CENTURY OF THE TIGER: One Hundred Years of Korean Culture in America 1903–2003

Undertaken by the Korean Centennial Foundation to celebrate 100 years of Korean immigration to the United States, this book of essays, poetry, fiction and photographs of art is a complex tribute to a diaspora.mixing cultural history and emotive recollection. Arranged chronologically, the works begin in a chapter named "Land of Morning Calm," with the writings of Younghill Kang, the first Korean-American novelist. Folk songs, a photograph of the last queen of Korea (1851–1995) and quotes from an oral history of women who immigrated to Hawaii follow, along with portraits, objects like quilts and fans, and wooden dragons from the Honolulu Academy of the Arts. The objects illustrate writings by scores of contributors, like Chang-Rae Lee (Native Speaker), Gary Pak (A Ricepaper Airplane) and Walter K. Lew (Treadwinds). The "War and Liberation" chapter tackles the experiences of Koreans during World War II and the Korean War, while "Manse!" explores the Korean independence movement. The final chapter ("New Arrivals in a Changed America") begins with an introduction by Jenny Ryun Foster, herself an adoptee from Korea who arrived as a child in Chicago in 1974. This book tells an intricate story with care, but is more a collection of unexpected historical encounters than an exhaustive account. (Feb. 15)