;;0' • . ~ ~ \~~, . ":h,~ ?' : "i :"'tr,; •.~,~ ~ : ~J COMMUNITY REPORTS BOOK REVIEWS Korean Boxers in the U.S., 1926-1945 The Lives of Korean Skilled and Family Reunion Immigrants in Australia The Role of Korean American Organizations in Influencing U.S. Policy Korean American Historical Society The Eldest Daughter ofKorean Independence Leader Ahn Ch'ang-Ho A Profile of Culture Camp Participants Raising Young Americans in Korean Skin International and Private Adoption: One Family's Story The Voices of Some Adult Adoptees in Minnesota ORAL HISTORIES: A CONVERSATION WITH SUSAN CUDDY SPECIAL SECTION ON KOREAN ADOPTIONS OGC~SIONAL PAPERS Korean American Historical Society ICK-WHAN LEE, President & Publisher ROBERT HYUNG-CHAN KIM, Executive Director & Editor WAYNE PATIERSON, Associate Editor MATIHEW BENUSKA, Deputy Director & Assistant Editor VERA M. CHAN-POOL, Publication Consultant AUDREY NA, Layout Consultant Duoc PHUC NGUYEN, Web Designer SAMUEL S. CHUNG, Legal Advisor Volunteers JEAN BAE, PHILIP CHARR, JESSE CURTIS, DALE DINNEL, CURTIS GARTENMANN, EUN-KYUNG JOUNG, ANNA CHARR KIM, ANDREW KIM, JINA KIM, JOYCE LEE Editorial Advisers EDWARD CHANG, University of California, Riverside; MARN J. CHA, California State University, Fresno; YOON-WHAN CHOE, University of Washington; T ETSUDEN KASHIMA, University of Washington; DANIEL B. lEE, Loyola University-Chicago; KWANG-KYU lEE, Seoul National University; Ui-HANG SHIN, University of South Carolina; CHANGMOOK SOHN, Chief Economist, State of Washington; YOUNG IN SONG, California State University, Hayward; S.E. SOLBERG, University of Washington; JAI KUN Y 00, Korean National Assemblyman; CHOONG NAM YOON, Harvard University; DAESIK Yu, Pohang University of Science and Technology; EUI-muNG Yu, California State University, Los Angeles Board of Directors SA Hyup HONG, SEUNG EUN HONG, WILLIAM S.H. KANG, HONG KI KIM, JAE Ho KIM, Kyo SUN KIM, TAE HWAN KIM, KWANG SUN KOH, B.K. LEE, DAE WON LEE, QWIHEE PARK LEE COVER DESIGN based on an imperial Korean government passport issued to Duk Wha Ko, 1903 (Samuel S.O. Lee (ed.), Their Footsteps (Honolulul: Committee on the 90th Anniversary Celebration of Korean Immigration to Hawaii, 1993), 16 (Samuel S.O. Lee collection)). Copyright © 1999 by Korean American Historical Society, all rights reserved. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY SHORELINE GRAPHICS. LYNNWOOD, WASHINGTON ISSN I088-1 964 DISCLAIMER: Statements of fact or opinion appearing herein are solely those of the authors and do not imply endorsement by the editor, publisher, or members of KAHS. MANUSCRIPTS: Send to 10303 Meridian Ave. N., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98133 (email kahs@arkay-incl.com). The Editors will consider all manuscripts received, but assume no responsibility for returning them. and will only return materials accompanied by appropriate postage. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Available with membership. To become a member, submit application and dues to KAHS, 10303 Meridian Ave. N., Suite 200, Seattle. WA 98133. BACK ISSUES AND PERMISSIONS: Write to KAHS. 10303 Meridian Ave. N., Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98133. Occasional Papers Vol. 4, I998-99 Editor's Note ZZl KAHS Oral Histories A Conversation with Susan Cuddy 1 Special Section on Korean Adoptions Korean Identity Development Society: A Profile of Korean Culture Camp Participants KAHS Research 63 Raising Young Americans in Korean Skin Louise Holder 85 International and Private Adoption: One Family's Story Claire Hagen Dole 89 Sometimes Love Isn't Enough: The Voices of Some Adult Korean Adoptees in Minnesota Willie J. Johnson and Meelyn Kim-Johnson 99 Community Reports "Fighting Spirit": Korean Boxers in the United States, 1926-1945 Joseph S. Svinth 111 From Professional to Manual Workers: The Lives of Korean Skilled and Family Reunion Immigrants in Australia Gil 500 Han 133 The Role of Korean American Organizations in Influencing U.S. Policy Bruce E. BechtolJr. 159 Reviews A Nation of the Diasporic, Narratives of Survival Passages to Paradise: Early Korean Immigrant Narratives from Hawai'i, by Daisy Chun Rhodes Gary Pak 175 Identity Politics and the Transformation of Korean Identities in Japan North Koreans in Japan: Language, Ideology, and Identity, by Sonia Ryang Erin Aeran Chung.......................................................................................... 181 A Story of Subversive Obedience Doing What Had to be Done: The Life Narrative of Dora TUm Kim, by Sao-Young Chin Sonia S. Sunoo 191 11 Call for Papers About Korean American Historical Society OCCASIONAL PAPERS 195 Editor's Note It has been almost two years since we published our third volume of Occasional Papers. There have been a number of events that have prevented us from publishing the present issue earlier; however, the delay has made us work harder and more carefully to bring out more interesting and useful articles. The present volume has seven contribu tions with three book reviews. In keeping with our policy to publish at least one oral history, we are proud to present the following interview with Susan Ahn Cuddy about her life story. For those readers who are not aware of Mrs. Cuddy's background, she is the oldest daughter of Korea's independence patriot, "Tosan" Ahn, Ch'ang-ho, who died in March 1938 as a Japanese prisoner. Over the course of two years, she has provided us with the opportu nity to look into the close family relations between her father and the rest of her family members. Special thanks to Anna Charr Kim and her husband, Andrew Kim for their role in conducting this interview. The next four articles comprise our special section on Korean adoptions. Beginning with our profile of Korean Culture Camp participants, followed by two essays by adop tive parents by Louise Holder and Claire Hagen Dole, and lastly a qualitative study of adult adoptees by Willie Johnson and Meelyn Kim-Johnson, we delve into an area that has been largely ignored the field of Korean American studies. This particular area of research may have not received scholarly attention, not because researchers have not been interested in the topic, but because they have not been able to have access to the people willing to cooperate with them. The area of study is sensitive, and the method of research requires extreme care. We greatly appreciate the Holder family and the Dole family for sharing their experiences with us. The people who presented their studies and stories here have provided us with their perspective on what is needed to improve our understanding of Koreans adopted into American families. For our Community Reports, we begin with an original article by a local sports researcher, Joseph Svinth, who has managed to dig up some fascinating information in the unheard of arena of Korean boxing history. We look forward to a follow-up article by him. Also in keeping with our interest in overseas Koreans, we present the article on Korean immigrants in Australia. Gill Soo Han has done a remarkable job of reporting on various problems facing Korean immigrants there, with emphasis on the difficulty of Ko rean male immigrants. Next, we have a very interesting article on the growing influence that Korean American community organizations are coming to play in the formation of U.S. policy, courtesy of Korean studies graduate and Defense Department analyst Bruce Bechtol. Lastly, we are happy to present review articles of three books, two of which are oral histories. Author and longtime Hawai'i resident Gary Pak has reviewed new author Daisy Chun Rhodes' collection of oral histories of Hawai'i's second generation Korean 111 IV Americans. We look forward to her writing more. Next, Northwestern University gradu ate student Erin Chung reviews Sonia Ryang's work on Koreans living in Japan-an under-researched field. Finally, we are thankful to Sonia Sunoo for her review of Soo-Young Chin's ground-breaking oral history of the daughter of one of the first immi grant families to the American mainland, Dora Yum Kim, a community-minded and very special individual. A contemporary of Dora Kim, Dr. Sunoo has been a pioneer in collect ing oral histories of Korean Americans since the 1970s. She wrote this review while recovering from a stroke she had in early 1998. We are especially thankful for her contri bution, and our wishes are with her for a full recovery. In addition to this volume, we also have established a website and e-mail newslist for discussing topics pertaining to Korean American studies. We would like to invite you to join our newslist and to send in your comments and suggested articles on the present volume. Robert Hyung-chan Kim Executive Director & Editor Tel: (360) 650-3867 Fax: (360) 650-7516 Email: kimhchan@wce.wwu.edu URL: http://www.kahs.org/ ERRATA: In Vol. 2's section entitled Koreans in the Former Soviet Union, Valeriy Sergeevich Khan's article on "Paradigm and Problems of Nationalist Movements: a Social-Philosophical Analy sis," was originally published in Russian in Songmoo Kho's (ed.) News on Korean Studies in Kazakstan and Central Asia, Vol. I (Almaty-Helsinki, 1993). In addition, there are some essential errors in the translated text. For example, in some places, the word sotsialny ("social") was translated as socialist ("sotcialistichesky"), thereby giving the respective sentences an ideological and political meaning. Our thanks to Dr. Khan for bringing this to our attention. OCCASIONAL PAPERS KAHS Oral Histories ANNAC.KIM Susan Cuddy, March 1999 A Conversation with Susan Cuddy Introduction Susan (Soo San) Ahn Cuddy, 84, is the eldest daughter of renowned independence leader Ch'ang-Ho Ahn (born Ch'i-sam Ahn on November 9, 1878), and Helen Lee (Hye-ryeon Yi, born in 1884). Shortly after they married, they emigrated to the United States in September 1902. They initially settled in San Francisco before moving to River side, California, in 1904. They had five children, Philip (1905), Philson (1912), Susan (1915), Soorah (1917) and Ralph (Pilyong, 1926). Tosan (Ch'ang-Ho Ahn's nom de plume means "island-mountain"), a strong believer in the need for Koreans to educate themselves and live morally upright lives, dedicated his life to Korean independence. According to Tosan, "nationalism arouses the spirit of independence, education strengthens self-confidence, organization puts the spirit and plan into action, and industrialism [industriousness] builds self-sufficiency." I In addition to Interviewed by YOOSUN PARK, ICK-WHAN LEE, QWIHEE LEE, ANNA CHARR and ANDREW KIM, and PHILIP CHARR. Transcribed by JEAN BAE, JINA KIM and CURTIS GARTENMANN. 1 2 KAHS Oral Histories serving on the Korean Provisional Government and being instrumental in the formation of the Kukminhoe (Korean National Association), he established a number of organiza tions, most notably the Ch'inmokhoe (Friendship or Fellowship Society), Sinminhoe (New People's Association) and the Heungsadan (Young Korean Academy), which is active to this day. His family paid for his frequent absences, however. For his activities, he was repeatedly jailed by the japanese. He died of tuberculosis in a Korean hospital while out on bail on March 10, 1938. Of Ch'ang-ho and Helen Ahn's children, Philip is the most well-known for his acting career, which included roles in such films as "Anything Goes," "The Good Earth" and "Daughter of Shanghai," and in such television shows as "Hawaii 5-0," "Kung Fu," and "M*A*S*H," as well as others. During World War II, he served briefly in the U.S. Army, was cast in anti-japanese propaganda films and became known for playing Chinese and japanese roles.2 Philip died childless, never having married, in 1978. Philson graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in chemistry, and became the chief chemist for Kinney Aluminum Foundry until 1944 when he joined Hughes Aircraft. He became the chief process engineer in 1949, and General Superintendent of pre-production, test equip ment and tool manufacturing in 1954. Ralph played football in high school and at Los Angeles Community College (first-string center), and served in the Navy during World War II. Philson and Ralph also have acted. Soorah graduated from U.s.c. with a degree in sociology in 1947, and worked at the National Chemical Laboratory during World War II. With her brother Philip's help, she later opened a Chinese restaurant called Phil Ahn's Moongate in Panorama City, near Los Angeles, which became very popular. Susan Ahn was born in Los Angeles on january 16, 1915, and graduated from San Diego State College in 1940 with a degree in Sociology. She then joined the U.S. Navy in 1942, and served until 1946. She was the first Korean to serve in the WAVES, and be cause she was the first female gunnery officer, her story was covered in such newspa pers as the Washington Post, the Atlanta Post, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, the Erie Dis patch Herald, the Pensacola News-Journal and the St. Louis Star- Times. After retiring from the Navy as a Naval Intelligence Officer, she worked for the National Security Agency (NSA). She married Francis Xavier Cuddy in 1947, and had two children, Christine and Philip. Following a government graduate fellowship at USC from 1956 to 1957 where she earned a masters' degree, she retired from the NSA in 1959, and joined her family to work at Phil Ahn's Moongate restaurant. Christine, a graduate of Stanford Law School, is an entertainment attorney with Kleinberg, Lopez, Lange, Brisbin & Cuddy. Philip, agraduate of UC Santa Barbara, lectures about his grandfather and Korean and Korean American history. We had the privilege of meeting and speaking with Susan Cuddy November 20-22, 1996, and March 27-29, 1999. At the time of her last interview, she was recovering from a 1998 hip surgery, but was still as spry and energetic as ever. She spoke with us about her parents; about growing up with her siblings under the banner of the independence movement, yet as an Asian minority which experienced prejudice; her experience in the Navy; her family; and her thoughts about the Korean community and for the future gen- OCCASIONAL PAPERS A Conversation with Susan Cuddy eration. The following conversation is a composite of these two interviews, which have been edited for mechanics (italics, where they appear, are for Korean words, as well as when the speakers added emphasis). We are very thankful to Mrs. Cuddy for sharing her thoughts and photographs with us. A Picture on the Wall ff-.... ARCHIE LEONG The Chinese Demon KID RAY Waipahu Flrecrukrr-n. MAX TANAKA 1Ia.d Sam', Ch.mplon pnlCF.S $1.00 - $1.50 - $2.00 TIc:1c."ts .t lIawallan Oruc Store Comrr ft,(othf"1 and Hot,.1 St•. JOHNYASUI COLLECTION COURTESY OF CURTIS NARlMATSU. Tetsuro Uemura's fight with Little Pancho Oct. 28, 1932 During the 1920S, Uemura started boxing in Shanghai, where he became known as "Young Ambition." Judging from newspaper reports, he came to Tokyo around 1930 and retired to Korea in September 1933- His most important foreign fight was probably his ten-round loss to Little Pancho in Honolulu on October 28, 1932, but he also had a six-round loss to Henry Callejo in Honolulu on December 10, 1932. His manager in Hawaii was a Japanese national named ].1. Fukuoka.53 Although a fit, aggressive fighter, Uemura appears to have lost as many fights as he won. Poor officiating may have had something to do with this, as in April 1931, when a Nisei named Leslie Nakashima describedJapanese referees as "somewhat pitiful, espe cially during the preliminary during the course of which a man was per mitted to punch at his opponent while he was sitting on the canvas.,,54 Mostly, though, his problem seems to have been too much reliance on wild right swings, the kind so beloved by Hollywood film stars.55 Teiken Jo also fought for Watanabe during the early 1930S. Born in Korea around 1913,JO took up boxing to earn the money his family needed to put his two younger brothers through a Japanese high schooL56 His pro debut took place in Tokyo on April 16, 1931. Despite giving up ten pounds to many opponents, the I17-pounder lost none of his first nineteen professional fights, and his six-round victory over Young Pancho Villa on November 6, 1931, was the highlight of the second 119 Community Reports:Joseph R. Svinth boxing card ever broadcast over Japanese radio.57 But, as theJapanese were not enthusiastic about having a Korean champion, Jo soon went to California, where fighters were said to earn enormous sums.58 Despite fighting about twice a month while in the United States, Jo never made much money.59 The reason was that North American managers typically took 30 to 50 percent of a fighter's purse, and also expected fighters to pay for travel and .. 60 J hI' dtramIng. 0 nonet e ess remame optimistic about his future, so what the wife of Hollywood matchmaker Charlie McDonald had to say about the man is worth repeating: I was first attracted by his shy and modest mannerism. He was ex tremely polite and although unable to speak but very little English, I could see that he had culture and education. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he was a university graduate in [Tokyo] and was send ing his two brothers through the same schoo1. 61 On May 22, 1933 Jo got a crack at the California bantamweight crown held by the Filipino fighter Speedy Dado. Living up to his reputation, Dado won the first six rounds on speed alone. In the third, he also started a cut to Jo's left eye that caused it to swell shut. But in those days they didn't call pro fessional fights for mere bleeding and by the eighth Dado, whose training for the fight had included consider able partying, was starting to tire. Desperate, Dado then landed a low blow in the ninth that under Califor nia rules should have caused the fight ART © BY JANET BRADLEY 1998 Teiken Jo preparing for his fight with Eugene Huat (Los Angeles Times, Jan. 13, 1933) to be awarded to Jo. However, the Korean was too proud to win sitting down, so he stood back up to finish the fight. As a result, Dado went on to win on points. In October 1934 Jo participated in a Canadian elimination tourna ment designed to fill a recently va cated world bantamweight title. Despite some trouble getting through Canadian immigration check points-his work permit did not ex tend to Canada-he finally got to fight Carlos "Baby" Quintana in Montreal on November 7, 1934- Al though Quintana won the fight by a unanimous decision, a sportswriter for the Montreal Gazette wrote that the Canadian promoter "could do worse than match the little Korean on another of his cards, however. He 120 OCCASIONAL PAPERS "Fighting Spirit" never stopped throwing punches last night.,,62 But by November 1934, Jo's future was already past. AsJohn Fujii had written in the Japan-California Daily only four months before: A badly cut left eye which develops each time it is lacerated by pu rushing blows, a false set of molars which he spits out each battle, and a slowly bruised body tells us that the former hard-socking phantom is slowly reaching the end of cauliflower lane.63 Of his fourteen subsequent fights, he won just four-and two of those victories came over prelim boys in NewYork.64 Another boxer, Umio Gen (we know his last name is Hyun) also JOHNYASUI cOillCTION, COURTESY OF CURTIS NARlMATSU "To my pal, Johnny Yasui, from Jo Teiken" signed publicity photo fought in North America during the 1930S. Gen was born in Korea in 1919. At the age of eleven, he moved to To kyo, where he worked by day and went to school at night. Although he had an unusually witty mind and was good looking, Los Angeles reporter Joe Ishikawa said that Gen had no girlfriends because, "to use his own words, he is going to&row up to be a 'bachera' [bachelor}." ) In November 1935, Gen entered the All-]apan Pro Boxing Champion ships. Fighting for the Imperial Box ing Club and weighing about Il7 pounds, in his first fight Gen earned a four-round decision over the expe rienced Yukiichi Masumura. Gen con tinued winning his bouts, and in December 1935 he surprised everyone by winning the Japanese bantam weight title. Unfortunately his jab was weak and his straight right (the overhand punch that most sportswriters call a 66cross) wasn't much stronger. There- fore he lost fights to harder-hitting Filipino fighters in Manila through out the summer of 1936, and in Sep tember 1936 he lost the Japanese bantamweight title to Seiichi Otsu. Hoping to improve his skills, Gen went to the United States in August 1937, and although he fought at least seventeen fights over the next eighteen months, including several in Seattle, Cleveland and New York, he did not 6 seem to have won a single one. I Nevertheless, the promoters and fans adored him. The reason was that no matter how hard the other fellow hit him, Gen kept boring in, fists pumping like pistons. "Many a time 121 Community Reports:Joseph R. Svinth Gen was hit hard," the North Ameri can Times said following a loss to Frankie Lembo in Hollywood on February I, 1938, but "his speed and stamina ... carried him through to 11 f ·· h ,,68an exce ent lnlS . Such courage carries a price, however, and recent studies have shown that a boxer's risk of brain and eye injuries is directly related to the number of rounds fought. 69 So, on August 6, 1938, Bill Hosokawa of Seattle's Japanese-American Cou rier, wrote this about the nineteen year old Korean: The world of boxing is cruel. ... This weekend on a crowded San Pedro street, mainstem of Los Angeles' Li'l Tokyo, a stocky youth strolled along, dark glasses over his eyes. In the city of Los Angeles the sight of dark glasses is no rarity, but this youth needed them to guard weakened eyes from the sun. His name is Umio Gen, the boxer, as willing a fighter as has ever been seen in a Seattle ring. A few months ago, he didn't need those glasses. And injured optics or no, Gen is signed to go in the ring again on Au gust 9 in Stockton. The game which has no place for those who can't stand the pace, needs them to make fodder for some younger fighter testing his fists in his upward climb. The willing boys without the ability are the stepping stones'?o In September 1938, Gen was involved in a minor scandal. He had fought Baby Arizmendi in San Diego on September 23, 1938, and afterwards his managerJesus Cortez said that the fight should have been called a draw ART © BYJANET BRADLEY 199B Umio Gen lacing his gloves to fight Billy Buxton (North American Times, Dec. I I, 1937) instead of a 10ss.?I RefereeJack Means responded by saying that the decision was fair because Cortez had tried to bribe him beforehand. After investigation, the California Boxing Commission found that Means was wrong and suspended him. Arizmendi's victory, however, remained on the books.?2 Gen fought in Madison Square Garden in January 1939 and then re turned to Japan.73 After a break of nearly a year, Gen returned to the ring onJanuary 5,1940. His opponent was theJapanese featherweight cham pion Piston Horiguchi. Although Gen's footwork impressed everyone, Horiguchi won the fight on points.74 On March 7,194°, Gen lost a ten round decision to Susumu Tokunaga. Gen's timing in this fight, said the 122 OCCASIONAL PAPERS "Fighting Spirit" Japan Times afterward, "was some thing terrible."?; Nevertheless, his last two known fi2hts both ended in wins by knockout.? Lastly, the aforementioned former collegiate champion Ryushin Boku also earned considerable repu tation as a professional boxer. After leaving college, Boku joined theJapan Boxing Club, and during his pro de but inJuly 1937 he earned a four-round decision over Kikuji Minakawa. Boku continued his winning ways, and by March 1939, he was fighting main events throughout theJapaneseEmpire.77 Boku won two important victo ries before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor effectively ended Japa nese professional boxing for the du ration.?8 The first was on October IO, 1939, when, despite a I7-pound weight disadvantage he defeated the former Japanese welterweight champion Matsuo Amino. The other was on October 12, 1940, when he defeated Piston Horiguchi to become the un disputed featherweight champion of Japan. Nevertheless, Boku was never a popular champion. The reason was that he rarely used the piston-style of fense, and therefore was perceived as lacking fighting spirit.?9 Conclusion Foreign sailors and merchants introduced Western-style gloved box ing into Yokohama and Kobe around the turn of the century. At first box ing was seen mostly during handicap matches against local judoka, but by the early I920S it also had begun to be seen during American-style profes sional bouts. During the early I920S Christian missionary organizations such as the YMCA, the Japanese military and professional boxing promoters also began sponsoring amateur boxing matches in Korea as well asJapan, and by the I930S Koreans were leading members of various Japanese colle giate and international boxing teams. Interestingly, the Koreans seem to have sometimes comprised as much as five-sixths of thoseJapanese teams. Probably this had to do with ethni cally Japanese athletes preferring more glamorous sports, thus leaving the boxing to lower-status Koreans. Professionally, Koreans started participating in Western-style boxing during the mid-I920s, and by the early I930S they were among Japan's best. Some of the better known Korean professionals included: 1. Tetsuro "Young Ambition" Uemura, who began his career in Shanghai in the mid-I920s and was, by 1931, the first Korean pro fessional boxer to become popu lar in Japan; 2. TeikenJo, a talented professional boxer who was ranked sixth in the world in 1935; 3- Umio Gen, a brave but not par ticularly skilled professional boxer who toured the United States during the late I930S; and 4. Ryushin Boku, a former colle giate boxing champion who be came Japan's professional featherweight boxing champion in 1940. 123 Community Reports: Joseph R. Svinth Western boxing also may have had some influence on the develop ment of Korean karate. For example, Jae Joon Kim, a current Both Koreans and leader of Tang Soo Do Japanese clearly karate in the United believed that States, got his start as an gaman, or amateur boxer. In this perseverance, he does not seem excep was a character trait tional. So the influence developed by of Western boxing on boxing. Tang Soo Do and other forms of Korean karate appears to warrant fur ther investigation. Due to my reliance on English language Japanese sources, the eco nomic, political and social histories I have presented were frequently specu lative and rarely presented in any de tail. That said, the following patterns emerged. Intending to please audiences ex pecting to see knockouts, Imperial Japanese (ergo, Korean) boxing placed more emphasis on courage and endur ance (ganbare) than ring generalship. Professional boxers received minimal training, and the few techniques they did learn emphasized the crowd-pleas ing "piston" offense. Unsurprisingly, professional ca reers were short----usually about five years-and when the fighters were through they were often physical wrecks.80 This is not surprising inas much as lightweight fighters of the era routinely fought several times a month, and in some cases as often as I . . h 81severa times a nig t. While descriptions of boxing related injuries are sadly lacking, amateur boxers probably suffered fewer serious injuries than profes sional boxers. The reasons included shorter rounds, different rules and heavier gloves. Nevertheless, Japan's first-known boxing fatality was a Korean amateur in 1940. So what happened to the profes sionals? Boxers have been dying in Japan at the rate of about one every two years since 1945, and surely they were dying at similar rates before the war. Yet nothing appears in the Ja pan Times about this. The reason is probably that casualties in the pur suit of manliness were a price that the Imperial Japanese were always will ing to pay. Despite the promotional hype, few Imperial Japanese boxers ever made much money. Although begin ning fighters earned as much as, or slightly more than, day laborers, there is reason to believe that promoters expected fighters to pay their own liv ing and training expenses, plus reim burse them for any indenturing fees. If so, then many, perhaps most, fight ers were likely deep in debt upon reaching the end of their careers. Both Koreans and Japanese clearly believed thatgaman, or perse verance, was a character trait devel oped by boxing. While promoters told people that boxing was a manly, char acter-building sport, given the period, this must be seen in the context of instilling patriotic nationalism rather than developing individual saintli ness. A secondary trait developed by boxing was Yamato damashii, theJapa nese spirit that inspired people to ig nore all obstacles in their quest to 124 OCCASIONAL PAPERS "Fighting Spirit" accomplish their missions. An interesting phenomenon associated with this is the fact that theJapanese fans preferred fighters who lost bravely to fight ers who won inelegantly. Finally, Korea's independence from Japan following World War II does not seem to have had much effect on the way individual Korean boxers fought. Witness, for example, the following description of a bout between the Ha waiian fighter Robert Takeshita and the Korean lightweight champion Chung Bok Soo in Honolulu in 1948: The bout, scheduled for eight rounds, was stopped in the seventh.... when Chung Bok Soo, suffering a cut inside of his left eye, was found unable to continue ... The fight was a sensational one all the way. Soo rushed out from his corner like a mad bull and started slugging it out at close quarters with Takeshita. For six rounds Soo fought at this fast pace, taking a terrific beating but without yielding an inch of ground. Though the aggressor all the way, Soo, nevertheless, fought a losing battle as he took three or four punches before landing one of his own ....82 The piston attack lived. ~ Most of my research was conducted at the University of Washington's East Asia and Suzzallo Allen Libraries. Additional research was conducted at the Fort Smith Public Library and the Sno-Isle Regional Libraries. The advice and assistance of the following people is gratefully acknowledged: Matthew Be nuska, Janet Bradley, Richard Hayes, William K. Hosokawa, G. Cameron Hurst III, Curtis Narimatsu, Eric Madis, Graham Noble, John Ochs, Charles Payton, Robert W. Smith, Curtis Stanley, Wayne A. Wilson, Thomas Yamaoka, Annie Yasui, and George Yoshinaga. Financial support included a grant from the King County Office of Cultural Resources and the Hotel/Motel Tax Revenue Program. 