Jump to content

Korean immigration to Hawaii

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kōlea, Kōrea
Total population
48,699 (2010)[1]
Regions with significant populations
Languages
English, Korean
Religion
Presbyterianism, Methodism, Buddhism

Hawaii has been a notable destination for Korean immigration to the United States since the early 20th century.

Origins

The very first large group of Korean immigrants arrived in the United States on January 13, 1903.[2] The Korean Empire had issued its first English-language passports to these immigrants the previous year.[3] They travelled on the RMS Gaelic and landed in Hawaii. The group consisted of 56 men recruited as laborers for sugarcane plantations located on various islands in the Territory of Hawaii, as well as 21 women and 25 children. Within two years of the first arrival of Korean immigrants, the number of Koreans who had migrated to Hawaii had grown to more than 7,000.[4]

Between 1901 and 1905, 7,226 immigrants, including 6,048 men, 637 women, and 541 children, came to Hawaii over 65 trips. Most of the early immigrants of that period had some contracts with American missionaries in Korea. For some Western-oriented Korean intellectuals, immigrating to the United States was considered useful mainly to help them in the modernization of their homeland.

According to Dr. Wayne Patterson, during his speech to the Royal Asiatic Society, the transfer of Koreans to Hawaii was against the US Emigration Laws regarding foreign Contract Laborers. The HSPA enlisted Dr. Horace Allen, the American minister in Seoul, to coordinate the emigration of Koreans to Hawaii and to ensure that the Hawaiian plantations received Korean laborers. Together with American entrepreneur, David Deshler, Allen moved forward to secure passage for Koreans to Hawaii. [5]

By mid-November 1905, Allen had successfully petitioned to Emperor Gojong, who in issued an edict creating a Department of Emigration. A new branch of the Korean government had been successfully made, but the issue of funding passage to Hawaii still remained. Before annexation, passage across the Pacific was paid for by plantation owners, in return for three years of contract labor. With the practice now outlawed, Allen and Deshler created the Deshler Bank with the $25,000 that Deshler brought to Korea. The bank would then loan the Planters money to emigrants wanting passage to Hawaii, brokering illegal passage money and circumventing U.S. immigration laws. [6]

Subsequent history

Within a century the Korean population in America grew rapidly, from roughly seven thousand to about two million.[7]

King Gojong (1852–1919) reigned in Korea at the time of the first migration to America and played a crucial part in the lives of Koreans abroad. Christian missionaries had found their way to Korea during King Gojong's reign. By the 1890s, American missionaries were the most influential in spreading Christianity in Korea. Dr. Horace Allen, missionary-turned-diplomat, was embroiled in Korean politics and in effect was the representative for American trade. The missionaries brought not only Christianity, but also capitalism, Western learning, and Western culture. Many of the immigrants had converted to Christianity.[7]

Protestant evangelism in Korea was predominantly Methodist and Presbyterian. The two Protestant groups decided not to overlap their evangelizing activities. They agreed that the Methodist mission in Hawaii would minister to the Korean immigrants.[7]

Korea's first formal treaty with America was in May 1882. The treaty was preceded by America's forgotten "little war" of bloody exchanges between the two countries. The little-known episode in American history involved a heavily armed American ship, the Colorado, entering Korean waters and landing its soldiers on Ganghwa Island. A battle ensued in which more than three hundred Koreans and three American soldiers were killed.[7]

The Americans later returned pursuing a treaty, resulting in the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1882. Among other things, the treaty contained a provision allowing Korean immigration to America. The first group of immigrants came from Rev. George Heber Jones' Methodist parish in Jemulpo (Inchon).[7]

  • Immigrants prior to 1903: Historical statistics of Hawaii indicate there were sixteen Koreans in the Territory of Hawaii in 1902. Some are said to have been ginseng merchants in disguise who came using Chinese passports. One of these ginseng merchants was Choo Eun Yang, who came to Hawaii and transmigrated to San Francisco around 1898. He became active in the Korean community there, became prosperous, and lived to the age of 102. Among other immigrants, Sung Pong Chang worked for the Circuit Court of Hawaii and for the Honolulu Police Department as an interpreter until he died in 1949.[7]
  • Four famous Korean immigrants: Dr. Philip Jaisohn (1866–1951), Dr. Syngman Rhee (1875–1965), Dosan Ahn Chang Ho (1878–1938), and Young Man Pak (1877–1928). See also List of notable Korean Americans in Hawaii.[7]

Legacy

On January 13, 2003, George W. Bush made a special proclamation honoring the Centennial of Korean Immigration to the United States, recognizing the contributions of Korean Americans to the nation.

Koreatown

Korean businesses congregate on Ke‘eaumoku Street, which earned the nickname "Koreamoku." Although it has not been officially designated as a Koreatown, the Koreatown designation has been considered by the State of Hawaii within the past few years.[8] With recent gentrification and condominiums pricing out Korean merchants in the Ke'eaumoku district, a new Koreatown is emerging in downtown Honolulu.[9][10]

Notable Korean Americans in Hawaii

Herbert Choy
Daniel Dae Kim

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau: QT-P8: Race Reporting for the Asian Population by Selected Categories: 2010
  2. ↑ "History of Korean Immigration to America, from 1903 to Present | Boston Korean Diaspora Project". sites.bu.edu. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  3. ↑ Choi, Zihn (Winter 2002). "Early Korean Immigrants to America: Their Role in the Establishment of the Republic of Korea" (PDF). East Asian Review. 14 (4): 43–71. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 24, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
  4. ↑ Chang and Patterson 2003, pp. vii-ix
  5. ↑ Patterson, Wayne (1979). "Sugar-Coated Diplomacy: Horace Allen and Korean Immigration to Hawaii, 1902–1905". Diplomatic History. 3 (1): 19–38. ISSN 0145-2096.
  6. ↑ Patterson, Wayne (1979). "Sugar-Coated Diplomacy: Horace Allen and Korean Immigration to Hawaii, 1902–1905". Diplomatic History. 3 (1): 19–38. ISSN 0145-2096.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Chang and Patterson 2003, pp. 1-10
  8. ↑ "Options of the Establishment of a Koreatown in the City and County of Honolulu" (PDF). Office of Planning, Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, State of Hawaii. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ Burgos, Annalisa (December 29, 2023). "How old and new generations of Koreans help shape Hawaii". www.hawaiinewsnow.com. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  10. ↑ Dingeman, Robbie (November 23, 2022). "A New Mini Koreatown in Downtown". Honolulu Magazine. Retrieved February 24, 2025.

References

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Korean_immigration_to_Hawaii&oldid=1360816560"