My research is designed to disclose the continuing predicament of second-generation Korean American women who find themselves in patriarchal and hierarchical systems, both in the home and in the church. Drawing from the family system theories, the research will focus on the Korean American congregational system in their particular socio-cultural, socio-political, socio-economic contexts, and their religious and philosophical ideologies. These historical analyses will assist in the understanding of present gender norms and social regulations in the home and in Korean American churches and communities. This process of critical inquiry can provide a source of consciousness and a new direction for Korean American women.

My research also conducts in-depth personal and group interviews with the 1.5 and second-generation Korean American women on the gender roles in the family, church, and community and furthermore gender disparity in their social and religious context. My interviewees are specifically asked about the division of labor in performing household chores, the marital decision-making patterns (inter-generational differences), the areas of their upbringing of children.

The ethnographical research reveals the predicament of the 1.5 and second-generation Korean American women who are in patriarchal systems in their homes. This critical inquiry will explore the degree of retention of traditional patriarchal and hierarchal practices in their homes, immigrant churches, and communities.