A 48-year old Korean woman, mother of two sons, has been living in Los Angeles for seven years now. On the evening of July 15, 1997, her husband comes home late at night from his financially shaky liquor store in East LA. He is tired and frustrated from the deception of an American dream once promised to him eight years ago. A small negative remark by the Korean woman causes the husband to unleash several strikes to her face with his open hand. She sustains several bruises on her face and a bloody nose, yet she says nothing and accepts the punishment as if it were inescapable event. She goes to sleep that night angered at herself for causing the outbreak and despaired with the fact that she will be offered no guarantees of safety for the next day.

Spousal abuse has been a consistent problem in American society. A general survey has shown approximately 4 million cases of domestic violence had occurred in America in one year. Among those 4 million, 95% of the cases are reported to be women. (Ho Kim, 1999, pp.5-7) The common emphasis is on America as a whole, but the situations of Korean American women have been seriously overlooked until recent times. Underneath the vague statistical lines,

Wong, Bet Key, "Domestic Violence and Asian Families." March 13, 1999. October 10, 1999.

Yoon, Yoeng-mi. "Intimate Crimes Bitter Reality." Korea Times. July 21, 1999. October 23, 1999.

The national statistics reveals that domestic violence is one of the leading causes of injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44. (Mehrotra,1999, p.16) There has yet to be a distinct number of domestic violence surveys on Asian Americans alone. The few surveys that have been conducted recently show dramatic numbers.

Hurh, W.M., and Kim, K.C. Korean Immigrants in America: A structural anlaysis of ethnic confinement and adhesive adaptation. Macomb, IL: Western Illinoes University Press. 1984.

Kitano, H.L., and Daniels, R. Asian Americans: Emerging Minorities. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1995.

Yip, Althea. "When Violence Begins at Home." Asian Week. October 16-22. 1997. October 23, 1999.

In Massachusetts, Asians made up 18% of the victims killed as a result of domestic violence in 1997 but comprised only 3% of the state's population. In California's Santa Clara County, a report of showed that Asians accounted for 33% of domestic violence related deaths from 1993-1997 while Asians made up 14% of the county's population. (Ho Kim, 1999, p.12)

In addition to the few surveys, the indirect facts of shelters and family counselors show the height of the problem. According to Vijay Agnew of the Center for Pacific Asian Family, the Asian Women's Shelter in San Francisco turns away 75% of women who need their services due to lack of space. (Agnew, 1998, pp.8-10) Yet, many of these statistics are grossly misrepresented due to the subjects' conscious effort of underreporting. It is difficult to understand that the average Korean American battered wife will not report their case to another agency outside the family. Uncovering the details of the cultural background in which they are isolated to can see the perspective of the Korean wife.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Korean American, Ho Kim, Families Korea, East LA, Asian American, Kimberly Huisman, San Francisco, Women's Shelter, Los Angeles, Clara County, domestic violence, korean american, ho kim, ho kim 1999, kim 1999, korean wife, korean women, korean wives, values norms, asian women's shelter, extended family, asian women's, october 23 1999, ten korean american, korean american families,
Approximate Word count = 1874
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)