1. Because Korea was then part of theJapanese empire, spellings of Korean surnames usually show considerableJapanese influence. Korean sources would probably show Boku as Park, Gen as Won or Hyun,Jo as Cho, Kin as Kim, and Ri as Lee. 2. The following weights (in pounds) are the maximum allowable for each class. Flyweight: Il2; Bantamweight: u8; Featherweight: 126; Lightweight: 135; Welterweight: 147; Middleweight: 160; Light-heavyweight: 175; Heavyweight: greater than 175. They have changed over time, but these are the weights in use during the late 1920S and early 1930S. (The Ring, December 1929, p. 38.) J As Japanese sources frequently list Tsuneo (''Piston'') Horiguchi as Japan's greatest boxer, some discussion of my reasoning is required. Although I'm undoubtedly missing fights- the lists in Ever/ast Boxing Record and Ring Record Book contain many errors and omis sions--I show Teiken Jo having a career record of 40 wins, 12 draws and 23 losses. Because many of those losses were to internationally ranked fighters, Ever/ast Ring Record ranked Jo sixth in the world for the 1934-1935 season. Meanwhile, I show Horiguchi having a career record of 49 wins, 7 draws and 3 losses. While an impressive record, few of Horiguchi's 125 126 Community Reports:Joseph R. Svinth in early 1936 resulted in a disappointing two wins and three draws, and caused the Hono lulu sportswriter Don Watson to complain that Horiguchi's punch couldn't dent a two-day old package of poi. Therefore Ring magazine ranked Horiguchi as simply the third best in Hawai'i. As sixth best in the world strikes me as better than third best in Hawai'i, I feel justified in classifyingJo as a better boxer than Horiguchi. Jo's rating appears in Ever/ast Boxing Record (New York: Everlast Sports Publishing Co., 1935), 131. Horiguchi's rating ap peared in Japan Times (30 January 1937, 5), and evidently refers to the ratings appearing in the February 1937 issue of Ring. Finally, Watson's remark about Horiguchi's lack of punch ing power appeared in the Japan Times (23 February, 1936, 5). Researchers interested in seeing my tabulations of the careers ofJo and Horiguchi may write me, care of KAHS. 4. Although people with access to the records of the Korean Society for Physical Culture (the predecessor of the Korean Athletic Union) may quibble with 1926 as a starting date and 1945 as an ending date, I selected those dates for a number of reasons. First, they essentially coincide with that portion of theJapanese Emperor Hirohito's reign that theJapanese call the early Showa era. Second, Korea separated fromJapan following WW II, which in turn means that after 1945 its sport history becomes separated from Japanese sport history. Third, Western-style gloved boxing only became popular in Japan after 1921. Therefore it seems unlikely that the sport would have been successfully introduced into Korea any sooner. Finally, Keijo Imperial University-the future Seoul National University-was es tablished in Seoul in 1926. Since Keijo University was an important center of Korean ama teur boxing before World War II, its establishment seemed an appropriate starting point. 5. While it is traditional to date amateur boxing inJapan to Yujiro Watanabe's establishment of theJapan Boxing Club in February 1921, that club was always dedicated to professional rather than amateur boxing. Furthermore, the only major reference toJapanese boxing I've seen in the Japan Times between 1921 and 1923 was a photo published onJuly 23, 1923 that showed Watanabe teaching boxing to the American-educated actress Komako Tokunaga. Thus my dating the advent of amateur boxing inJapan to May 192J 6. Japanese-American Courier, 25 March 1933, 2. 7· Japan Times, 21 February 1931,2. 8. For an example of a Korean father encouraging his son to take up boxing because it he believed that it was manly, see ''Who Is the Grandmaster'" in the Eric Madis collection. For an example of the type of prejudice Koreans faced onJapanese high school judo teams, see Jim Yoshida with Bill Hosokawa, The Two WOrlds ofJim 'Yoshida (New York: William Morrow, 1972), 55-58. 9. "American movies in which the hero knocks men right and left have taken an important part in the training of theJapanese mind for the reception of the savage Western boxing," wrote Kari Yado in February 1931 (Japan Times, 21 February 1931, 2).Japanese minds were not the only ones influenced by these films. For example, Tang Soo Do karate teacher Haeng ung Lee told Tae Kwon Do Times (March 1992, 33), "As kids [in Korea during the early 1950S], we loved to watch them [Hollywood film stars] fight, and all of us wanted to be able to fight better. I tried Judo when I was nine or ten, but I couldn't throw the big guy. Then I took up boxing, and I got hit too much and got lots of headaches. I looked for something better and found Tang Soo Do." 10. The ancient Chinese head-butting games are mentioned inJosef Sram, "Chinese Acrobat ics of the Han Period," Eastern Horizon Montbly Review, J:5 (May 1964), 28. Pakchigi is men tioned in Pyung Soo Kim, "The Hands are for Hypnotizing" (Black Belt, September 1966, 43)· Finally, theJapan Times (10 February 1923, 5) published a photograph of "a Korean-style wrestling bout" in which the wrestlers pulled on a rope with their heads, and the one OCCASIONAL PAPERS "Fighting Spirit" dragging the other three feet wins. Unfortunately, none of these articles contains much detaiL So if someone has such information, I would appreciate receiving copies of it. II. For an introduction to the doctrine of Muscular Christianity, see Mark Girouard, The Return to Camelot (New Haven, Cf: Yale University Press, 1981). For analogous Continental doctrines, see Richard D. Mandell, Sport, A Cultural History (New York: Columbia Univer sity Press, 1984). For the attitudes of the early YMCA leaders, see David I. Macleod, Build ing Character in the American Boy: The Boy Scouts, YMCA, and Their Forerunners, I870-I920 (Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1983). And, for an introduction to the role that the YMCA played in East Asia, see Jonathan Kolatch, Sports, Politics and Ideology in China (Middle Village, NY:Jonathan David Publishers, 1972). 12. Although basketball was introduced into the Tientsin YMCA in January 1896, I haven't seen anything showing when the Seoul YMCA started a team. That said, Hyozo Omori introduced volleyball and basketball into the Tokyo YMCA in 1908, and onJanuary 7, 1920, the Tokyo YMCA reported that its opponents included Kyoto, Shanghai and SeouL As for boxing, what churchmen opposed was the gambling and drinking associated with prize fighting rather than the pugilism per se. During the early 1900s, Philadelphia socialite A. ]. Drexel Biddle was notorious for using boxing and boxers to illustrate Bible stories. See, for example, Cordelia Drexel Biddle, as told to Kyle Crichton, My Philadelphia Father (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., 1955), 21, 24-25, 63, 185-186, 191, 233-236, and Biddle's article 'Why Boxing is Better than the Ball Room" in the Seattle Sunday Times (II April 1909), Magazine Section, 4- But Biddle was hardly unique in his love of what he called Athletic Christianity. See, for example, New York World (20 January 1905), I; New York World (5 February 19°5),12; Seattle Post-Intelligencer (II November II, 1909), 9; Japan Times (2 May 1922), 5; Japan Times (27 March 1922), 6; New York World (8 August 1924), 6S. I} Japan Times, 5 November 1931, I. 14- Although the Japanese government started arresting socialists as early as 1900, Japanese language texts extolling the virtues of proletarian sports continued to be published into the 1930S. But, as the Soviet Union itself did not organize an All-Union amateur boxing championship tournament until 1934, I suspect that most Koreans associated Western style pugilism with international capitalism rather than world socialism. For an introduc tion to the tribulations of socialism in Japan, see Ikuo Abe, Yasuharu Kiyohara and Ken Nakajima, "Sport and physical education under fascistization inJapan" (Bulletin of Health & Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 13 (1980), 34-36). For an introduction to Russian (and by extension socialist) sport, see Robert Edelman, Serious Fun: A History of Spectator Sports in the U.S.S.R. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993); National Folk Sports in the USSR, edited by Yuri Lukashin and translated from the Russian by James Riordan (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1980); andJames W. Riordan, "Tsarist Russia and International Sport" (Stadion, 1+2 (1988), 222-226). Finally, for a description of the All-Union boxing champion ships of 1934, seeJapan Times, 12 December 1934, 6. 15. Japan Times, II December 1934, 6. 16. Japan Times, 8 September 1935, 5. Other members of Keijo's 1935 team included Ryutoko Sai, Jyuncho Kyo, and Jyurin Gon. So although Keijo Imperial University had manyJapanese students, its boxing team appears to have been mostly Korean in ethnicity. Because this pattern persisted over time, the ethnic exclusivity appears to have been intentionaL I can not say, however, whether the discrimination was ofJapanese against Koreans or of Kore ans against Japanese. Identifying the Koreans on these teams, by the way, is not hard, as theJapan Times was as careful about indicating the ethnicity of fighters as any American newspaper. 127 128 Community Reports:Joseph R. Svinth 17· Japan Times, 27 September 1936, 5· 18. Japan Times, 30 November 1937, 30. 19· Japan Times, 28 April 1938, 3;]apan Times, 14 May 1938, } 20. Japan Times, 8 Tovember 1939, 5. 21. Japan Times, 20 March 1934, 6. 22. Japan Times, II December 1934, 6;Japan Times, 13 December 1934, 5;]apan Times, 19 Decem ber 1934, 6;Japan Times, 9 February 1935, 5;Japan Times, 22 February 1935, 5;]apan Times, 6 March 1935, 5· 2} Japan Times, IO April 1936, 5;]apan Times, IO October 1933, 4. 24. Japan Times, 16 November 1940,8. Published counts of ring deaths fail to account for the deaths of many, perhaps most, amateur fighters. So, while the Chicago Tribune (15 May 1986, C-26) reports that there were 335 professional and amateur ring deaths between 1945 and 1979, I am currently tracking 4II during that same period and expect to find dozens more. Readers interested in seeing or adding to my ring death data may contact me via the editor. 25. 'Who Is the Grandmaster?" in the Eric Madis collection. 26. Heinie Miller, "Now YOu Tell One'" (Ring, December 1922, 5). The occasion was probably the Manila Carnival of 1909. For a photo and a description of a similar match in Tokyo in which the judoka won, seeJapan Times, 7 November 1913, 1. 27. See, for example,Japan Times, 9 May 1923, 8. During the 19IOS and 1920S, it was axiomatic in the United States and Britain that boxing was superior to wrestling for personal self defense. See, for example,].L. Dorgan, "Wrestling vs. Boxing-Which is the Superior" (Ring, 15 March 1922, 5). But, as the Gracies showed during the so-called ''Ultimate'' matches of the 1980s, skilled wrestlers normally beat skilled strikers in open competition. Explained Charles B. Roth in Esquire inJune 1949 (102): "It all boils down to this: in any kind of a scrap the man with the grab can beat the man with the jab, and-no matter what the credo of ordinary citizens-the muscle-head [wrestler} always wins!" The standard tactic requires the wres tler to jump in, grasp the boxer by the biceps, and then trip, reap or cross-buttock him. 28. E]. Harrison, The Fighting Spirit ofJapan (Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press, 1982),46-48; Japan Times, 9 February 1931, 4;Japan Times, 21 February 1931,4- One difference between "Merikan" and American professional wrestling was that real fights sometimes followed the Merikan matches. OnJuly 24,1925, for example, two Hokkaido judo men were stabbed to death after embarrassing some visiting professionals during an advertised free-for-all. r:Japan Times, 25July 1925, I) 29· Japan Times, IO February 1921, 5. 30. Japan Times, 21 February 1931, 4. While Young Togo Koriyama was Kobe's pioneer boxing trainer, his financial patron was a man named Kenji Kano. Kobe fighters included Europe ans,]apanese and Filipinos, and they fought in Shanghai, Manila, Osaka and Tokyo. The local fight venues included the Shochiki Theatre. 31. Japan Times, 8 May 1933, 8. 32. TheJapan Times (8 May 1933, 8) quoted Shiro Otsuji as saying, "In this country the fighters are handled like a courtesan." For a discussion of how prewar geisha were recruited-the gist of which appears here--see Liza Crihfield Dalby, Geisha (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1983), 222-224. The way in which prostitutes have been recruited in Asia since World War II seems to be similar. See, for example, David E. Kaplan and Alec Dubro, OCCASIONAL PAPERS "Fighting Spirit" Yakuza: The Explosive Account of Japan's Criminal Underworld (Reading, MA: Addison Wesley Publishing, 1986), 202-208, and Saundra Pollock Sturdevant and Brenda Stoltzfus, Let the Good Times Roll: Prostitution and the u.s. Military in Asia (New York: New Press, 1992). An alternative is the sumo school model, where the atWetes are members of a fictive household rather than indentured servants. For details of how the sumo system works, see lOshihiro Oinuma and Mitsuru Shimpo, ''The Social System of the Sumo Training School" (International Review of Sport Sociology, 1:18 (1983), 6-19). But, operating on the assumption that Otsuji knew the difference between wrestlers and prostitutes, I assumed that the prostitution model applied to boxers. 33- Japan Times, 8 May 1933, 8;Japan Times, 5June 1933, I. 34. In October 1925, aJapanese laborer earned about ¥2.15 per day while a Chinese earned ¥I.24 and a Korean earned ¥I.2. Wages dropped, of course, during the Depression. For wages of the 1920S, seeJapan Times, 6 October 1925, 4. For Depression-era wages, see Japan Times, I June 1931, I. 35· Japan Times, 2 August 1926, 8;Japan Times, 27June 1931, 8;Japan Times, 8 May 1933, 8. 36 Japan Times, 15 January 1925, 4· See also Japan Times, 16 September 1936, 5; Japan Times, 6 January 1937, 5. Judging from the abysmal "Rocky" movies, popular tastes haven't changed much over the years. 37· Japan Times, 16 April 1925, 4· 38. Leo Noonan, "And in This Corner the Challengers from Japan," The Fighters, 1:1 (1974), 57 59· 39. In 1982, the training program of the Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim included sledgehammer ing a tire 200 times daily and ingesting vast quantities of garlic and ginseng. Since those aren't standard American training methods, I assume they are Korean in origin. The source of this information is Ralph Wiley, Serenity: A Boxing Memoir (New York: Henry Holt, 1989), 116. 40. These herbal remedies are mentioned in Geoff Crowther and Hyung Pun Choe, Korea: A Travel Sur-vival Kit (Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia: Lonely Planet, 1991), 45- 41· Japan Times, 16 April 1925, 4. 42. Ring, January 1923, 20. This was propaganda rather than truth-many excellent boxers including AmericanJack Dempsey and Australian Les Darcy did their best to avoid mili tary service during World War I-but it was what was being said about boxing at the time of its introduction intoJapan. See, for example,Japan Times, 20 December 1924, 8. 43- Judging from published advertising, a boxing movie of the 1920S had more in common with ''The Karate Kid" than "Raging Bull" See, for example, Ring, January 1923,20, where the hero of a film called "Fighting Blood" (1922) is described as "just the type of boy you'll see at the counter in the corner drugstor~who overnight becomes a champion of the prize ring!" Likewise, Japan Times described Reginald Denny, star of another 1922 film called ''The Leather Pusher," as "an atWete, an expert boxer, a college graduate" with a handsome face and physique. (Japan Times, 13January 1923,7.) The similarity between "Fight ing Blood" and ''The Leather Pusher" is not surprising when you realize that both had the same screenwriter, namely H.C Witwer. ''The Leather Pusher," by the way, was popular enough to rate a twelve-reel sequel that played in Tokyo during August 1925. 44. Japan Times, 21 February 1931, 2. 45· Japan Times, 27 August 1938, 3;Japan Times, 31August 1938, 3- 46. During personal correspondence, martial art historian Graham Noble told me that he has 129 130 Community Reports: Joseph R. Svinth heard reports that Horiguchi's trainers also had him study Motobu-ryu karate. This does not seem unreasonable since Motobu-ryu founder Chokki Motobu supposedly knocked out a much larger Russian boxer during a 1921 Merikan match. Unfortunately, no one can agree upon when or where Motobu's fight happened. For example, in Okinawan Karate: Teachers, Styles and Secret Techniques (London: A. & C. Black, 1989), 77> Mark Bishop wrote that the fight took place in Osaka in 1921. But on page 34 of Classical Kata of Okinawan Karate (Burbank, CA: Ohara Publications, 1987), Patrick McCarthy wrote the match took place in Kyoto. For a description of Horiguchi doing kendo, see North American Times, 4 August 1939,1. 47. Japan Times, 15January 1925, 4;Japan Times, 21 February 1931,2. As a woman named Shizue Tasuta said in 1933, "Whenever there is a knockdown in a match, I jump to my feet" (Japan Times, 8 May 1933, 8). 48. Ian Buruma, Behind the Mask (New York: Pantheon Books, 1984), 193- 49. Japan Times, 8 May 1933, 8. 50. Ibid. Several decades later the Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima expressed similar ideas. Buruma (1984, 194) writes that manyJapanese intellectuals report feeling "purified" after watching exhibitions of stylized violence. 51. I do not know the full extent of the prewarJapanese professional boxing circuit, but main event locations included Honolulu, Manila, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo, and whistle stops included Dairen, Kobe, Kyoto, Osaka, Seoul and Yokohama. If postwar patterns are any indication, then professional gambling syndicates were intimately involved in this cir cuit. And, as Japan's prewar gambling syndicates frequently cooperated with theJapanese secret police, the circuit perhaps served a secondary intelligence-gathering function. Reli able information with which to support or refute such conjectures is, however, unsurprisingly lacking. For a journalistic introduction toJapanese organized crime, see Kaplan and Dubro, 1986. For a similar introduction to theJapanese secret police, see Richard Deacon, Kempei Tai: A History of theJapanese Secret Police (New York: Berkley Books, 1985). The affiliation of the Japanese and American boxing associations was noted in Japan Times, 23 May 1932, 1. The association of gangsters with U.S. boxing is described in Jeffrey T. Sammons, Beyond the Ring: The Role ofBoxing in American Society (Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 1988), 138 183- Articles describing a politically motivated assault on Baron Reijiro Wakatasuki by boxer Susumu Noguchi appear inJapan Times on 31 May 1934, I and I Ju ly 1934, r. An article noting the arrest of former Shanghai boxing champion Paul Lojinkoff on charges of being aJapanese police informer appeared inJapan Times, 19 November 1945, 1. Finally, in "Meet ing of Minds: The Grandmasters Speak," Toe Kwon Do Times, March 1992, 34, the Manchu rian-born Tang Soo Do teacher Haeng-ung Lee noted that during his youth, Koreans frequently associated martial arts with "gangsters and hoods" 52. Machado, Michael D. (executive officer of the Hawai'i State Boxing Commission). Letter to the author, 23 April 1999. 53- Ibid. 54. Japan Times, 29 April 1931, 8. In fairness, it should be noted that there were not many qualified referees in Japan during the late 1920S and early 1930S. Toward fixing this prob lem, Japanese boxing officials organized an association in March 1934 (Japan Times, IO March 1934, 4)· 55. Japan Times, 6 November 1931,8. 56. Japan Times, 3 May 1931, 8; Montreal Gazette, 22 October 1934, page unknown. 57· Japan Times, 4 ovember 1931, 8;Japan Times, 6 November 1931, 8.Japan's first radio broad- OCCASIONAL PAPERS "Fighting Spirit" cast of a live boxing card took place on March 13, 1931. The main event, announced by Mr. Matsuuchi, was a ten-round draw between Sueo Hirakawa andJiro Kumagai. \Japan Times, 14 March 1931, 8.) 58. Japan Times, 29 April 1932, 8. 59. My records currently showJo having 12 wins, I draw, and 7 losses during 1933- (I say "cur rently" because I suspect I'm missing several Northern California fights.) Four of his seven losses came at the hands of Speedy Dado and Young Tommy, who were respectivelyEverlast's third and fifth best featherweights in the world. The other three winners-Billy McLeod, Star Frisco and Little Panch~werealso highly regarded. Most modern fighters don't have that many fights in a career. For example, Duk Koo Kim, the Korean who died fighting Ray Mancini in November 1982, had a career record of 17 wins, I draw, and I loss, and the Mancini bout was Kim's first big fight. Researchers interested in seeing or adding to my tabular data may contact me via the editor. For details of Kim's career and death, see Wiley, 1989, II4-122. 60. During the 1990S, U.S. heavyweight boxerTommy Morrison told journalistArlene Schulman, "I would fight for an $80,000 or $100,000 purse. My manager would give me 67 percent, and then 40 percent went for taxes. There would be a fight for $100,000, and my end would be about $22,000." And, as another fighter of the 1990S named Tony Tucker reportedly paid 120 percent of his purse to managers and promoters, Morrison's manager seems to have been comparatively generous. Although the purses of the 1930S were smaller by a factor of 100, managerial greed was not. To give an example, Piston Horiguchi received a guaranteed $1,000 per fight for his five fights in Hawaii in 1936. Fifty percent of the guarantee went to Honolulu fight promoter Steere G. Noda, and the rest went to paying Horiguchi's hotel, training, and travel expenses. \Japan Times, 9January 1936, 5;Japan Times, 9June 1936, 5.) See also Japan Times, 22 January 1925, 4, where it is noted that the New York State Athletic Commission allowed main event fighters to receive no more than 50 percent of a fight's gate, with the rest to be divided among the prelim boys. Morrison's finances are discussed in Arlene Schulman, The Prizefighters: An Intimate Look at Champions and Contenders (New York: Lyons & Burford, 1994), 59, 70. The Tucker case is cited in Jonathan Rendall, This Bloody Mary is the Last Thing I Own: A Journey to the End of Boxing (Hopewell, N]: Ecco Press, 1998), 144-145. Of course, managerial greed was not restricted to North America. For an example ofJapanese promoters cheating the Filipino fighter Don Sacramento, seeJapan Times, 28 February 1931, 4- 61. Japanese-American Courier, 19 August 1933, 2. 62. Montreal Gazette, 8 November 1934, page unknown. 63- Quoted inJapanese-American Courier, 28July 1934- 64. The menJo beat in New York were Dick Li Brandi (December 4,1934) and Charles Zeletes (January II, 1935). 65. Great Northern Daily News, 6January 1938, 8. It is an adage in Western boxing that a boxer should avoid sexual activity while in training. The theory, which probably has roots in Galenic medical lore, remains popular into the present. See, for example, William Plummer, Buttercups and Strong Boys (New York: Viking, 1989), 91--93- Similar theories also exist in Asia. See, for example, Claude Larre, The Wiy of Heaven: Neijing Suwen, Chapters I and 2 (Cambridge, UK: Monkey Press, 1994), 48. 66. Japan Times, 26 March 1936, 5. 67. Great Northern Dazly News, 18 November 1937,2. As with TeikenJo and Piston Horiguchi, I have only incomplete records for Umio Gen. According to my data his record stands at I4 131 132 Community Reports:Joseph R. Svinth wins, 5 draws, and 20 losses. All the wins were in Asia. 68. North American Times, 2 February 1938, 1. See also Great Northern Daily News, 2 February 1938, 8;Japanese-American Courier, 5 February 1938, 3- 69. See, for example, Andrew Guterman and Robert W. Smith, ''Neurological Sequelae of Boxing," Sports Medicine, 4 (1987),194-208 and Vincent]. Giovinazzo, Lawrence A. Yannuzzi, John A. Sorenson, Daniel]. Delrowe and Edwin A. Cambell, "The Ocular Complications of Boxing," Opthamology, 94:6 (June 1987), 587-596. 70. Japanese-American Courier, 6 August 1938, 3- As I have found no results for this August 9 Stockton match, I suspect that it ended up being rescheduled for later in the month. While the answer undoubtedly exists in the Stockton newspapers, I do not have easy access to these in Seattle. 71. North American Times, 26 September 1938, 1. 72. North American Times, I October 1938, 1. n OnJanuary 24, 1939 Gen lost to Frankie Covelli in New York City. On May 29,1939, he beat Piston Horiguchi in Tokyo. So, while I have not seen Gen's exact date of departure, it was obviously between February and May 1939. 74· Japan Times, 30 December 1939, 5;Japan Times, 6January 1940, 5· 75· Japan Times, 9 March 1940, 5· 76. Japan Times, 19 April 1940, 3;Japan Times, 30 April 1940, 2. The first was a six-round victory over Takeshi Kaido in Tokyo on April 17, 1940, and the second was a five-round victory over Shintaro Yamada in Seoul on April 27, 1940. 77· Japan Times, 23 March 1939, 3- 78. Although the Japan Times did not print sporting results between December 8, 1941, and August 15, 1945, boxing exhibitions designed to support the war effort probably continued until at least 1943-Japan's first postwar boxing tournament was held at Tokyo's Kokugikan Amphitheater on December 29,1945. Organizers included the Filipino boxerJoe Eagle and the Youth Organization for the Reconstruction of Korea (Japan Times, 29 December 1945, 2). 79· Japan Times, 5 September 1940, 5· 80. Japan Times, 5June 1933, 1. 81. Letter from Thomas Yamaoka, December 14, 1998. Yamaoka was a Japanese American amateur and professional boxer of the I940s. 82. Ring,July 1948, 38. OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual Workers: The Lives of Korean Skilled and Family Reunion Immigrants in Australia Gil Soo Han Abstract The majority of Koreans who emigrated to Australia in the 1980s include skilled and family reunion immigrants. Unlike those who came in the 1970s ("amnesty immigrants"), the arrivals of the 1980s entered Australia legiti mately. While they were better educated and brought some capital, however, the majority have been limited to manual labor. In the context of capitalist development and the Australian economic recession, professional exper tise did not help the arrivals of the 1980s, and their lack of fluency in English adversely affected their employment opportunities. Despite the popular and politically promoted multiculturalism policy, the structural disadvantages for Non-English Speaking Background (NESB) immigrants are so deeply em bedded in the Australian society that the skilled Korean immigrants have not been better off than earlier immigrants. Introduction Korean immigrants are among one of the rapidly increasing Asian ethnic groups in Australia. It is estimated that there are currently about 33,868 Koreans in Australia. I More than 80 percent reside in the Sydney metropolitan area; the rest have settled in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, etc. Korean emigration to Australia began with the coming of about 500 Koreans as tourists in the early 1970s, who had worked in the battlefields of the Vietnam War.2 The majority of them came from low socioeconomic backgrounds in Korea, trying to escape unemployment in the 1960s, when the Korean economy was poor. They became permanent residents in Australia during the amnesties of 1974, 1976 and 1980. I have named them "amnesty migrants." Most Korean immigrants who arrived in Australia in the 1980s have come from middle class and professional backgrounds; and those in the 1990S from the small entrepreneurial class. It is this latter group of skilled and family reunion immigrants that is the primary interest of this paper.3 GIL 500 HAN, an immigrant himself, has researched the Korean community in Australia over the last ten years. His publications include Korean Churches in the Homeland, and Overseas and Health and Medicine under Capitalism: Korean Immigrants in Australia. He is a faculty member at the University of New England School of Health. 