Korean Immigrants to America

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Korean Immigrants to America

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.

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 (...

... middle of paper ...

...st 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)

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