KOREAN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES AS REFLECTED IN THE YEAR 2000 U.S. CENSUS Eui-Young Yu

http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/ckaks/census/KAPOPUL2000.pdf


KOREAN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES AS REFLECTED
IN THE YEAR 2000 U.S. CENSUS
Eui-Young Yu

California State University, Los Angeles
Korean American Coalition . Census Information Center

Introduction

The U.S. Census Bureau reported that there were 1,076,872 Koreans residing in the United States as of April 1, 2000. Population statistics for major racial groups and selected ethnic minorities have recently been released and are available on the census web site (http://www.census.gov) to the census tract level for all U.S. territories. Data on detailed demographic, social and economic characteristics have yet to be announced. The U.S. Census Bureau also published data on minority-owned firms by selected race and ethnic groups from the 1997 Economic Census. There were 135,571 Korean-owned firms in the United States as of 1997 according to the Economic Census. For the first time, major highlights of the characteristics of Korean-owned firms were made available. Furthermore, the Department of Justice has released detailed immigration statistics up to 1998 on the web site (http://www.ins.gov). Utilizing these recently published statistics, this paper attempts to highlight basic characteristics of the Korean population in the United States as of the year 2000.

Immigration

Immigration of Koreans to the United States is a phenomenon of the twentieth century. The history of Koreans in America has been charted by political and economic conditions in the United States as well as in Korea, racial dynamics in the United States, and the very characteristics of the immigrants themselves. Some 7,000 Koreans were recruited and brought to Hawaii as plantation laborers, from January 1903 to July 1907.1 Most of these immigrants were young bachelors. They were brought in to meet the labor demand on the Hawaiian plantations after a series of laws barring Chinese labor immigration were enacted. The frequent strikes by Japanese laborers in Hawaii and rising anti-Asian.

This is a revised version of a paper presented to the Population Association of Korea Annual Meeting in Seoul, Korea, December 1, 2001. Acknowledgement is extended to Peter Choe for his assistance in data analysis and manuscript editing, and Kimberly Yu for her contribution to mapping.

sentiments in California also discouraged Japanese immigration; and, plantation owners were looking for alternate sources of immigrant labor.2 Before the door was completely closed in 1924, approximately 1,100 Korean picture brides were brought in.3 These brides were better educated than their male partners, and brought life and hope to the predominantly bachelor community. They led their husbands from Hawaiian farms to Honolulu and California, and actively took part in church activities and independence movements to free their homeland from Japanese colonial rule.4

Students and political exiles constituted the third group of Koreans who landed on the American shores in earlier times. Between 1899 and 1909, 64 students arrived. About 540 political exiles came by way of China or Europe without passports between 1910 and 1924.5 Approximately 289 Korean students arrived with passports issued by the Japanese government between 1921 and 1940.6 These political exiles and students provided a significant leadership role to the pre-World War II Korean American community. Syngman Rhee and Ahn Chang Ho are well known examples.

Between 1924 and 1945, no Korean immigrants were admitted to the U.S. The federal immigration laws legislated in 1924 completed barred immigration from Asian countries. The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service did not start to compile Korean immigration statistics until 1948. Nevertheless, this small group belonging to the first-wave of Korean immigrants organized a strong community, and actively participated in the independence movement for Korea.About 1,000 Koreans of the first wave immigrants eventually returned to Korea according to the anecdotal documents of early Korean organizations. Due to a great imbalance of the sex ratio and anti-miscegenation laws of the time, many of the first wave immigrants stayed single throughout their lives. As a result, the Korean population in the United States did not grow much until 1950. The number probably was around 10,000. They were mostly concentrated in Hawaii and California.
American intervention in the Korean War triggered the second wave of Korean immigration. American soldiers stationed in Korea brought Korean brides, arranged adoption of war-orphans to American homes, and sponsored students to come to the United States. Between 1951 and 1964, approximately 6,500 brides, 6,300 adopted children, and 6,000 students came to this country.7 These three groups have been a significant component of the Korean immigration to the United States ever since. The number of Koreans who have immigrated to this country as adopted children, or brides of Americans since the Korean War reaches more than 100,000 respectively.8 For example, the 6,150 adopted children who came from Korea in 1987 constituted 59 percent of the total adoptions in American homes from abroad in that year.9 The number of Korean children adopted in America, however, has declined sharply since 1989 due to a rise in anti-foreignadoption sentiment in Korea10 as well as due to a general decline of immigration to the United States.
As a by-product of the civil rights movements of the l950s and 1960s and due to changing dynamics of international relations, major changes were instituted in the U.S. immigration laws in 1965. The national origin quota system based on race was abolished. As a result, for the first time Koreans were able to immigrate to the United States as families. Until this time, Korean immigrants were mostly individuals of special quality, laborers, students, picture brides, war brides, and orphans. After 1965, students-turned professionals were able to apply for permanent residence visas in the United States under provisions of the new immigration law. Between 1965 and 1970, they were a major component of Korean immigration. Subsequently, these professionals and wives of U.S. servicemen petitioned for their spouses, siblings, and parents to immigrate as well. Therefore, since 1970, close relatives of the permanent residents, or citizens, have become an overwhelming majority of the Korean immigrants coming to America.
The number of Korean immigrants to the United States has increased rapidly since the Korean War. Only 107 Koreans were admitted as immigrants between 1941 and 1950, as shown in Table 1.11 During the next decade, 6,231 Koreans were admitted d. The number jumped to 34,526 between 1961 and 1970, constituting 1.04% of the total immigrants admitted to the United States. The number of Korean immigrants admitted during the 1971-80 period exponentially grew to 267,638. These Koreans constituted 6% of the total immigrants admitted to the U.S. in that decade, and ranked third in number surpassed only by the Mexicans and the Filipinos. Korean immigration peaked during the next decade of 1981-1990, when 333,746 Koreans were admitted, constituting 4.6 percent of the total immigrants and ranking fourth after Mexico, the Philippines, and China. The number of annual admittance, however, has steadily declined after reaching its peak of 35,849 in 1987. The number of Korean immigrants admitted in 1998 was only 13,691, one of the lowest levels recorded since 1972. The 136,651 Koreans admitted between 1991 and 1998 represent 1.8 percent of the 7,605,068 immigrants admitted to the U.S. Korea’s numerical ranking dropped sharply to fourteenth. As a whole, a total of 778,899 Korean immigrants were admitted to the United States between 1941 and 1998. This number accounts for about three percent of the total immigrants admitted to the U.S. during this period. The number for Korean immigrants between 1941 and 1998 is about three times greater than the 240,095 Japanese immigrants, and a little more than one-half of 1,278,154 Chinese immigrants admitted. The volume of Korean immigration has far exceeded that of Japanese immigration since the 1971-80 decade. Now, Korean residents far outnumber Japanese residents in the United States. While Korean immigration to the U.S. has slowed substantially since 1987, the volume of Chinese immigration has remained at a high level. In 1998, China, together with Hong Kong, ranked second to Mexico in the total number of immigrants admitted to the United States.

