Korean Americans

Although the first documented arrival of Korean immigrants in the United States dates back to the turn of the 20th century, today most Korean Americans are part of a larger group who are often referred to as post-1965 immigrants. This group of immigrants are a culturally, economically, and racially diverse group who were allowed to legally immigrate to the country as a result of the Immigration and Nationality Services Act (INS Act) of 1965. Prior to that legislation, it was difficult for non-European whites to enter the country. Influenced by the civil rights movement and legislations of the era, the INS Act of 1965 sought to eliminate national origin as the criteria for admission and replaced it with the concept of family reunification and needed skills.

As of 2010, there are about 1.7 million Koreans living in the United States, and their number makes up roughly 10 percent of Asian Americans. Factors like relatively recent immigration history, residential concentration in large urban centers, merging kinship networks, and common experiences shared in the United States as Americans of Korean descent may have fostered and maintained a strong sense of community among Korean Americans. As members of the larger Asian American community, they face racism directed against Asian Americans as they are perceived to be unauthentic Americans and have job ceilings in their careers.

There were three major waves of Korean immigration to the United States. The first wave took place from 1903 to 1924, when roughly 8,000 Korean laborers arrived in Hawai'i to work on sugar plantations. However, pressure from Japan, which forcibly annexed Korea in 1910, and anti-Asian sentiment, as shown in the Oriental Exclusion Act of 1924, ended Korean immigration.

The Ahn siblings, Ralph, Philip, and Susan, were from California's first Korean immigrant family. In 1942, they enlisted in the U.S. military, making Susan Ann Cuddy the first Korean American woman to do so and the first female Navy gunnery officer

The second wave (1952–65) started with the enactment of the McCarran-Walter Act of 1952, which allowed Asian immigrants but still adhered to a racist quota system that limited their numbers. Many Korean immigrants of this wave were war brides, married to American men who served in the Korean War. Without adequate educational and cultural preparation regarding the United States and support from established ethnic communities, many experienced difficulties in adjusting to their husbands’ country. Others were orphans of the Korean War who were adopted by American families. Also, a small number of [Page 1301]college students came, seeking to earn academic degrees from American universities.

The third wave (1965 to present) came with the enactment of the INS Act of 1965, which lifted the quota system against persons of color. About 92 percent of Korean Americans held a high school diploma or higher, and roughly 53 percent held a college degree or higher, compared to 86 and 28 percent, respectively, of the national norm. However, the median household income of Korean Americans, at $52,103, is lower than the national norm at $62,763. Also, more Korean Americans rent (52 percent) than other Americans (34 percent). Additionally, the higher percentage of college-educated Koreans may be misleading bcause a degree earned in Korea may be of little value in the United States. This may explain the unusually high rate of self-employment for Korean Americans—24 percent, compared to whites (13 percent) and African Americans (5 percent) in 2000.

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