The collaborative research journey of Dr. Joyce Yip Green and artist Helen H. Kim began with their shared reflections as Asian American women with aging immigrant parents. While their personal stories and cultural connections fueled their desire to delve into the lives of the Lao and Korean communities, their work ultimately sheds light on the broader Asian American experience amidst America’s geopolitical influences.
The aim of (re)Location: The Lao/Korean Acculturation Project is to understand the diasporic experiences and acculturation process of Lao refugees and Korean immigrants. It incorporates art-based methodologies such as drawing, collecting artifacts, and singing to facilitate diverse forms of expression of ideas and emotions. Interviews with10 Laotians and 10 Koreans who migrated to the US in the 70s and 80s took place between 2021 and 2022. Though these elder participants are not representative of the comprehensive cross-section of the two communities, they provided insight into Lao and Korean migration and settlement experiences.

Though there were some distinct differences between the Lao and Korean groups, three general main themes emerged from the research. First was the impact of community on participants’ adjustment and integration in the US, with already-established family and friends offering essential support in various aspects of migration and settlement. Involvement in religious institutions—Buddhist temples for Lao participants and Christian churches for Korean participants—often played a vital role in cultural maintenance and support. The second significant theme was demonstrating exemplary behavior through civic duty. Participants saw activities such as voting, obeying laws, and participating in American customs as ways to establish legitimacy and gain respect against negative assumptions in society. The third theme was a sense of belonging through identity and interactions. Belongingness was influenced by familial ties, Lao/Korean communal and religious affiliations, and national allegiance, whether that was to their country of origin or the US. Participants’ sense of identity, which also played a part in their sense of belonging, was affected by external influences, such as being viewed as perpetual foreigners and facing challenges with English proficiency, and inter-Asian and interracial comparisons and perceptions.
The above themes were shaped by three factors, which Joyce and Helen call “meditators”: liminality, language, and religion. Liminality reflected the participants’ constant state of flux and uncertainty in understanding their identities and sense of home. Language often served as a barrier to autonomy, agency, and/or engagement in American society but also linked participants to their cultural identity. Religion—both as an institution and spiritual practice—provided cultural continuity, community, and spiritual strength during the acculturation process.
(re)Location illuminates the complex experiences of Lao and Korean immigrants, highlighting the interplay of community, identity, sense of place, and external factors in their acculturation journey in America. The stories of the 20 participants provide insight into the Lao and Korean immigrant experiences as well as to the broader discourse on Asian American identity formation. We are reminded of the resilience, diversity, and cultural contributions of Lao and Korean migrants to the tapestry of American society.