Haunting the Korean Diaspora

January 15, 2009

hauntingkorean.jpgGrace Cho, author of Haunting the Korean Diaspora: Shame, Secrecy and the Forgotten War, will be presenting her book, followed by a community discussion, this Saturday at the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle. Her book is an analysis of US neocolonialism, militarized prostitution, and transgenerational trauma, examining the history between Korean women and American servicemen through sex work and marriage.

Since the Korean War, over a million women have acted as sex workers for US soldiers, and over 100,000 married GIs and emigrated to America. Haunting the Korean Diaspora also explores the repressed history of violence and consequences of such sexual relationships for Koreans and Korean Americans in both the private realm and public discourse. The discussion will also include topics of adoption, memory, and occupation.

Grace Cho is also a contributing performance artist to the Wing Luke Museum's current exhibit "Still Present Pasts: Korean Americans and the Forgotten War." I recently saw the exhibit and it's definitely worth checking out, as a powerful collection of oral and visual accounts from survivors and their families. Both the book discussion and exhibition are included as part of Wing Luke's free third Saturdays programming.

Saturday January 17th
5:30 to 7:30pm
Free!
Wing Luke Asian Museum
719 South King Street (Chinatown-International District)
Seattle, WA

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