133 multiculturalism Community Reports: Gil Soo Han Australia is one of the most diverse countries with respect to its people's countries of origin. While it is openly claimed that Australia is a multicultural society, to what extent does Australian society welcome immigrants from Korea and encourages them to settle as "Australians"? To explore this question, I investigated the life of Korean skilled and family reunion immigrants who have come from mostly middle-class backgrounds in Korea. It is not my intent to be highly analytical about the question, but rather to describe the immigrant life of recent Korean arrivals in Australia. The Settlement of Post-War Immigrants in Australia Although mainland Europeans were welcomed to Australia as immi grants, their experiences differed from that of British immigrants to a great degree. During the immigration policy of assimilation (1947-1964), newcom ers were supposed to acquire as quickly as possible the cultures and language of the established population of the British-Australian society, so that im migrants from many countries would merge and become indistinguishable. Because this policy was not successful, the policy of integration (the White Australia policy, 1964-1972), which was based on a pluralist ideology, was adopted. Governments recognized that it was not possible for different groups of immigrants to "melt" into Anglo-Australian society; instead, migrants' old national and cultural links could be maintained as a bridge The policy of to prosperous settlement. It was inevitable that the Australian society would have to (1972 to present) is change in order to accommodate newcomers; it was still assumed, based on a more however, that the changes would be minimal and that the ma radical pluralist jar institutions such as the system of education, family style, ideology. justice and religion would remain unchanged.4 The policy of multiculturalism (1972 to present) is based on a more radical pluralist ideology. Ethnic leaders came to argue that all immigrants should be given a fair share of society's wealth and power as a right, instead of having to earn them through integrating into society. Governments had to provide actively the needs such as interpreters, language teachers, assistance with special health problems. Until the 1960s, when the White Australia policy was still in action, non-British immigrants, no matter how highly professional, were dumped into menial and dangerous work and regarded as foreigners and a source of cheap labor.5 It was not possible for those to acquire a relatively high level of literacy and abstract thinking in a new country. Those immigrants, such as Southern Europeans who came from a rural background, found it difficult to be employed even in less-skilled jobs in urban Australia, because the work required a fair level of literacy and sophistication. When Baltic refugees were admitted to Australia as a way of accom- 134 OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual U1&rkers plishing the immigration target in 1947 to 1951, they had to work for two years in isolation from much of the population as directed by the govern ment. The refugees contributed their labor to postwar reconstruction in Aus tralia, and Australian workers enjoyed upward job mobility because the refugees had to begin at the bottom of the labor market. Refugees who com plained against work conditions were threatened with worse tasks and even deportation. Many highly qualified personnel tended to remain in manual labor jobs even after the two years.6 However, in the mid 1960s, an increas ing proportion of the population began to perceive that their disadvantage resulted from the structure of the society rather than from the fault of indi vidual members. This social climate led to strikes at General Motors and Mt. Isa in 1964, and a riot by Yugoslavs in New South Wales (NSW) in 1966. The "successful" implementation of the policy on the Baltic refugees laid the groundwork for the policies to be imposed on Indo-Chinese refugees in Australia in the 1970s. Of the many studies on them, a New South Wales study found that only 3 percent were menial or unskilled workers in their former home countries, whereas in Australia 83 percent took such jobs? These policies particularly explain how a significant proportion of NESB immigrants who comprise a reserve pool of labor, have not been successful in obtaining jobs commensurate to their qualifications. Such immigrants often live in inadequate conditions and tend to work in occupations requiring heavy physical exertion, the combination of which has serious implications on their health.s Recent arrivals, such as the Turks and Lebanese, are worse off than the Italians and the Greeks (who arrived decades earlier) in terms of income inequality, poverty, housing, health, education and access to legal services.9 Method In analyzing contemporary class structure, currently predominant approaches in social sciences such as cultural, postmodernist and poststructural perspectives tend to exaggerate some of the new features of the society that were not easily observed before. For example, blue-collar workers have decreased to less than 20 percent of the total workforce, while 75 percent of the Australian workforce are white-collar workers in the services sector. But it is the underlying social relationships in the workplace that are crucial to a class analysis. There is little difference between white- and blue collar workers in terms of their control over the means of production, and over the labor of other workers and over their own work. IO In comparison with most Euro-Australians, NESB immigrants and their children still belong to lower socioeconomic groups, spend less time in education, and have higher rates of unemployment than those who have been in Australia longer. NESB immigrants are disproportionately concentrated 135 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han in manufacturing industries as semi-skilled and unskilled production -line workers and as laborers. II Compared to the Australian-born workforce, immigrant workers tend to work longer hours, have more overtime, and show less interest in forming or joining trade unions. This has been justified by the Euro-Australian perspective because of the NESB migrants' lack of English-language fluency and knowledge about Australian institutions and customs. Numerous studies of Asian immigrants, such as Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants, have been undertaken, but there has been a dearth of research on the Korean community in Australia, which consists of Koreans from various socioeconomic backgrounds in their home country. To document their experiences, I interviewed 120 Korean immigrants from various socioeconomic backgrounds, including various health practitioners (biomedical doctors, herbal doctors, acupuncturists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, etc.) in Sydney. The data for this paper is largely drawn from my interviews with 20 male skilled and family reunion immigrants and others. Each interview took one to three hours; questions Compared to were open-ended. As a Korean immigrant myself, I have stayed the Australian-born in Sydney only from time to time in order to collect data for my workforce, immigrant ongoing research on the Korean community. This has not only workers tend to enabled me to confidently access Korean immigrants (in Korean) work longer hours, in Sydney, but has also allowed me to maintain a distance from have more overtime, them. The names used are pseudonyms. I2 and show less The Korean Nurses Association (KNA) in Australia now interest in forming or has about 80 members, including those not registered in Aus joining trade unions. tralia. As my wife is a member, I have known a few members over the last few years. This allowed me to contact them to a degree. The president encouraged me to participate in a picnic for the members' families, which happened to take place wherd was conduct ing interviews for the study, and which gave me an opportunity to make myself known to the members. Without these opportunities, it would not have been easy to contact the nurses in the context of Korean culture, which tends to discourage married men from contacting married women. I tried to avoid interviewing those whom I had known so as to avoid bias. I conducted several informal and formal interviews with the nurses and their husbands. Another reason I contacted members of the KNA was to talk to their husbands. The husbands of nurses in Korea are mostly university graduates and had been holding middle-class jobs or those commensurate with their training prior to coming to Australia. I had no presupposition that in Austra lia the husbands of nurses did not have jobs that were commensurate with their educational qualifications. I was most interested in meeting a wide range of Korean men who had middle-class jobs in Korea. The husbands of these nurses made up part of the category of family reunion immigrants. 136 OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers Australia, the Land of Opportunity? Korean computer technicians began immigrating to Australia in 1985, and most arrived between then and 1990. By 1995, about 130 male Korean computer technicians and programmers had immigrated to Australia with their family members, said Yun-sang Ha, president of the Korean Computer Technicians/Programmers' Association in Sydney. Ha said that the immi gration of computer-skilled Koreans to the United States or Canada virtually ended by the early 1980s so that some members of the association missed out in migrating to either country. Like most other skilled immigrants, the computer-related workers came to Australia because they wanted a better opportunity for their career and their families. Chin-ho Mun gave the following reason: Returning to Korea after working in Saudi Arabia for three years, I was nearly suffocated with the human relations at the workplace, authoritar ian public officers and the life in general. I simply couldn't put up with the stress of the salary man .... This made me think about migrating to another country. One of my close friends came to Australia three years ahead of me and spoke about it in positive terms. The skilled immigrants were generally critical of Korean society. They regarded Australia as a much better country in which to live than Korea. Despite holding jobs appropriate to their university education there, most of them were dissatisfied with the long working hours that adversely affected their private and family lives. Coming to Australia was a relief for them to a significant degree. Mun said, Considering my personality, I find it comfortable to live in Australia. It allows a proper living environment for a human being. I haven't been able to accumulate a sum of capital, but I've never thought that Australia is not a good country in which to live. In fact, I still think it's a good country, although it's a disadvantage to be far away from close friends and rela tives. I3 Korean nurses and health-eare practitioners began migrating to Australia in 1986. According to Su-jin Yi, a nurse and midwife, when she came to Australia as an English-language student one of her friends had just arrived from Saudi Arabia in 1986, and they were aware that there were four other Korea-trained nurses in Sydney. One had worked in West Germany, immigrated to Australia and was working as deputy matron in a nursing home; two had worked in Vietnam during the war and one of them had registered with the Nursing Board of NSW and worked as the matron of a nursing home, and another nurse migrated to Australia under the family reunion program and had just completed a preregistration course and registered with the board. 137 138 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han The education of nurses in Australia around that time was undergoing major change. In NSW the main nursing education site that had been in hospitals until 1984, was transferred to colleges and universities in 1985. The teaching institutions were not getting enough students to meet the number of nurses required by the health sectors, and there had already been a short age of nurses in Australia. In that situation, the idea was put forward that the Nursing Board should recognize the qualifications of nurses educated overseas to some extent. Su-jin Yi told me that, As I visited the NSW Nursing Board in Sydney, I was told that I should look for a hospital which might take me as a student nurse for three months. I went to the Westmead Hospital, where I was told to attend a refresher course, taught by an educator at the University of New South Wales, for six weeks. I undertook the program, sat a written exam [sic] at the end and passed. I went back to Westmead Hospital to undergo paid clinical prac tice. I learned that although the practice was generally supposed to take about three months at that time, there was no set time. In my case, I took six weeks of clinical practice and passed a written test. That is how my friend and I came to register with the Nursing Board. '4 By that time, there were a few hundred Korean nurses working in Saudi Arabia who heard that Su-jin Yi and her friend became registered nurses in Australia. A significant number of them returned to Korea and came to Australia as English-language students. The possibility that Korean nurses could be registered in Australia was good news for some in Korea, and during 1987 and 1988, many Korean nurses came to Australia as English-language students. They paid a tuition fee to language-training institutions but did not attend classes. Instead, they went through a preregistration course to register as trained nurses. Those who completed the program chose a hospital to nominate them for immigration, went back to Korea and formally applied for immigration to Australia.I5 This practice caused concern for officers of Department of Education, Employment and Training (DEET), however, because many of the nurses rushed through the preregistration program without enough English-language ability, which resulted in the nurses not being able to perform their duties satisfactorily. According to Yi, as overseas trained nurses were able to register in Australia in a relatively short period of time, DEET was concerned about the lack of foreign currency flowing into Australia. She argued that this was why colleges and universities came to be in charge of the preregistration program. As a result, overseas qualified nurses had to pay a tuition fee directly to the university or college, and following a period of time, they underwent clinical practice together with university nurse trainees. Korean nurses were not particularly impressed by this, as they had to go through the course with "poorly qualified ones" (instructors). Of course, the work was without pay. The overseas-trained nurses were also not happy with the policy that they OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers were required to do one and a half years of clinical practice before obtaining a Bachelor of Nursing degree, whereas the Australian trainees needed only six months. Nonetheless, Australia's shortage of nurses was not resolved, and some hospitals began sponsoring the overseas nurses in the course for immigra tion even before they finished training. Yi told me that the Department of Immigration was supportive of the overseas trained nurses changing their visa status. The female nurses have been the main applicants for the immigration of their family, and the husbands and children came as dependents. The rea sons for emigrating by nurses and their husbands are similar to those of other skilled immigrants such as computer-skilled immigrants.,6 Immigration and Adjustment The skilled immigrants sometimes mentioned the positive aspects of immigration. However, what they thought of Australia or the reality of their life appeared to be a totally different matter. My question as to ''what brought them to Australia" to Chin-u Yang, a computer-skilled immigrant who could not utilize his skill, and his wife seemed quickly to remind them of how anxious they had been to come to the "land of opportunity." However, it was quickly blurred by their hard life in Australia. My wife wanted to come in the first place, though I had been in agreement with her wish. I thought that there were too many people living in Korea, and that as many Koreans as possible should leave Korea. I was also curi ous about Australia because in Korea it was commonly known as a "heaven on earth." However, it was not my priority to emigrate anywhere. But I couldn't help but be persuaded by my wife. So I was half willing and half reluctant to came.'i Sang-yun Kim, now in his mid 50S, worked for the maintenance of sports facilities at the Korean Defense Academy prior to immigration, and arrived as a skilled baker in 1986. He trained to be a baker for a year before he applied for emigration and his application was supported by his sister who had immigrated in the 1970s. He emigrated to benefit his three children's education and because he was in search of a country where he, as a member of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, could carry out his religious activity on Saturdays in Australia.I8 He was a founding member of the church in the Korean community in Australia, and it became full-fledged in 1990. Another couple, Ki-ju Yi and his wife, visited Australia for five months in 1978. They wanted to wait for a possible amnesty to come here so that their children could receive tertiary education. Although Yu is a university graduate, he was not sure whether he could afford his children's education in Korea. 139 140 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han Although his wife's ill health led them to return to Korea, he encouraged his wife to attend a cooking class in Australia, and his family emigrated in 1983- The preparation of immigrating to Australia involved many farewell parties from their work colleagues, friends and relatives. Coming to the "land of opportunity" as "chosen" people was considered a privilege. The picture of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on the wall of the Australian Embassy in Seoul was a dream for them until they finally received their permanent entry visa. Although they felt sad about leaving their home country for good, they were only happy to leave such a congested place with many lingering social problems, known as the Han'guk pyeong or "Korean disease." Arriving at the Sydney airport, or the so-called "heaven on earth," they were full of hopes and it was too early to think about the troubles they would face sooner rather than later. Immigrants were generally in touch with their acquaintances before their arrival, so that they were met at the airport. The friends assisted the new arrivals to rent a flat, choose schools for their children and receive entitle ments such as the family allowance and Medicare. The skilled immigrants generally started their new life by attending the classes run by the Adult immigrant English Studies (AMES) for six months. While attending AMES, Sang-uk Hwang and his wife, who came under the category of family re union, were able to visit most of the tourist attractions in Sydney every after noon after class. They did not need to worry about their basic needs as they were paid a living allowance. They felt as if they were back in their dating period. This was also the time to meet those who had arrived in Australia around the same time and play Korean cards and drink or eat together. Those who traveled by the same plane or attended AMES at the same time easily developed friendships. Chin-u Yang, who came to Australia in 1986, said, The first six months were the happiest period in Australia. I was happy because I hadn't yet come across problems. The fact that I had immigrated to Australia was enough to make me happy because it was hard to be se lected.'9 Skilled immigrants tended to spend another six months in the so-called Skill Max Program, which was designed to improve both skills and their English ability at work. After a period of six months to one year, their problems began. Hwang, who taught in school for 17 years in Korea, said, [My wife and I] didn't know how to earn the bread in Australia .... Before coming to Australia, I thought that a little bit of work would suffice for our economic needs. I simply couldn't find work suitable for me. In addi tion, the children had their own problems adjusting to their studies and things .... We started to quarreL The problems they experienced during the first three years were com plex. Although they were physically in Australia, their minds continually OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual U:IOrkers swung between Australia and Korea. They suffered from homesickness and often wondered whether they would be better off going back to Korea. After about three years, they came to have a more informed view of what it was like to be an immigrant. Children adjusted quickly to the new school sys tems and the new society. In three years the children were reluctant to re turn to Korea, and the women were well in the process of adjusting. Hwang said, After three years, I had become confident. I came to understand how I could fit into the new culture, society and how to behave. I was no longer too conscious of what others would think of me. Before, I used to worry that I might be smelly to CEuro-Australians] because of my garlic con sumption. I gradually came to have peace of mind.20 However, the men appeared to have remained largely dissatisfied. I asked Chin-u Yang, What have been the most difficult things in the process of adjusting? Loneliness or isolation at work. It was too hard to recover from the stress caused by having to start from the bottom of the hierarchy at work [despite my long experience]. I wondered whether I wanted to return to Korea or settle in Australia for good. In due course, my children were well adjusting. Then, it became impossible for me to go back. When did you make up your mind to stay in Australia? After three years. In three years' time, why did the children and women come to like and enjoy Australia more than you? They were given more rights in Australia. But for men, their status dropped dramatically. No wonder they didn't like their life in Australia at all. Chil dren pick up Australian-thinking pattern quickly. I've lost the respect due to a father and husband, which I had in Korea. As children grow up, they hardly listen to parents and behave as they like. From a man's point of view, the longer they stayed in Australia, the less confident of themselves they were.21 Even though Yang and others seriously considered returning to Korea, it gradually became more and more difficult. They felt more or less stuck in Australia because their children were already well adjusted after a few years. Man-yong Yi worked as a senior manager for a Korean construction com pany in Korea and overseas for several years prior to coming to Australia in 1987. He said that he had to do some menial work, such as cleaning, for his first four years in Australia, until he obtained a plumbing contract. He deeply regretted that he had immigrated. The skilled immigrants felt that, among many things, the language bar rier and racial discrimination had to be endured if they wished to remain in 141 142 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han Australia. The skilled and family reunion immigrants would have had better written English ability than the amnesty immigrants in the 1970s, but after having lived in foreign countries, some of the amnesty immigrants in par ticular seemed to have a relatively high level of English-speaking ability, which enabled them to be involved in small business. To be brief, I learned that the skilled immigrants did not seem to have an advantage because of their educational achievement. It may be more appropriate to say that no matter how able the immigrants may have been, their prospects tended to be easily undermined by structural forces (i.e., mechanisms deeply imbedded and practiced in Australian society). Employment Language Difficulties I found that some skilled immigrants took up to a few years to be employed in any kind of paid work. Some were underemployed. In addition to structural barriers, the unfavorable economic environment might have contributed as well. I asked Mun-jip Yi, What kind of work have you done since you came to Australia? Learning English for a year .... Then I looked for a job. I couldn't find one because of the economic recession. I registered myself at the Common wealth Employment Services [CESl The clerks said, "Even Australians can't find jobs; the chances would be worse for you with little English. Why don't you fill out the form to receive an unemployment allowance? There's no trouble in doing that." I was unemployed for about two years. During an economic recession, immigrants easily fall victim to unemploy ment. An unemployment allowance is far from satisfactory. As Mun-jip Yi appeared to be frustrated with his work and life in Australia, I asked, What do you think of Austrctfia with regard to your work? I'm still a mere plumber with a certificate and have no license to sign a contract. People with no prior knowledge about plumbing would usually take 4 to 5years to be a qualified plumber. But those with some experience would have to attend a conversion course, which takes one year and is fol lowed by another year at Technical and Further Education [TAFEl The year at TAFE could be done over a period of four years, depending on the individual. I had no trouble doing technical subjects such as water supply, drainage, gas in a year. However, the trouble was the subject of business principles, which I couldn't pass. The subject is about running a business, but it was more of an English test to me. I passed all other subjects except business principle for the last three years. The 180 questions were subjec tive ones. That subject was the easiest one for Australians, but it was a OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers hassle for non-English speakers like me. I don't think it's fair .... The subject is useful for newcomers in plumbing. Although I understood the content, it was hard to express myself in English. I couldn't score 60 per cent of the subject. Not being able to sign a contract yet, Yi found it sometimes difficult to manage his work, saying that, When I carry out a task, I sometimes need to work in a team of a few people. But I can't pay others to work together. When I have to do a big task on my own, it's stressful. After paying the wages of others, nothing will be left for me.22 However, Man-yong Yi, a business person who obtained the license to sign plumbing contract work, had his own problems. He said, I often employ fellow Koreans under apprenticeships. They don't stay long enough with me. When they get skilled they want more pay. Finding suit able workers is a major problem for me. If I work as a plumber for others, it's rather easy and gives me peace of mind.23 The skilled immigrants generally found that attending the AMES Im migrant classes for six months was not sufficient to enable them to mingle with their colleagues at work. Chin-u Yang said, Work capability wasn't a problem. But I couldn't mingle with my fellow workers or be one of their colleagues. As I didn't understand what they said to each other I soon found myself isolated at work.24 Yun-se Yi was an executive in an American computer company in Korea and immigrated to Australia in 1975, when he was transferred to a Sydney branch of the company. He told me of the complex links between racism, NESB workers' language ability and personality. He knew Mr. Kim, a com puter programmer who worked with Yi for the same company in Korea. As Mr. Kim immigrated to Australia he approached Yi. Yi said, Mr. Kim once lectured in a Korean university and is an intelligent person of great self-respect [pride]. I helped him find a job in Sydney. The trouble with him in the company was that as his supervisor was assigning him a task, he rarely asked a question of the supervisor. Mr. Kim would get to his work site and, after a while, report to the boss what he had done. The boss was repeatedly disappointed with the work results because they weren't what the boss wanted. I introduced Mr. Pak to the same company. Mr. Pak was also a capable worker, though with limited English ability. But he did well because he always asked and clarified when in doubt. It was natural that Mr. Kim became relatively unpopular and eventually tendered his resignation. He later came to me and expressed regret that my introduc tion of Mr. Pak resulted in his loss of the job. Yun-se Yi argued that efficiency or productivity is what is most required at work; however, "a great degree of self-respect or pride" can cause problems. 