HANA: A Mixed-Method Study of The First and Second Generation of The Korean Church of New England

“This is an unprecedented historical and empirical study of the Korean Church of New England to identify the state of the church and propose a better future for the first and second generation in the midst of a rough transition and Silent Exodus. ”

Team Members/Contributors

Jane K. Chun ARISE Ministries Contact Me

About this pastoral study project

The central question of this project is, “How can we accurately identity the state of the first and second generations of the Korean American Church of New England, and with this, help the second generation to thrive alongside the first generation as a part of the Korean Church of New England?”

As the Korean community and church ceases to be a space for second-generation Korean Americans to be able to practice faith and live freely as individuals over the years, the crisis of ethnic/spiritual identity of the second-generation, coupled with relational tensions of value and purpose between the first and second-generation of the Korean American immigrant community, has resulted in a Silent Exodus of the second generation out of the Korean American Church. This pastoral study project takes historical and empirical approaches to provide a comprehensive outlook of Korean American churches in New England with two main goals: to identify what has happened to the first- and second- generations of the Korean American Church of New England, and with this information, propose ways to bridge the gap between the first and second generation and help the second generation to spiritually thrive as members of Korean churches.

This will be done through qualitative survey research as well as transcription and compilation of necessary information from the written records of Korean American churches all across New England to create a literature review that transcends language for the sake of accessibility of information to the English-speaking generation.