Overview
Although some Koreans arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth century, the first major wave did not settle in America until the first decade of the twentieth century. The majority of these immigrants were laborers who worked on Hawaii's sugar plantations, and picture brides, the wives of these immigrant workers. Unfortunately, this early wave of immigration was short lived. Both the Gentlemen's Agreement, which halted Korean immigration to the United States in 1910, and the Immigration Act of 1924, which prohibited further immigration to the United States by most Asian groups, made it illegal for Koreans to settle in America. Not until Congress passed the Immigration and Naturalization Services Act in 1965, which eliminated the national-origin quota system, did Koreans again have the opportunity to enter the United States. Today, more than one million people of Korean descent live in the United States.About the Author:
Anne Soon Choi is assistant professor of American studies at the University of Kansas
Synopsis
Although some Koreans arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth century, the first major wave did not settle in America until the first decade of the twentieth century. The majority of these immigrants were laborers who worked on Hawaii's sugar plantations, and picture brides, the wives of these immigrant workers. Unfortunately, this early wave of immigration was short lived. Both the Gentlemen's Agreement, which halted Korean immigration to the United States in 1910, and the Immigration Act of 1924, which prohibited further immigration to the United States by most Asian groups, made it illegal for Koreans to settle in America. Not until Congress passed the Immigration and Naturalization Services Act in 1965, which eliminated the national-origin quota system, did Koreans again have the opportunity to enter the United States. Today, more than one million people of Korean descent live in the United States.
About the Author:
Anne Soon Choi is assistant professor of American studies at the University of Kansas
Children's Literature
Although Korea was not really known by most Americans until the Korean war of the 1950s, Koreans have been immigrating to the United States since the nineteenth century. Korea has a long history of being controlled, in one manner or another, by other countries such as China and Japan. North Korea is now one of the last true communist countries under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, while South Korea is a democracy and an economic leader in the world. The first wave of Korean immigrants mostly went to Hawaii, but after the Korean war, many more began immigrating to the mainland United States. Immigrants have faced many instances of prejudice, sometimes even from Korean-Americans who had been in the United States longer. Many American families also adopt children from Korea, sometimes trying to give their children a sense of their culture, sometimes not. During the Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King trial of 1992, many Korean-Americans were victims of the looting and violence, highlighting the racial tensions in the area. Quite a few Korean-Americans that come to the United States have professional degrees. In recent years, affirmative action has allowed Korean-Americans to advance in education, but the overall opinion of affirmative action is mixed in the Korean-American community. Both before and after affirmative action, many Korean-Americans became both successful and influential in the United States. This book is an excellent resource for history and social studies classes. Part of "The New Immigrants" series.