Korean Immigrants

    On January 13, 1903, the first Korean Immigrants set foot in Hawaii. There were eighty six people on that first voyage, and since then there have been over 550,000 Koreans who have made the journey to the United States over the past 100 years. The original immigrants and their descendants now total over 1.6 million. Korean Americans make up one of the most prominent Asian communities in the United States. Many elements of Korean Culture, ranging from Kim Chee to Tae Kwon Do, have made their way into the American Lifestyle. There have been many events that have shaped the Korean American community and there are many current issues that affect Korean Americans.

The S.S. Gaelic

     Aboard the S.S. Gaelic, the first ship to bring Korean immigrants to the United States, there were only 102 men, women and children (Chow). However, over the next two years, over seven thousand Koreans moved to Hawaii (Kim, 367). Most were young men who came to look for a new life on the sugar cane plantations that needed labor. These plantation workers had hard lives, working to save money to bring their families over from Korea or in hopes of someday returning to their homeland.

     The period from 1905 to 1924 is characterized by quite a different group of Korean Immigrants. One part of this group was made up of Koreans who were running from their government and students who were studying in the US. Syngman Rhee, who would become the leader of South Korea during the Korean War, was earning his Ph.D. at Princeton University during this time. About 500 students and political refugees arrived in America (Kim, 367).

     The other half of the group was consisted of Korean picture brides. In 1910, the first Korean picture bride arrived in the United States. When a Korean man wanted a bride, he would send his picture to a matchmaker and find a woman in Korea willing to marry him. Most often than not, the man would send a false picture of himself and the woman would have no choice but to marry him once she arrived in America (2-3, script). Approximately 800 picture brides went to Hawaii and 200 went to the mainland during this period (Kim, 367).

Korean Picture Brides

     Another large group of immigrants arrived in the United States during and immediately after the Korean War, from 1950 to 1965. Some were fleeing the horrors of war and had faced the loss of family members. Most were Korean women who had married American soldiers during the war. There were 50,000 Korean wives of American soldiers by 1980 (Coming to America).

     The final big wave of Korean Immigrants arrived between 1965 and the present. At the peak of this period, from 1976 to 1990, there were was an average of 30,000-35,000 immigrants every year (Coming to America). This massive number of immigrants was due to the Immigration act of 1965, which ended the quotas that restricted the number of immigrants who were allowed into our country from specific countries. By 1993, the number of immigrants has dropped to 18,000 a year.

    Since the first immigrants moved into American neighborhoods, many issues have arisen between Americans and the Korean community. In 1911 and 1913, there were two incidents of American workers targeting Korean immigrants on two different fruit farms. The local residents of these areas were angry because they didn’t have jobs and the Korean workers were being employed. In the 1911 incident, the workers were driven off of an apricot farm. The workers on a farm in Nebraska were stopped by a mob as the came off a train on their way to work.

     During World War II, Korean Americans wore arm bands that said “I’m no Jap!” and put bumper stickers on their cars that read “Korea for Victory with US” to escape the racism against the Japanese at the time (4, Script). Japanese Americans were being rounded up from around the country and were placed in internment camps. Koreans desperately tried to prove their loyalty to the United States to stop the prejudice that was against all Asians.

     Since the end of the Korean War, there have been many achievements among the Korean American community. The first Korean American in congress, Jay Kim, was elected in 1992 to represent California. Margaret Cho, a famous Korean American comedian from San Francisco, had her own television show entitled “All-American Girl” in 1994. Two years ago, Harry Kim, a Korean American was elected as a mayor in Hawaii. All of these signal great progress from those days when Korean American workers were attacked.

Mayor Harry Kim	Margaret Cho with President Clinton

     One of the issues facing Korean Americans today is helping the first and second generation immigrants to do well in our society. According to the year 2000 census, only 30% of Korean Americans are naturalized citizens and 78% of Korean Americans speak Korean as their first language (IFAQ).

     The Korean American community has played an important role in the American way of life and will continue to do so in the future. With the number of Korean Americans growing steadily every year, it will be hard to overlook their issues. It has been only one hundred years since the first immigrants set foot in our country, and they have accomplished many great things. Just imagine what the next one hundred years will bring.

 

By: Ryan Ige
Email: ige1284@pacificu.edu
Last Revised: November 27, 2003

Bibliography:

“Coming to America.” Korean Americans, Who are They?
(http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/U6210/ik105/history.html - 3 November, 2003).

Chow, May. “Korean American History.” AsianWeek. 10 January – 16 January 2003. (http://www.asianweek.com/2003_01_10/feature_timeline.html - 3 November 2003).

“Infrequently Asked Questions (IFAQ).” The Korean American Resource Center.
(http://www.krccweb.org/html/his_ifq.html - 3 November 2003).

Kim, Elaine H., and Eui-Young Yu. East to America: Korean American Life Stories. New York: The New Press, 1996.

 

The pictures used are from the following sites:

Adamnski, Mary. “A Better Life.” The Honolulu Star Bulletin. 12 Jan. 2003. 22. Nov. 2003.
(http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/12/news/story3.html)

Adamnski, Mary. “Korean Immigration to Hawaii at a Glance .” The Honolulu Star Bulletin. 12 Jan. 2003. 22. Nov. 2003.
(http://starbulletin.com/2003/01/12/news/story3.html)

Dayton, Kevin. “KIM.” The Honolulu Advertiser. 22 Nov. 2003.
(http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/specials/korean100/kim/)

“Korean American Archive Photograph Sets.” 12 June, 2003. 22, Nov. 2003.
(http://www.usc.edu/isd/archives/arc/findingaids/kaaphotos/index.html)

“Margaret Cho Hires Photo Gallery, Misc.” The Official Margaret Cho Website. 22 Nov. 2003.
(http://video.margaretcho.net/margaret_cho_photos/misc.htm)