Home Was the Land of Morning Calm: A Saga of a Korean-American Family

By K. Connie Kang

Book Overview

'I am more American than Korean in my mind, but I am more Korean than American in my soul.' In this poignant, bittersweet family memoir, K. Connie Kang tells the story of one of America's most recent, and successful, immigrant groups: the Korean-Americans.The author's tale is one of hardship, as wars twice force her family to flee their homes in Korea. It is also a story of heartbreak, as her new life in America, first as a student and then as a reporter, irreversibly separates her from her parents and their values. Ultimately, hers is a story of the lure of American freedom, andthe wisdom offered up by a lifelong struggle to reconcile two vastly different cultures.Connie Kang, who came to the United States in 1961, interweaves her family's story with Korea's tempestuous recent history. Her grandfather, Myong-Hwan Kang, a nationalist organizer during the period of Japanese colonialism, is arrested and tortured for his activities. Only a few years after the victory over Japan, war breaks out with the Communists in the North. Connie and her mother escape on an all-night ride on top of a railroad car, and arrive as refugees in Pusam. Eventually they rejoin Connie's father in Tokyo, and then Okinawa.As a college student in America, the author meets other Korean students, and for the first time grapples with the question of her Korean identity. Though she is drawn to the personal freedom in America, her emotional ties to her family and country are equally strong, setting the stage for a conflict of identities which has yet to cease. She becomes one of the first Korean-American journalists in the U.S., but still her family breaks up her intended marriage to an American. When she tries living and working in Korea, she finds the role of women too restricted. Finally she decides to settle in America. Now, as a reporter, she covers the Asian-American communities around Los Angeles, helping to bring to light the issues that affect recent immigrants like herself.In a warm, sympathetic voice that is refreshingly candid but never sentimental, K. Connie Kang has written the book on the Korean-American experience. It is a story that will touch us all.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201626845
• ISBN13: 9780201626841
• Release Date: July 1995
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 307 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

a wonderful book!

I received this book as a gift when it first came out. The author even signed it. I was riveted and could not put the book down. I was in high school at the time. I enjoyed this book and it spoke to me so much about my homeland. She writes well and effortlessly. She does a great job of painting pictures with her words and really carrying the reader along with her in each thing she saw, felt and experienced.

inspiring and insightful

It took me months to track down a copy of Connie's book, but it was well worth it. Growing up as a second generation Korean American interested in becoming a journalist, I knew of very few Korean and Asian American journalists, especially women. I found Kang's memoir inspiring, detailed and well written. I read the book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. There were so many moments in the story that I felt like she was talking directly to me. Even if you're not Asian American, the story is universal and explores the questions of identity, understanding, and growing up.

A very well written journey

This is basically an autobiography of Connie's life. Very well written and insightful at times. She can look at Korean culture from both within and without. Overall, I'd recommend it.

A fascinating work-monumental in scope

This is a fascinating work--monumental in scope and content. I would recommend it to all readers who are interested in learning more about Asian Americans and Asia. It should be a required text in secondary and college social science and literature classes. Connie Kang writes with insight and knowledge that is extraordinary.

Superbly written bio that also educates us about Korean Hist

This is my first book written about Korea. As an adopted Korean woman, searching for knowledge about my homeland has become central. Thus, from a friend's suggestion, I read Connie's book about her own life of displacement. Although she was born in Korea, she spent little time actually living within the boudaries of her own country. Her story begins several generations earlier from her own, chronicling the events that inevitably changed outside views of Korea, and also Korea herselve. More than just a lesson in history, it is a book so well written it sings. I recommend this book for anyone, no matter your cultural heritage. It is important that her story be heard, as a record of the struggles new immigrants experience in this country. Besides inspiring me to learn and do more about Korea, she has given me a good starting point to work from. I no longer feel as ignorant about my own people.