The steady and substantial inflow of immigration from Korea has accelerated the size of the Korean population in the United States. It increased from about 70,000 in 1970 to 355,000 in 1980. The number reached to 799,000 in 1990. As of the year 2000, the Korean population rose to approximately 1,077,00012 . During the last thirty-year period, the Korean population in the United States increased by more than 15 fold. As shown in Table 2, the Korean population grew 35% between 1990 and 2000, while the U.S. total population increased only 13%. The estimated 164,362 Korean immigrants admitted during this decade accounted for 59% of the total increase of 278,024 Koreans between 1990 and 2000.
During the 1990-2000 decade, the Asian population as a whole grew 48%, second to the Hispanic population growth rate of 58%. On the other hand, the White population grew only six percent, showing the lowest growth rate among the major racial groups. Among Asians, Asian Indians grew fastest, doubling their numbers between 1990 and 2000. The Vietnamese and the Chinese also grew faster than the Koreans. During this decade, the numbers of immigrants from these three countries were much higher than that of Koreans, respectively. The Japanese are the only Asian group that showed a decline in numbers during the decade. The decline of the Japanese population is in part due to a high out-marriage of the second and subsequent generations, a relatively small volume of immigration in recent years, and the new definition of ethnicity applied by the 2000 Census, as explained in the following section.

Three Categories of Koreans
The 2000 Census questionnaire included an option of choosing one or more racial and/or ethnic categories for one’s own subjective identity. It was the first census that allowed individuals to self-identify with more than one ethnicity and/or race. Based on this information, three separate categories for selected racial and ethnic groups were tabulated: 1) persons belonging to one racial/ethnic category only; 2) persons belonging to one or more ethnic categories within one race; and 3) persons in combination with one or more other races. The mixed-heritage persons belong to two or more ethnic and/or racial groups and their numbers should be used with caution, especially for comparative analysis, because categories containing these individuals may not be mutually exclusive. The 2000 Census revealed that 6.8 million people, or 2.4 percent of the total U.S. population, reported more than one race. By region, the West showed the highest proportion of its population (4.3%) reporting more than one race. It was followed by 2.3 percent in the Northeast, 1.8 percent in the South and 1.6 percent in the Midwest. By state, Hawaii ranked highest in the proportion of the population reporting more than one race (21%), followed by Alaska (5.4%), California (4.7%) and Oklahoma (4.5%).13
If Koreans mixed with other ethnicities, and/or races, are included in the tally, the size of U.S. Koreans is 1,228,427 instead of 1,076,872. The latter number is ordinarily used to represent the size of the Korean population in the United States, since it “only” represents members of a mutually exclusive ethnic category. The three categories of Koreans are presented in Table 3. The total number of ethnically, and/or racially, mixed Koreans accounts for 12.34% of all types of Koreans. The multi-ethnic Koreans mixed with other Asians are 22,550, which account for 1.84% of all Koreans. The multi-racial Koreans number 129,005, accounting for 10.50% of all Koreans. Altogether, 151,555 persons are identified as Koreans with multiple ethnic and/or racial heritages. The Korean’s rate of mixing with other ethnic or racial groups (12.34%) is among the lowest of the 15 Asian groups presented in the table. The rates of ethnic and/or racial mixing among Vietnamese (8.27%) and Hmongs (9.06%), a majority of whom are more recent immigrants than Koreans, are even lower than that of Koreans. On the other hand, the Japanese, with a substantially high proportion of U.S.- born second, third, and fourth generation descendants, show one of the highest rates of racial/ethnic mixing among Asians. Ethnically or racially mixed persons account for 30.66% of all people of Japanese heritage, 4.83% mixed with other Asians and 25.82% with other races. Among the Chinese, mixed-heritage persons constitute 15.52%, 5.03% mixed with other Asians and 10.49% with other races.
The percent of multi-ethnic and/or racial Koreans varies greatly from state to state. As seen in Table 4, such a rate is the highest for Koreans in Hawaii. Many of the U.S.-born descendants of the first-wave Koreans who immigrated at the turn of the twentieth century still live in Hawaii and their out-marriage rate is known to be very high.14 Thus, 43% of all persons of Korean heritage in Hawaii are found to be persons of mixed ethnic and/or racial heritage--14.5% mixed with other Asians, and 28.6% with other races. The proportion of the mixed heritage persons among Koreans in Hawaii is even higher than that of the Japanese (32%).
In the continental United States, states with a relatively small number of Koreans such as North Dakota, Idaho, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Oklahoma tend to show a high percentage of mixed-heritage Koreans. More than a quarter of all Koreans in these states are ethnically or racially mixed people. Korean women married to American soldiers and Korean children adopted to American homes have been a significant component of Korean immigration since the Korean War and they tend to settle all over the United States.15 Children born to these Koreans apparently raised the rate of multiple heritage persons in these states. On the other hand, states with a relatively large number of Koreans such as California, New York, New Jersey, and Maryland show a relatively low rate of mixed-heritage Koreans. These are also the states where a large number of more recent immigrant families have settled. In these states, persons of mixed-heritage constitute less than 8% of all Koreans. Propinquity is apparently a factor here. As people of a common ethnic heritage share a vicinity, the higher the chances that they will meet and marry with one
another. There is a significant negative association between the population size and the rate of ethnic and/or racial mixing among Koreans for the states. When all states are included, the scatter diagram shows an “L”-shaped curvilinear negative association as featured in Figure 1. The linearity of association stands out if California, New York (the two most populous states with recent Korean immigrants) and Hawaii (the state with the highest proportion of the descendants of the earlier Korean immigrants) are eliminated as shown in Figure 2. That is, among the states with less than 100,000 Koreans, the negative linearity of association is clear. The number 100,000 appears to be a threshold above which a relatively high rate of in-marriage may be maintained regardless of the variation in population size.
Figure 1
Scatter Diagram Between Korean Population Size and Proportion of Multi-Ethnic/Racial Koreans for All States and Puerto Rico, 2000








VAR00002
R = -0.427 VAR00002 . Korean Population Size VAR00003 . Proportion of Multi-Ethnic and/or Racial Koreans
Figure 2
Scatter Diagram Between Korean Population Size and Proportion of Multi-Ethnic/Racial Koreans for All States Except California, New York, and Hawaii, 2000

