"Yuh has composed a complex, provocative, and compassionate
portrayal of the experiences of Korean military brides from the
1950s through the 1990s. . . . Delving into how these women face
isolation and alienation from both Korean and US societies because
of their transnational status, Yuh's masterful history demonstrates
that these women have resisted perceptions of both societies and
forged communities based on their claiming Korean and US identities
as Korean military brides. A wonderful resource... Highly
recommended."
--"Choice"
"Ji-Yeon Yuh's book poignantly illustrates the human costs and
benefits of militarized migration in the context of American-Korean
relations."
--"The Journal of Asian Studies"
"Impeccably researched and seamlessly executed."
--"Bitch Magazine"
"IThis is one of the most compelling books I have read this
year...Ji-Yeon Yuh's account is alternately heart breaking and
inspiring."
-- "Comparative/World"
"Ji-Yeon Yuh uses a wealth of sources, especially moving oral
histories, to tell an important, at times heartbreaking, story of
Korean military brides. She takes us beyond the stereotypes and
reveals their roles within their families, communities, and Korean
immigration to the U.S. Without ignoring their difficult lives, Yuh
portrays these women's agency and dignity with skill and
compassion."
--K. Scott Wong, Williams College
"Ji-Yeon Yuh's study is to be commended on several counts, not
the least of which is the aunique prisma (dust jacket) she gives
the contemporary reader into the social and cultural contract
between Korea and the United States, clearly a template that we
would be advised to heed in these troubledtimes."
-- "The Journal of American History"
"By studying the lives and history of Korean amilitary brides, a
Ji-Yeon Yuh pays tribute to an important group that has not
received the understanding, attention, and respect that it
deserves. Full of compelling stories, Beyond the Shadow of the
Camptowns is sure to inspire new ways of thinking about U.S. and
especially immigration history, as well as Asian American and Asian
history."
--Elaine Kim, University of California at Berkeley
"Where do marriage, diaspora, racism and the politics of global
alliances converge? In the dreams and dailiness of the thousands of
Korean women living in the United States today. Ji-Yeon Yuh's
engaging and revealing book shows us that by listening attentively
to the Korean women married to white and black American men, we can
become a lot smarter about the realities of globalized
living."
--Cynthia Enloe, author of "Maneuvers: the International Politics
of Militarizing Women's Lives"
""Beyond the Shadoe of Camptown" is a readable and poignant
piece of scholarship. There is much worth praising in this
book."
--Brandon Palmer, University of Hawaii at Manoa
"In general, the fluid writing style demonstrates Yuh's
background in journalism, and helps explain why this work made its
way from dissertation to hardcover so rapidly. It is a study that
demands attention from scholars of foreign relations and migration
between Korea and the United States, and deserves attention from
ethnic studies scholars and immigration scholars as
well."--"Journal of American Ethnic History"
"Beyond the Shadow of Camptown: Korean Military Brides in
America, immigration historian Ji-Yeon Yuh explores how Koreanwomen
relate to American men in these cross-cultural relationships, and
how the military link between the dominant U.S. and subservient
Korea tends to complicate their marriages, already challenging for
many other reasons, with a dose of international politics as
well."
--"Korean Quarterly"
"Through compelling oral histories, she traces the lives of
women form successive generations of brides."
--"Chronicle of Higher Education"
Since the beginning of the Korean War in 1950, nearly 100,000
Korean women have immigrated to the United States as the wives of
American soldiers. Based on extensive oral interviews and archival
research, Beyond the Shadow of the Camptowns tells the stories of
these women, from their presumed association with U.S. military
camptowns and prostitution to their struggles within the
intercultural families they create in the United States.
Historian Ji-Yeon Yuh argues that military brides are a unique
prism through which to view cultural and social contact between
Korea and the U.S. After placing these women within the context of
Korean-U.S. relations and the legacies of both Japanese and U.S.
colonialism vis A vis military prostitution, Yuh goes on to explore
their lives, their coping strategies with their new families, and
their relationships with their Korean families and homeland. Topics
range from the personal--the role of food in their lives--to the
communalthe efforts of military wives to form support groups that
enable them to affirm Korean identity that both American and
Koreans would deny them.
Relayed with warmth and compassion, this is the first in-depth
study of Korean military brides, and is a groundbreaking
contribution to AsianAmerican, women's, and "new" immigrant
studies, while also providing a unique approach to military
history.