Hyphenated terms are the most precise and descriptive ones available. I used to work with a young woman who speaks fluent Korean, and is expert in Korean cooking; her parents (or maybe grandparents, I never asked) were immigrants. She was born here, went to a school not far from mine, and is every bit as American as I am.
She’s not “Korean,” because she’s never lived there, and to use that term would insult her by denying her Americanism. Korean-American is the most descriptive term. Actually, “American of Korean ancestry” would be more precise, but it’s sometimes too wordy.
When her family background is relevant at all. That’s the real issue: not what terms are used to describe someone’s ethnic background, but why it’s brought up at all when it’s not relevant.
I do have a problem with African-American as a simple substitution for “black,” because it often is NOT the most precise and descriptive term. I had a college roommate whose mother is from the West Indies, and whose father is from Thailand. He never liked “African-American” for the same reason Tiger Woods doesn’t; it doesn’t describe him. He had no problem with “black,” which is a purely visual description.
“Korean-American is the most descriptive term. Actually, “American of Korean ancestry” would be more precise, but it’s sometimes too wordy.”
I think part of the problem is that we want instant labels, even if they not not correct. What is wrong with not knowing everything about a person on the first meeting? Most Americans cannot be hyphenated, because we are such a mixed bag of nationalities. I have three Asian children, and have found that Americans of Asian ancestry happily talk of their heritage when asked. They’re just as proud of their heritage as are the Greeks or the Irish or the Italians. What’s wrong with treating all people of all races the way those of us with European roots treat each other?
I like this new term “post-racial America.” Most of the races are getting all mixed up anyway.