-10000 0 10000 20000 30000 40000 50000 60000 70000
VAR00002
R = -0.698 VAR00002 . Korean Population Size VAR00003 . Proportion of Multi-Ethnic and/or Racial Koreans
Distribution
Koreans, like other East Asians, have traditionally been concentrated in the Western region of the United States. Hawaii and California had been homes to the great majority of Koreans until the 1950s. The Western region still dominates the number of Korean residents. As shows in Table 5, 44% of the Koreans in the U.S., in contrast to 22% for the general population, were counted in the Western states, as of 2000. Nevertheless, the pattern of geographic distribution has changed significantly since the 1960s; Koreans have been quicker than other Asians to disperse themselves across the wider regions of the United States. They are visible in most of the metropolitan areas all over the United States. Travelers are likely to find, at least, one or more Korean churches with a Hangul post in most metropolitan cities in America. The 2000 Census revealed that 23% of Koreans are located in the Northeast, 12% in the Midwest and 21% in the South. For the general population, the percentage shares are 19% in the Northeast, 21% in the Midwest, and 36% in the South.
As compared with other Asians, Koreans are under-represented in the West and over-represented in the South. The 2000 Census counted 73% of the Japanese, 68% of the Filipinos, 50% of the Vietnamese, and 49% of the Chinese in the Western states, in comparison with 44% for Koreans. Contrarily, the Korean’s presence in the South is much higher than other Asians. Twenty-one percent of the Koreans were found in Southern states whereas only 10% of the Japanese, 14% of the Chinese, and 13% of the Filipinos were located in the region. Meanwhile, 55% of the Black population and 34% of the White population were counted in the South.
Between 1990 and 2000, Southern states showed the highest increase rate of the Korean population, 46%. Midwestern states showed the lowest rate of growth with 21%. The West showed a 34% increase of Koreans and the Northeast a 35% increase. The percentage shares of Koreans in the four regions, however, remained about the same between 1990 and 2000 as presented in Table 6.
Koreans are mostly urban dwellers. They live in large metropolitan areas and a great majority of them live in the suburbs. As shown in Table 7, 96% of Koreans in the United States are found in metropolitan areas and only four percent are found outside metropolitan areas. In contrast, 80% of the general population resides in metropolitan areas and 20% live outside. Korean immigration to the United States since 1965 has been typically an urban-tourban migration,16 from large urban centers of South Korea to large metropolitan areas of the United States, and this popular pattern of urban living in the United States is well expected.
Within metropolitan areas, more Koreans (57%) live in the suburbs than in the central cities (40%). The rate of suburbanization for Koreans is one of the highest among major racial/ethnic groups presented in Table 7. Asian Indians are the only group in the table with a higher percentage of population living in metropolitan suburbs (59%). For the general population, about 50% live in the suburbs, while 30% live in central cities. For the white population the ratio of suburb . city living is 54% versus 24%. For the Japanese, the distribution is 50% in the suburbs and 41% in the central cities. For the Chinese, the percentage is reversed - 48% in the suburbs and 49% in the central cities. Blacks are largely city dwellers, 53% living in the central cities and 33% in the suburbs. Likewise, more Latinos live in central cities (47%) than in the suburbs (45%). The high rate of residential suburbanization for Koreans is in part due to their relatively high levels of educational achievement and earnings as shown in the 1990 U.S. census17 as well as in other community surveys18. Asian Indians as a group also exhibit one of the highest income and educational achievement levels in the United States. Finding a good school for their children is one of the most important factors that Korean parents would consider in looking for a neighborhood to settle down and they seem to prefer the suburban setting for their children’s education.
Although Koreans generally live in large metropolitan areas, they are especially concentrated in the largest-size areas as shown in Table 8. The largest numbers of Koreans are found in the Southern California metropolitan region called Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange-San Bernardino-Ventura, CA Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA). More than a quarter million (257,975) Koreans living in this five-county area constitute nearly one-fourth of Koreans in the United States. The next largest area of Korean concentration is the metropolitan conglomerate encompassing New York City and surrounding metropolitan areas of New York, Northern New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. More than 170,000 Koreans who live here constitute 16% of the Koreans in the United States. Forty percent of all Koreans in the U.S. are found in these two metropolitan regions. As seen in Table 8, 72% of Koreans in the U.S. live in the 13 large metropolitan areas. Each of these areas has at least 10,000 Koreans.
The dynamic nature of population redistribution becomes clearer when we look at changes among states and cities. Table 9 shows the distribution of Koreans by state between 1990 and 2000. California continues to be the state with the largest number of Koreans. During this decade, the Korean population in California grew 33%, similar to the growth rate for Koreans in the nation, 35%. Thus California’s share of the total Korean population was about one-third, both in 1990 and in 2000. New York’s growth rate of the Korean population during this decade, 25%, was significantly lower than the national average, but still maintains the rank of second in size in 2000. Forty-three percent of Koreans are concentrated in these two states. Illinois was the third ranking state in size of Koreans in 1990, but their rank fell to fourth in 2000. This state’s Korean population increased 24% during this decade, much lower than the national average. On the other hand, New Jersey’s growth rate of the Korean population, 70%, was nearly twice as high as the national average becoming the third most populous state for Koreans in 2000. This was in part due to a heavy influx of Koreans to the New Jersey portion of suburbs included in the greater New York metropolitan area during the 1990s.
The fact that the two most populous states for Koreans, California and New York, contain 43% of all Koreans, as well as the fact that three-quarters of the total Korean population are concentrated in just 10 states, suggests that Koreans experience a relatively high degree of geographic concentration. Nevertheless, these rates are not as high as other Asian groups. Chinese and Japanese, for example, show a much higher degree of geographic concentration. California and New York are the two most populous states for the Chinese as well, representing 57% of the total Chinese population in the
U.S. Furthermore, California and Hawaii contain 62% of the total Japanese population.
During the 1990s, the Southern states showed the highest rates of increase for Koreans than in any other region. The Korean population in Georgia experienced the highest increase rate, 88%, among all 50 states. The high growth rate was particularly noticed among states on the Atlantic coastal region. Six (Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Delaware, Florida, Virginia) of the 10 fastest growing states for the Korean population were in the South. Thus, in 2000, approximately 21% of Koreans in the United States were residing in the southern states. This percentage was much higher than the Chinese and Japanese presence in this region, about 14% and 10%, respectively.
Koreans’ tendency for dispersed clustering is more evident in local areas as shown in Map 1. For example, in Los Angeles County, where 17% of all Koreans in the U.S. are situated, there are six distinct areas where Koreans are concentrated: 1) Koreatown, 2) the Diamond Bar.Rowland Heights-Walnut area, 3) the Downey-Cerritos-La Mirada area, 4) the Gardena-Torrance-Palos Verdes area, 5) the Glendale-La Crescenta-La Canada area, and 6) the Northridge area. Korean churches, Korean supermarkets, and many other types of Korean firms serving mainly their own ethnic clienteles are found in these areas. Koreans constitute a minority of the resident population in all of these areas, but most of the Koreans in Los Angeles County find their homes in one of these six areas. Koreans constitute a significant portion of the residential population in each of these areas. In Koreatown, Koreans constitute about 20% of its total population according to the 2000 Census. In the City of Cerritos, Koreans comprise 17% of the total population. In La Crescenta and La Canada, the Korean share is 14% and 11%, respectively. In Diamond Bar, it is 10% (Table 10). Koreatown, while being one of the major residential communities with 32% of the county’s Koreans, also plays a significant role as the central business district of the wider Korean community in Southern California.19 The other five clusters that are dispersed throughout the county serve as satellite communities. Most of the high-level service firms and organizations such as law firms, accounting firms, political and community associations serving Koreans are located in Koreatown. Between 1990 and 2000, Koreatown greatly expanded its boundary to upscale residential communities westward. The Korean population in Koreatown increased from 35,000 to 47,000 during this decade. The dispersed clustering pattern of Koreans exhibits a clear contrast to the Chinese pattern. Chinese are mostly concentrated in a single stretch of the vast county region extending from Monterey Park to Chino Hills.




