We Need More Intentional Racial Socialization Efforts in Korean American Churches

By Paul Youngbin Kim

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his piece is challenging to write. The Korean American church has been given me so much that it seems like a betrayal to point out some of the ways that it might fall short. As a Korean, I was socialized into a cultural value of not saying anything that could reflect badly on the ingroup, which includes my Korean American church community.

But here it is: I wish my Korean American church could do race conversations better.

The days and weeks following the Atlanta massacre that killed 8 people, including 6 Asian women, have been filled with much grieving, anger, and fear for the Asian and Asian American community. Non-Asian communities, including Christian churches, expressed solidarity for our community and denounced the evils of racism, xenophobia, and misogyny. This feels like a watershed moment in our country, when the previously dismissed or minimized experiences of Asians have been at the forefront of our conversations, including in church conversations. My Korean American church, and the several other Korean American churches that I know, have taken the time to lament and to engage in activism in response to the increase in anti-Asian racism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

But while I am moved by the strong response from my church and the advocacy of Korean American Christians around me, I am simultaneously grieved by some of the sentiments expressed by members of my Korean church community following the Atlanta shootings, viewpoints that reflect internalized model minority stereotype and racial color-blindness. Some examples of these perspectives include assertions that the media is doing more harm than good by reporting on anti-Asian racism; qualifications of Asian American experiences against the experiences of Black folks; arguments that there is no need for us to live in fear. And many more along the same lines of minimization and dismissal of anti-Asian racism.

Of course, I have heard these expressed by non-Asians too. But when thoughts reflecting internalized model minority stereotype and racial color-blindness are expressed by my Korean siblings in Christ, the statements cut that much deeper. I have observed this type of wounding in the last few weeks in my network of Korean Christians; some have been quite vocal about their skepticism of the validity of Asian experiences of racism, and this messaging has further injured those who are already in pain, especially the women in my community. For those who are already hurting, witnessing internalized racism among ingroup members can be a re-traumatizing experience.

Why are we in the Korean Christian community so disjointed in our views on racism? This is a complicated question that likely has different answers, but as a psychologist, I contend that one possibility is that many of us in the Korean American Christian community have not experienced effective racial socialization throughout our lifetime.

In my field of multicultural psychology, racial socialization refers to caregivers (e.g., a parent) intentionally teaching their child about race. Sometimes, this is referred to as “the talk” between a parent and their child. The general idea is that there is a purposeful teaching of the child about their racial identity and how to respond if others treat them differently based on race.

Many in my Korean church community, including myself, have not experienced meaningful racial socialization under our parents. Sure, we learned to appreciate Korean culture by learning the language, watching Korean shows, eating Korean food, and learning about Korean history. But the other critical dimension of racial socialization – intentional conversations about racism – was lacking. The few times I solicited my parents’ advice for coping with racial harassment that I experienced, the responses I got were along the lines of “Prove them wrong by working hard” or “Show them your Taekwondo kick so that they will not bother you anymore.” Suffice to say, neither of those options have proven effective for me to fight against racism.

To be clear, I do not blame my parents, or any of the immigrant parents of my fellow Korean churchgoers. They were so busy trying to survive in a foreign country, that they believed that the biggest lesson they could teach us was assimilation.   

But I am struck by the real possibility that my Korean church community is filled with individuals like me who have not had intentional racial socialization in their lives. Some of us have been fortunate to receive racial socialization in other ways, but others in my community have been able to navigate life in the U.S. without these conversations.  

Given this reality, how can Korean American churches help counter these tendencies?  

I contend that the Korean American church can provide a corrective experience for its congregants by engaging in deliberate racial socialization as a community. Racial socialization efforts are usually discussed at the individual level, but there are lessons that can be extended to a collective level of the Korean church setting. Here are a few key principles underlying racial socialization can inform Korean churches’ efforts. Note that these are not necessarily concrete steps to take, as each Korean American church might look different in what might constitute effective socialization; instead, I identify key principles to keep in mind for church leaders, based on what I know of why racial socialization is effective:  

1. Racial socialization is not only about affinity for one’s heritage. My Korean church community loves Korean culture, whether it is food, strong sense of interdependence, K-pop, and K-drama. But liking Korean culture and feeling good about being Korean are not sufficient to provide protection against the harmful effects of racism. Rather, effective racial socialization should involve also intentional reflecting, repenting, and teaching on the topic of racism and related issues.  Think about the mother engaging in “the talk” with their child; not only is the mother focused on instilling a sense of appreciation for their culture, but she is also intentional in naming racism and describing concrete ways to fight against them.

2.   Racial socialization is primarily focused on preparation. Yes, the solidarity and advocacy in response to anti-Asian racism are also important. But equally critical is the regular practice of dialoguing about racism within the faith community. Too many times, racial conversations in Korean churches are treated as peripheral to Christian faith, and attention is given only after tragedies, such as the Atlanta shootings. Changing our practices as a faith community to more frequently converse about race under the umbrella of Christian faith can help to better equip us to respond to racism directed toward our community.

3.  Racial socialization is usually initiated by someone who is of higher status and more experienced. Again, think about the mother talking to her child. The more experienced authority figure (mother) is providing concrete guidance to the less experienced (child). Translated to the church setting, this means that church leadership should be at the front of the conversations about racism. It also means that church leadership, including small group leaders, should seek out training to provide helpful and not hurtful guidance when ministering people about racism. Given that many of the microaggressive statements happen within smaller settings such as community groups, it seems especially important that small group leaders are sufficiently trained to initiate and process conversations around race.

Perhaps the word that best encapsulates all of these thoughts is intentionality. I pray that Christian leaders serving Korean American communities will practice intentionality in engaging the topic of racism, so that we can continue to be transformed into a loving, compassionate, and justice-seeking community that we are called to as believers.

Photo by Kevin Pire on Unsplash

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Paul Youngbin Kim, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Associate Dean for DEI in the School of Psychology, Family, and Community at Seattle Pacific University. As a counseling psychologist, Paul has written extensively about Asian and Asian American experiences and how religion might intersect with these experiences, such as attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, racial microaggressions, and model minority stereotype. He recently wrote a piece on anti-Asian racism that was published in The Seattle Times.

You can find his faculty profile here: https://spu.edu/academics/school-of-psychology-family-community/faculty-and-staff/paul-youngbin-kim-profile