143 144 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han He knows several Korean computer-related workers who have continued their work at computer companies, so Kim's personality might have been unpopu lar at any kind of workplace. Why was one capable worker from Korea not able to survive his work and another able to survive? There seemed to be more than efficiency required. The problem is not only at the level of the individual but also at the level of the preexisting mechanism that expects the new workers to act differently from the dominant group. I mentioned to Yun-se Yi, I was told that many Koreans have resigned because they couldn't put up with racial discrimination. It depends on the individuaL There are many workers from diverse ethnic backgrounds in my company. For example, people from Vietnam tend to have a high degree of self-respect [pride]. Those workers just concentrating on the work only without paying attention to human relationships eventu ally can't survive. Racism is a matter of how it is handled. I mentioned to him again, I was also told that some Korean computer workers couldn't be promoted because of their race. It again depends on the individual. When I was appointed as a manager, what was important was my skill as a technician. As I got older I left the position and gave way for the younger generation. There were many "black haired" (NESB} managers in my company. I'm not sure as to how influen tial "black hairs" would be in decisionmaking. Eventually, what's required at work is work capacity and a good personality. In fact, I managed to find Mr. Kim. While he appeared to be a person of self-respect [pride}, I found his personality rather warmhearted. Yi also said that, Among many people in my company there was one person with a British background. He was a character. He worked for the company for 35 years, but he has never been abroad. He had traveled by air only once when he went to Tasmania. I wanted to offer him a cup of tea many times. He wouldn't respond. He was a kind of headache for me. I sometimes jokingly abused him in Korean. He asked me what I said. I told him, "I said, you are son of a bitch [sic}." As time passed we became friendly with one another. When I gave him a birthday card, he was so happy and hugged me .... Educated and intelligent persons wouldn't discriminate against people on the basis of birthplace. He had received only six years of education.2 ) Yi has put an extra effort into overcoming structural racism manifested by his colleague at work. It would be wonderful if every immigrant worker could appear to be so cooperative and with a friendly personality at their work. Although I was highly appreciative of Yi's approach, I was concerned about his continuing emphasis on "victim bashing." Although I was rather OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers impressed by Yi's constant effort to create and maintain a friendly relation ship with the dominant group, I was worried about racial discrimination, which is deeply embedded at the level of structure, which determined, for example, how Yi and his Euro-Australian colleague would interact at work. There seemed to be an expectation that "a friendly climate" at work must be created by NESB workers rather than by the Euro-Australians. It was hard to explain how a well-educated person survived as a computer technician for 35 years and a university-educated and experienced Korean worker could not survive at the same job for more than a few years, although the amount of formal education could sometimes mean little. Of the 130 Koreans who came to Australia as computer-skilled immi grants, only about 30 percent of them were working in computer-related posi tions. The rest were involved in menial work, such as cleaning, and a small number were involved in small businesses such as shoe repairing and key cutting. For example, Yun-sang Ha experienced difficulties in surviving as a computer expert and also encountered many other Koreans who had similar expenences. Ha came up with his own opinion as to how to survive and he often made suggestions to the members of the Korean Computer Technicians/Pro grammers' Association: The major hurdle is the language. If one stays in his job for five years, one should be all right. Working in a specified area requires a high level of language ability, but not in tasks such as coding. An ability to talk to the machine is all that is required for coding. While most computer-skilled immigrants from Korea want to best utilize their individual expertise, limited language ability limits them to working on relatively simple or less challenging tasks. Experienced computer program mers' involvement in coding seems to be not only a waste of skills, but is also humiliating and alienating for professionals. Ha went on to say that, When an experienced Korean computer worker comes to Australia he is easily tempted by numerous positions advertised in newspapers which of fer attractive wage packages. It is important to realize that the advertise ments are meant to swap the positions amongst (Euro-} Australians. It is an effective way of enhancing the profiles of the companies. When a Ko rean sends off about IOO job applications and does not even get called for one interview, he is quite frustrated. I tell the newcomer that once he gets a job, it is important for them to stay at least for three to five years so that he can improve his English and he may have an opportunity for promotion within the same company or elsewhere. I ask them to forget about what they did or how experienced they were in Korea. If he leaves for a better paid job before three years he will soon be weeded out. I tell them not to read the advertisements at all but to be satisfied with coding for a few years .... The Australian boss will quickly notice whether a new worker is happy with his work or not .... Limited language ability shouldn't be a 145 146 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han major hurdle in working as a computer worker. I really encourage them not to be involved in administration .... If they wish to settle in Australia they should relax and adjust to the new society for several months and try to learn good things in Australia. They get paid even though they don't work.26 It seems that there are too many hurdles for a Korean computer worker to overcome before he is able to work like a Euro-Australian counterpart. The hurdles are more than the issues of language and culture. Only a small proportion of the computer-skilled immigrants from Korea remained in computer work, and the majority of them were not able to find a computer related employment at alL I asked Chin-ho Mun, a computer-skilled immigrant who arrived in 1986, What are the problems for the computer-skilled immigrants from Korea? I had enough problems. If I could utilize my previous expertise, i.e., com puter work, it would have been good. But too many obstacles made it im possible. The language barrier was one problem, and the way in which work is distributed in Australia differs from that in Korea. For example, working as manager of a section in Korea, I didn't have to work on the software program. But in Australia, I had to start from scratch. I worked in the computer section of a banking company for five and one-half years. Starting at the bottom, I couldn't see any prospects for the future. I de cided to leave the job and take up a small business. There are many cases like me. In comparison with the overt racial discrimination experienced by the amnesty immigrants, which tended to be explicit, the skilled immigrants appeared to have experienced a more subtle variety. When I asked Chin-ho Mun why he left his computer work, he said, I haven't experienced racial discrimination at work in an explicit way. My work is really about technology so there are Filipino, Chinese, Vietnam ese, etc. The manager was Vietnamese. I came across racism in everyday life. For example, I felt it when I had to face a police officer after breaching a traffic ru Ie. Mun seemed to have felt that there is definitely racism deeply embedded in the wider society. Mun continued to talk about his experience at work. If you're a capable worker in Korea, you would be promoted. But here, no matter how good you are at your work, you won't be promoted. That's primarily because of your limited command of English. The crucial rea son I quit my work was because I couldn't see the prospect for a better future at the job. Unlike with wage-earning work, faithful small business persons tend to get an appropriate reward if they work hard. Emphasizing the significance of racism, he tended to ignore his lack of English, which is a basic tool at work. His survival as a computer programmer OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers for more than five years is a relative success. As Yun-sang Ha suggested, Mun might have been able to stay on at the job, provided that he had not minded doing rather mundane work and was happy with the given wage. While talking to the various groups of Koreans in Sydney, including the skilled immigrants, I realized that they thought it was a privilege to have had a professional job that required a high level of communication skill. It seemed to be particularly so among the skilled immigrants. They already had held professional jobs in Korea and wanted to continue their work at least for several years but in a better environment such as Australia. They were not only highly regarded by the general public in Korea, but had been 'chosen' by the Australian government. Their reason for coming to Australia was not to be underemployed, nor to be involved in small business such as shoe repairing or contract cleaning. As I was concerned about why Mun had given up his expertise for the rest of his life I further asked, Computer engineers in Korea have been generally known to have good English. Wouldn't you have been able to perform well had you stayed a bit longer? I don't think so. How could I catch up with those brought up in Australia? It's an impossible task. My English might improve if I study consistently like you. It isn't a problem to work with the computer itself all day. As time passes English-language ability is highly required. 2 ? I concluded that Mun's work capacity was diminished because of his limited command of English and because the constant demands of his work deprived him of a chance of further improving his English. Chin-u Yang, another computer immigrant now working as a shoe re pairer, has low self-esteem. Like your case, Koreans being underemployed worries me greatly. There's nothing much I can do about it. If I can't freely express what I want to say, the last thing I can do is a menial work. That would be the bottom line to come up with an actual outcome. Chin-u Yang regretted that he entered a wrong company, saying that, My task was too specific, that is, developing a particular software. Such work requires continuing interviews and consultations .... I should have worked as a computer technician. If I can fix a computer, the result is immediate and my ability would have been recognized. But the work I did required continuing communication and involved many trials and errors. If it takes too long to accomplish a task it's no good.28 Mention should be made of the immigrant Korean registered nurses as well. Korean nurses think that it has now become almost impossible for a Korea-trained nurse to obtain registration in Australia. One has to take a written exam in order to be admitted to a preregistration program. Su-jin Yi 147 148 Community Reports: Gil 500 Han thought that even if an overseas trained nurse did get registered in Australia, there would be no chance for employment. Korean nurses in Australia generally agreed that their clinical skills were good enough to have been well recognized by their colleagues. However, only one of the Korean nurses has been promoted to the post of nursing unit manager. What they complained about included the following, as Yi said, How long can we sustain [maintain] lifting heavy patients, showering them and cleaning the bottoms of patients in the ward? As Australian nurses get older, many move out of hospitals and go into community work, where there is no physically hard work but only communication is involved. As Koreans find it difficult to manage busy work schedules verbally rather than clinically [sic] during the day, they don't mind working the night shift. Korean nurses find it difficult to mingle with other nurses in the tea break. They get back to work after a short break. It isn't because they don't want to mingle, but because they aren't competent enough to be part of the issues under discussion in terms of both English ability and the knowl edge about Australian society. Korean nurses tend to develop friendships with the nurses from non-Anglo-Saxon backgrounds. However, odd things go on among nurses. For example, the Filipino nurses sometimes attribute their misdeeds to the Korean nurses. This happens because Filipinos speak better English and they take advantage of it. There are numerous cases whereby Korean nurses are simply isolated .... Korean nurses are still coming to Australia, and they're getting registered with the Nursing Board. How can they fail as they have paid an enormous tuition fee? But they can't find an employer. How could they, since there are many qualified Australian nurses?29 In another instance, Kwang-su Pak has taught Korean language in TAFE and universities in Australia for four years and earned a Master's degree in Australia. He is currently holding a half-time contract position in a univer sity. While he tried to become involved in a research project and find full-time work, he thought that he should be far better than Euro-Australians to be equal to them. He said, Many unqualified people are teaching the Korean language at university level. They have the least understanding about Korean culture and the backgrounds of the Korean language. As I've majored in teaching Korean, I could be better than many of them. It's problematic that those people form the dominant group. My experience tells me that Australian society isn't running on the basis of fairness.30 Little Opportunity for Promotion I observed that Koreans with professional skills found it hard to find a prospective employer and those already working see minimum opportunity OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WfJrkers for promotion. Tong-gwan Kim said, I have a friend who obtained an MBA degree. He was called for interviews numerous times but never selected. He and I think that had he been an Australian with his qualifications and experiences [sid, he would have been welcomed by many companies. My friend got sick of the rigid system which doesn't welcome non-Anglo Australians. He ended up doing an Associate Diploma in Accounting and managed to find a teaching position at an institution of TAFE, for which he was overqualified ,but it was his only option? Chin-bom Ch'oe, another informant told me that One of my friends worked for a banking company for a few years and quit the job to be a liaison officer for a Korean ethnic newspaper company. As he has grown up in Australia, his English is as fluent as that of an Austra lian. He said he didn't see any prospect for promotion.32 Similarly, Chin-u Yang, who worked as a computer programmer for a few years in Australia, said, Promotion at work is almost impossible. The longer they work the higher level of communication skills is required, which may have nothing to do with computer work Chances appear to be open for non-Anglo-Celtics. In reality, they aren't Australians would smile in front of you, but they may stab you in the back.33 Small Business Entrepreneurship One of the reasons that skilled immigrants came to Australia was to enjoy more than economic affluence, by maintaining professional expertise in the wider Australian society, rather than in the Korean community alone. However, after a few years of bitter experiences while in the process of ad justing, immigrants instead took on menial labor or small business owner ship (requiring little capital) despite their hopes. Thus, their initial aspirations to enjoy more than economic wealth were shattered, and instead they turned back to the pursuit of economic wealth, which often entails very hard work and/or long hours. Whereas the matter of a decent or a better life was at stake initially, the matter of survival became more important. Up to 60 percent of the Korean working population may be involved in cleaning, according to two Korean community journalists.34 They also main tained that Koreans tended to be ashamed of their occupations if they were involved in menial work. Koreans in Sydney were likely to agree with this. According to the 1991 Census, "Korea-born males were more likely to be employed as laborers and related workers (24.9 percent) and trade persons (21.9 percent).,,35 Considering the time of the Census and the fact that a sig nificant proportion of the Korean amnesty immigrants were involved in 149 150 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han small businesses, the above statistics might predominantly have included the skilled and family reunion immigrants. If 60 percent is an exaggeration, then somewhere between 45 and 50 percent is more realistic. This was in part indicated by Kwang-su Pak. My friends are working day and night. When I ring them in the night, I'm mostly told that they would be home soon. Even if I talk to them over the phone they tell me that they should go out to work soon. Their life is ex tremely busy.36 However, what is certain is that a large proportion of the skilled immigrants are involved in menial work at present. Ki-ju Yi, who worked as a cleaner for several years, observed that, Many Kup'o [the Koreans who have stayed in Australia for a long period or the amnesty immigrants] are doing business, such as running a food store or restaurant. There aren't many Chungp'o [Koreans who have stayed in Australia for a medium period or the skilled/family reunion immigrants] doing small business. Those who arrived from Vietnam are not generally involved in cleaning work at present, though some of their brothers or cousins who came to Australia under the family reunion program are involved in cleaning.... Home cleaning workers are mostly university graduates.3? A point Mr. Yi made was that the amnesty immigrants tended to be more involved in small business in comparison with other Koreans who arrived at other times. The skilled or family reunion immigrants were involved in manual work or small businesses that may have required a small sum of start-up capital. This has been indicated by Y. Kim's survey of small busi nesses in the Korean community in Sydney and Melbourne.38 Sang-uk Hwang found that it is almost impossible to start a business without understanding the culture or consumption patterns in Australian society. After learning that he could not find an appropriate job, he and his wife wanted to run a takeout restaurant. He said, [My wife and I] decided to run a take-away shop. We trained for a week to take it over. We found it extremely tiring. We had to do shopping early in the morning. There wasn't even time to have meals ourselves. Even after we signed a contract to take over a shop we had to cancel it. The premium required was A$50,OOO.39 They used some of the money in purchasing a house and some for buying an office-cleaning contract, which the husband and wife have been doing for the last seven years. They were often not sure why they were doing such a job and often cried together about it. Fortunately, they have recovered from a major crisis and now have a positive attitude towards their immigrant life. OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers Running a small business after experiencing many difficulties working for a company is not the end of experiencing structural racism or other diffi culties, which NESB immigrants have to endure. I asked Man-yong Yi, who had a plumbing business, Do you have any trouble with racism in running a business? Well, it isn't terribly explicit, but I have to put up with it. It happens with the inspection of the work I've done. Whereas an Australian business per son could pass easily, I've had some trouble. Well, I passed in one region but not in another region for the same result. If I complained I was told that it was a matter of the regulations. I often felt that had I been a yellow-haired [blonde} business person, I wouldn't have run into trouble at all. Racial discrimination is often not obvious as it's subtle, but it's there.40 The type of small business popular among the arrivals were ones that did not require a huge sum of start-up capital because of the limited resources they brought with them. Since the 1980s, contract cleaning has been the most popular because relevant knowledge and skills can be picked up quite quickly. Involvement in a small business creates its own problems for immigrants whose realities do not meet their aspirations, however. Running a cleaning business and home cleaning in particular usually involves both husband and wife in order to save on wages. Clients usually prefer to have the work done by a couple, a man and a woman. Kye-il Chin told me of the following incident: There was a couple doing home cleaning together. Both of them were gradu ates of prestigious universities in Seoul. While they were working the hus band lost his wife to one of their clients. What happened is as follows. One day, they went to a customer's place where an Australian man lived alone. He might have been a company director. He happened to take a rest for a period. One day, the wife broke a valuable piece of china by mistake. The husband and wife approached the customer, apologized, and suggested that they replace it. Since then, they worked more diligently and offered a better service. The couple maintained a good relationship between them. As she was a kind person and did a good job he might have found her attractive. One day, the customer confessed that he loved her. After weeks of thinking she decided to divorce her husband and leave their children. It's known that she has said she's much happier than before. Chin went on to say, How miserable it is! Having come far away to Australia for a better life he had lost even his wife. His hard work was all in vain. How painful it is for him! In order to offer a good education for their children, he left his good job in Korea and came to Australia. From a man's point of view, it's not possible to understand how his wife can live happily with another manY 151 1980s and 1990s, Community Reports: Gil Soo Han Status Anxiety among Male Immigrants It is surprising to note that Koreans coming to Australia for their higher studies or to live permanently appeared to be prepared intellectually but were not prepared emotionally. Flourishing media information about life in more advanced nations such as Australia seem to have overwhelmed some Koreans. They seem to think that if they immigrated with a high level of skill or a large sum of capital, as well as good health, they could virtually survive anywhere.42 However, they were not prepared for the difficulty of using English in the workplace. Korean university graduates, who have stud ied English for six years at school and another four at the university, are not generally able to have even a basic conversation with a native English speaker. Contrary to their belief that if they are placed in an English-speaking coun- try and study English as a full-time student for a year or so, they ought to be able to speak English almost naturally, most Most Korean Koreans I met told me that this view is ill-informed. Not many immigrants in the K h d ki f 1 horeans seem to ave attaine a wor .ng capacity 0 Eng is . Compared with the Koreans who immigrated in the 1970s, however, had already h bl L h h d h ld bt e pro em lor t e Koreans w 0 arrive in t e 1980s cou e established their worse. Even though the psychological stress may be similar, the own level of prestige d C f kamnesty immigrants were prepare to peflorm any type 0 wor , and status in Korea, including manual labor. Most Korean immigrants in the 1980s ... so being limited dand 1990S, however, ha already established their own level of to manual labor prestige and status in Korea, which is a hierarchically structured would be perceived bId 11 b ld b dsociety, so eing imite to manua a or wou e perceive as as a loss of status a loss of status for most of these people. After attending an for most of these immigrant English-language course for six months or a year, people. f 1many 0 the ski led immigrants and a small number of busi- ness immigrants, still not confident of their language ability, would be involved in some sort of basic employment, which as I mentioned is most frequently cleaning. This is where they start to ask, "Why did I come?" To survive, they are forced to put their past status behind them. This often adds to family difficulties and the disorientation of values as in the previous example. This kind of life is full of stress.43 Unlike those in Korea, Korean families in Sydney are often dual-income families. According to the 1991 Census, a high proportion of Korea-born women in Australia are employed, as they have been influenced by customs in Australian society and financial needs.44 This introduces an additional source of stress for males because if the wife earns more wages than, or as much as, the husband, it is as if the husband had "lost face." Children and wives generally seem to adapt themselves more quickly to the new lifestyle, than do the husbands/fathers. The reason is largely because they compare 152 OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers what they had prior to migration with what they have now, and men are confronted with a double loss of status-first from having to work in a lesser job, and second from having a wife who makes as much as, or more than, him. Most overcome these difficulties, to a degree, in a few years, which means adapting to new lifestyles, despite dissatisfaction and humiliation. Only a small number become satisfied. Those who have adjusted quickly to the immigrant life are often those who have given up much of their ambitions for material wealth and social status. Of course, they give up, not because they want to, but because they have little alternative. They become government officers to receive a stable income, which may not be a lot. Others may take up less prestigious jobs, such as cleaning, but work just enough to provide necessities, rather than putting in very long hours. This is known as a kind of "Australianization" among Koreans in Sydney, as this group of people give priority to family life and time spent with friends. Only a small proportion of Korean immigrants in advanced countries fall into this category.45 The majority of them seem to be highly materialistic. Finding it difficult to mingle with non-Koreans, their interactive activities are generally with other Koreans. Income and Home Ownership The skilled immigrants at the time of their arrival in Australia were commonly in their mid- or late 30S. The skilled immigrants who lack work experience and who are older than 40 are disadvantaged and not generally admitted by the Australian immigration officers in Seoul. The sum of capi tal they brought with them would be no more than A$IOo,ooo. This would not buy a home in a suburb of Sydney. I asked one family, where the wife worked as a medical technician and the husband (Chin-u Yang) ran a shoe repair shop, As you are both earning income, are your finances good enough? Not at all. We're just managing despite both of us working so hard. As our children are in the high school, we have to spend a lot on them. We have to payoff the mortgage, etc.46 Mun-jip Yi, currently working as a plumber, said, There's no set income for me. If there's work for me, I earn. If not, I go without. It's fortunate that my wife has a set income. We barely manage after paying off the house mortgage. When my wife and I worked in Ko rea, we always had a large balance in our bank accounts. In Australia, we have no more than a few hundred dollars in our bank account.47 153 154 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han Chin-u Yang, a computer immigrant who is currently paying off his house mortgage, said, Of the skilled immigrants around me, the number who are renting accom modation is much more than those who are purchasing or own their own home. It's too expensive to purchase a house.48 At the time of the 1981 Census, the median annual income (A$20,733) of Korean-born Australian households was more than A$4,000 higher than that (A$16A90) of the total Australian population.49 Pang-i Kim also found that home ownership among Korea-born residents was higher than that of the total Australian population. During this time, the Korean community was predominantly made up of amnesty immigrants. It was also within a decade since their arrival. However, at the time of the 1986 Census, the Korea-born community exhibited an income distribution that was only slightly higher than the median figure in Australia. Furthermore, very few of the Korea-born community lived in dwellings that they owned (nj percent) or were in the process of purchasing (29.5 percent). About fifty-five percent (54.6 percent) rented.50 Since about 2,500 Korean families entered Australia as immigrants between the 1981 and 1986 Census, it suggests that the coming of the arrivals of the 1980s or the skilled/family reunion immigrants has lowered the total homeownership in the Korean community. At the time of the 1991 Census, the median annual income of all Korea-born individuals ages 15 years and older (A$n,IOo) was 21.8 percent lower than that of the total Australian population. Only 15.8 percent of Korea-born households owned their own homes and an additional 21.8 per cent of Korea-born households were purchasing them, whereas 41 percent of the total Australians owned their homes and 27.1 percent were buying them. About fifty-six percent (55.7 percent) of Korea-born