Work
A frequent source of income for Koreans in the United States is undoubtedly the entrepreneurship of the small business. Surveys conducted in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Atlanta confirm that about one-third of the Korean immigrant householders engage in a self-owned business, about one-fifth in professional work, and the rest in other salaried occupations.20 A typical pattern in the l970s was for a newly arriving family to start a small business after a few years of work on assembly lines or with maintenance companies. Nowadays, many start business shortly after arrival thanks to the strong economy and liberalization of foreign exchange laws in Korea.
The recently published 1997 U.S. Economic Census provides detailed information regarding the status of business firms owned by minorities. It confirms many of the anecdotal pictures of Korean business patterns that have been reported in Korean newspapers. According to the Census reports, Asian and Pacific Islander-owned businesses totaled about 913,000, employed more than 2.2 million people, and generated $306.9 billion in revenues in 1977. The vast majority of Asian-and Pacific Islander-owned firms, 71%, were unincorporated businesses owned by individuals. Koreans are the third ranking group among Asians in terms of the number of firms owned in 1997 after the Chinese and the Asian Indians. But the ratio of the relative degree of concentration is the highest for Koreans among all minority ethnic/racial groups. The ratio of the proportion of business firms owned by an ethnic or racial group divided by the proportion of the same group’s population to the total U.S. population is 1.713 for Koreans, 1.467 for Japanese,
1.411 for Chinese, 1.335 for Asian Indians, 1.174 for Vietnamese, 0.615 for Filipinos,
0.459 for Hispanics and 0.315 for Blacks. The ratio of 1 indicates that the proportion of business ownership in one group is the same as its proportion of population in the nation. Korean’s ratio indicates that their business ownership is 71% higher than their share of population in the nation. The ratio for Blacks shows that their business ownership is 68% less than their share of population.
Korean business ownership varies greatly by type of industry. The Korean population constitutes only 0.38% of the U.S. population, but they own 1.49% of all retail trade firms in the United States. The 42,916 Korean-owned retail trade firms make up 32% of all business firms owned by the Koreans. Korean business concentration ratios are the highest in the apparel and accessory stores, food stores, and general merchandise stores. Koreans own more than 3% of each of these types of stores in the nation. As compared with their population share, Koreans own a high percentage of textile mills production, eating and drinking places, personal services, and local and interurban passenger transit services. These stores are ubiquitous in most of the cities. The high concentration of Koreans in these types of industries partly explains the relatively high degree of population dispersion for Koreans over wide regions as compared with other Asian groups. These firms are mostly labor intensive and family, or individually, operated businesses and the heavy concentration of Koreans in these areas also reflect their relatively short immigration history in this country. Similarly high concentration in these types of retail and personal services is also observed among Vietnamese, whose immigration history is more recent than that of Koreans.
Why do Koreans concentrate in small business? Profitability is one obvious reason. But the more important reason may be the feeling of mastery of his/her own work environment. One critical issue that Korean immigrants are facing is that of status inconsistency and the ensuing erosion of self-esteem. It has been shown that the most important factor in adult self-esteem is related to a person's occupation.21 A majority of Korean immigrants have college degrees and have held a respectable occupation before moving to America. Language difficulties and unfamiliarity with American culture prevent them from finding a satisfactory job commensurate with their education and work experience. They have to make a choice between working in a safe but less rewarding job environment and operating their own business in a risky and difficult environment. Running one's own business is difficult and risky, but gives psychological satisfaction for being one's own boss and a status of sajangnim (President). Many immigrants therefore opt for entrepreneurship.
Despite their relatively short tenure of experience in the United States, Korean business firms appear to be doing well as compared with other newcomers. As shown in Table 11, average annual sales and receipts per Korean-owned firm is $339,000 for the nation as a whole. This is less than those of the Japanese ($511,000), Chinese ($420,000), and Asian Indian ($405,000) firms, and is far less than the national average ($891,000) for all firms. But it is far higher than those of Hispanic ($155,000), Filipino ($131,000), Vietnamese ($95,000), and Black ($86,000)-owned firms. In terms of the number of employees, Korean firms also stand in the middle of the economic hierarchy. The data clearly show a middlemen minority status of Korean-owned firms in the American business structure, and a clear racial hierarchy existing in corporate America. Korean small businesses compete with others by working long hours, mobilizing ethnic resources and family labor.22 Husband and wife team up to operate the family owned business without vacations or weekends.23 Grown up children also help during the after-school hours. Not all Korean businesses are located in multi-ethnic impoverished neighborhoods. Like their residential pattern, Korean businesses tend to scatter over wide areas. They are found in suburban as well as in inner city areas. In fact, the 2000 Census found an increase of Koreans both in suburbs and in central cities of metropolitan areas
Epilogue
Koreans enthusiastically responded to the drastic liberalization of U.S. immigration laws in the 1960s, and for the first time in Korea’s history, large numbers of Koreans moved to the United States. The number of Koreans in America has increased at an accelerated rate during the 1970s and 1980s, and now has reached more than one million in number. Koreans have become a visible and significant minority in this multi-ethnic and multi-cultural nation. This hard-working, highly educated, and actively organized ethnic community is increasing its stake in the American society. The impact will be tremendous when the second-generation Koreans reach a mature adulthood shortly. As the Korean stake in political and economical affairs is reaching the significant threshold of becoming a viable participant in the American community, the volume of Korean immigration appears to have prematurely slowed down. The population size has a significant bearing not only to the political empowerment of those Koreans who live in the United States, but also on the country they left behind. In this closely tied global village, the number of Koreans, Japanese and Chinese people living in the United States has a significant affect on the bilateral and multilateral relationships among Korea, China, and Japan. This significance will only increase in the future. In light of the ever-increasing tide of Chinese immigration to the United States and a significant decline in Korean immigration to the United States, it may be an appropriate time to revisit the proactive emigration policies of the 1960s and 1970s for public debate and policy concern.
During a relatively short period of American life, Korean immigrants have concentrated in building an economic base for themselves and for their children. Two principal factors related to their residential location appear to be the business opportunity and quality of education. They aggressively look for profitable business opportunities and good schools for their children. These areas range from the poor central city minority ghettos as well as to middle class metropolitan suburbs. They co-mingle both with the poor and wealthy, as well as with the majority and the minority. The results of the 2000 Population Census and 1997 Economic Census released so far appear to demonstrate a significant relationship between the strong upward mobility of Koreans, and their population redistribution pattern. The data also show an effect of multi-racial and multi-cultural living on the identity of Korean ethnicity. Already significant numbers of Koreans are multi-ethnic and multi-racial persons. Such persons will steadily increase as the main generation of the Korean population gradually shifts to second and succeeding generations as the Japanese experience clearly demonstrates. Detailed data on social and economic characteristics from the 2000 Census are soon to be released and will reveal more detailed information on social and economic life patterns of Koreans in the United States.
Table 1
Number of Immigrants Admitted to the United States by Selected Countries of Last
Residence, 1820-1998

Year of Total Immigrants from
Immigratio Immigrants Korea Japan China
n
Number Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
1941-50 1035039 107 0.01% 1555 0.15% 16709 1.61%
1951-60 2515479 6231 0.25% 46250 1.84% 25198 1.00%
1961-70 3321677 34526 1.04% 39988 1.20% 109771 3.30%
1971-80 4493314 267638 5.96% 49775 1.11% 237793 5.29%
1981-90 7338062 333746 4.55% 47085 0.64% 444962 6.06%
1991-98 7605068 136651 1.80% 55442 0.73% 443721 5.83%
Total: 41 26308639 778899 2.96% 240095 0.91% 1278154 4.86%
98
Total:
1820-1998 64599082 778899 1.21% 517686 0.80% 1660327 2.57%

Source: Statistical Yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1997, 1998,
Table 2.
Notes: 1. Korean statistics on immigration were not reported separately until
1948.

