A Historical Geography of the Korean Experience in America

Abstract

Prior to 1965, only small numbers of Korean people lived in the United States, mostly in Hawaii and on the West Coast. That year, however, the immigration restriction for Asians was abolished and a mass movement of Koreans began. Soon, new ethnic communities were established in most major American cities and smaller groupings in military towns and near universities. Although the experiences of Korean immigrants to the U. S. generally have been similar to those of other recently arrived Asian groups, a strong desire to find locales for business has produced an especially wide distribution. In addition, Korean-Americans established a number of major trends for Asian-American society as a whole, including military-tied family chain migration, an emphasis on family-owned small businesses, and active student migration.