My research team has been selected to receive the 2024 CUNY Interdisciplinary Research Grant Program at CUNY! ($45,350). I, as lead PI, will work with PaoYi Huang and Lili Shi to conduct our new project, “From Chinatown to Koreatown: Spatial Boundaries and Intraethnic and Interethnic Relations in Flushing, Queens.” Our research extends the past research by investigating the way in which Chinese, South Koreans, Joseonjok (Korean Chinese), and Taiwanese coexist and build a multiethnic neighborhood while discussing intraethnic and interethnic relations and conflicts among these four East Asian groups.
Abstract
Flushing/Murray Hill is known as one of the largest and most vibrant Asian communities in New York City, where one can immerse into unique and “exotic” Asian cultures from food to nightlife. However, though the neighborhood is well-known as the second Chinatown and Koreatown, what is less discussed about the neighborhood is its ethnic and national diversity. Flushing/Murray Hill is where a diverse group of East Asians, such as Chinese, Taiwanese, Joseonjok (whose ethnicity is Korean but whose nationality is Chinese), and Koreans, find opportunities for accommodation and jobs, while seeking and enjoying authentic flavors from their home.
Based on in-depth interviews, critical media analysis, and archival research, this project discusses new types of intraethnic and interethnic relations and conflicts among these four East Asian groups. Particularly, this project asks questions about how and why unique immigration histories to the U.S., East Asian geopolitics, and socio-economic stratification within the Asian community have shaped Flushing/Murray Hill as a transnational and multi-ethnic Asian neighborhood, where various relations, conflicts, struggles, and solidarity exist by looking at two major events: the Flushing redevelopment plans and hate crimes against Asians during the pandemic.