households rented? Ac cording to BIMPR (Bureau of Immigration, Multicultural and Population Research) a probable reason for the low income of the Korea-born immi grants may have been due to the high number of foreign students, of which there were about 3,000 Korea-born students in Australia at the time.52 How ever, it is also important to take into account that the Korean skilled and business immigrants tend to have government allowances for the early years of their life in Australia and, more importantly, their income would not be as high as that earned by the Korean amnesty immigrants at the times of the 1986 and 1991 Census. The relatively low median income of the skilled/family reunion immi grants may be attributed to a few reasons. First, the Australian economy in the 1980s was relatively unfavorable in comparison with that of the 1970s. During recessions, it is the immigrant who finds it most difficult to gain employment. Second, unlike the amnesty immigrants, the skilled immigrants were more reluctant to hold two or three jobs simultaneously. Even if they OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual WOrkers wished to do so, the jobs may not have been as easily available as in the 1970s. For these reasons, the skilled/family reunion immigrants may take a longer period to own homes than did the amnesty immigrants. Conclusions Among many problems, the economic environment of the 1980s became relatively worse than in the 1970S and this adversely affected the life of the skilled/family reunion immigrants. James Coughlan suggested that the un deremployment of Koreans from middle-class and professional backgrounds is in part due to the conditions of the preexisting job market in Australia.53 For example, a computer science degree from overseas is of little help if most recent computer science graduates from Australian universities are unem ployed. I asked Mun-ho Kim, who arrived from Vietnam in the 1970S and was currently running a Korean restaurant, Why are many skilled immigrants involved in menial work such as cleaning? Well, it must be a cycle every immigrant has to go through. For example, when we [those who previously worked in Vietnam] first came we couldn't start a business straight away even though we had a bit of English-lan guage ability. The first thing any Korean immigrant could take up is manual work. No matter how well qualified you are, you can't utilize your skill from the start.54 Although Kim pointed out valuable aspects of immigrant life, whether many of the skilled immigrants who have arrived since the mid 1980s can ever hope to own small businesses as did many of the amnesty immigrants, is doubtful. Since the coming of skilled immigrants, home ownership in the Korean community has declined. Furthermore, fundamental expectations about the work and social life of skilled immigrants were different. Also, there was a clear difference in terms of the reasons for migrating. Impor tantly, the economic environment in Australia also has been much less favor able for skilled immigrants, which has had a significant impact on their economic well-being. While 7,451 Koreans immigrated to Australia in the six years between 1984 and 1989, 270 of them (3-6 percent) returned to Korea permanently.55 It is very likely that the predominant proportion of the returning immigrants would be skilled immigrants and the remainder would be business immi grants. In more recent years, the numbers of return migration from Austra lia was 188 in 1992, 215 in 1993 and 138 in 1994.56 The process would be possible for those who had accumulated enough wealth to readjust to Korean society, where the cost of living and price of real estate is much higher than many advanced nations; likewise those who had maintained some real estate, and 155 156 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han where the cost of living and price of real estate is much higher than many advanced nations; likewise those who had maintained some real estate, and those who found a stable job in Korea, would be more able to reestablish their lives5? It is unlikely that those who came to Australia in the 1970S would be able to return to Korea considering the reasons they had left their home country about twenty or thirty years before. This was partially indicated by Y. Kim's empirical study on Koreans in Australia engaged in small busi ness.58 Haeoe Imin, in its survey of the applicants for emigration, found that the higher the education, the more likely it was that the immigrant would return to Korea.59 Although the skilled immigrants or the arrivals of the 1980s were uni versity graduates and professionals in Korea, their lack of English-language fluency and the ruthless capitalism in Australia have not been favorable to their new life. A significant proportion of the skilled immigrants have ended up being menial or physical laborers. In addition, status anxiety has adversely affected the mental health of male immigrants. Despite the adoption of vari ous immigrant policies in Australia, from this standpoint there appear to have been little improvement in the ways in which NESB immigrants are accommodated in Australian society. The problems are not only from the incoming immigrants but also from the dominant Euro-Australian society. ~ I wish to acknowledge my fellow Koreans for having willingly shared with me the happy and unhappy dimensions of their immigrant life in Australia. I also wish to thank Matthew Be nuska, who read an earlier version of this paper and offered valuable and constructive com ments. 1. --"Korea: the Australian Special Survey," The Australian (15 August 1996): 29-3J 2. Gil-soo Han. Social Sources of Church Growth: Korean Churches in the Homeland and Overseas (Lanham, MD.: University Press of America, 1994). J James E. Coughlan. "Korean Immigrants in Australia: the Characteristics of Recent Korea-born Immigrants to Australia and a Socio-demographic and Economic Profile of the Korea-born Community from the 1991 Census," Korea Observer 26, NO·3 (1995): 379-417. 4· Erica Bates and Susie Linder-Pelz. Health Care Issues (Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1987), 29. 5. JamesJupp. Arrivals and Departures (Melbourne: Cheshire-Lansdown, 1966), 8. 6. Jock Collins. Immigrant Hands in a Distant Land (Sydney: Pluto Press, 1988),54-56. 7. Ethnic Mfairs Commission of New South Wales, The. Survival and Beyond: Report to tbe Ethnic Affairs Commission from the Indo-Chinese Task Force, T1i1. 2 (Sydney: NSW Govern ment Printer, 1980), 14. 8. J. Martin. 'The Development of Multiculturalism." In Report to the Minister of Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, vol. 2 (Canberra: AGPS, 1983) (cited in Bates and Linder-Pelz, Health Care Issues, 33-34). 9. Collins, Immigrant Hands in a Distant Land, 14. 10. Ibid., 76. OCCASIONAL PAPERS From Professional to Manual \%rkers II. Neville R. Norman and Kathryn F. Meikle. (Eds.). The Economic Effects of Immigration in Australia. (Sydney: Committee for Economic Development of Australia, 1985), 96. 12. Interviews were primarily conducted in Korean. Regarding the presentation of direct quotes from the respondents, although I spoke to my Korean respondents in Korean, I have de cided to reproduce what they said in "broken English" rather than in polished English in order to let it best reflect what the respondents meant to express. However, when a native speaker suggested some changes to make it more understandable, I did not have trouble taking the suggestion. IJ Chinho Mun, interviewed on]une 19, 1995. 14· Su-jin Yi, interviewed on February 9, 1995. 15. G. Coughlan, "Korean Immigrants in Australia," 386. 16. Su-jin Yi, interviewed on February 9, 1995. 17. Chin-u. Yang, interviewed on]une 18,1995. 18. In addition to long hours, businessmen in Korea work half-days on Saturdays. 19. Chin-u Yang, interviewed on]une 18, 1995. 20. Sang-uk Hwang, interviewed on May 25, 1995. 21. Chin-u Yang, interviewed on]une 18, 1995. 22. Mun-jip Yi, interviewed on]une 25, 1995. 2J Man-yong Yi, interviewed on]une 25,1995. 24. Chin-u Yang, interviewed on]une 18, 1995. 25. Yun-se Yi, interviewed ~n]une 15, 1995. 26. Yun-sang Ha, interviewed on February 8, 1995. 27- Chin-ho Mun, interviewed on]une 19, 1995· 28. Chin-u Yang, interviewed on]une 18, 1995. 29. Su-jin Yi, interviewed on February 9, 1995· 30. Kwang-su Pak, interviewed on]une 21,1995. 31. Tong-gwan Kim, interviewed on]une 31,1995. 32. Chin-born Ch'oe, interviewed on]une 31,1995. 3J Chin-u Yang, interviewed on]une 18, 1995. 34. Ki-jun Kim (Taeyangju News) and Tae-su Yi (Korean Section, Special Broadcasting Ser- vice of New South Wales). Interviewed on]une 1995. 35. BIMPR, Community Profiles, 1991 Census. 36. Kwang-su Pak, interviewed on]une 21,1995. 37- Ki-ju Yi, interviewed on]une 20,1995. 38. Kim, Small Business Activities of the Korean Community in Sydney. 39· Sang-uk Hwang, interviewed on May 25, 1995. 40. Man-yong Yi, interviewed on]une 25,1995. 41. Kye-il Chin, interviewed on]une 15,1995. 42. In-ho Om. "K'aenada Hanin Imin Silt'ae (Koreans Hate Being Immigrants in Canada)." Haeoe Imin (Migration Overseas) (September 1987): 44--5J 157 158 Community Reports: Gil Soo Han 43- Cf. Ibid., 52. 44- BIMPR, Community Profiles, 1991 Census, 20; Kim,John Man-souk. "Koreans in Australia." In JamesJupP (ed.), The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1988), 65C)-660. 45. G. Om, "K'aenada Hanin Imin Silt'ae." 46. Ibid. 47. Mun-jip Yi, interviewed onJune 25, 1995· 48. Chin-u Yang, interviewed on June 18, 1995. 49. Pang-i Kim, Hoju Imin-gwa Yzthagui Kil (The \f-ilys to Migrate to, and Study in, Australia). (Seoul: Miju Saenghwal Yon'guwon, 1986), 30. 50. James E. Coughlan. "Korean Immigrants in Australia: a Demographic and Socio-economic Profile of the Korean-born Community fram the 1986 Census." InJames E. Coughlan (ed.), The Diverse Asians:A Proftie of Six Asian Communities in Australia. (Brisbane: Centre for the Study of Australia-Asia Relations, Griffith Univ., 1992), 123-154. 51. BIMPR, Community Profiles, 1991 Census, 30. 52. Ibid., 28. 53. Coughlan, "Korean Immigrants in Australia," 412. 54. Mun-ho Kim, interviewed onJune 1995. 55. Australian Bureau of Statistics cited in "Hoju Imin Chuch'um ... 'Chokkon' Maeryok Ira" ("The Decline of Korean Migration to Australia ... 'Conditions' are not Attractive Any more.'') Hoju Dong-A (21 June 1990). 56. Song,"Chobun Ttang Ttonagi: Tangsindo Kanunghada (Leaving the Little Land: It is Pos- sible for You as WelD," 439. 57. ---. "Yogimin-i Kuptchunghago Itta (The Profoundly Increasing Return Migration)." 58. Y. Kim, Small Business Activities of the Korean Community in Sydney. 59. ---, "Haeoe Iju Sinch'ongja-ui T'ukssong (Characteristics of Overseas Emigration Ap plicants)," Haeoe Imin (Migration Overseas) 1987 (March): I02-IlI. OCCASIONAL PAPERS The Role of Korean American Organizations in Influencing U.S. Policy Bruce E. BechtolJr. Abstract This paper reports the results of a survey of twelve Korean American orga nizations throughout the United States as part of a doctoral research program, which examined the role Korean American organizations play in influencing U.S. policy. Responses suggest that these organizations are playing an increasingly important role in influencing the foreign and domestic policy of the United States as well as the policies of the Republic of Korea. In addi tion, the comments articulated by respondents gave important insights into the attitudes and roles Korean American organizations have towards, and the growing role they are playing, in affecting policy. Korean American groups now influence policy as never before in American history. Introduction This paper articulates the results of a survey conducted as part of a doctoral program at The Union Institute during the fall of 1998. My goal was to determine the role Korean American organizations play in influencing U.S. foreign and domestic policy toward the Korean peninsula, and toward Korea-related issues here in the U.S. I interviewed a number of Korean American organizations all over the country; these organizations were located in Boston, Massachusetts; Gainesville, Florida; New York, New York; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; St. Paul, Minnesota; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento, California. I Several of the respondents also had offices located in other areas of the country. All of the organizations inter viewed are nonprofit organizations that can be categorized as non-govern mental, or private, voluntary, organizations (NGOs or PVOs, respectively). I intended to collect information on several key areas: the mission and goals of the organization, its most important function, how successful that organization has been in reaching its goals, and what other international and BRUCE E. BECHTOL JR. is a PhD. candidate in national security studies at The Union Institute, and a foreign affairs analyst for the Department of Defense at the Pentagon. The views in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense or the US government. 159 Despite the fact that the government in North Korea .... longer maintain the facade of juch'e (self-reliance), now that subsidies from Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. domestic non-governmental organizations, interest groups, political groups and churches it works with. The final two questions I asked were how clear an understanding the majority of Americans have of issues that are impor tant to Korean Americans, and respondents' perceptions of how strong US. commitment is to the defense of the Republic of Korea. In short, my goal was to examine how much of an impact Korean American organizations have on US. policy, if recent changes in US. policy are at least partially because of Korean American organizations, and finally, whether the effect these organizations are having on policy is growing, and if so, by how much. Background The forces that influence US. policy toward the Korean peninsula have changed greatly since the early 1990S. Hand in hand with this, US. policy regarding domestic issues important to Korean Americans also has changed gradually during the_same time period. From 1950 until the early 1990S, policy toward the two Koreas was generally influenced the most by testimony be fore Congress by military experts and generals who were in command of US. troops in the region. In addition, issues important to Korean Americans such as human rights, immigration concerns, promoting an understanding of security issues im portant to the Korean peninsula (including peaceful reunifica tion), providing food aid to North Korea, and promoting a greater understanding of Korean American culture in mainstream America, were all but ignored except within the military and continues to threaten policy circles mentioned above. South Korea, Since the early 1990S, and particularly since 1993, the forces North Korea can no that influence US. policy toward the Korean peninsula have changed dramatically. Major influences now include NGOs, academics, churches and Korean American organizations. The role that these organizations have played in influencing the policy of the United States in providing aid to North Korea, in the former USSR are moving towards economic and social agendas, and in address gone. ing overall unification concerns in recent years cannot be dis- counted.2 Many factors have contributed to Korean Americans having a stronger voice in policy than ever before. Despite the fact that the government in North Korea is suspected of having nuclear weapons and continues to threaten South Korea, North Korea can no longer maintain the facade ofjuch'e (self reliance), now that subsidies from the former USSR are gone.3 Because of this, the government there has been forced to open the country somewhat to NGOs, PVOs, UN aid organizations and diplomatic organizations. Many of 160 OCCASIONAL PAPERS Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy the aid organizations operating in North Korea today are heavily dependent on outside funds, some of which are provided by Korean American organiza tions. In addition, many South Korean aid organizations work closely with organizations here in the United States. Korean Americans' concerns regarding immigration and the desire for greater understanding between Korean Americans and other ethnic organi zations came under the spotlight following the Los Angeles riots in 1992. In fact, many organizations were founded following the riots in a desire to pro mote greater understanding and to thereby prevent similar events from hap- . . pemng agalll. Policy makers in the United States are now influenced by Korean Ameri- can community organizations as never before. The issues surrounding the Korean peninsula and the diasporic community here are now that much more complex, and can no longer be considered simply as matters of military strategy or simple politics. Issues on the Korean peninsula often Issues on the Korean go hand in hand with issues of concern to the Korean American peninsula often go community here. Human rights, immigration concerns, and hand in hand with minority rights are all issues organizations in the United States issues of concern to have become increasingly involved with in recent years; much the Korean American of the effort has been undertaken by organizations such as the community here. ones interviewed in this study. Given the fact that with the demise of the USSR, strategic events on the Korean peninsula have gained much more attention in the foreign policy arena, one would think that the role diasporic organizations have played in helping to influence U.S. policy would garnish more attention. However, this is not the case; in fact, there has been almost no research on the role that Korean Americans play in influencing U.S. policy. This is prob ably at least partly due to the fact that this is a relatively new phenomenon, though one that will now no doubt continue and attract more attention in the future. By examining the mission and goals of Korean American organizations, what they consider to be their most important functions, how successful they have been in achieving their mission, who they work with, and what they feel the goals of U.S. policy are, it is hoped that a clearer picture of what issues organizations have influenced will develop. I also have attempted to examine how these organizations go about in fluencing policy, and who they work with to accomplish this. Finally, this research will explore the importance of Korean American influence on U.S. policy by articulating their accomplishments, and perhaps even more impor tantly, by documenting the perceptions those interviewed have of their re cent accomplishments. 161 162 Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. Method In order to gain a clear understanding of the issues in which organiza tions are involved and how successful they have been, it was important to develop a questionnaire that would both ask the questions that would give clear insight into issues addressed, and would be short enough that organiza tions contacted would take the time to answer the questions in detail. A questionnaire of five to seven questions was drafted; each question was designed to minimize bias and contained variables that could be reliably assessed. This draft was then carefully scrutinized by several members of the Korean American community in the Washington, D.C. area to ensure the questions would be truly applicable. After several revisions, it was decided that the questionnaire would have six questions, three of which were mul tiple choice, giving the person interviewed a chance to choose all applicable answers, including "other" (in which case they would be asked to clarify). I also determined that when answering the questions, respondents would be encouraged to provide as many comments as possible in order to allow them to best articulate their response.4 Organizations throughout the United States were systematically con tacted to ensure that the respondents would represent as wide a picture as possible. A variety of organizations dedicated to issues that affect Korean Americans here in the United States, be they predominately aimed at the Korean peninsula, or at issues here in the U.S., were selected. When contact ing organizations, I attempted to interview individuals who could speak di rectly for the organization and represent its opinions and policies, such as the executive director, president, vice president, or other highly placed or autho rized individual within the organization. Organizations contacted for interview were found by in-depth research on the Internet, contact lists of organizations found at symposiums and semi nars, and recommendations made by other organizations being interviewed during the course of research. A total of 29 organizations in were contacted; twelve agreed to give interviews. Others did not return phone calls, were too busy to do an interview, or were unavailable for comment. Interviews were normally conducted over the phone. An introduction was made giving background on the research being conducted, and the list of questions was read to the person being interviewed. Some being inter viewed preferred this way of conducting the interview; others preferred to discuss the questions over the phone and then receive the questions via fax or email in order to respond in writing. One organization preferred to conduct the entire process over the Internet, which was also very informative. All those who agreed to provide an interview gave comprehensive and informa tive answers. OCCASIONAL PAPERS Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy Results The results varied. Information derived from many of the comments given during the interviews was particularly interesting. As the results of the answers for each question are analyzed, many of their comments will be articulated. The first question asked was, 'What are the main goals of your organi zation?" (This is one of three questions that the person being interviewed was allowed to choose all answers applicable.) Many of the respondents did not consider themselves as organizations with the ultimate purpose of hav ing an impact on U.S. policy. During the course of the interviews, however, it became obvious that every organization I contacted was doing just that. By going beyond their stated missions and goals, and examining their activities and results, I found that ultimately all of the organizations interviewed had goals and missions that impacted U.S. policy in one way or another-usually in terms of United States dealings with the Korean peninsula or in terms of policy that affects the Korean American community in the United States. Table 1. What are the main goals of your organization? (Please check all applicable) Category Promoting greater understanding between Korean Americans and other ethnic qroups in the US Other (please specify) Immigration Issues Promoting Korean culture among Korean Americans Promoting peaceful reunification of Korea Providing food aid to needy North Koreans Promoting understanding of security issues important to the Korean oeninsula Percent 75% 75% 42% 42% 25% 25% 8% The two most frequent responses were "Providing greater understand ing between Korean Americans and other ethnic groups in the United States," and "Other"; of those that responded with "Other," there were many com ments. These varied and included helping to reunite Korean families in the DPRK with relatives in the United States; connecting adoptees in the United States to other members of the Korean American community; providing edu cation, training, and job placement for members of the Korean American community and other minority groups; promoting and safeguarding the civil rights of Korean Americans; encouraging Korean Americans to actively par ticipate in the political process; lobbying for the passage of laws affecting the rights of Korean Americans; and promoting international cooperative re search between South Korean educators and those in the United States. The third most frequent response was "Immigration Issues." Approxi mately 42 percent of respondents gave this as one of the main goals of their 163 Many of the respondents stated that advocating on behalf of Korean Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. organization. Korean American organizations are actively involved in many aspects of issues relating to immigration. This remains a key goal of these organizations as immigrants from the Korean peninsula continue to come to this country. The same percentage also stated "Promoting Korean culture among Korean Americans" as a main goal of their organization, showing that maintaining and preserving Korean culture remains a priority for Ko rean Americans living in the United States. Two other categories were high priorities by one-quarter of respondents. Agencies of the UN, including UNICEF, have stated that widespread starva tion is a major problem in North Korea, which the country is incapable of handling without massive foreign aid.5 Thus it makes sense that 25 percent of those interviewed stated "Providing Food Aid to Needy North Koreans" is one of their main organizational goals. The same percentage of respondents also stated that "Promoting Peace ful Reunification of Korea" is one of the main goals of their organization. organizations in the United States and multilateral organizations both here and in Asia have made this a priority, particularly since 1994.6 Few respon dents were directly concerned with military issues, however; only eight per cent of those responding listed "Promoting understanding of Security Issues Important to the Korean peninsula" as one of their main goals. The second question was also one of three in which those interviewed were asked to check all answers applicable (Table 2). The majority of respon dents (67 percent) regarded "Advocacy on Issues Important to Korean Ameri cans" as one of the most important functions of their organization. Many of the respondents stated that advocating on behalf of Korean Americans was a high priority, perhaps the highest of their organization. Respondents also commented that this could often be situ Americans was a ation dependent. For example, in 1996, the National Association high priority, perhaps of Korean Americans (NAKA) was heavily focused on a suc the highest of their cessful advocacy effort regarding the immigration laws being organization. proposed in Congress.? Having completed that effort, other functions such as fund-raising programs for those in need of food in North Korea (a category only eight percent of respondents said was currently an important function) could easily become a higher priority. Fifty percent of those interviewed stated "Raising Awareness on Issues Involving the Korean American Community" and "Building Friendship Be tween the Korean American Community and Others" were important func tions of their organizations. Examples of these two goals-such as voter awareness programs, community festivals, policy forums, community forums, and conferences-reveal how organizations accomplish these functions. However, organizational functions extend beyond those initially consid- 164 OCCASIONAL PAPERS Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy ered. One-quarter of those stated "Other" as one of the most important func tions of their organization. For example, The Global Korean Network of Los Angeles (GKN-LA) indicated linking overseas Koreans as the most impor tant function of their organization.8 Resolving conflicts, information shar ing, and policy development also were some of the activities performed. Table 2. What do you consider the most important functions of your organization? (Please check all applicable) Category Advocacy on issues important to Korean Americans Raising awareness on issues involving the Korean American community Building friendship between the Korean American community and others Other Fund-raising for programs designed to help those in need in North Korea Percent 67% 50% 50% 25% 8% The third question tried to assess respondents' perceptions of their effi cacy by asking, "Based on the first two questions, how successful have you been in achieving your goals?" Those interviewed were asked to give specific examples of how successful their organization has been. The majority of those responding (67 percent) felt their organization had been ''Very Success ful." All of the comments provided revealed that these organizations consid ered themselves successful in influencing policy both in the domestic and international arenas. Most of those who responded "Successful" (33 percent) said the reason was because they felt they could achieve even more success in the future. There were many diverse examples of success. The Save North Korean Children foundation was successful in raising $30500 to give to the Red Cross in South Korea? The Korean American Coalition in Los Angeles and the Korean Community Development Services Center in Philadelphia have each expanded their missions to meet the needs of immigrants and address immi gration issues through citizenship programs. They and several other organi zations also raise awareness through holding community forums, participating in advocacy efforts, and holding press conferences to educate the Korean American community about important issues.IO In another example, Friends of Korea reached an agreement with the South Korean government to meet with President Kim DaeJung, and in the fall of 1998, the Korean government paid to bring several Korean adoptees to Seoul to meet with President Kim to discuss issues concerning, and the needs of, Korean adoptees in the United States; another such meeting is planned in the near future. II 165 Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. The fourth question (Table 3) was the final question where those inter viewed were asked to respond to all applicable categories. Of note, no organi zation participating in this survey indicated that it was working alone. The most answered response was "NGOs or Political Groups in the United States" (75 percent), followed by "Church Groups in the United States" (67 percent), "International NGOs" (50 percent), and "Interest Groups or Church Groups in Korea" (33 percent). Table 3. Does your organization work at all with any of thE following groups? Please check all a licable Category NGOs or political groups in the USA Church groups in the USA International NGOs Interest rou s or church Percent 75% 67% 50% 33% 166 Examples of coordination with NGOs or political organizations in the United States include joint advocacy efforts with other ethnic (particularly Asian) organizations on key political issues (several Korean American orga nizations are doing or have done this), and cooperation with other interest groups whose causes would be of interest to those in the Korean American community.I2 Many respondents also indicated that they work closely with churches in the United States. Two developments are of note: first, many of the organizations are active not just with local churches, but with churches in other metropolitan areas, often pooling information and resources to ac complish goals; second, churches are where grass-roots efforts directed to wards raising awareness, or funds for aid efforts or other activities, are organized, often with the help or guidance of organization members.I3 Half of those interviewed stated that they work with International NGOs; examples include Lutheran World Relief, the International Red Cross, sev eral organizations of the UN, labor unions in Korea, the Global Adoption League, the American Friend Service Committee (a Quaker NGO currently working in P'yeongyang) and organizations involved in international advo cacy efforts to support the Ottawa Treaty.I4 In addition to involvement with NGOs by other organizations, the Ko rean American University Professors Association (KAUPA), for example, has worked with the South Korean Ministry of Education to organize confer ences that address various ROK-U.S. issues, including those of economic co operation and technology transfer.I) Clearly these organizations' involvement with the international organizations listed has an impact on foreign policy here in the United States. Those who reported working with churches or interest groups in Korea are all working on issues that have a commonality between the church community there and the Korean American church com- OCCASIONAL PAPERS in the mainstream "Why should [Korean Americans] have any issues or problems that would be of interest to Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy munity in the United States. When asked whether they thought the majority of Americans presently have a clear understanding of issues important to the Korean American com munity (question five), the response was overwhelmingly "No" (92 percent). Almost everyone interviewed thought that this was because mainstream media pays so little attention to issues important to Korean Americans. The issue of families of Korean Americans in the United States and Koreans having relatives in North Korea is such an example. This affects families both in South Korea and in the United States daily, yet it receives no attention from the mainstream American media, so the average American has no idea this issue even exists. Several of those interviewed thought that the reason for the lack of attention could be from commonly-held stereotypes about Korean Ameri cans-that they are smart, successful, and have a history of taking care of their own. 