Korea

History and Peoplehood of Korea

  • Migration from Western part of Asia

    • Oral language (Ural Altaic Language)

  • Chinese, Mongolian & Japanese Cultural & Genetic influence

  • Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism

  • Japanese did not get along with Koreans

Korea as a bridge between China (Central Asia) and Japan

  • Delivering Chinese culture and language to Japan

  • “Silk road” trade to Japan through Korea

Horyu-ji, Nara, Japan, 7th century

  • Role of Korea in shaping Japanese culture

Demise of Yi Dynasty (1390-1910)

  • Japan’s ambition to create “The Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere”

  • Japan’s defeating China in the late 19th century and Russia in 1905 (Russo-Japanese War)

  • Japan, an emerging major power in Asia

Korea’s Diplomacy with the US

  • Treaty of peace, amity, commerence, and navigation (Shufeldt treaty) in 1882

    • Free trade

    • Free migration

Korean Immigration to US

  • Korean elite class (Christians) to China and US since 1882

    • Koreans (Lee Sung-man) in the US influenced by US capitalism and political system

    • Koreans (Kim II-Sung) in China influenced by China’s communism and political system

  • Forced Labor in Japanese colonies of China and Russia 1910-1945

  • Coal mining, railroad work, timber work for Japanese military expansion towards China and Southeast Asia

  • Sugar cane farming was one of the more common jobs for Koreans in Hawaii

Korean Immigrants in Hawaii

  • 7000 Sugar Cane workers

  • Scab (strike breakers) against the Japanese

  • Japanese in Hawaii requested the Japanese government to ban Koreans from migrating to Hawaii

  • Korean Bachelor (“chonggak”) Society

    • Page law and the ladies’ agreement affected Koreans

    • Koreans’ Independence moment

  • Did not allow to marry white person

  • Negatively affected Chinese people

Korean Church in Hawaii and Mainland

  • Role of religion, socialization, education, employment

Koreans in California

  • Number was limited to 2000

  • Koreans were legally regarded as Japanese

Surrender of Japan in 1945 and crisis in Korea

  • Ideological division between North and South

  • Kim IIsung (N) in China vs Lee Sungman (S) in the US

Korean Civil War 1950-53

  • Caught between 2 powers during the Cold war era

  • North Korean supported by Soviet Union and China

  • South Korea supported by US

  • Refugee crisis: 20000 refugees in the US