching Korean studies courses.  From childhood, though, I've
been intested in reading about history and culture of all nations or
peoples.  And as an undergraduate, I took more courses on Byzantine and
medieval eastern European history than those on East Asia.  So I'd like to
believe (I could easily be wrong) that I have a general understanding of
historical developements in various regions of the world, including my own
America.

Once in a while, when I try to discuss with a white American Koreanist some
controversial issues or traumatic episodes from Western or American history
in relation to Korea, I encounter an awkward silence or even a denial.
Most common reaction is that the particular comparison is not valid, and
that Korea should be examined by itself.  Or it lesat, Korea should be
compared with a non-Western nation   If I were to make a sweeing
generalization to make sense of this, I'd venture to guess that a
significant number of white Americans involved in Korean studies at the
moment are from the 60's generation--so respected (at least in my mind) for
its strong sense of social justice and activism.  Perhaps they believes
that their mission was never completed, painfully aware of so many
injustice here at home.  They have been channeling their energy toward
critiquing injustices and "problems" in other societies.  Maybe it's always
easier to discuss, for example, human rights abuses, collaboration, or
slavery in other societies, rather than, say, affirmative action,
multicultural education, or white male hegemony as perpetuated by the
mainstream media.

I totally agree with you on the point that when one studies a culture,
(s)he could use some comparative perspective.  Differing from you, though,
I believe that one's own heritage should not be excluded from the list of
comparisons.  Of course, this is not to suggest that I reject the common
sensical wisdom that studying one's own ethnic/cultural heritage,
especially the one ridden with trauma, requires an extra effort to seek
obejctivity: So noble a goal but too elusive for most of us.

Gene Park

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Eugene Y. Park
Assistant Professor
Department of East Asian Studies
McGill University
3434 McTavish Street
Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1X9

Phone:	(514) 398-6742, ext. 0209; (514) 281-9764
Fax:	(514) 398-1882
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