Contentious Spirits Religion in Korean American History, 1903-1945 [Hardcover]

Contentious Spiritsexplores the role of religion in Korean American history during the first half of the twentieth century in Hawai'i and California. Historian David K. Yoo argues that religion is the most important aspect of this group's experience because its structures and sensibilities address the full range of human experience.Framing the book are three relational themes: religion & race, migration & exile, and colonialism & independence. In an engaging narrative, Yoo documents the ways in which religion shaped the racialization of Korean in the United States, shows how religion fueled the transnational migration of Korean Americans and its connections to their exile, and details a story in which religion intertwined with the visions and activities of independence even as it was also entangled in colonialism.The first book-length study of religion in Korean American history, it will appeal to academics and general readers interested in Asian American history, American religious history, and ethnic studies. Yoo makes an important contribution to our understanding of the religious aspect of the Korean experience in the United States. His book is full of useful information and perspectives on the institutions and congregations of Korean churches. Yoo's analysis of the issues and problems that Koreans faced as exiled aliens in the United States is thoughtful and perspicacious. With his lucid essay, he offers a new perspective on race, nationalism, and colonialism in American history as experienced by Korean Americans. Using three diodesreligion and race, migration and exile, and colonialism and independenceYoo examines the early Korean American experience through the lens of their (mostly Protestant) religion and its organizational structures . . . [T]his book represents a significant advance in our understanding of the prewar Korean American community. David K. Yoo'sContentious Spirits: Religion in Korean American History, 1903-1945is a pathbreal#,