Immigration History of South Koreans to U.S. Society

What has to be understood about South Koreans' immigration to the U.S. since the time of the Korean War is that the rate of immigration appears to have risen steadily when compared to immigration rates from around the world in general, and rapidly when compared to immigration rates from Asia in particular. There are several indices of this. One is the historic passage of the 1965 Immigration Act, whereby the U.S. government opened immigration options to Asians that were roughly equivalent to such options for Europeans. According to Robey (1985), some 17,000 Asians as opposed to 114,000 Europeans were admitted to the U.S. in 1965. In 1981, 244,000 Asians versus 67,000 Europeans were admitted to the U.S. Koreans accounted for the third most common of Asian immigrants, after Vietnamese and Filipinos (Robey, 1985). These figures are confirmed by Hacker, who says that the number of Koreans in the U.S. "underwent a fivefold expansion from 1970 to 1980, for an increase of 412.8 percent" (Hacker, 1983, p. 35). In addition, says Hacker, in the 1970s persons from South Korea repr

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for more than 36 percent of Korean entrepreneurs in Southern California in the 1970s and 1980s. Among Korean Americans and Korean immigrants alike, an ethic of temporary financial assistance and entrepreneurial lending has helped to provide all-important working capital for start-up-phase businesses (Money, 1986). «IP5,5»Korean success is also a result of a willingness to work long hard hours--up to 130 hours a week. Koreans often buy up businesses in run-down areas, begin by cleaning and restoring the dilapidated buildings, and then once the businesses are established include sub-businesses like lotto tickets and check cashing in order to turn a profit. Many are wonderfully adaptable, taking over such non-Korean enterprises as failing doughnut shops and Jewish delicatessens. Dying areas of the city are vitalized through this process, which also provides work for other immigrants (Pearlstone, 1990, p. 89). «IP0,0»One common feature of South Korean entrepreneurship in the U.S. is that it involves the business owners in relatively simple enterprises. Fruit stands, grocery stores, dry cleaners, and similar businesses are simple in concept, and involve hard work at least as much as a dream of financial independence or riches (Forbes
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Approximate Word count = 3540
Approximate Pages = 14 (250 words per page)