2.
China includes Taiwan beginning in 1957.

3.
Hong Kong is included in China for all years.


Table 2
Population in the United States by Race/Ethnicity, 1990 - 2000
1990 Number Percent 2000 Number Percent 1990 . 2000 Percent
Change
TOTAL 248,709,873 100.00 281,421,906 100.00 13.15
WHITE 199,686,070 80.29 211,460,626 75.14 5.90

BLACK
HISPANIC/ LATINO
ASIAN Korean Asian Indian Chinese Filipino Japanese Vietnamese
PACIFIC ISLANDER
29,986,060 12.06 34,658,190 12.32 15.58
22,354,059 8.99 35,305,818 12.55 57.94
6,908,638 2.77 10,242,998 3.64 48.26
798,848 0.32 1076872 0.38 34.80
815,447 0.33 1,678,765 0.60 105.87
1,645,472 0.66 2,435,585 0.86 47.84
1,406,770 0.57 1,850,314 0.66 31.53
847,562 0.34 796,700 0.28 -6.00
614,547 0.25 1,122,528 0.40 82.66
365,024 0.15 398,835 0.14 9.26

Notes: 1. Hispanic/Latino is not a racial category. It may encompass one or more races and/or ethnicity. Therefore, the sum of our population figures may exceed 100%.
2. The data on race and ethnicity reflect only single race members. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Census, 1990, 2000
Table 3 Asian Population by Three Categories for Selected Groups, 2000
Asian Percent Percent Percent
Alone
Asian or Mixed Asian Asian Asian
Alone Mixed
or Mixed with Other Percent Mixed with Mixed with with
Other
Asian with Asian or Asian Other Other Asian or
Alone Other Other Race Alone Asian Race Other
Asian Race
Total Asian 10019410 10474184 12275972 81.62% 3.70% 14.68% 18.38%
Asian Indian 1678765 1718778 1899599 88.37% 2.11% 9.52% 11.63%
Bangladeshi 41280 46905 57412 71.90% 9.80% 18.30% 28.10%
Cambodian 171937 183769 206052 83.44% 5.74% 10.81% 16.56%
Chinese 2432585 2577507 2879636 84.48% 5.03% 10.49% 15.52%
Filipino 1850314 1908125 2364815 78.24% 2.44% 19.31% 21.76%
Hmong 169428 174712 186310 90.94% 2.84% 6.23% 9.06%
Indonesian 39757 44186 63073 63.03% 7.02% 29.94% 36.97%
Japanese 796700 852237 1148932 69.34% 4.83% 25.82% 30.66%
Korean 1076872 1099422 1228427 87.66% 1.84% 10.50% 12.34%
Laotian 168707 179103 198203 85.12% 5.25% 9.64% 14.88%
Malaysian 10590 15029 18566 57.04% 23.91% 19.05% 42.96%
Pakistani 153533 164628 204309 75.15% 5.43% 19.42% 24.85%
Sri Lankan 20245 21364 24587 82.34% 4.55% 13.11% 17.66%
Thai 112989 120918 150283 75.18% 5.28% 19.54% 24.82%

Vietnamese 1122528 1169672 1223736 91.73% 3.85% 4.42% 8.27% Other Asian 26310 31383 52602 50.02% 9.64% 40.34% 49.98% Not Specified 146870 166446 369430 39.76% 5.30% 54.95% 60.24%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Population Census.
Table 4

Korean Population in the United States by Three Categories for All States, 2000
Korean Korean Percent Percent Percent Alone Alone or Korean Korean Korean or Mixed Mixed Mixed Mixed Mixed with with With Percent with with Other Korean Other Other Korean Other Other Asian or State Alone Asian Asian or Alone Asian Race Race

