Asian Studies

I have always liked Korean history a lot. So much so that when I was in middle school in Korea I had an average of A on my Korean history classes. Also, nowadays I have been enjoying downloading and watching a program called History Special from the internet, which is more like a documentary of Korean history. But even though I had learned about so many other aspects of Korean history, I never thought about the history of Korean immigration before I watched Arirang. It is such a shame that I even though I am immigrant here in the USA, I had no clue as to the who, what, and when of immigration. Arirang was what started me thinking about Korean immigration, the plight of the Korean immigrant, and Korean society and family more deeply.

By the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Korea had been dominated by Japan, which at the time had defeated China to become the dominant power in the East Asia. The war between Japan and China actually took place mostly on Korean soil and as a result, people lost their homes and scattered. These people who were suffering heard about America from missionaries as this beautiful land of freedom and so, a few people started to pack up their family and belongings and ship off to the USA. That was the beginning of Korean immigration. I can only imagine how hard it must have been for them to see their homes getting destroyed and having to leave everything they had known just to be safe. Phillip Jaisohn, Changho Ahn, Syngman Rhee, and Youngman Park were some of these few people who escaped to the USA.

As the Japanese-Chinese war raged on and the Japanese dominion grew stronger, an American sugar planter from Hawaii opened up a labor recruitment office at Inchon Harbor. This American sugar planter suggested a salary of fifteen dollars a month, plus housing, medical care, and a day off on Sunday, but no one volunteered because the people had never even been on a ship, nevermind out of the country. They probably thought that going to Hawaii was like going to the end of the Earth. So, Mr. Determined Sugar Planter from Hawaii asked for the help of George Jones who at the time was the Reverend at Inchon Methodist Church. Rev. Jones tried to convince his church members to go to Hawaii to acquire the Western way of doing things as well as free education for their children. As a result of Rev. Jones persuasiveness, fifty-eight church members and forty-four other Koreans, making a total of 102 mostly apprehensive people, were on board the ship S.S Gaelic as it departed from Korea to Honolulu, Hawaii on January 13, 1903. This was the first significant group of first generation Korean American immigrants. From what I have read, our people have been trickling into the country ever since less than three years ago, more than seven thousand people immigrated here.

From that very first group, some people opened their own businesses in Hawaii such as Korean kitchens, or little stores selling ginseng roots, but the majority of them worked at the sugar cane field. It was no wonder the sugar planter was so determined to get them there as the place was basically a terrible work camp and the work conditions were really hard. Nonetheless, the people encouraged and helped each other and made rules for themselves such as to strengthen the love of fellowship, respect and protect the ladies, and prohibit gambling, drinking, and suspicious women from the camp. They became a tight-knit community.

Suddenly, migration was stopped by Japan. The Japanese domination over Korea had been rising steadily and Japan would rather that the Japanese took advantage of the labor market in Hawaii rather than the Koreans. Also, in 1910, Japan finally annexed Korea. As Koreans lost their national identity, the immigrants in the USA also lost their homeland. Many of the Koreans who were working in Hawaii had wanted to make money and return home, but now they had no country to come home to and I can only imagine how terrifying that kind of uncertainty must have been. The situation got even worse as anti-Japanese sentiment rose in California and Korean immigrants had a hard time because the USA treated them as Japanese. This effectively banned further transmigration to the USA mainland and most of the Korean immigrants were stranded and had to spend their lives in Hawaii. One sad story is that Korean males who worked in Hawaii married picture brides who were chosen by sending and exchanging photos between Korea and America.
A few decades later, World War II began and Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The Korean immigrants faced another big difficulty because the USA saw them as enemy aliens from Japan, until later on 1943 when they were reclassified as draft eligible. Later, during the Korean War, young Koreans who were war orphans and brides of USA soldiers arrived in USA and it was the second wave of Korean immigration. Then there was the passing of the Immigration Act of 1965, which was the color-blind law that allowed migration for not only white Europeans, but also other races from other parts of the world. This triggered the largest wave of immigration of all from Korea. A quarter of a million people immigrated to the USA in the 1970s, and in the 1980s, a third of a million people immigrated.

