Notes on Cold War's Impact on Asian Migration and Identity

The Cold War's Impact

The Cold War resulted in numerous deaths, displacement, and social issues, such as war brides and orphans.
This conflict served as a significant push factor for Korean, Vietnamese, and Southeast Asian migration to the United States.

US Military Presence in South Korea

The US established numerous military bases in South Korea.
These installations significantly impacted Korean culture by promoting American consumerism, music, dress, and sensibilities.
This period marks the origin of the introduction of American and Western culture to Korea.
Camp towns near the bases reinforced a gendered and imperialist dynamic, with US men and dependent Korean women.

Social Issues Arising from Military Presence

In the 1960s, over 30,000 Korean sex workers served approximately 62,000 US servicemen.
A 1997 study estimated 25,000 women sex workers in camp towns.
These militarized zones became common places for romance, marriage, and migration to the United States, primarily between American men and Korean women.
Children born to Korean mothers and US fathers faced social stigma and were often denied citizenship by the South Korean government.
Many Korean families removed sex workers from their family registries, rendering them stateless.
Children needed documentation from their biological fathers (American soldiers) to be eligible for US citizenship, but these men often deserted their partners.
Amerasian children faced high school dropout rates and were often relegated to orphanages and adoption.
Marriage did not always remove the stigma associated with women working around military bases, who were often seen as degraded.
Many Koreans viewed these women as reminders of Korea's subservience.
These issues highlight ongoing relationships of inequality and cultural inferiority due to contact with American military personnel.

Identity and the Cold War

Amerasian identity represents a betwixt and between status, where individuals with parents of different races or ethnicities are caught in the middle without full acceptance from either culture.
War can lead to children becoming orphans or being deserted by their fathers, significantly impacting their sense of identity.

Transnational Adoptions

World War II and the US occupation of South Korea led to transnational adoptions.
In 1955, Harry and Bertha Holt of Oregon initiated the first foreign adoption program by adopting eight Korean children and later establishing Holt International Children's Services.
Between 1955 and 1965, most children adopted from South Korea were biracial children fathered by US soldiers.
Later, Korean orphans, children of unmarried mothers, and children from impoverished families were also adopted.
The Amorasian Immigration Act of 1982 allowed US entry to Amorasians born between 1950 and 1982, requiring documented paternity and US citizen sponsors.

Identity Challenges in Adoption

Korean or Korean-Amerasian children adopted by non-Korean parents in the US face challenges in maintaining their cultural identity.
These adoptees may struggle to learn the Korean language, understand Korean culture, and connect with their heritage.
Adoption by parents without the same subject position's identity can make it difficult for individuals to negotiate their lives, often leading to a search for cultural roots during their teens and early twenties.
Adopted individuals often express that their adoptive parents, while loving, could not provide the cultural nurturing they desired.

The Vietnam War and Asian American Soldiers

Eisenhower sent advisors to South Vietnam in the 1950s to contain communism from North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh.
Asian American soldiers in Vietnam faced unique challenges related to their racial identity.
Many Asian Americans were drafted or joined the military, experiencing the war in Asia and within the US military.

Experiences of Asian American Soldiers

Asian American soldiers were sometimes mistaken for the enemy and subjected to racial slurs.
Gender played a significant role in the experiences of Asian Americans during the war, with Asian American women, like nurses, facing assumptions of being prostitutes.
Some Asian American soldiers experienced a realization that they were seen as the enemy by Americans and were associated with the Vietnamese people by the Vietnamese themselves.
This realization led some to question their presence in Vietnam and the purpose of the war, drawing parallels with other civil rights movements and questioning American intervention.

Immigration Act of 1965

The Immigration Act of 1965 changed the complexion of the United States, leading to a "browning of America" with increased Asian and Latino immigration.
This act prioritized immigrants with college degrees and high skill sets, shifting from prioritizing migrant workers.
The act fundamentally altered the 1924 Immigration Act, which had set quotas and closed borders for Asian migrants.

Current US Demographics (as of transcript creation)

Approximately 199 million Americans identify as white.
Approximately 47 million Americans identify as Black.
Approximately 23 million Americans identify as Asian, including: approximately 5 million Chinese, slightly under 5 million South Asian, 2 million Korean, approximately 4 million Filipino, 2.3 million Vietnamese, and 1.6 million Japanese.
Approximately 3.3 million Americans identify as Native American.
Approximately 63 million Americans identify as Hispanic, with 28 million identifying as some other race as well.

Proportional Racial Makeup of the US

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0.3%
Native American: 1%
Asian: 7%
Black/African American: 14%
Hispanic/Latino: 19%
White: 59-70% (depending on data)

Ethnic Identities of the Asian Population in the US

Chinese: 5.2 million
South Asian: Significant increase in the last 10-20 years
Filipino: 4.4 million
Vietnamese: 2.3 million
Korean and Japanese: Smaller populations compared to other Asian ethnic groups

Vietnamese Migration

Millions of Vietnamese migrated to the United States due to the Vietnam War.
After the war, refugees, military brides, and Amerasian children flowed into the United States.
In 1975, Congress passed the Indochina Migration and Refugee Assistance Act, providing funds for medical care, social services, English language instruction, job placement, and mental health services to refugees.
Many conservatives disliked government assistance to Vietnamese refugees, failing to understand the relationship between the push and pull factors caused by the war.
Over 250,000 Sino-Vietnamese refugees fled to China, and thousands left Vietnam in overcrowded boats, with an estimated 50% dying at sea.

Impact on Cambodia and Laos

In Cambodia, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge regime displaced, executed, and starved millions, leading to significant deaths and refugee crises.
About 3 million people died as a result of the Khmer Rouge regime.
In 1978, the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia, ending Pol Pot's reign of terror.
Tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees crossed the border into Thailand.
Similar circumstances unfolded in Laos, where the Hmong and Laotians became war refugees.

Refugee Act of 1980

Congress passed the Refugee Act of 1980, adopting the UN definition of refugees as persons seeking shelter outside their country due to well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group, or political opinion.
The Act also provided funds to states for refugee-related expenses and authorized Congress to establish annual quotas on refugees.
Since 1975, over 1.4 million Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the United States out of a total of 2.4 million refugees.

Betwixt and Between: Liminality

The term "betwixt and between" refers to the liminal space where individuals are not fully accepted by either culture, resulting in a sense of being suspended between cultures.

Examples of Liminality

Vu Pao Cha: A Hmong individual who believes he is living an American life but finds it hard to consider himself a genuine American due to racism.
Tang Zhou Nguyen: A person who is part Euro-American and part Vietnamese, who is rejected by his Vietnamese girlfriend's family because they retain the Vietnamese prejudice against so-called Amerasians.
Grocery Shopping: The store can be