Race
Hawaii 23537 29531 41352 56.92% 14.50% 28.59% 43.08%North 411 414 614 66.94% 0.49% 32.57% 33.06%DakotaIdaho 1250 1278 1841 67.90% 1.52% 30.58% 32.10%Puerto Rico 244 249 354 68.93% 1.41% 29.66% 31.07%New Mexico 1791 1818 2525 70.93% 1.07% 28.00% 29.07%Arkansas 1550 1573 2113 73.36% 1.09% 25.56% 26.64%Oklahoma 5074 5148 6882 73.73% 1.08% 25.20% 26.27%Maine 875 891 1184 73.90% 1.35% 24.75% 26.10%South 584 590 787 74.21% 0.76% 25.03% 25.79%DakotaMississippi 1334 1363 1796 74.28% 1.61% 24.11% 25.72%Montana 833 847 1109 75.11% 1.26% 23.62% 24.89%Wyoming 412 414 548 75.18% 0.36% 24.45% 24.82%Utah 3473 3577 4609 75.35% 2.26% 22.39% 24.65%Alabama 4116 4162 5401 76.21% 0.85% 22.94% 23.79%South 3665 3731 4808 76.23% 1.37% 22.40% 23.77%CarolinaKentucky 3818 3865 5003 76.31% 0.94% 22.75% 23.69%Arizona 9123 9324 11936 76.43% 1.68% 21.88% 23.57%Vermont 669 682 874 76.54% 1.49% 21.97% 23.46%Kansas 4529 4596 5887 76.93% 1.14% 21.93% 23.07%West 857 867 1108 77.35% 0.90% 21.75% 22.65%VirginiaNevada 7554 7858 9608 78.62% 3.16% 18.21% 21.38%Missouri 6767 6862 8568 78.98% 1.11% 19.91% 21.02%Nebraska 2423 2471 3066 79.03% 1.57% 19.41% 20.97%Louisiana 2876 2930 3628 79.27% 1.49% 19.24% 20.73%Ohio 13376 13598 16709 80.05% 1.33% 18.62% 19.95%Alaska 4573 4644 5687 80.41% 1.25% 18.34% 19.59%New 1800 1818 2238 80.43% 0.80% 18.77% 19.57%HampshireFlorida 19139 19436 23790 80.45% 1.25% 18.30% 19.55%Indiana 7502 7587 9315 80.54% 0.91% 18.55% 19.46%
Tennessee 7396 7496 9166 80.69% 1.09% 18.22% 19.31%Colorado 16395 16701 20304 80.75% 1.51% 17.75% 19.25%North 12600 12764 15438 81.62% 1.06% 17.32% 18.38%CarolinaWisconsin 6800 6868 8316 81.77% 0.82% 17.41% 18.23%Minnesota 12584 12771 15255 82.49% 1.23% 16.28% 17.51%Washington 46880 47947 56438 83.06% 1.89% 15.04% 16.94%Oregon 12387 12624 14900 83.13% 1.59% 15.28% 16.87%Texas 45571 46244 54300 83.92% 1.24% 14.84% 16.08%Iowa 5063 5115 6013 84.20% 0.86% 14.93% 15.80%Rhode 1560 1581 1821 85.67% 1.15% 13.18% 14.33%IslandDistrict of 1095 1127 1273 86.02% 2.51% 11.47% 13.98%ColumbiaMichigan 20886 21119 24255 86.11% 0.96% 12.93% 13.89%Delaware 1991 2014 2286 87.10% 1.01% 11.90% 12.90%Connecticut 7064 7179 8110 87.10% 1.42% 11.48% 12.90%Georgia 28745 29063 32660 88.01% 0.97% 11.01% 11.99%Massachus 17369 17610 19469 89.21% 1.24% 9.55% 10.79%ettsVirginia 45279 45783 50468 89.72% 1.00% 9.28% 10.28%Pennsylvani 31612 31933 34984 90.36% 0.92% 8.72% 9.64%
aIllinois 51453 52105 56021 91.85% 1.16% 6.99% 8.15%California 345882 352742 375571 92.09% 1.83% 6.08% 7.91%Maryland 39155 39548 42335 92.49% 0.93% 6.58% 7.51%New York 119846 121258 127068 94.32% 1.11% 4.57% 5.68%New Jersey 65349 65955 68990 94.72% 0.88% 4.40% 5.28%Total 1077117 1099671 1228781 87.66% 1.84% 10.51% 12.34%
Table 5
Distribution of Population by Region and by Race/Ethnicity, 2000
(Number in 1000)
Northeast Midwest South West Total
N% N% N%N% N%
Total Pop 53594 19.04 64393 22.88 100237 35.62 63198 22.46 281422 100.00 White 41534 19.64 53834 25.46 72819 34.44 43274 20.46 211461 100.00 Black 6100 17.60 6500 18.75 18983 54.77 3077 8.88 34658 100.00 Am 163 6.57 399 16.13 726 29.32 1188 47.98 2476 100.00 Indian Asian 2119 20.69 1198 11.69 1922 18.77 5004 48.85 10243 100.00 As Indian 554 33.02 293 17.45 441 26.25 391 23.28 1679 100.00 Chinese 692 28.44 212 8.72 343 14.08 1186 48.76 2433 100.00 Filipino 202 10.92 151 8.16 245 13.22 1253 67.70 1850 100.00 Japanese 76 9.58 63 7.91 77 9.72 580 72.78 797 100.00 Korean 246 22.86 132 12.29 224 20.83 474 44.02 1077 100.00 Vietname 115 10.29 107 9.53 336 29.90 564 50.28 1123 100.00
se Other 233 18.15 239 18.60 257 20.01 556 43.23 1285 100.00 Asian Latino 5254 14.88 3125 8.85 11587 32.82 15341 43.45 35306 100.00
Note: Race/Ethnic categories do not add to the total population. Latino is not a race/ethnic category. It includes multiple race/ethnic categories.
Source: Table DP-1. Profile of General Demographic Characteristics: 2000
U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000
Table 6
Distribution of Koreans by Region, 1990 .2000
2000 1990 2000 Change : 1990
Region N % N % N %
Northeast Midwest South West U.S. Total 182,061 109,087 153,163 354,538 798,849 22.79% 13.66% 19.17% 44.38% 100.00% 1,076,87 246,144 132,378 224,260 474,090 2 22.86% 12.29% 20.83% 44.02% 100.00% 64,083 23,291 71,097 119,552 278,023 35.20% 21.35% 46.42% 33.72% 34.80%
Source: U. S. Bureau of the Census, Census 1990, Census 2000


Note: Northeast . Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania Midwest - Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas
South - Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
West - Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii
Table 7

Population Distribution by Metropolitan Status and Race/Ethnicity,
(Number in 1,000)
Inside Metropolitan Area Out Metro Total Total In Cent City Out Cent City
N% N% N%N% N% Total Pop 225982 80.30 85401 30.35 140581 49.95 55440 19.70 281422 100.0
0 White 164469 77.78 51221 24.22 113249 53.56 46991 22.22 211461 100.0 0 Black 29893 86.25 18414 53.13 11480 33.12 4765 13.75 34658 100.0 0 Am Indian 1421 57.40 622 25.10 800 32.30 1055 42.60 2476 100.0 0 Asian 9826 95.93 4566 44.57 5260 51.36 417 4.07 10243 100.0 0 As Indian 1626 96.83 629 37.49 996 59.34 53 3.17 1679 100.0 0 Chinese 2376 97.67 1200 49.33 1176 48.34 57 2.33 2433 100.0 0 Filipino 1749 94.53 759 41.04 990 53.49 101 5.47 1850 100.0 0 Japanese 725 90.99 326 40.86 399 50.12 72 9.01 797 100.0 0 Korean 1035 96.10 425 39.50 609 56.60 42 3.90 1077 100.0
0 Vietnames 1094 97.48 553 49.29 541 48.19 28 2.52 1123 100.0 e0 Other 1222 95.05 673 52.34 549 42.70 64 4.95 1285 100.0 Asian 0 Latino 32174 91.13 16459 46.62 15715 44.51 3132 8.87 35306 100.0
0
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Population Census 2000
Table 8

Korean Population in Selected Metropolitan Areas, 2000
Metropolitan Area Number Percen
t

Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange-San Bernardino-Ventura, 257,975 23.96California Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA)New York-North New Jersey-Long Island, New York, New Jersey, 170,509 15.83Connecticut, Pennsylvania CMSAWashington. D.C.-Baltimore, District of Columbia, Maryland, 74,454 6.91Virginia, West Virginia CMSASan Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, California CMSA 57,386 5.33Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, CMSA 46,256 4.30Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Washington CMSA 41,189 3.82Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 29,309 2.72Delaware, Maryland CMSAAtlanta, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) 22,317 2.07Honolulu, Hawaii MSA 21,681 2.01Dallas-Ft Worth, Texas CMSA 18,123 1.68Boston-Worcester-Lawrence, Massachusetts, 15,560 1.44New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, CMSASan Diego, CA MSA 12,004 1.11Houston-Galveston-Brazoria., Texas CMSA 10,341 0.96Total for 13 Metropolitan Areas 777,104 72.16
Total Koreans in the United States 1,076,872 100.00
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Note: With minimum 10000 Korean population
Table 9 Korean Population by State, 1990-2000
State 1990 2000
% Change
N % N % 1990-2000
California 259941 32.54% 345882 32.12% 33.06
New York 95648 11.97% 119846 11.13% 25.30
New Jersey 38540 4.82% 65349 6.07% 69.56
Illinois 41506 5.20% 51453 4.78% 23.97
Washington 29697 3.72% 46880 4.35% 57.86
Texas 31775 3.98% 45571 4.23% 43.42
Virginia 30161 3.78% 45279 4.20% 50.12
Maryland 30320 3.80% 39155 3.64% 29.14
Pennsylvania 26787 3.35% 31612 2.94% 18.01
Georgia 15275 1.91% 28745 2.67% 88.18
Hawaii 24454 3.06% 23537 2.19% -3.75
Michigan 16316 2.04% 20886 1.94% 28.01
Florida 12404 1.55% 19139 1.78% 54.30
Massachusetts 11744 1.47% 17369 1.61% 47.90
Colorado 11339 1.42% 16395 1.52% 44.59
Ohio 11237 1.41% 13376 1.24% 19.04
North Carolina 7267 0.91% 12600 1.17% 73.39
Minnesota 11576 1.45% 12584 1.17% 8.71
Oregon 8668 1.09% 12387 1.15% 42.90
Arizona 5863 0.73% 9123 0.85% 55.60
Nevada 4315 0.54% 7554 0.70% 75.06
Indiana 5475 0.69% 7502 0.70% 37.02
Tennessee 4508 0.56% 7395 0.69% 64.04
Connecticut 5126 0.64% 7064 0.66% 37.81
Wisconsin 5618 0.70% 6800 0.63% 21.04
Missouri 5731 0.72% 6767 0.63% 18.08
Oklahoma 4717 0.59% 5074 0.47% 7.57
Iowa 4618 0.58% 5063 0.47% 9.64
Alaska 4163 0.52% 4573 0.42% 9.85
Kansas 4016 0.50% 4529 0.42% 12.77
Alabama 3454 0.43% 4116 0.38% 19.17
Kentucky 2972 0.37% 3818 0.35% 28.47
South Carolina 2577 0.32% 3665 0.34% 42.22
Utah 2629 0.33% 3473 0.32% 32.10
Louisiana 2750 0.34% 2876 0.27% 4.58
Nebraska 1943 0.24% 2423 0.23% 24.70
Delaware 1229 0.15% 1991 0.18% 62.00
New Hampshire 1501 0.19% 1800 0.17% 19.92
New Mexico 1464 0.18% 1791 0.17% 22.34
Rhode Island 1294 0.16% 1560 0.14% 20.56
Arkansas 1037 0.13% 1550 0.14% 49.47

Mississippi 1123 0.14% 1334 0.12% 18.79 Idaho 935 0.12% 1250 0.12% 33.69
D. of Columbia 814 0.10% 1095 0.10% 34.52 Maine 858 0.11% 875 0.08% 1.98 West Virginia 777 0.10% 857 0.08% 10.30 Montana 668 0.08% 833 0.08% 24.70 Vermont 563 0.07% 669 0.06% 18.83 South Dakota 525 0.07% 584 0.05% 11.24 Wyoming 402 0.05% 412 0.04% 2.49 North Dakota 526 0.07% 411 0.04% -21.86 Total 798846 100.00% 1076872 100.00% 34.80
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 and Census 1990
Table 10
Korean Population by Cities and CDP’s, Los Angeles County, 1990-2000
1990 2000 % Change Cities/CDP N % Korean N % Korean 1990-00
Los Angeles city 72970 2.09% 91595 2.48% 25.52%Glendale city 9445 5.25% 12504 6.41% 32.39%Torrance city 5888 4.42% 9481 6.87% 61.02%Cerritos city 6513 12.23% 8938 17.36% 37.23%Diamond Bar city 2559 4.77% 5580 9.91% 118.05%Rowland Heights CDP 2469 5.79% 3730 7.68% 51.07%Gardena city 2857 5.73% 3588 6.21% 25.59%Downey city 2999 3.28% 3255 3.03% 8.54%Hacienda Heights 2374 4.53% 2951 5.56% 24.30%CDPNorwalk city 2644 2.80% 2753 2.67% 4.12%La Crescenta-837 4.93% 2538 13.70% 203.23%Montrose CDPLa Mirada city 808 2.00% 2306 4.93% 185.40%La Canada Flintridge 1150 5.93% 2226 10.96% 93.57%cityBurbank city 1579 1.69% 2194 2.19% 38.95%Pasadena city 737 0.56% 2168 1.62% 194.17%Rancho Palos Verdes 1419 3.41% 2045 4.97% 44.12%cityArcadia city 1440 2.98% 1712 3.23% 18.89%Long Beach city 1489 0.35% 1608 0.35% 7.99%Lakewood city 986 1.34% 1594 2.01% 61.66%Hawthorne city 754 1.06% 1487 1.77% 97.21%Walnut city 1225 4.21% 1255 4.18% 2.45%Bellflower city 1552 2.51% 991 1.36% -36.15%Santa Clarita city 496 0.45% 964 0.64% 94.35%West Carson CDP 530 2.63% 934 4.42% 76.23%Monterey Park city 1220 2.01% 862 1.44% -29.34%South Pasadena city 354 1.48% 826 3.40% 133.33%Beverly Hills city 412 1.29% 824 2.44% 100.00%
Santa Monica city 542 0.62% 771 0.92% 42.25% Montebello city 996 1.67% 749 1.21% -24.80% Artesia city 253 1.64% 737 4.50% 191.30% Hawaiian Gardens 615 4.51% 732 4.95% 19.02% city West Covina city 807 0.84% 728 0.69% -9.79% Redondo Beach city 360 0.60% 691 1.09% 91.94% Alhambra city 835 1.02% 670 0.78% -19.76% Pomona city 526 0.40% 633 0.42% 20.34% Temple City city 699 2.25% 605 1.81% -13.45% Culver City city 560 1.44% 565 1.46% 0.89% Carson city 907 1.08% 559 0.62% -38.37% Claremont city 508 1.56% 517 1.52% 1.77%
Source: Bureau of the Census, Population Census, 1990, 2000 Note : Only those cities and CDP’s with at least 500 Koreans are included. CDP is Census Designated Place (unincorporated place within County).
Table 11