During military government period in Korea, the Korean economy grew rapidly. Unlike the first couple of waves, the majority of Koreans who immigrated to the USA at that time had college educations and highly-skilled backgrounds, but because of the language barrier, they had difficulty finding jobs. As a result, they opened up their own businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, and dry cleaners. As per the American Dream, those who worked hard earned success. The Korean immigrants were widely distributed all across the country, in urban areas such as L.A California, Flushing in Queens New York, Thirty Second Street in Manhattan New York, and Main Street of Palisades Park, New Jersey

This era of peace and prosperity did not last too long though. In 1992, the Korean immigrant community faced the disaster which was the Los Angeles riot. The L.A. Korean community were part of a small minority, but by a lack of communication they effectively isolated themselves with their Latino and Black neighbors in the inner city. In just three days of violent chaos, nearly thousands of Korean businesses were burned down and it was most destructive riot in USA history. The Los Angeles riot was the main turning point as to why the Korean American community need to get involved and cooperate with American society and also establish the 1.5 and 2nd generations roles to help the 1st generation communicate with other communities to keep the peace and earn rights.

Today, many Korean still immigrate to the USA for one reason or another. It has been relatively slow, but it is continuous. Many students come to the USA because of quality of education and many families come over to seek success and better lives. I still believe the the USA is the land of opportunity, and as long as that is kept true and people know it, then Korean American immigration history will never end.

While watching Arirang, it was not hard to find the uniqueness in Korean immigrant society. First, they group together and rally around each other when the hard times come to their community. When they went to Hawaii as workers at the sugar plantation, they delegated rules for themselves to help and protect each other. They even maintained their identity and resistance to Japan even though they were so far away when Hawaii and Mainland Korean immigrants made Kook Min Hur, which was the Korean National Association, and supported Koreas fight for independence. Also, a number of the leaders of the Korean independence movement lived and worked in the USA to set Korea free from Japan by seeking help from the US government, making camps and training solders, and raising funds. The Korean Americans did not hesitate to help them. Second, Korean immigrants have made education a top priority. During the time of occupation of Korea, the immigrants in Hawaii educated their children harder because they thought education was the key to regain Korean independence. They figured that educating their children will make them the stronger, smarter leaders who will set Korea free. Many Korean American parents sacrifice many comforts for the sake of their families, especially the education of children. Third, the Korean church played a very important role in Korean immigrant communities. When immigrants went to other states or regions, the church goes too and supports and helps the immigrants to settle. 7080 of Koreans are attending Christian churches, and there are as many as 4000 churches in USA. They help immigrants to learn English and bring Koreans together into tight-knit community network. What I found to be the most inspiring was when after the Korean War, those who immigrated earlier or were brides of solders invited and became sponsors to those who wanted to come to the USA, and some of those that they sponsored were not even their relatives.

I believe that one major common problem in Korean American communities is the lack of human resources who try to become members of the city council or politics in general. That is needed for us to keep our rights and maintain good communication with other communities. Palisade Park, New Jersey is one great example of how much of a necessity this is. White American dominate the city council and they decided have a curfew regulating night businesses own by Koreans, while American-style diners were allowed to stay open all night long. If we had a voice in the council, this might not have happened. Also, there is a problem with the civic participation of those Korean Americans who have the right to vote. I heard that Korean American participation in elections and other voting events are very low. It is hard to understand why even though they have the power to change things, they would rather just sit around and watch things happen instead.
Even though, the way Koreans stick together to help each other when times get tough has worked in the past, this characteristic of our communities can also bring us harm. We have kept to ourselves so much, that the lack of communication with neighboring communities is a big problem. Even though it has been almost 2 decades since the Los Angeles riot, some tensions still exist between the minority communities. First generation Korean Americans who own businesses have difficulty talking with customers or officers who work for the government in English. 1.5 generation and 2nd generation should be acting as bridges between them to keep in touch with them for our rights and keep the peace with other community. Our parents sacrificed so much for us and it is the least we can do.

From Arirang, I realized that in Hawaii, a very small percentage of the population have Korean ancestry, but they are some of the best-educated and dedicated citizens of Hawaii. A police chief, a chief justice of the Hawaii Supreme court, the mayor of an island in Hawaii, these are all Korean American citizens. The Hawaii Korean Americans are the oldest of all the Korean immigrant communities and they should be considered as the role model for the communities in other parts of the USA. If we just try to follow that they did in their community, then there will be no conflicts between other major or minor communities and we could well be recognized as some of the best citizens in the country. Our ancestors had Han, which is regret, and survived so many troubles and adversities just to give us a chance of having better life in the USA. Now it is our duty to honor their hard work and keep carrying their faith to make our Korean American community into a contributing and outstanding member of the greater American community we in this country all belong to.