park’s mom is korean and his dad met her during the korean war and brought her home with him, so she’s definitely a stereotype. i just did some google searching on korean war brides, and based on this blog post and this dissertation (which is about kansas, but eleanor & park takes place in nebraska, so close), the experience of park’s mom is written with rose-colored glasses. there are a few mentions in the book about how she never talks about her childhood, and park thinks that the only thing that isn’t americanized about her is her slight accent, but other than that, park’s family is pretty much perfect, especially when seen through eleanor’s eyes.
i’m sure there are more comprehensive critiques of this and i’m by no means an expert but i think, while the asian representation is stereotypical and limiting, it’s not going to prevent me from recommending the book to my students in the future.