'Why should [Korean Americans] have any issues or problems that would be of interest to mainstream Americans?" has tended to be the attitude reflected in the mainstream media when it comes to covering issues important to the Korean community. In fact, as also was stated by many who were interviewed, the only time the Korean American community seems to get any coverage at all, it is in a negative light. Recent examples of this include the attention the community received during the Los Angeles riots or Congressman Jay Kim's recent troubles with the law. The second key reason given by several respondents as to why the majority of Americans do not have a clear understand ing of issues important to Korean Americans was surprisingly pointed inward, at the community itself.I6 Since large-scale immigration to the United States is relatively new (since the late 1960s), Korean Americans have until very recently spent most mainstream of their time concentrating on economic survival; political is- Americans?" has sues were not considered as important by many who also felt tended to be they lacked the English-language skills necessary to communi- the attitude reflected cate their needs to mainstream American society. Since the Los Angeles riots, this has been changing rapidly. media .... Clearly, the founding of numerous organizations involved in policy issues, as well as the continued and steady presence of organizations that were founded years ago, has helped to involve many (particularly sec ond- and third- generation Korean Americans) in the Korean American com munity in issues that are important to its members. This increase in involvement, a phenomenon that truly began about ten years ago, will no doubt bring increased attention in the mainstream media, and ultimately to mainstream Americans, to issues that are important to Korean Americans. The final question explored respondents' perceptions regarding the United States' commitment to its defense of South Korea (Table 4). In the recent U.S. 167 Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. Strategic Assessment for 1998, it was stated that the United States needs to demonstrate that it is in for the long haul and is an enduring, consistent presence that remains relatively well-insulated from political currents. I ? Of those interviewed, most (42 percent) felt the United States was "fully com mitted" to South Korea's defense. Respondents' comments suggest that while the United States commit ment is strong, a review of current policy and a long-term perspective should be conducted. Several of those responding also said the prospect of easing sanctions against North Korea needs to be seriously reviewed. Respondents also stated that the United States needs to consider establishing some type of more serious diplomatic relations with North Korea, thereby opening the door for still more economic aid and perhaps another way to put economic pressure on a country where suffering is apparently the norm not the excep- . 18 tlon. Table 4. How strong does your group feel the US commitment is to the defense of the Republic of Korea? Category Fully Committed Committed Partly Committed The US commitment does not currently fit the needs of the Republic of Korea My orqanization does not wish to comment on security issues (NR) Percent 42% 25% 8% 8% 17% 168 Of the 25 percent who felt the United States was "committed," it was commented that often U.S. policy analysts do not truly understand the issues important to the U.S.-Korea policy. Sometimes this has led to a commitment that though strong, is not as effective as it could be. Only eight percent of those interviewed felt that the United States was only partly committed. One respondent said the United States commitment did not currently fit the needs of the Republic of Korea, commenting that with the USSR and PRC no longer perceived as threats, North Koreans are no longer in a posi tion to wage war. Despite this, the United States still maintains the same military presence as it did during the Cold War. He felt security could be maintained with a reduced presence. This individual did not feel complete withdrawal was a good solution, and thought that even after reunification a presence would still be needed. Finally, 17 percent or respondents declined to comment on this question (this was the only question that received such a response), because they were not involved in foreign policy and did not wish to take a particular stand on it. It is interesting to note that these organizations did not consider them- OCCASIONAL PAPERS Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy selves to be involved in foreign policy, since activity in issues such as food aid to North Korea or exchanging adoptees between the Republic of Korea and the United States affects both the Korean peninsula and the United States. Conclusions Korean American organizations throughout the United States are mak ing an increasingly important contribution to United States domestic and foreign policy. Stereotypes of Korean Americans as being a typical Asian ethnic group that reflects all the goals and values perceived to apply univer sally to all Asians, are disappearing gradually. Because this survey was con ducted with organizations from all over the continental United States, and because respondents were varied and diverse in their membership and goals, it is likely that the responses presented in this paper are common throughout the Korean American community. It is important to note that Korean American organizations still place "promoting greater understanding between Korean Americans and other ethnic groups in the United States" as one of their primary goals. This sug gests that many still feel there is work to be done on this issue. Many organizations also continue to be involved heavily in im- The future on this migration issues. Advocacy efforts, education and training pro- front looks very grams, and information sharing are all indications of an bright for the Korean "open-arms" attitude among most Korean Americans to new American community, arrivals from their homeland. These efforts will no doubt help as more organizations to integrate new immigrants into American society, adding to and private citizens the melting pot of ethnic groups the United States prides itself continue to on welcoming. become involved in While advocacy efforts by Korean Americans have not re- public policy. ceived a lot of ink in the mainstream press, it is clear from the success of many organizations such as NAKA and Korean American Coalition that these efforts truly make a difference. The future on this front looks very bright for the Korean American community, as more organizations and private citizens continue to become involved in public policy. The same is true of these organizations' efforts to raise awareness on issues affecting the Korean American community. Increases in Korean Studies programs, in consortium efforts involving Korean Americans and other or ganizations, and in fund-raising programs designed to help those in need in North Korea, reveal that Korean Americans have made solid inroads into building links between their community and others. Of note, Korean American community organizations work actively with NGOs, both within the United States and internationally. This is interesting because when interviewed, some respondents stated that they did not feel as 169 important to their community and to our country as a whole. of growth in interest among Koreans living in the U.S. towards becoming involved in issues Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. though they had made a strong impact on United States foreign or domestic policy. Taking a look at the big picture shows that this is clearly not the case. Rather, by working with other international and domestic organizations, Korean American organizations are influencing policy regarding the Ko rean peninsula and in the United States on a daily basis. The same is true of their involvement with churches in the United States and Korea. The strong traditional family values reflected in most of those of Korean descent in the United States has formed a strong core for many grass-roots movements within Korean churches here that have provided a strong voice on issues affecting their community. Korean American organizations also are having an impact There has been a on U.S. foreign policy. These groups have become more effec tremendous amount tive in recent years because of changes they have brought about themselves, as well as historical events. Changes in the way the United States deals with North Korea have been brought about because of the end of the Cold War. In addition, North Korea's ongoing famine dove-tailed with its continuing development of a military that possesses offensive capabilities and weapons of mass destruction, has made it possible for others besides mili tary analysts to speak out on U.S. foreign policy regarding the Korean peninsula. The economic hardship in North Korea has forced it to open up to alternative means of survival, often foreign aid. This has made the role of NGOs and PVOs much more important-particularly since 1994, when the hard times there began in earnest. In the Republic of Korea, the economic crash of 1997 has brought economic issues to a boiling point, and the role Korean Americans have played in the discussion of these issues in the United States has been critical. However, the most important reason Korean American organizations now have a larger voice in influencing policy comes from within. Of the 29 organizations contacted, almost all had been founded since 1992. There has been a tremendous amount of growth in interest among Koreans living in the United States toward becoming involved in issues important to their community and to our country as a whole. This trend began in the early 1990S and continues today, picking up steam because of the complex and difficult issues that affect the Korean American community in the United States, and because of the problems on the Korean peninsula. Specific examples include an active citizenship program, involving both advocacy efforts and an education program by the Korean American Coali tion, and Korean Immigrant Workers Advocates, both located in Los Ange les; employment and training programs and community improvement programs conducted by Intercultural Institute of California's Korean Cen- 170 OCCASIONAL PAPERS has chapters all over the country, has done many things to influence U.S. policy. Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy ter; a yearly conference by Korean American University Professors Associa tion that promotes international cooperative research between professors from the Republic of Korea and the United States; and the hosting of fund-raising events by Korean American Citizens League of New England for political candidates in Massachusetts, a drive that also resulted in substantially in creasing voter registration (KACL is also actively involved in providing free assistance for citizenship applications). Another excellent example is the recent successful trip by Friends of Korea members as part of a delegation from the Korean American Adoptee Adop tive Family Network (KAAN), to Seoul where they met with key high-level officials of the Korean government. This nonprofit organization has influ enced policy by reaching out on behalf of families both in Korea and the United States. Global Korean Network of Los Angeles also has been active in linking Koreans together through its contacts in more than 20 countries and has so far managed to reunite 70 adoptees with their birth parents. Ko rean Community Development Services Center has successfully addressed immigration issues and now receives funding from both state and private endowments. The National Association of Korean Americans, which has chapters all over the country, has done many things to influence U.S. policy. The most recent is NAKA's ongoing effort with many others to increase food aid to North Korea. The Institute for Strategic Reconciliation also has been involved in this effort, as well as in running a successful The National program of policy forums on North Korea involving members Association of Korean of the policy-making and academic communities in Washing- Americans, which ton, DC. According to Mark Kirk, senior counsel to the International Relations subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives, the United States contributed 83 percent of all food aid given to North Korea in 1998.19 No doubt much of it was because of advocacy efforts made by Korean American organizations such as the ones mentioned above and because of the efforts of such volunteer organizations as Save North Korean Children in Gainesville, Florida, which raised money to help with food aid for starving children in North Korea. Finally, commu- nity media organizations such as Korean ~arterly in St. Paul, Minnesota, help to promote greater understanding between Korean Americans and other ethnic groups using the printed word to influence church groups, local politi- cal groups, and others across the country on important issues such as the tragedy of separated Korean families, particularly those with relatives in North Korea. Although the majority of Americans still do not have a clear under standing of issues important to the Korean American community, over time, 171 Community Reports: Bruce E. BechtolJr. and by increasing efforts by Korean American community organizations to educate the public, this will change. The traditional lean in the mainstream press toward cultures of European descent is changing, but slowly. As these organizations reach out, mainstream Americans are likely to gain a better understanding of Asian cultures that currently does not exist. Just as those of Polish descent are recognized as having a different culture from those of German descent, Korean Americans and Vietnamese Americans (for example) are very different. An understanding of Korean culture will grow as Korean American organizations are able to build bridges and promote information about the rich culture they contribute to American society. Overwhelmingly, respondents interviewed were proud of being Ameri can. Correspondingly, the majority felt the commitment of the United States to their ethnic homeland was strong, though with reservations. Again, the ongoing process of creating a greater understanding of the complex issues involved in protecting the security of South Korea will ultimately help the foreign policy of the United States-a policy most Americans feel is neces sary to maintain a strong, militarily ready presence on the Korean penin sula. To conclude, Korean Americans are now actively involved not only in influencing U.S. policy at home and abroad, but also in influencing Korean government policy to an extent not seen previously. This involvement has become particularly important in the last five years. Continuing efforts by organizations in the community to change and influence policy are grow ing, and the evidence suggests the growth is rapid. As more Americans come to realize the contribution Korean culture is making to our society, I expect that the issues and values that Korean Americans consider important and stand for will continue to become more respected and integrated into the mainstream American mindset. ~ 1. Respondents included Friends of Korea, Korean American Immigrant Workers Advocates (KIWA), Global Korean Network of Los Angeles (GKN-LA), Korean American Coalition (KAC), Korean Center of theIntercultural Institute of California (lIC), Korean Commu nity Development Services, Korean ~arterly, Save North Korean Children, Korean Ameri can University Professors Association (KAUPA), National Association of Korean Americans (NAKA), Korean American Citizens League of New England, and Institute for Strategic Reconciliation. 2. A recent example of this is the nationwide advocacy effort led by the Institute for Strategic Reconciliation. Participants included many Korean American groups, grass-roots-level church groups and international NGOs. An effort was made to appeal to the U.S. government to give 500,00 metric tons of wheat to North Korea and was successful (the wheat was given to North Korea in the fall of 1998). 172 OCCASIONAL PAPERS Korean American Organizations and u.s. Policy 3- William E., Berry, Jr. The Invitation to Struggle: Executive and Legislative Competition Over the US. Military Presence on the Korean Peninsula. Strategic Studies Institute Mono graph (Carlisle Barracks, PA: US. Army War College, 1996). 4-16. 4- A draft questionnaire was reviewed by individuals, both Korean American and others who are Korean specialists within the policy, academic and foreign affairs communities in Washington, nc, and was then modified based upon their input. 5- UNICEF. Update on UNICEF Activities in DPRK. Office of Emergency Programs (New York, 1997). ~. 6. Ralph A. Cossa. The Major Powers in Northeast Asian Security. McNair Paper No. 51 (Washington, nc: Institute for National Strategic Studies, 1996)· 50--56. 7. John Kim (President, New Y<:>rk Chapter of NAKA), interviewed on November 8, 1998. 8. Mike Won (Global Korean Network of Los Angeles), interviewed on December 7, 1998. 9. Chun Min Sung (Save North Korean Children), interviewed on November 8,1998. 10. Susie Ahn (Korean American Coalition), interviewed on December 17, 1998. Moo Yoo (Ko rean Community Development Services), interviewed on November 25, 1998. II. Chris Winston (Friends of Korea), interviewed on December 2, 1998. 12. For more information on NGOs involved in humanitarian aid to North Korea, see "Hu manitarian Aid in North Korea: What US. Non-Governmental Organizations are Do ing," Available from Interaction (1717 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Suite 801, Washington, nc 20036), or on the Internet (www.interaction.org). 13- Young Chun (Institute for Strategic Reconciliation), interviewed on November II, 1998. 14. The Ottawa Conference was convened in December 1997 for the signing of an international treaty banning anti-personnel land mines. By the end of the conference (convened 2-4 December 1997), 122 nations had signed the treaty, "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruc tion." Several notable nations did not sign, including the United States, Russia and China. 15. Hae Soo Oh (Korean American University Professors Association), interviewed on No vember 25, 1998. 16. Half of those interviewed felt that until recent years the Korean American community had not been involved enough in advocacy or mainstream politics on issues that affect their community. 17. ---. 1998 Strategic Assessment: Engaging Power for Peace. Institute for National Strategic Studies (Washington, nc: National Defense University, 1998). 45. 18. Mark Kirk, Peter Brookes, and Maria Pica. Mission to North Korea and China August 11 23, 1998. Report prepared for the US. House International Relations Committee, 106th Cong., 1998. 19. Mark Kirk, roundtable discussion on North Korea convened by the Institute for Strategic Reconcilliation on II February 1999 in Arlington, Virginia. 173 Reviews A Nation of the Diasporic, Narratives of Survival Passages to Paradise: Early Korean Immigrant Narratives from Hawai 'i Daisy Chun Rhodes Los Angeles: Academia Koreana, 1998 GaryPak In the winter of 1921, in Waialua, O'ahu, Hawai'i, my paternal grand mother, Sook Ahn Kim, died of appendicitis. My grandfather, Hyung Bo Pak, was a captain in the Salvation Army and believed that prayer was to cure my grandmother of her sickness. She left behind three young children, including my father, who was six months old. Despite the numerous hardships they faced, being indentured laborers on Hawai'i's paternalistic plantations and domestic servants to their hus bands, the women of the Waialua Korean plantation camp found the time to organize themelves and help in the survival of the Pak children; there were just too many Korean infants and children dying premature deaths. Thus, my father's survival was dependent on a line of Korean women from the community who shared with him, after feeding their children, their milk swollen breasts. My father survived and later was able to give me life. When I was young, during social events at the Kook Min Hur {Kukminhoe} clubhouse on Rooke Avenue, Nu'uanu Valley, my father instructed me to greet everyone of the first-generation women as "Halmeoni."I Much later, as a young man fresh out of college, my auntie, my father's older sister, told me this story of my father's survival. An epiphany came over me: I now realized why all these women were my grandmothers. Reading Daisy Chun Rhodes's Passages to Paradise, a collection of thirty three short narratives written mainly by the second-generation offspring of Korean immigrants to Hawai'i-many of whom I grew up calling "Auntie" GARY PAK is on the faculty at Kapi 'olani Community College in Honolulu. He is the au thor of a collection of short stories, The Watcher of Waipuna and Other Stories (Honolulu: Bamboo Ridge Press, 1992), which won the Association of Asian American Studies 1993 National Book Award in Literature; and a novel, A Ricepaper Airplane (Honolulu: The University of Hawai 'j Press, 1998). 175 176 Reviews: Gary Pak or "Uncle," their parents I would call "Halmeoni" and "Harabeoji"Z -was a small celebration for me, a third-generation Korean American born and raised in Hawai'i: the text empowered me with an organic identity, one that is rooted in the turmoil, the suffering and the rising consciousness of a Hawaiian working-class existence. It reminded me of family stories, such as the one above, that link my father and me with the lives and dreams and struggles of the Korean immigrants who braved those long Pacific crossings. On another level, these are narratives (the title of which is a bit misleading as most of the narrators are of the second generation, born in Hawai'i which makes them American citizens and not immigrants) that signify the making of the Korean American in Hawai'i. The beginning of the last selection, a reminiscence by Rhodes herself, describes poignantly an underlying theme of this fascinating collection: My family became firmly rooted in Wahiawa,3 which the Hawaiians called "a place of noise," where no Korean was exempt from sharing another's joys or sorrows. Absorbing our culture's time-honored traditions, we sec ond-generation children gathered closely into the folds of our parents, homes, church and community. All the while, we shared with our parents their every happiness and sadness.4 Thus, survival for these immigrants and their children came from the shar ing of hardships and joys, from striving toward a collective vision of para dise. But more importantly, Rhodes' project of gathering the oral histores about these times is a reconfirmation of a people's organic relevance and legitimacy to the contemporary history of Hawai'i. The compilation of these stories became an "obsession" for Rhodes, es pecially after the death of her mother in 1979: Her death became the starting point for my embarking on a river of knowl edge I would take for years, and which has not ended.5 Returning back to Hawai'i as an "extended visitor at her [elder sister's} condo minium," the author began her "own passage," searching the libraries for information and contacting other family members and long-lost acquaintan ces.6 A driving question she sought to answer was "why Koreans left their homeland."