In the book, “Clay Wall”, Ronyoung Kim describes the family of an immigrant. This family had gone to the United States to search for greener pastures as well as look for a way of coexisting within the people of the United States of America. The immigrant was a Korean family. In his life as he tries to coexist, he undergoes several experiences as he tries to survive in a foreign land that is not his. Part of his experience was much difficult that makes him endure some suffering in the city of Los Angeles in the early 1900s. At this time, the immigrants in the United States found it hard to adapt to the American culture that was more difficult to be adopted by these Korean Family.

As a matter of fact, the immigrants on the novel underwent several hard times as they tried to adopt to new language, culture among other immigration barriers that they faced as they try to make a living in the foreign land of the United States of America. The difficulties that were experienced by this immigrant Korean family were as a result of the difference that existed between the Korean and the American culture. They had to adopt to new values and beliefs with which some were much different with that which they used to believe in while in their home country.

Haesu was born and raised in Korea and was brought up in the Korean traditional mindset whereas his children, who were, John, Faye and Harold, were all born in United States and therefore they were brought up in a different culture and beliefs as that of their father. Hausu wanted her children to follow his own cultural practices which are the Korean Culture but she finds it difficult since the two of her children, John and Faye are completely Americanized as they practiced and embraced American Culture. For this reason, they showed little respect to her. In the Korean culture, respect to the parents was a vital thing and therefore each and every child, who was raised and brought up in the Korean culture, would have had much respect for his elders. This was not the same to John and Faye, who did not recognize their parents’ culture.

In their conversations with their parents, John and Faye could not hesitate talking back to their mother. This really frustrated Haesu since she had never seen that in her Korean culture. She had never done so to her mother when she was back in Korea or seen any Korean child do so the her parents. John could even not hesitate to question her mother when she is confronted by her due to his bad characters as well as his manners that were influenced by the American culture. Furthermore, her daughter, Faye, declines to curl her hair that was part of the Korean culture that all girls needed to observe. She declines to curl her hair when she was ordered to do so by her mother when the mother was preparing her to go and board the ship.

The American culture was just too annoying to Haesu who found her children to be too rebellious in their attitude. She, therefore, had a hard time in dealing with the Americanized children of which they were indeed hers. A big distance was, therefore, created between Haesu and her children since them too, found it hard to cope up with her mother’s Korean cultures and beliefs. In the end, there was a big gap that was created between her and her children thus experiencing difficulties due to cultural barriers.