Economic Adaptation Of Minorities In Multicultural America

Ethnic economy has been one of major ways of economic adaptation for American minorities, ever since 1965 when the newly enacted law changed the immigration landscene dramatically. Ethnic economy indicates great diversity which stems from American multiculturalism and enhances it at the same time. In most cases, ethnic economy can be viewed as embodiment of American multiculturalism in economy.Korean economy which centers in small businesses and is one of the typical cases of the study of American ethnic economy such as Chinese-Americans in the business of restaurants or Japanese-Americans in fruit plantation. For Korean-Americans, Korean business began with wigs in the inner cities of metropolitans like L.A., Washington D.C. and Chicago, where minorities swarmed and posed "underserved market" because of the shift of commercial districts to the suburbs. Korean business changes with the immigration situation and adapts to the fickle minority community economy. It penetrates gradually into such mainstream economies as gas station commercially and white communities geographically as time goes by. In a whole, Korean business enhances the welfare of the Korean community.Korean success in small business not only results from their nationality and their catching the economic chance in inner cities, but roots in their ethnicity. Korean ethnicity in business includes co-ethnic business networks, vertical integration and inter-group business succession, etc. In some degree, Korean business serves as the mediator between the superior American mainstream economy and the inferior minority communities. It also puts an end to the inner city declining after the White Flight since 1960s and enhances their prosperity. It is clear that Korean business has to adapt to the American society in two aspects, the mainstream economy on one hand and the multicultural minority communities on the other. By doing so, Korean-Americans has kept the delicate balance of dual roles between them.For Korean-Americans themselves, their business cements the Korean ethnicitywhich lays the foundation for the Korean ethnic economy. It betters their economic situations, evokes their political claim and promotes their cultural awareness. After L.A. Riots in 1992, the Korean business spills out of the economic field into the ethnic politics and cross-culture dialogs and leads the Korean community to maturity. The Korean business grows up in the background of American multiculturalism. As one of the American ethnic economies, it serves as a model of other minorities for their economic adaptation on the ethnic ground, and also exemplifies the principle of "One core, diverse polars". The Korean business adapts economically, politically and culturally. That is, the Korean business is a respond to the combination of American mainstream culture and its multicultural commercial milieu. This way of multicultural economic adaptation applies to most minorities in America, not just to the Korean-Americans. It is fair to say that the Korean business offers us a valuable case study on both American minority economy and multiculturalism.