? But she also found the necessity "to validate the lives of these Korean pioneers as individuals, thereby sharpening the identity of a group of people previously referred to only as Koreans who immigrated to Hawai'i": My forebears gave to me rhythms of language, music and dance, tastes and smells of foods and values of a strong work ethic and belief system. In these ways each of their descendants became strongly tied to the first-generation rites of passage. Therefore, many sections of Passages to Paradise are connected to particular documented historical events. Beginning with the news account ofJanuary 13, 1903, the arrival of Koreans to Hawai'i is announced for them to meet the demand for labor in the then burgeoning Hawai'i sugar industry.s OCCASIONAL PAPERS A Nation of the Diasporic, Narratives of Survival There is no seeming order to the narratives, and most of the selections are prefaced by a historical note, an excerpt from a contemporary newspaper, or a note by the informant, all of which provides a thematic relevance to a particular story. An excerpt from the Evening Bulletin, January 13, 1903, in troducing the first narrative, suggests the first organic connection that Ko rean Americans have with the history of Hawai'i: The Gaelic from the Orient this morning brought 102 Korean immigrants destined for the islands. In this party are 2I women and 25 children. The remaining 56 are able-bodied men. The Koreans came here to seek em ployment and their appearance in Honolulu is undoubtedly the direct result of the recent trip of E. Faxon Bishop to Korea. That attempt will be made to secure the men for the plantations goes without saying for the mission of Mr. Bishop was for the express purpose of seeking plantation labor to relieve the situation brought about by the cessation of the immi gration of Chinese into the country .... The present immigration of Koreans is experimental. If they are found to be good laborers on the plantation and take kindly to the country, there is no question whether each steamer from the Orient will see a large company of these people.9 Koreans came to Hawai'i with a basic dream: to work and to save as much money as they could, then return to their motherland. Dola Ham Kim de scribes a scenario that was experienced universally by Koreans in Hawai'i: When my parents came from Korea, they thought Hawai'i's streets were paved with gold. They planned to work for a while before going back to Seoul, where they were from. Instead, they had twelve children and lived, died, and were buried in Maui. 1O What the narratives record is the marginal development of a diasporic existence. These pioneers faced a multitude of struggles and pain and frus tration, such as the disappointment that Albert Kwong-Ho Kim's mother internalized when first arriving on the Hawaiian shores: In Korea, my mother was a schoolteacher after having been a nurse .... [Her parents] wanted her to marry, so they showed her a picture of my father when he was young. She did not know at the time that when she decided to go to Hawai'i as a picture bride her husband-to-be was already fifty years old' .... My mother said she was disappointed and disgusted with her situation and wanted to return to Korea. The man she thought she was going to marry was young. Not old. But she married him. II But arrival on foreign soil also brought visions of a wondrous future, perhaps similar to Daisy (Young-Sil) Chun Rhodes' dreamy rendering of her mother's arrival on the SS Kawi onJuly 7,1918: I imagined her seeing the rise of mountains in the distance as the ship moved slowly through the channel waters past the island chain to the then Territory of Hawai'i. I imagined her seeing verdant volcanic moun- 177 178 Reviews: Gary Pak tains, lush and thick with trees and bushes, fed by gently falling rain. I imagined her stepping to the rails in preparation to meet my father for the first time, and how she felt the warmth of a tropical summer. Perhaps she picked up her satchel and thought that, contained within it was her destiny, wrapped in pieces of cloth to be worn one time each-her wed ding and funeral dresses. 12 As the families grew with children, the need (and obligation) to preserve tradition and identity was felt strongly. Korean-language schools were estab lished to ensure the life of the Korean tongue. John Young-Ahn Kim notes, The Korean school I went to was at the First Methodist Church on Punchbowl Street. The second Korean school was at Saint Luke's Episco pal Church. At that time Martha Cho's father was the minister of that church .... We all went to Korean school. I was able to read Hanmun. Now, I am able only to read the simple Kungmun (colloquial Hangul, or 13modern Korean). The second generation, however, was integrating deeply into Hawaiian-Ameri can culture; several Korean men had married women of other nationalities, as in the case of Margaret Ok-Hee Lee's father, who married a Hawaiian woman and fathered a child. Intermarriage between races clearly became a fact of life for Koreans of the second and third generations; beginning in the 1930S, Koreans of both sexes had one of the highest percentage rates of inter racial marriages of all the ethnic groups (with the exception of Hawaiians) in Hawai'i.14 The increased interactions between the various ethnic groups evolved a lingua franca-a pidgin Hawaiian-English-which helped to develop a new hybridized culture. But learning standard English in the high schools was key to the American acculturation process, as Mary Moon Han depicts: We spoke only Korean at home. When I attended kindergarten, called receiving grade at that time, I was given an English reader. I had learned Korean before learning English. My brother-in-law translated English words by writing the translation in Korean under !hem. I'd go to school and speak in Korean. But soon I learned English. l ) More importantly, education for the Korean immigrants was the method to provide for their children a progressive, enduring vision of the future. With their homeland occupied by theJapanese and the Koreans in Hawai'i divided sharply by two rival political factions: the Kungminhoe, or Korean National Association, headed by Ch'ang-Ho Ahn; and the Tbngjihoe, or Comrade Soci ety, led by Syngman Rhee. Most Koreans looked toward education as the savior that would pre serve, unify and lead Korea to prominence in an ever-growing, complex world, a strong sentiment that is reflected in Nam-Young Chung's account: OCCASIONAL PAPERS A Nation of the Diasporic, Narratives of Survival [D}eep in the heart of every Korean immigrant, as poor as they were, was the knowledge that they were in a foreign land not by chance but choice. They had it in their hearts that someday they would liberate their coun try. I saw them working toward this day after day, month after month. Furthermore, they knew their adult days would be numbered while wait ing for the liberation of Korea. So they had their hopes in the younger generation. They did everything within their power to educate and pro vide for the well-being of their offspring. And I have never seen it to fail how they put their best foot forward, made money flow for the patriotic 16cause. The second generation, however, was transforming into a hybrid of sorts that was claiming liberally to both a Korean heritage and a Hawaiian-Ameri can culture, a paradox that Nodi Kim analyzes: When you are in Korea you really know you are Korean. I am proud to be Korean. I went to every historical site I could get into .... As far as nationality is concerned, I am an American. My parents were Korean and that is the culture I was born with, but it is a culture I learned as an American so I am an American. I can understand the values of the Ko rean culture because there are thin0s I see that the Koreans have which I think we Americans should adopt. There were a couple of weaknesses in this book. First, the narratives seemed to gloss over the importance of the sometimes life-and-death con flicts between the Kungminhoe and the Tongjihoe on the islands. The con tradiction between these two groups drove the heart of Korean political and social life in Hawai'i, affecting even what church a Korean prayed at (for the Kungminhoe member, it was the First Korean Methodist Church; for the Tongjihoe member, it was the (Honolulu) Korean Christian Church, founded by Syngman Rhee). As a child, I went to the First Korean Methodist Church on Ke'eaumoku Street, the church of my maternal grandparents, and early on, knew that there was "another" church: "the Liliha Street Church." In my grandparents' time, there was never any social interaction between members of the two churches, though this began to break down during my parents' generation (and fortunately for me-before meeting my mother, my father was a mem ber of the Liliha church). Secondly, closer editing should have corrected the scattered errors primarily in spelling and punctuation. For example, several Hawaiian words were misspelled (e.g., "Ewalei" for Iwilei; "Mount Kahala" for Mount Ka'ala; "Eleeli" for 'Ele'ele; and "Hawai'ian" for Hawaiian); a more disciplined look at Mary Kawena Pukui's definitive Place Names of Hawaii (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1974) and/or her Hawaiian Dictionary (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1986) would have easily rectified these errors in 179 180 Reviews: Gary Pak spelling. But these are slight compared to the overall weight of the narratives. Passages to Paradise should be read by everyone interested in the Korean diaspora. But let's take this one step further: All Americans should read this book, for it shatters the myth of a homogeneous, mainstream America. Col lectively, these narratives prove that America is rather a fusion of multitudi nous---oftentimes unrecorded and unrealized-voices. This book promotes a vision of an America that is. Personally, I found in this book a reason to celebrate my own existence as a Korean American born and raised in Hawai'i. This book has been a passage of discovery for me, a discovery of the complex identity that was forged through the hardships and joys that were relevant to my Korean eth nicity and my Hawaiian-American culture. The writers of these narratives have become, in a small but vital way, my literary heroes as they have navi gated me-and will do so in my future rereading-through a passage into the heart of my own existence. Notes: 1. That is, "grandmother"-Ed. 2. That is, "grandmother" and "grandfather," respectively-Ed. } I have taken the liberty to modify the spellings of Hawaiian words in the passages ex cerpted from Passages to Paradise to keep to the contemporary standardized spellings, which use the 'okina (') or glottal stop, and the kahako (-) or macron [due to typeset limitations, we had to use a tilde (-) in place of the macron for this article-Ed.]. 4· Rhodes, 265. 5. Ibid., xiii. 6. Ibid., xv. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid., xvii. 9. Ibid., 1. ro. Ibid., 169. I personally do not know if many succeeded in the endeavor to go back to Korea on wealth accumulated and increased in Hawai'i; in my family's oral history, no one we knew actually went back to live in Korea. Many diasporic Koreans, such as my grandpar ents, did go back to visit but always returned to Hawai'i and their growing families who were already acculturating rapidly into American society. II. Rhodes, 179. 12. Ibid., 5. I} Ibid., I} 14. Andrew W. Lind, Hawaii's People (Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 1967), ro8-109. IS· Rhodes, 89· 16. Ibid., 89. 17. Ibid., 165. OCCASIONAL PAPERS Identity Politics and the Transformation of Korean Identities in Japan North Koreans in Japan: Language, Ideology, and Identity Sonia Ryang Boulder: Westview Press, 1997 Erin Aeran Chung Until recently,Japanese minorities-including ethnic Koreans, Chinese, Ainu, Okinawans and burakumin I -have been "invisible" because most are physically indistinguishable from theJapanese majority. Indeed, the foreign permanent resident population makes up less than one percent ofJapan's 125 million people, and cultural minority groups about four percent. However, their predicament resonates with the difficulties and conflicts experienced by racial and ethnic minorities in other advanced industrial so cieties. Both as a living legacy ofJapanese colonialism and as a threat to the Japanese state's claim to an ethnically homogenous society, the persistent presence of the Korean community in Japan has shaped present-day atti tudes and policies regarding immigration, citizenship and nationhood in Japan. Mter Japan's defeat in World War II and Korea's subsequent indepen dence from Japan in August 1945, Koreans in Japan were denationalized and more than 1.7 million returned to Korea.2 The approximately 600,000 Kore ans who remained in Japan founded the League of Koreans (or Choryon) with the primary purpose of repatriating all Koreans in Japan to Korea. However, this organization was dissolved in 1949 by the U.S. occupation forces because it was seen as a subversive organization with strong ties to the Japa nese Communist Party. The establishment of the pro-South Mindan {Korean Residents Associa tion inJapan} in 1948 and the pro-North Cheongryun {General Association of Korean Residents in Japan} in 1955 divided the Korean community in Japan according to the two competing political regimes. Because both were founded as overseas organizations of Korean states representing overseas Korean na- ERIN AERAN CHUNG is a PhD. candidate in political science at Northwestern University. She is currently a japan Foundation Fellow, where she is studying the relationship be tween postwar japanese citizenship policies and Korean community voluntary associa tions. She is interested in how citizenship policies have shaped the collective identities of Korean communities in the United States and japan. 181 Not since Changsoo Lee and George DeVos's seminal 1981 English-language publication on Koreans in Japan has there been such a comprehensive social-scientific study of this community in English. Reviews: Erin Aeran Chung tionals, they discouraged their members from acquiringJapanese nationality. However, the unintended consequence of their rigid stance has been approximately 650,000 highly assimilated Korean permanent residents liv ing withinJapan's boundaries without full citizenship rights.3 About 90 per cent of these Koreans were born inJapan, and the vast majority cannot speak Korean. In terms of language, cultural "literacy," residence and, often, physical appearance, they are indistinguish able from those that are identified as having "pure Japanese genes.,,4 However, withoutJapanese citizenship, tax-paying Ko rean residents cannot vote or hold public office. Accordingly, not only do Korean residents make up the second-largest minor ity group in Japan, they also make up Japan's largest foreign community. Sonia Ryang's study of Cheongryun is an invaluable contri bution to the literature on Koreans inJapan. Not since Changsoo Lee and George DeVos's seminal 1981 English-language publica tion on Koreans in Japan has there been such a comprehensive social-scientific study of this community in English.s Based on two years of fieldwork in the Tokyo area, Japanese government documents, publications by Cheongryun, and secondary materials in English, Japanese and Korean, Ryang's work fills a gap in the literature on Koreans inJapan that is the first of its kind not only in English but also inJapanese and Korean-an anthro pological study of three generations of Cheongryun Koreans inJapan rich in ethnographic detail and free of the bias that plagues much of the literature written to glorify or condemn North Korea by pro- or anti- Cheongryun ideo logues. By painting a portrait of the Cheongryun organization and its mem bers across generations, Ryang presents a dynamic picture of a relatively inaccessible community that enriches our understanding not only of Kore ans inJapan but also ofJapanese and North Korean society as well. As she states in her introduction, Ryang is concerned primarily with explaining "how Cheongryun forms and maintains the North Korean iden tity in Japan" (2). By concentrating on the "interlocking relations and indis soluble connections" between language, ideology and identity in Cheongryun over time, Ryang explores the structure and mechanism "by which Cheongryun's organizational identity is produced and the social effect Cheongryun's self representation generates both inside and outside its organizational bound aries" (2, II). Accordingly, she offers an alternative approach to anthropological stud ies of Japan in English that, according to the author, have been plagued by two central problems since Ruth Benedict's classic wartime study, The Chry santhemum and the Sword: I) lack of historical perspective and 2) essentialist objectification ofJapanese society under a particular keyword (8-10).6 She argues that English-language studies of Koreans in Japan-focus- 182 OCCASIONAL PAPERS that flawlessly reproduced Cheongryun orthodoxy. Identity Politics and the Transformation of Korean Identities in Japan ing largely on "suffering" Koreans or "oppressive" Japanese government and society-also have tended to obscure "the temporal and spacial intragroup diversity of Koreans" (p. 10). Rather than employ the term "overseas nation als of North Korea" as a keyword to explain Cheongryun Koreans, Ryang seeks to "investigate the term in such a way as to ask why they use it to identify themselves, how they are made capable of using it, what allows them to do so, what compels them to do so and what guarantees their doing so .... " (n). The book is divided broadly into three sections. Part I examines the institutional mechanism of Korean language usage within Cheongryun schools, including its acquisition process and its role in the identity formation of Cheongryun students (especially third generation individuals), as well as the effect of recent curricular reforms on the overall organization and social relations of Cheongryun. Chapter I provides a detailed analysis of Cheongryun educational institutions and pedagogy by concentrating on how Korean lan guage is learned, performed and internalized within Cheongryun, as well as how this particular acquisition process affects Cheongryun Korean identity. Ryang notes that The Korean language that Cheongryun students acquire is when she asked her limited to predominantly formal, text-dependent utterances as interviewees a result of censorship devices within the schools that aim to questions in Korean, prevent the 'japanization" of Korean words (35). Because they she more often than do not learn conversational Korean at school, Cheongryun stu- not received answers dents tend to use Korean language only within the confines of in formal Korean Cheongryun. Ryang notes that when she asked her interviewees ques tions in Korean, she more often than not received answers in formal Korean that flawlessly reproduced Cheongryun orthodoxy. Yet, within moments of "having expressed fervent devotion to the patriotic cause," a couple of her interviewees switched back to Japanese to talk about their plans for "rather pricey vacations" to Hawai'i and Austria (39-40). As Ryang comments, "It was obvious to me that they could oscillate between distant and conflicting sets of values without self doubt or hesitation" (40). Consequently, identity formation among third generation Cheongryun in dividuals is, like their Korean language acquisition, partial and contingent. Rather than total indoctrination into the Cheongryun institution, individuals acquire a "dual competence" in the formal "performance" of Cheongryun ide ology in "correct" Cheongryun Korean and in their informal performance of routine activities outside of Cheongryun conducted largely in Japanese. In Chapter 2, Ryang discusses the ways in which second-generation Cheongryun members have attempted to address the discrepancy between for mal Cheongryun education and the daily lives of Cheongryun members within Japanese society through radical changes in the curriculum. 183 of persecution by the Japanese state has sustained Reviews: Erin Aeran Chung Part 2 provides a historical background to the formation of Cheongryun and explores how Cheongryun has reproduced and sustained its organizational identity within an often hostile Japanese environment. In particular, Chap ter 4 offers an insightful discussion of the complementary relationship be tween Cheongryun and sectors of the Japanese state in answer to Ryang's central question: Why is Cheongryun permitted a space inJapanese society? Ryang argues that Cheongryun's policy of noninterference in Japanese domestic affairs and its members' self-identification as "overseas nationals of North Korea" rather than as an ethnic minority or citizens of Japan, have relieved the Japanese state from the administrative burden of controlling a potentially subversive minority organization and the financial burden of providing better living conditions for its members.? In turn, Ryang main tains that social discrimination against Koreans in Japan--{)r at least the threat of persecution by the Japanese state-has sustained Cheongryun's ex istence. While Cheongryun's strict adherence to Japanese law may have pre vented the deportation of many of its members in the recent past, Ryang contends that Cheongryun elites also have "appropriated and augmented" this threat in order to strengthen the internal unity of the organization as well as to secure the organization's relative autonomy and self-subsistence (II3, II5 II7)· Consequently, the Japanese government and Cheongryun have overlap ping interests from the existing structure of mutual noninterference. Cheongryun exists within Japanese society as "a lawful, self-governing body that not only rarely causes problems in society at large but also In turn, Ryang vigilantly checks its own members' behavior with regard to the maintains that social Japanese legal system" (II7-II8). At the same time, as Ryang ex discrimination against plains, these mutual interests are not necessarily intentional but Koreans in Japan- have been "structurally determined" by Cheongryun's emergence or at least the threat within the post-I955 system inJapan (characterized by political stability and economic recovery).8 In Part 3, Ryang examines shifting identities across generations of Cheongryun members, focusing on the Cheongryun's predicaments the second generation faces in building a future existence. for Cheongryun as an organization for "overseas nationals of North Korea" permanently residing in Japan. Chapter 5 demonstrates the widening gap between Cheongryun's organizational identity and its members' extraorganizational lives through the story of a second generation Cheongryun teacher. The boom and bust of Japan's economic "bubble," the end of the Cold War, the democratization of South Korea, and the death of Kim II Sung brought about significant changes in Cheongryun's organizational activities and in its members' individual lives. Many Koreans inJapan have shared the profits of Japan's economic "miracle" and, with the expansion of 184 OCCASIONAL PAPERS Identity Politics and the Transformation of Korean Identities in Japan communication channels and the liberalization ofJapan's immigration laws regarding Korean residents, have been able to reestablish their connections with their relatives in South Korea and visit their "fatherland" in North Korea. Yet, rather than return to what was once described as a "paradise on earth," they have decided to keep their roots in Japan, where living conditions are better and where their sociocultural identities are more closely associated. Meanwhile, the reformed curriculum in Cheongryun schools since 1995 has replaced the "grand discourse focused on Kim II Sung" (204) with courses comparable to those offered in Japanese schools Part of the appeal designed to prepare students for Japanese college-entrance of this book lies in examinations. As Ryang describes in Chapter 6, this transition Ryang's ability to has produced a third generation of Cheongryun Koreans who impart her personal clearly demarcate their organizational identities as North experiences as a Koreans in Japan and their everyday lives as cultural members Cheongryun Korean of Japanese society. However, for the second generation, the with subtlety .... discrepancy between ideal and reality has displaced both their faith in Cheongryun ideology and their identities as "overseas nationals of North Korea." Ryang's unique position as a former Cheongryun member-what she calls her "cultural asset" (l6)--provided her with liberal access to a community that normally shuns prying from the outside. At the same time, her years spent abroad provided her with tools for comparison, and as she notes through out the book, her own position as a Cheongryun graduate who left the commu nity prior to the 1993-95 curricular reform gave her almost as much distance from her subject matter--especially the third generation-as a well-informed "outsider." Part of the appeal of this book lies in Ryang's ability to impart her personal experiences as a Cheongryun Korean with subtlety and in her ardor to understand the multiple and changing worlds of Cheongryun Koreans as both an Oxford-educated anthropologist who no longer lives in the Cheongryun community, as well as part of the second generation that underwent Cheongryun education in a political and social climate significantly different from that of the present day. Hence, Ryang negotiates her own multiple iden tities: "a British-trained academic," "a non:Japanese Japanese resident who normally lives abroad," and a Cheongryun Korean when in Japan (220} throughout the book. While "textualizing the world of Cheongryun Koreans" (220), she also "textualizes" her own position as "a subject-object" and the symbolic, discur sive effects of her writing about Cheongryun Koreans in English, a foreign language that she acquired after she learned Korean and Japanese, and, at the same time, "a powerful, global, and invasive medium that is too ubiqui tous in today's world even to be recognized as a foreign language in many non-English cultures" (223). 185 As a result, her theoretical musings demonstrate the singularity of North Koreans in Japan and make it difficult Reviews: Erin Aeran Chung In the introductory chapter, Ryang declares that she will take us on "a three-part ethnographical journey to consider the language, ideology and identity of three generations of North Koreans in Japan organized around Cheongryun" (2). Yet, the detours that Ryang makes may cause the reader to forget why she came in the first place. Indeed, I found myself going back to the introduction and table of contents several times to recall the central ar guments of this book. For instance, she does not relate her discussion of literature by Koreans inJapan ("The Writing Generation" in Chapter 6,185-196) to her overall argu ment. Instead, we are exposed to a seemingly arbitrary selection of writings by not only second-generation Cheongryun Koreans but non-Cheongryun Kore- ans in Japan (whose voices are introduced for the first time in this section), without reference to their specific context or sig nificance. At the end of this section, she writes only that "sec ond-generation literature is both a reflection of Cheongryun's reality, and at the same time, constitutive of this reality, in that it produces the discursive milieu in which Cheongryun life is nar rated" (96). Can this statement not be said of all literature? Al to apply her study though she introduces the issues of class and gender in Chapter to other cases. 