ABSTRACT
One of the most prominent examples of Korean American literature, Chang-Rae Lee’s debut novel Native Speaker (1995), contains a passage about Split, Croatia, and in what is considered the first example of Korean American literature, Younghill Kang’s novel East Goes West (1937), Europe is continually mentioned in comparison to immigrant life in America. Taking these key examples into consideration, the main question this chapter asks is, does Europe play a common role in all these novels? 2 And if so, is the role that of a manifesto? Although differences abound, one similarity is that Europe is not featured in all its real, every-day problems and advantages, but rather as a symbol. Using Slavoj Žižek’s “My European Manifesto” as a guide, it is argued that Europe appears not just as any symbol, but as a master-signifier. It is Europe’s role as a master-signifier that allows it to occupy the place of a manifesto.
