Exploring Korean Language Use in Korean American Children’s and Adolescent Literature

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am - Gold 4
  In Roundtable Session: Critically Exploring Children’s Literature, Cultural Identities, and Languages

Abstract

In recent years, Korean American children’s and adolescent literature has increasingly integrated Korean language elements into English-dominant narratives, reflecting both the growing presence of Korean American authors and the global rise of Korean culture. While the inclusion of Korean words in these texts serves cultural and narrative functions, their specific roles and implications for readers—particularly non-Korean, U.S.-based youth—remain underexplored. This study investigates how Korean language is selected, embedded, and functions within seven contemporary realistic fiction novels featuring Korean American protagonists. Using linguistic content analysis and critical discourse analysis, the research examines the literary, cultural, and ideological purposes of Korean language use, with attention to its relationship to characterization, point of view, plot, intergenerational relationships, and identity formation.

Authors

• Prisca Kim, University of New Mexico

• Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico