Korean Americans

For more information on Korean history and culture, seeVol. 3: Korean Chinese; South Koreans.

OVERVIEW

The first Koreans arrived in the United States in the early 1900s. A total of 7,226 Korean exiles and laborers immigrated to the United States between January 1903 and July 1907. The exiles were leaders of a failed coup attempt, including So Chae-pil (1866–1951), who later changed his name to Philip Jaisohn and became the first Korean American medical doctor; Ahn Chang-ho (1878–1938); Park Yong-man (1881–1928); and Syngman Rhee (1875–1965). These four became leaders of the Korean American community and helped create a Korean national independence movement in the United States.

Most of the early immigrants from Korea, however, were agricultural laborers. They were recruited to work on the sugar cane plantations of Hawaii after Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Acts in the late 1800s, barring any more Chinese workers from entering the United States. Many of these Korean laborers soon left the plantations and began small businesses of their own. About 2,000 moved to California and started up small farms or retail stores there.

The first wave of Korean immigration included over 1,200 women and children, so there was a sizeable number of families among the early Korean American population. However, single men still outnumbered single women by a significant margin, leaving many unattached men with no prospects for marriage or family. Between 1910 and 1924, some 1,100 Korean "picture brides" arrived in the United States to marry Korean workers. The brides and grooms had been introduced to each other through letters and photos (some of which grossly misrepresented the truth). The women were often better educated than the men. By establishing families and adding their well-educated wisdom to the mix, these women helped stabilize and energize the Korean American community.

Korean Americans suffered from the discrimination leveled at all Asian Americans in the early to mid-20th century. Anti-miscegenation laws prevented them from marrying European Americans, and the Alien Land Law of 1913 barred them from owning land. European Americans refused to admit them to schools, give them jobs, or allow them to live in certain neighborhoods. Many Korean and other Asian Americans were injured and even killed by racially motivated violence.

Despite sometimes bruta l prejudice, however, Korean Americans continued to survive as a community in the United States. They also continued to pour their energies into the Korean nationalist movement until Korea won its independence from Japan in 1945. Syngman Rhee then returned to Korea and was elected president of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) in 1948.

The second wave of Korean immigration to the United States occurred after the Korean War in the early 1950s. U.S. military personnel brought back Korean women they had married while stationed in Korea, and many U.S. families adopted Korean war orphans. Between 1951 and 1964, some 6,500 Korean women ("war brides") and 6,300 adopted Korean children entered the United States. Korean students also began to come in greater numbers to study at American universities, and Korean doctors arrived to further their medical training.

The latest wave of Korean immigration to the United States began after Congress passed the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, which allowed entire families to immigrate at once, and granted Korean students and professionals the right to apply for U.S. citizenship. These new citizens, along with the Korean wives of U.S. military personnel (who automatically became U.S. citizens upon their marriage), then applied for permanent residency status for their parents, siblings, spouses, and children. Most of the U.S. immigrants from Korea since 1970 have been close relatives of already established Korean American citizens or permanent residents.

The 2000 U.S. Census counted the Korean American population at 1,228,427, with 70% foreign-born. That total is a 54% increase over 1990 census figures. Korean Americans live in communities across the United States, with the majority in California (375,571). The states of New York (127,068), New Jersey (68,990), Washington (56,438), Illinois (56,021), Texas (54,300), Virginia (50,468), Maryland (42,335), and Hawaii (41,352) also have significant Korean American communities. Although "Koreatowns" developed in Los Angeles and other large cities, for the most part Korean Americans have not settled in ethnic enclaves but rather are scattered throughout U.S. cities, towns, and villages. Recent immigrants have continued to settle mostly in California and New York (especially Los Angeles and New York City), both of which saw more than 30% growth in Korean American population between 1990 and 2000. Other areas, however, have shown greater increases in Korean American population in that decade, such as Georgia (88%), North Carolina (73%), and New Jersey (70%). Other states whose Korean American populations have more than doubled in recent years include Tennessee (64%), Washington (58%), Arizona (55%), Florida (54%), and Arkansas and Virginia (both at 50%).

Almost three-fourths of Korean Americans, even those who have lived in the U.S. for more than one or two generations, continue to speak Korean at home and with other Korean Americans. The same language is spoken throughout North and South Korea (although accents differ from region to region), making it possible for all Korean-speaking Korean Americans to understand one another. A very simple phonetic alphabet was created in the 15th century to replace an extremely complicated set of ideographs. The new alphabet allowed nearly all Korean speakers to become literate. Koreans today continue to have one of the highest literacy rates in the world, at over 95%.

Korean names are usually made up of three syllables: the first is the family name, the second is the generational name, and the last is the personal name (sometimes the order of the generational and personal names is reversed). Because family names customarily come last in the United States, Korean Americans are often addressed incorrectly. Even when they reverse the traditional order of their names to conform to American conventions, they are often met with confusion because their family names resemble common American personal names (such as "Kim" and "Lee," two of the most common Korean family names).

For centuries, Koreans followed the teachings of Confucius. Although mainly Buddhist today, South Korea remains one of the most Confucian of all Asian countries. Many Korean Americans have become Christian (particularly Protestant), yet they are still strongly influenced by traditional Confucian beliefs. Korean Confucianism emphasizes family responsibility and interdependence, along with respect for one's elders. It also places a high value on hierarchies of authority, which is expressed in the structures of most Korean American organizations and businesses.

A large majority of Korean American families are affiliated with a Christian church and attend services regularly. Churches serve many purposes, both sacred and secular, in Korean American communities. For example, information regarding housing and employment opportunities is shared; English language classes are offered to foreign-born Korean Americans, Korean language classes are available for those born in America, and social events provide a chance for widely dispersed Korean Americans to come together as a community. In the first half of the 20th century, churches became the headquarters for the Korean national independence movement. Perhaps most importantly, churches have served as a replacement for the traditional extended family that was often lost in the move from Korea to the United States.

Since Congress passed the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965, which allowed more Korean family members and entire family groups to enter the United States, the extended family has been able to regain some of its traditional strength as the center of society among Korean Americans. Extended family groups, which include families of friends, can once again provide Korean Americans with the physical, emotional, and financial support they need in their new home.

Many Korean Americans continue to eat traditional foods at home, such as kimchi (a fermented vegetable dish), rice with beans or barley, rice cakes, and a variety of soups that are made with fish and vegetables. Traditional Korean food is also available at Korean restaurants in some cities, but Korean food has yet to become as popular or widely available as Chinese food in the United States.

Korean Americans have contributed a great deal in all sectors of American life. Successful artists include Frank Cho, Jim Lee, Derek Kirk Kim, David Choe, Amy Sol, and Nam June Paik. Opera singer Hie-Kyung Hong and punk rocker Karen O (lead vocalist of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs) cover both ends of the spectrum in music; and novelist Leonard Chang, poet Lee Herrick, and 2002 Newbery Medal winner Linda Sue Park represent the gamut of Korean American writers. Several Korean Americans have become well-known in the acting/entertainment industry, such as Margaret Cho, Daniel Dae Kim, Sandra Oh, Grace Park, and John Cho. In the sciences, Hyung-Soon Kim invented the nectarine fruit, Jeong H. Kim has risen to become the president of Lucent Technologies' Bell Labs, and Peter S. Kim is the president of Merck Research Labs. Korean Americans are represented in a number of sports, such as Naomi Nari Nam in figure skating, Kevin Kim in tennis, Sammy Lee in diving (the first American-born Asian to win an Olympic gold medal), and winner of the NFL Super Bowl XL Most Valuable Player award in 2006, Hines Ward.

Many Korean Americans who are employed own their own businesses. In 2000, Korean Americans owned 158,000 businesses in the United States, with $47 billion in revenue, and the number continues to grow. Between 1997 and 2002, there was a 16.3% increase in the number of Korean American-owned businesses in the United States. Over half of Korean American businesses are in retail and wholesale trade. Language and cultural barriers make it difficult for foreign-born Korean Americans to find jobs with other employers, so it is often easier for them to start their own businesses. Korean Americans also like the independence and control of running one's own business.

When Jewish, Italian, and Irish business owners in the inner cities began selling their shops to move to the suburbs during the 1970s and 1980s, Korean Americans took advantage of the opportunities and bought many of the businesses. Racial tensions, crime, and inner-city poverty have made life diffi-cult, however, for the new Korean American owners. Particularly devastating were the Los Angeles riots that erupted on 29 April 1992 and lasted for four days. In the violence and confusion, about 2,300 Korean American businesses were looted or burned. Korean American business owners suffered some $500 million in damage (half of the total estimated damage losses in Los Angeles County). Recovery was slow in the Korean American community; by 1997, one-third of the damaged or destroyed businesses had still not reopened. The riots have come to be known as sa-i-gu in the Korean American community, literally "4/29," the date the riots began.

As a result of the Los Angeles riots, Korean Americans lost faith in American society, and they are now struggling to rebuild their trust in their neighbors. Fortunately, Korean Americans have their extended families, churches, and community organizations to turn to for support. They can also turn to a centuries-old Korean organization called the kye, a rotating credit system that also provides emotional support and friendship to its members. A kye consists of 12–20 members who each contribute an agreed-upon amount (anywhere from less than $100 to several thousand dollars) to the pot each month. Every month, a different member is given the collective pot, until each member has had a turn. Then the kye disbands. Kyes have provided the means for many Korean Americans to open businesses, finance higher education, and survive sudden unexpected crises. Since the Los Angeles riots, they have offered a place of financial and emotional security to battered Korean American shop owners.

When Koreans began entering the United States in family groups after 1965, the Korean American population came to be divided along generational lines: the il-se, or first generation of adult immigrants; the il-jom-o-se, or one-point-five (1.5) generation, consisting of the il-se's foreign-born children, and the i-se, or second generation, made up of those born subsequently in the United States. Generation gaps exist between each of these groups, with the il-se embedded in traditional Korean ways, the i-se growing up thoroughly American, and the iljom-o-se stumbling between the two worlds. Conflicts and misunderstandings continually arise among members of the various generations, creating a great deal of tension in families as well as in the larger Korean American community.

Traditional Korean culture is not tolerant of homosexuality, as it is in direct conflict with Confucian values of marriage and family. For homosexual Korean Americans to publicly express their identity is seen as disloyalty to the family honor and open defiance of traditional values. Therefore, many Korean American homosexuals choose to compartmentalize their identities, being "Korean" with their families and "gay" elsewhere. However, racism against Asians exists as much in the gay community as in the wider American culture, so many Korean American homosexuals feel unable to be "Korean" when with other gays. There is almost nowhere for them to feel safely Korean and gay at the same time. Gay Korean American men also struggle with the stereotype in Western gay culture of Asian men as passive and submissive-the gay male version of the stereotypical Asian woman. This stereotype severely limits their ability to integrate their homosexual identity with their masculine identity, further compartmentalizing their sense of self.

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—by D. K. Daeg de Mott