Koreans: When And Why Did They Come? :: essays research papers

Koreans When and Why Did They Come?At the end of the 19th century the USA received its first refugees fromKorea, three pro-Japanese activists seeking exile after an abortive attemptto over throw the government. (Moynihan 45) They were followed by 64 studentsbetween 1890 and 1905 to purse further education in the USA. Between 1902 and1905, 7,000 Korean immigrants arrived in Hawaii. (Thernstrom) From 1903 to 1905,65 ships carrying 7,226 Koreans, particularise sail from Inchon for Honolulu. (Bandon 18)When each group arrived they settled on a sugar plantation. (Bandon 18) In 1907the US government refused to recognize the Korean passport. From that point on,any Korean entering the US had to have a Japanese passport. (Bandon 18) Thesedevelopments effectively ended almost all Korean immigration to Hawaii and theUS for forty years. many an(prenominal) of the Koreans came because of the sugar industry in Hawaii. It wasbooming and plantations needed more workers than the native population c ouldsupply. (Moynihan 45) At this time, rumors spread among the plantation ownersthat Koreans were more industrious then both the Chinese or the Japanese.After consulting with the US ambassador to Korea, recruiters became journeyingto the peninsulas. (Moynihan 45)The Hawaii Sugar Planters Association struck a deal with David Declare,who was paid five dollars for either laborer he lured to the Hawaiian Islands.(Moynihan 45) Deshler even offered unsuspecting Koreans loans of $100 so theycould travel to Hawaii and get settled. (Moynihan 45)Despite their distrust of Western ways and people, Koreans of archaeozoic1900s found terms of migration attractive a monthly wage of $15, free housing,health care, English lessons, and the predominately warm Hawaiian climate.(Moynihan 45) Recruiters in Korea used the upbeat slogan The country is open-go forward, which portrayed that Hawaii is a land of opportunity. (Moynihan 46)Like the Chinese and Japanese who were before the Koreans, found plan tationlife hard an unrewarding. (Moynihan 47) The immigrants were all in(p) by 10-hourwork days and 6-day work weeks. (Moynihan 48) Their exhaustion was not relatedby conditions on the plantation, which in variably included squalid housing,isolation and unretentive food. (Moynihan 48) One person described his experience as