6, Ryang's treatment of these enormously significant issues in the Cheongryun community is hurried and cursory. Rather than grapple with the class and gender issues that her interviews unveiled, Ryang notes simply that class and gender identities are subsumed under the single identity of "overseas nationals" of North Korea. Furthermore, the reader may often find herself in a haze of somewhat disjointed references to structuralist, post-structuralist and postmodern theo ries (7) that tend to obscure rather than intensify the specific insights that Ryang's exploration of Cheongryun offers to understanding the interrelation ships of language, pedagogy, identity formation and ideology. For example, Ryang makes numerous references to linguistic theory in Chapter I, only to highlight certain aspects that apply to the Cheongryun case or to demonstrate how exceptional the Cheongryun case is. However, this "slash and burn" approach to disparate, dense theoretical approaches to the study of language, education, performance, ideology, identity and so forth pre cludes the possibility for thorough engagement with any of the literature. Indeed, it is difficult to identify a specific body of work that Ryang grapples with because she briefly analyzes most of these works only to test their applicability to the Cheongryun case and seldom mentions them again. Rather than offer an alternative explanation to the problems posed by these theories--or pose a theoretical problem in itself-Ryang lessens the rich in sights that her empirical research offers by focusing inordinately on their "fit" with various anthropological theories. As a result, her theoretical musings demonstrate the singularity of North Koreans inJapan and make it difficult 186 OCCASIONAL PAPERS comparing Cheongryun with similar groups such as other ethnic, Identity Politics and the Transformation of Korean Identities in Japan to apply her study to other cases. Thus, while Ryang is successful in discrediting the discourse on Japa nese society as homogenous, her lack of comparative perspective tends to reinforce the idea of Japanese exceptionalism (202). She leaves us with few concrete tools for comparing Cheongryun with similar groups such as other ethnic, racial or national minorities in advanced industrial societies. This absence is especially conspicuous in Ryang's chapter on "Diaspora and Beyond." Rather than assess the cross-national, cross-regional implica tions of her observations in relation to other Korean diasporic groups or even to North Korean society, Ryang summarizes her observations and compares her findings across the three generations of Cheongryun Koreans that she has discussed separately in previous chapters. A brief comparison to other cases or works on the Korean diaspora-such as Hyung-ehan Kim's now-elassic study of Korean immigration and assimilation in North America-would have made Ryang's contribution to the series on "Transitions: Asia and Asian America," published by Westview Press, more poignant.9 In fact, her ethnographic observations provide fertile ground for grap pling with diaspora theory as it applies across political, national, geographi cal, generational and gendered boundaries.IO For instance, what role does the acquisition and performance of Korean language play in Korean diasporic communities not only inJapan but in the United States, Mexico, China, Rus sia, etc'? How does the increasing presence of recent Korean immigrants affect the "performance" of Korean identity among first-, sec- ond- and third- generation Korean residents? As a diasporic group, She leaves us with is there a collective self-identification among members of Ko- few concrete tools for rean communities that transcends territorial, regional, linguis tic and cultural differences? Or is the Korean ethnic identity more a reflection of racial and ethnic politics in the host coun try? Finally, it is ironic that Ryang chose to create a rigid line of racial or national division between Cheongryun and non-Cheongryun Koreans--even minorities in referring specifically to a North Korean diaspora inJapan (197- advanced industrial 2oo)--when Koreans in Japan themselves do not live in such societies. dichotomous worlds. While Cheongryun and Mindan as organizations may be at odds with each other, this separation and antagonism does not necessarily carryover into the everyday lives of all of their individual members. On the contrary, membership in these organizations can be peripheral, functional and/or interchangeable for some Koreans. As Ryang describes, the vast majority of Cheongryun members are originally from southern Korea and, therefore, their collective identity as overseas North Koreans is a political construction. There are a number who are or have been members of both organizations for the purpose of expanding their networking opportunities. Others have 187 .... Ryang's study vividly portrays the multiple identities of the Cheongryun community as a whole and of its Reviews: Erin Aeran Chung changed their nationalities from North to South Korean (and thus their membership from Cheongryun to Mindan) as a result of marriage. Non Cheongryun Koreans often send their children to Cheongryun schools not so much for the purpose of ideological education but so that their children can learn the Korean language and be among other ethnic Koreans. Certainly, the process of identity formation among Cheongryun members is not unique to North Koreans inJapan. Yet, Ryang focuses primarily on the relationship between Cheongryun Koreans and Japanese society with scarce references to non-Cheongryun Koreans. A comparative analysis of Cheongryun and non-Cheongryun Koreans inJapan would certainly bring to light the ways in which members of the Korean community as a whole interpret and respond to their identities as Korean residents permanently residing in Japan, as well as how the Japanese state incorporates its ethnic and national minorities. Moreover, the generational shifts in Cheongryun are representative of those in the entire Korean community: the critical gap between second- and third- (as well as fourth-) generation Korean residents has created a crisis in the entire community regarding its collective identity. Despite moments of fragmentation and undeveloped individual members theoretical reflections, Ryang's study vividly portrays the across multiple identities of the Cheongryun community as a whole and generations. of its individual members across generations. Her critical attention to detail in her interviews and daily observations in the community provide insights into the constantly shifting structure and mechanism of identity formation, the multidimensionality of competing ideologies (state and non-state) and the role of language in reproducing and transforming ideology and identity. Moreover, Ryang's "active intervention" in her study of Cheongryun Koreans through participation, mutual understanding and self-reflection destabilizes conventional understandings of the researcher and the "field," the subject and object, and the West vs. the rest. In Ryang's words, "the anthropological 'other' is not just 'natives'; others are everywhere, including in one's own culture, class, family, and self" (222). Accordingly, North Koreans in Japan simultaneously opens the reader to the world of Cheongryun Koreans and to the world attempting to understand it. 188 OCCASIONAL PAPERS Identity Politics and the Transformation of Korean Identities in Japan Notes: 1. The burakumin, who make up less than 2 percent of the totalJapanese population, have not been proven to be of foreign parentage but are descendants of historical outcasts who have been discriminated against since the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868). They are a combination of ritually "unclean" people, much like the untouchables in the Indian caste system, who traditionally worked as butchers, leather workers, and gravediggers. Although they were granted full legal equality in 1871, social prejudice against them is still extreme. 2. During theJapanese colonial period (1910-1945), theJapanesegovernment regarded the Korean population as Japanese nationals by virtue of annexation. Korean imperial subjects were eventually enfranchised in 1937. However, uponJapan's defeat in World War Two, Koreans were stripped of theirJapanese citizenship through the Alien Registration Law of 1947 and the San Francisco Peace Treaty with the Allied Powers in 1952. Postwar Japanese citizen ship policies have been based on a community of descent and, therefore, native born Kore ans do not automatically qualify for Japanese citizenship. 3- This figure refers to permanent residents only and, therefore, does not include newly ar rived Korean immigrants. Only about 30 percent of the total Korean resident population in Japan have naturalized in the past 30 years. 4- Forfurther discussion ofperceived differences betweenJapanese ethnic minoritiesand "pure"Japa nese, seeJohn C. Maher and Gaynor Macdonald, eds., Diversity inJapanese Culture and Lan guage (London: Kegan Paul International, 1995); Yoshio Sugimoto, An Introduction to Japanese Society (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); Michael Weiner, ed.,Japan's Minorities: The Illusion of Homogeneity (London: Routledge, 1997). 5. See Changsoo Lee and George DeVos, eds., Koreans inJapan: Ethnic Conflict and Accommo dation (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1981). 6. See Ruth Benedict, The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns ofJapanese Culture (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1946). 7. Note that Cheongryun's emergence in 1955 as a nonsubversive organization was a distinct departure from earlier Korean leftist movements in Japan that often collaborated with Japanese communists and worked to build an East Asian revolution (see Chapter 3, espe cially pp. 78-91). The first postwar Korean organization inJapan to declare solidarity with North Korea-rhe League of Koreans, or Choryon-was dissolved in 1949 by the U.S. occu pation forces precisely because it was seen as a subversive organization with strong ties to theJapanese Communist Party. For English language works on prewar and early postwar Korean leftist movements in Japan, see Edward Wagner, The Korean Minority in Japan: 1904-1950 (New York: Institute of Pacific Relations, 1951); Richard Mitchell, The Korean Minority inJapan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967); Bruce Cumings, The Ori gins of the Korean Whr, vol. I, Liberation and the Emergence of Separate Regimes, [945-1947 (princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981); and Michael Weiner, The Origins of the Korean Community in Japan: [ 9 [0- [923 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1989). 8. Ryang describes the conditions of this "structural determination" as follows: Such a mechanism was not brought about and maintained by the intentional "conspiracy" of either Cheongryun or theJapanese authorities. It is rather a case where historically deter mined conditions generated and maintained the structure for the coexistence of Cheongryun and theJapanese state; with Cheongryun keeping to its lawfulness, theJapanese government would not have to deal with the problem of an "ethnic minority," while Cheongryun could unite its affiliates around itself by perpetuating the rhetorical warning against the subver sion of the "enemies." The very absence of the notion of an ethnic minority from the 189 190 Reviews: Erin Aeran Chung organizational discourse of Cheongryun was effective in consolidating it as an overseas organization of a foreign state, thereby defining it as belonging to North Korea, not to Japanese society; this was convenient for theJapanese government, in that it could turn a blind eye to the social, legal, and economic deprivation of Koreans inJapan (pp. 201-202). 9. See Hyung-ehan Kim, The Korean Diaspom: Historical and Sociological Studies of Korean Immigration and Assimilation in North America (Santa Barbara: ABGClio, 1977). ro. The works by William Safran, Leo Spitzer, Paul Gilory, and R. Radhakrishnan provide comparative perspectives on diasporic populations with which to consider the implications of Ryang's study. See William Safran, ''Diasporas in Modern Societies: Myths of Home land and Return," Diaspora I.I (1991): 83-99; Leo Spitzer, Lives in Between: Assimilation and Marginality in Austria, Brazil, and mist Africa, 1780- I 945 (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer sity Press, 1989); Paul Gilroy, The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness (Cam bridge: Harvard University Press, 1994); and R. Radhakrishnan, "Is the Ethnic 'Authentic' in Diaspora?" in The State of Asian America: Activism and Resistance in the 1990S, ed. Karin Aguilar-Sanjuan (Boston: South End Press, 1994). OCCASIONAL PAPERS A Story of Subversive Obedience Doing What Had to be Done: The Life Narrative of Dora mm Kim Soo-Young Chin Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1999 Sonia S. Sunoo I Soo-Young Chin's book is the most compelling work to have sustained my attention during my fierce fight for survival following my stroke. The Dora Yum that grew up with me was a shy and quiet child, but as Chin unfolds Dora's life narrative, she emerges as a powerful and influential woman in San Francisco's immigrant Korean community. Dora's early boundaries were her parent's restaurant and candy-and-smoke stand that was on the west edge of San Francisco's Chinatown. Then, there was my father's five-chair barbershop, the main door to his business painted in red and gold huge Chinese characters: "Korean Barber Shop." It was lo cated just around the corner on Jackson Street. Another Korean-owned cafe had a red and white sign, simply marked, "Coffee Shop"; the parents had six children who helped out. One other business was Mr. Chun's Champion Shoe Repair Shop. Lastly, there was the Bath House. There were very few bath rooms in the homes in the early days. These five businesses made up the perimeter of "Koreatown." It took Chin several years of interviewing Dora to research and reflect on the details of her rich life, and the effort was worth it. Throughout the book, Chin weaves Dora's life alongside her own, in the process constructing the two lives of Dora and herself, despite their age difference of more than two decades. Dora is the daughter of Hang Shin Kim and Man Suk Yum, who were among the first early Korean immigrants to mainland America. She spent her early years in San Francisco's Chinatown, growing up in an environment of racial discrimination, the time of which she tells in detail. Raised as a Korean by her conservative parents, and devoted to serve the Korean com munity in San Francisco, she co-founded the first Korean community center there with her children in 1975. She visited Korea four times with enthusiasm; however, her behavior is very different from her fellow Koreans as she admits herself. SONIA S. SUNOO and her husband, Harold, established the first Korean Studies Program in the world at the University of Washington in 1944. The program included language, history and civilization, which they taught. She went on to collect oral histories and authored Korea Ka/iedoscope, Early Korean Pioneers in USA: /903-/905 (Davis: Sierra Mis sion Area United Presbyterian Church, 1982). She is retired and living in California. 191 Reviews: Sonia S. Sunoo In the work, Dora refuses to take credit for her contribution to the Ko rean American community. Her answer is simply, "Doing what had to be done."z Through her work at the California State Department of Employ ment, she found thousands of jobs for newly arriving Koreans in the early 1970s, and looked after their welfare selflessly, even becoming certified so that she could teach them English. She also initiated the hot-lunch services for seniors at the Korean community center. Dora's schooling was interesting. Urged by her mother at a time when it was rare for Korean women to have schooling, she attended a girls' high school and attended the school's social affairs, including danc Dora's untiring desire ing, but recalls that no white boys ever asked her to dance. She to serve and care felt very bad, but accepted the social status quo, and instead for those less went out on Saturday nights to Chinese community dance par fortunate than herself ties, which she enjoyed. reveals a strong Sometime later, Dora moved out of Chinatown and joined commitment the mainstream of the American society by purchasing a home to moral action, in the still segregated suburb of West Portal. She wanted her as well as a children to be educated as Americans, not Koreans. She did not remarkable want her children to feel inferior, but equal to American citi compassion and zens. Soo-Young Chin's comparison of her life story with Dora'skindness .... makes reading this book all the more fascinating. Although Chin was born in Korea and grew up in Southeast Asia, she finds common ground with Dora's background. Chin's anthropological ap proach makes such a comparative study successful. Chin points out that Ko rea was changing quickly after the 1945 liberation, when she was born there, and her father was involved in national economic development, whereas Dora's father was engaged in merely surviving as a small restaurant operator in Chinatown. These are two entirely different worlds, but Chin finds that Dora and herself carry the same Korean cultural constructions that had their ori gins in early childhood. Chin says, "Our experiences were remarkably simi lar," in spite of their different positions in their lives.3 Chin admires Dora's persistence and conviction in doing what had to be done for Korean American immigrants; her ability to rise above the conflicts and tensions in which she became embroiled in later years; her continued commitment to serve the Korean community in San Francisco. Dora's untir ing desire to serve and care for those less fortunate than herself reveals a strong commitment to moral action, as well as a remarkable compassion and kindness, observed by the author. The Korean American community honored Dora on her retirement with a hwan-gap party.4 The Korean seniors she had helped over the years orga nized the affair and sent floral pieces as tokens of appreciation. The local Korean Consul General recognized the affair as well. Reporters from all of 192 OCCASIONAL PAPERS A Story of Subversive Obedience the Korean newspapers, Korean TV crews-in all, more than 300 people came to participate and to honor her. "Dora was surprised at the magnitude," Soo-Young Chin recounts.5 Who had influenced Dora? Her mother, Mrs. Yum, encouraged and as sisted Dora in seeking her place in American society, yet in a manner accept able to a Korean society that simultaneously pushed those boundaries. Although Mrs. Yum embraced American egalitarian notions as a libera tion ideology, she lived her life within the confines of a male-dominated, Confucian-influenced Korean-immigrant so- Chin's anthropological ciety, without access to mainstream society. She persisted in approach reshaping her possibilities in terms of this newfound American makes such a ideology, even though the only uncontested avenue available for comparative study her to express her new sense of being in the world was Dora. successful. Her encouraging Dora to earn her own living counters the more conventional ideal Korean women had in the early 20th century, and could be constructed as an "every day form of resistance," a strategy of disguised and undisclosed resistance, a "weapon of the weak," if strength is to be measured in terms of material and social capital, Chin observes.6 What Dora was able to accomplish in her lifetime certainly speaks to a ferocious commitment and strength of spirit. Doing What Had to be Done: The Life Narrative ofDora TUm Kim is a remarkable achievement by Soo-Young Chin. It provides rich material for those who seek to understand the minor ity experience~speciallyAsian American history-and the reader will be richly rewarded. I highly recommend it. ~ I. I would especially like to thank my husband, Harold Hakwon Sunoo, for his invaluable assistance with this article, as well as my son, for his gracious computer support. 2. Sao-Young Chin, Doing What Had to be Done: The Life Narrative of Dora nUll Kim (philadephia, PA: Temple University Press, 1999), 3-4. 3. Ibid., no. 4. For Koreans, the hwan-gap is celebrated at the end of a person's fifth I2-year cycle (age sixty), and signifies rebirth. Because of the death of a close family member, Dora Yum's hwan'gap was not celebrated until 1986, when she retired from the Senior Meal Program at the Korean Community Center (Chin, 139; I63)-Ed. 5. Ibid., 167. 6. Ibid., 182. 193 Call for Papers Korean American Historical Society Occasional Papers, Vol. 5, 2000 Korean American Historical Society invites and encourages submissions pertaining to overseas Koreans which reflect the diversity of the Korean emigrant experience, as well as new approaches to this subject in the hu manities and social sciences, including (but not limited to) anthropology, economics, ethnic studies, history, immigrant studies, literature, political science, psychology and sociology. Manuscripts should be original and not draw significantly from any pre viously published works. They also should not be submitted simultaneously to any other publication. All articles will be refereed to at least one outside scholar in the appropriate field. The standard length for articles is 3,000 words for community reports, essays and review articles; research studies are 8,000 words or more. Manu scripts should be typewritten; double-spaced, with margins of at least one inch; and must be fully documented to facilitate fact-checking, with end notes and a bibliography (see The Chicago Manual of Style). Submissions should be accompanied by a separate title page indicating the author's full name, mailing address, telephone (and fascimilie) number, and affiliation. Please include a brief vitae as well. Electronic submissions (Rich Text Format (".rtf")) via email or J5-inch floppy disk are preferred, and required if the work is accepted. Contributors should keep copies of works submitted. Manuscripts received byMarch31, 2000, will be considered. Korean Ameri can Historical Society will consider all manuscripts submitted, but assumes no responsibility for returning submissions unless accompanied by appropri ate postage. Korean American Historical Society reserves the right to edit for space. About Korean American Historical Society Founded in 1985, Korean American Historical Society (KAHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the collective memory of Korean Americans through collecting, main taining and transmitting the heritage and achievements of Koreans living in the United States and abroad. Goals of KAHS include: I. Annually publish Occasional Papers, a scholarly journal of oral histories, community research, book reviews, critical essays and reports. This journal is intended to present information and material for primary researchers as well as general readers. 2. Conduct and archive oral history interviews on the history of Korean expatriates in general, and Korean Americans in particular. 3. Maintain a library of books, photographs and materials pertinent to the mission of KAHS. 4. Organize and conduct seminars, symposia and other necessary activities. 5. Encourage the development of Korean American studies as an academic discipline. 6. Coordinate activities with other Korean community organizations for historical purposes. Community educational efforts and heritage events supported by KAHS have included: In 1984-85, KAHS published volume I of Occasional Papers, entitled Journal of Korean American Historical Society, organized a panel discussion on teaching Korean language to Ko rean children born in the US, and initiated the Korean American Research Project, a program to collect oral histories of Korean Americans in Washington state for a book length pictorial essay. In 1986-94, KAHS organized and sponsored Yoojin Chung's p'ansori concert commemo rating the IDOth Anniversary of Korean immigration to the US along with a screening of the film, "Seop'yeonjae" (1993). Publication of Occasional Papers lapsed during this period due to the departure of the editor to Korea following the death of his wife. In 1995-96, KAHS published volume 2 of Occasional Papers, and began advising the Uni versity of Washington's Burke Museum regarding three Korean displays for its "Pacific Voices" exhibit. KAHS also organized and sponsored a booksigning for Robert Hyung-chan Kim's book, Tosan Ahn Ch'ang-ho: A Profile of a Prophetic Patriot, with Susan Ahn Cuddy as a guest speaker ( 1996). KAHS also conducted a survey of Korean Identity Development Society's (KIDS) Ko rean culture camp participants, and sponsored its first student intern. In 1997-98, KAHS published volume 3 of Occasional Papers, co-sponsored the Seattle Asian American Film Festival, provided staff support to help edit The Deepest Love of My People: writ ings and memories of Chang Hei Lee, a memorial to a local community leader. Staff and volunteers completed advising the University of Washington's Burke Museum regarding the Korean dis plays for its "Pacific Voices" program, advised regarding its Korean American exhibit, advised the Northwest Folklife Festival's "With One Broad Voice" program, and The Shoreline Histori cal Museum regarding its "Fresh Voices of the Community: Korean American Youth" exhibit. KAHS staff also attended the Association for Asian American Studies conference and National Korean American Studies conference. KAHS received a collection of 284 books and periodicals from Arthur L. Gardner, author of The Koreans in Hawaii: An Annotated Bibliography (Honolulu: Social Science Research Institute, 1970) Hawaii Series No.2. In 1998-99, KAHS published volume 4 of Occasional Papers. KAHS staff attended the 1998 American Historical Association and Association for Asian American Studies conferences to increase awareness of current issues regarding Koreans overseas. In September, 1988 KAHS launched its internet web site. Staff and volunteers advised The Wing Luke Asian Museum re garding its "Golden Roots" Korean American exhibit, and is helping advise Seattle Asian Art Museum regarding "A Visit to Grandfather's House" exhibit which opened in October 1999, and continued to work with the Burke Museum's "Pacific Voices" exhibit, who in October 1998 held a Harvest Moon Festival family day. In January 1999, KAHS organized a fundraiser featur ing Korean American investigative journalist KW Lee and author Daisy Chun Rhodes, and sup ported by Korean American Professionals Society (KAPS). KAHS also received a grant from the Overseas Koreans Foundation for journal publication. This was followed by staff making pre sentations on Korea and Korean American history at Roosevelt High School in March, and at Korean Community Counselling Center's first annual Summer Youth Program in July. Occasional Papers Volume I was published in 1985 under the title, The Journal of Korean American Historical Society (LCCN 86658565, 70pp), and was a bilingual issue that featured the oral history of Jo seph Hong (one of the first Korean American Alaskans), a panel discussion on teaching Korean to children growing up in the United States, and a critical essay regarding how the media por trays Asian Americans as the "model minority," Following the departure of the editor to an overseas teaching position, publication lapsed. Volume 2, 1996, was released under the name Occasional Papers (ISSN 1088-1964, 120pp), and marked the reemergence of Korean American Historical Society. This volume included a five-interview oral history of the Sung-Hark Kang family (one of the oldest Korean American families in Washington state), a University of Washington study of students of Korean heritage, papers from the William Carlson Smith and Songmoo Kho collections, and a report on the third annual Korean American Leadership Conference, in addition to other articles. Volume 3, 1997, (120pp) featured the oral histories of Korean Americans during World War II, a story of a Korean miner in Germany, and a history of Go playing in Seattle and the influence of Korean American players. An essay on Korean Americans in race relations by Elaine Kim, a report by Kun Hong Park and a letter by Soon Hyun were also included. Book reviews by Edward Chang and S.E. Solberg, followed by a review of Chris Chan Lee's feature film, "Yellow," rounded out the issue. Publication of this journal is made possible in part by a grant from the Overseas Koreans Foundation Seoul, Korea Heritage Club Members Andrew B. Cho, Seattle UZ1. Young Seo Choi, Seoul KOREA Seung Eun Hong, Gig Harbor UZ1. Sa Hyup Hong, Lynnwood UZ1. Hyeon Huh, Seattle UZ1. William S.H. Kang, Seattle UZ1. Hong Ki Kim, Seattle UZ1. Hong Sik Kim, Bellevue UZ1. Jae Ho Kim, Bothell UZ1. Kyo Sun Kim, Mountlake Terrace UZ1. Rocky Kim, Mukilteo UZ1. Sung Chul Kim, Tacoma UZ1. Sung Ri Kim, Beaverton OR Dr. Tae Hwan Kim, Bloomington MN Kwang Sun Koh, Bothell UZ1. BK Lee, Bellevue UZ1. Dr. Dan T. Lee, Renton, UZ1. Ick-Whan Lee, Seattle UZ1. QwiHee Park Lee, Seattle UZ1. In-Suk Oh, Stamford CT HunJoo Park, Menlo Park CA Dr. MyongJae Roh, Federal WUy UZ1. Jes! I want to learn more about Korean heritage and support KAHS. I wish to become a member of Korean American Historical Society for: o One lear (one vol.) 0 Two lears (two vols.) 0 Three lears (three vols.) Sponsorship: DHeritage Club ($I,OOOt/yr) DBenefactor ($50o-$999/yr) DPatron ($IOo-$499/yr) Membership ($}20 Shipping): DOrganizational ($30/yr) oIndividual ($20/yr) DStudent ($12/yr) Total amount enclosed: Please send the following issue(s) to the address below: o Vol. I 0 Vol. 2 0 Vol. 3 0 Vol. 4 0 Vol. 5 0 Vol. 6 Prefix (circle one): Dr. Mr. Mrs. Ms. Namefritle OrganizationJAddress City, State, Zip TelJFax Email Jes! I want to learn more about Korean heritage and support KAHS. I wish to become a member of Korean American Historical Society for: o One lear (one vol.) 0 Two rears (two vols.) 0 Three lears (three vols.) Sponsorship: DHeritage Club ($I,OOOt/yr) DBenefactor ($50o-$999/yr) DPatron ($IOo-$499/yr) Membership ($}20 Shipping): DOrganizational ($30/yr) oIndividual ($20/yr) DStudent ($I21yr) Total amount enclosed: . Please send the following issue(s) to the address below: o Vol. I 0 Vol. 2 0 Vol. 3 0 Vol. 4 0 Vol. 5 0 Vol. 6 Prefix (cilde one): Dr. Mr. Mrs. Ms. Namerritle OrganizationJAddress City, State, Zip TelJFax Email KAHS MEMBERSHIP ENROLLMENT CERTIFICATE Occasional Papers is not available commercially, so if you wish to learn more about Korean heritage and regularly receive issues of Occasional Papers, please sup port Korean American Historical Society by becoming a member. Upon receipt of dues, you will be placed on our membership list and receive your requested journals as they become available, as well as be notified of KAHS-supported events. Please mail your completed certificate with a check payable (in US dollars) to: Memberships Korean American Historical Society 10303 Meridian Ave. N., Suite 200 Seattle WA 98133-9483 Please include $3.20 per volume to cover shipping. Subject to availability, you may request back issues by enclosing additional dues for that year and indicating the vol ume. Friends and family may receive issues by being enrolled as members separately. Any amount contributed in excess of the value of each journal ($5.00) is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. KAHS MEMBERSHIP ENROLLMENT CERTIFICATE Occasional Papers is not available commercially, so if you wish to learn more about Korean heritage and regularly receive issues of Occasional Papers, please sup port Korean American Historical Society by becoming a member. Upon receipt of dues, you will be placed on our membership list and receive your requested journals as they become available, as well as be notified of KAHS-supported events. Please mail your completed certificate with a check payable (in US dollars) to: Memberships Korean American Historical Society 10303 Meridian Ave. N., Suite 200 Seattle WA 98133-9483 Please include $3.20 per volume to cover shipping. Subject to availability, you may request back issues by enclosing additional dues for that year and indicating the vol ume. Friends and family may receive issues by being enrolled as members separately. Any amount contributed in excess of the value of each journal ($5.00) is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Forthcoming Watch for the following articles in Volume 5 of Occasional Papers: KAHS Oral Histories The Golden Mountain Revisited: The Memoirs of Anna Charr Kim Koreans in Germany: The Story of Mu-Ue Kang Community Research "Fighting Spirit" Revisited: Korean Boxers in the U.S., I 946-Present ,. ., ;- .~ ..., , .' :! IBOllMer iO~IGHT .BOXING I t':.. ' Articles, Essays, Reviews and More .-----'l"'~-,. ,~, ~ .) "4' . ..6 ' ..}, . ¢., , ~ ; ¢. .. ~ . ~ ..~ <;~." t- o . J, • A.' A.. J,.' ,.;.. J,. ",

Occasional Papers, Vol. 4

Book

Korean American Historical Society

Name/Title

Book Details

Editor

Volume/Number/Issue

Edition

Date Published

Printer

Date Printed

ISSN

Web Links and URLs

Copyright

Type of License

Copyright Holder

Copyright Date