Culture Clash in an Evolving Chicago Suburb

Two a cappella voices reverberated off the concrete walls of a tucked-away room at . Posters of knots and Boy Scout medals hung on one wall; on the other, a large banner of a white chapel surrounded by flowers and the words “Garam Christian Church.”

Although St. Martha’s is Catholic, a tiny group of Korean Presbyterians rents a worship space there. Last Sunday, Cheng-Chen Back brought his wife, son and two daughters to hear a sermon from Rev. MiSuk Shin, who was filling in while the regular pastor visited Korea. The six of them made up the entire congregation that day.

Elsewhere on St. Martha’s campus, one of the masses for the 980-member parish was in full swing.

Shin and Back alternated reading Bible verses to each other before reciting the Apostles’ Creed in unison to the metronome click-clack of Back’s youngest daughter wearing her mother’s shoes across the tile floor. Shin delivered her sermon on John 13, where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet—in Korean. At the end of the service, Back’s two oldest children read Genesis 13, where Abraham and Lot part ways—in English.

It was Korean America embodied, the precise moment when a family comes to a fork in its path: The parents continuing as Koreans in America and the children putting on the mantle of Americans with a Korean heritage.

Korean America in Morton Grove

The 2010 census revealed that a full 28 percent of Morton Grove’s 23,270-person population self-identified as Asian, and of those, there is a significant Korean contingent.

, the curator at the Morton Grove Historical Museum, tracks the village’s sociological evolution. What was once an entirely Native American area became a predominantly German settlement in the 1850s and shifted over the years to become home for other Western Europeans. But little has been catalogued about the current Korean influx.

“Indian heritage and Asian immigration is replacing that first mix of immigrants that came to Chicago,” Busch said, referencing a chapter called “The Indo-Asian Arrival: 1981 to present” in a book about Skokie. “Some people describe Morton Grove as a ‘bedroom community.’ It's a place to live, and you hop on the highway or train to go to work.”

Slim Involvement

A drive past Dempster Street’s Korean restaurants, travel agencies and acupuncture offices paints part of the picture. Yet, looking at Asian involvement in local government might be surprising when juxtaposed with their status as more than a quarter of the village.

“We’ve had some serve on the volunteer commissions,” said Susan Lattanzi, of the village administrator’s office. “I can’t tell you how many or for what length of time. Have there been any on the village board? No, there have not, that I can tell you for sure.”

Involvement is slim in the business community, too.

“We probably have about four or five (Asian) members,” said , executive director of the Morton Grove Chamber of Commerce, which has a total membership of 185. “We’re trying to integrate the Korean community into our business community.”

However, Liston said that when she drops off informational packets, she’s met with a general lack of interest, often because Korean businesses are already organized into their own leagues, such as the Chicago Korean American Chamber of Commerce.

“I usually get a ‘We’ll think about it,’” Liston said.

However, that standoffishness could be attributed to cultural differences.

What's a Sleepover?

“It relies on a strong sense of trust,” said Young Han, a 28-year-old Korean-American artist who attended Niles North High School and grew up smack-dab on the border of Morton Grove and Skokie. His mother now lives in Morton Grove.

Han explained that, for example, there could be four or five Koreans who each want to start a business. They’ll pool their money and one will start his business with the support of the others. Then they'll take turn financing each other.

Indeed, banding together with friends and family is a cherished Korean tradition. With increased residential development in the suburbs during the 20th century, more and more Asian-Americans began moving out of the city. And where one went, others would follow.

“The idea of family values and being close is so important in Korean culture that it made sense for people to all move together,” Han said.

For Han and many of his friends, however, there was a strange tension growing up as the children of first-generation immigrants. Their parents emphasized good grades and learning fluent English, yet there was also pressure to be in American culture but not of it.

“It was contradictory in some senses,” Han said. “They maybe didn’t focus so much on language, but they raised me in their Korean cultural values. I’d go to a sleepover, and they never understood the concept. They’d say, ‘Why would your friend’s parents want you to sleep at their house? That’s a burden.’ It was family-time versus friend-time.”

Han remembered another cultural disconnect, when he took three non-Korean friends to a Korean restaurant in Morton Grove.

“The hostess spoke to me in Korean and was asking me why I brought these other people here, saying it wasn’t very polite,” Han said. “That business isn’t around anymore.

Language and Time

“In general, you do see unfortunately both the good and bad sides of it. My father passed away last year, and the community came together and helped my mom and I out. But sometimes Koreans aren’t as open to engaging with groups that are different from them.”

But that sort of close-knit community can be understandable for expats.

“They want to be on equal footing as other Americans who have been here longer,” Han said. “People try to support each other because they've been through similar experiences and share a common language. When you don't have that language ability, that's a huge disadvantage.”

“It’s tricky because you want to hold on to the language or simple things like making Korean food, but at the same time you don't want it to dominate the openness with other cultures,” Han said. “I think over time Koreans will integrate. It’s already changed quite a bit.”