CHARACERISTICS OF BUSINESS FIRMS IN SELECTED AREAS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, 1997
Total Total Ave. Sales Ave. No.of Firms Sales/Receipts per Firm % of Firms Employees
($1,000) ($1,000) with/Empl. Per Firm
All Race United States 20821934 18553243047 891 25.43% 4.96 California 2565734 2178292213 849 24.10% 4.47
Black United States 823499 71214662 86 11.32% 0.87 California 79110 6395311 81 9.32% 0.71 LA . LB, CA PMSA 38277 3321671 87 8.78% 0.84 OC, CA PMSA 1702 278151 163 20.21% 1.04
Hispanic United States 1199896 186274582 155 17.66% 1.16 California 336405 51682136 154 14.93% 1.17 LA . LB, CA PMSA 136678 16245931 119 12.26% 0.98 OC, CA PMSA 24184 8662812 358 20.38% 3.13
Asian United States 912960 306932982 336 31.76% 2.41 California 316048 121565577 385 29.66% 2.52 LA . LB, CA PMSA 114462 55113170 481 32.85% 2.70 OC, CA PMSA 44840 14888741 332 28.04% 3.02
Asian Indian United States 166737 67503357 405 40.30% 2.94 California 34850 15294953 439 33.00% 1.90
LA-LB, CA PMSA 8672 6393393 737 43.52% 2.27 OC, CA PMSA 4969 1182636 238 34.23% 1.78
Chinese United States 252577 106196794 420 35.86% 2.74 California 105300 53128090 505 35.78% 3.10 LA . LB, CA PMSA 40352 22964040 569 39.44% 3.14 OC, CA PMSA 9169 3078901 336 1.83
Filipino United States 84534 11077885 131 17.25% 1.30 California 37818 4551879 120 14.94% 1.28 LA . LB, CA PMSA 12425 1956890 157 11.86% 2.28 OC, CA PMSA
Japanese United States 85538 43741051 511 27.25% 3.07 California 37525 18261047 487 28.42% 2.41 LA . LB, CA PMSA 16588 9247279 557 23.96% 1.57 Orange County, CA 4114 3212117 781 40.37% 3.49 PMSA
Korean United States 135571 45936497 339 36.94% 2.46 California 43465 20661034 475 30.04% 3.09 New York 20244 4618601 228 44.70% 1.68 LA . LB, CA PMSA 21777 11689329 537 37.52% 3.64 OC, CA PMSA 10002 4534620 453 13.04% 1.02
Vietnamese United States 97764 9322891 95 19.38% 0.81 California 35881 3071638 86 21.89% 0.69 LA . LB, CA PMSA 6207 518110 83 15.56% 0.77 OC, CA PMSA 12048 1075933 89 21.49% 0.74
SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census Note : LA - LB, CA PMSA ; Los Angeles-Long Beach California Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area
: OC - Orange County
Table 12
Business Concentration by Detailed Industry for Koreans and Chinese, 1997
Korean Chinese
Nation
Number Number PercentCon. Number Percent Con. Ratio Ratio
ALL INDUSTRIES Apparel and accessory stores Food stores General merchandise stores Apparel and other textile products Textile mill products Eating and drinking places Personal services Local and interurban passenger transit Wholesale trade . non-durable goods Leather and leather products Motion Pictures Transportation services Miscellaneous retail Hotels and other lodging places Business services Food and kindred products Educational services Wholesale trade - durable goods Sub-dividers and developers,
n.e.c Electronic and other electric equipment Health services Instruments and related products Auto repair, services, and parking Miscellaneous repair services Automotive dealers and service stations Communications Paper and allied products Furniture and home furnishings stores Printing and publishing Engineering and management services Amusement and recreation services Miscellaneous manufacturing industries Security and commodity brokers Petroleum and coal products Special trade contractors Primary metal industries Non-depository institutions Insurance agents, brokers, and service Depository institutions Services, n.e.c Chemicals and allied products manufacturing Industrial machinery and 85401 155 0.18% 0.48 327 0.38% 0.45 equipment Real estate 1503438 2697 0.18% 0.47 21439 1.43% 1.66 Building materials and garden 85060 146 0.17% 0.45 355 0.42% 0.49 supplies Transportation by air 20706 33 0.16% 0.42 46 0.22% 0.26 Rubber and miscellaneous 16296 25 0.15% 0.40 91 0.56% 0.65 plastics products manufacturing Legal services 353147 527 0.15% 0.39 1736 0.49% 0.57 Agricultural services 412852 611 0.15% 0.39 865 0.21% 0.24 Fabricated metal products 63141 85 0.13% 0.35 190 0.30% 0.35
32
20821934 135571 0.65% 1.71 252577 1.21% 1.41
127848 6317 4.94% 13.00 1922 1.50% 1.75
216067 10336 4.78% 12.59 6323 2.93% 3.40
35027 1269 3.62% 9.53 391 1.12% 1.30
54889 1884 3.43% 9.03 2854 5.20% 6.05
8213 226 2.75% 7.24 101 1.23% 1.43
493313 10182 2.06% 5.43 37614 7.62% 8.87
1348554 22619 1.68% 4.41 16932 1.26% 1.46
116993 1590 1.36% 3.58 3022 2.58% 3.00
309731 3727 1.20% 3.17 10352 3.34% 3.89
5251 54 1.03% 2.71 109 2.08% 2.41
87700 808 0.92% 2.42 938 1.07% 1.24
129652 1122 0.87% 2.28 2277 1.76% 2.04
1528857 12839 0.84% 2.21 11489 0.75% 0.87
93380 689 0.74% 1.94 1306 1.40% 1.63
2221046 15553 0.70% 1.84 21927 0.99% 1.15
30256 201 0.66% 1.75 686 2.27% 2.64
270648 1795 0.66% 1.75 3201 1.18% 1.38
489308 3176 0.65% 1.71 13010 2.66% 3.09
58362 343 0.59% 1.55 307 0.53% 0.61
28324 157 0.55% 1.46 381 1.35% 1.56
1004672 5362 0.53% 1.40 14153 1.41% 1.64
12423 64 0.52% 1.36 114 0.92% 1.07
448584 2202 0.49% 1.29 1634 0.36% 0.42
231371 1097 0.47% 1.25 1224 0.53% 0.62
255259 1202 0.47% 1.24 811 0.32% 0.37
61180 268 0.44% 1.15 377 0.62% 0.72
7186 30 0.42% 1.10 71 0.99% 1.15
153248 628 0.41% 1.08 1640 1.07% 1.24
119936 406 0.34% 0.89 914 0.76% 0.89
1446195 4575 0.32% 0.83 20548 1.42% 1.65
603896 1904 0.32% 0.83 2835 0.47% 0.55
65185 198 0.30% 0.80 468 0.72% 0.83
91446 271 0.30% 0.78 1081 1.18% 1.37
1434 4 0.28% 0.73 3 0.21% 0.24
1739060 4583 0.26% 0.69 4335 0.25% 0.29
7703 18 0.23% 0.61 14 0.18% 0.21
45905 101 0.22% 0.58 376 0.82% 0.95
411902 858 0.21% 0.55 3194 0.78% 0.90
24616 48 0.19% 0.51 78 0.32% 0.37
119931 232 0.19% 0.51 843 0.70% 0.82
10941 20 0.18% 0.48 92 0.84% 0.98

manu. Trucking and warehousing 544523 670 0.12% 0.32 1628 0.30% 0.35 Furniture and fixtures 28712 34 0.12% 0.31 88 0.31% 0.36 Stone, clay, and glass products 29262 34 0.12% 0.31 89 0.30% 0.35 General building contractors 472111 547 0.12% 0.30 1998 0.42% 0.49 Social services 665067 645 0.10% 0.26 2892 0.43% 0.51 Insurance carriers 9108 7 0.08% 0.20 21 0.23% 0.27 Holding and other investment 157652 116 0.07% 0.19 1424 0.90% 1.05 offices Fishing, hunting, and trapping 69271 49 0.07% 0.19 217 0.31% 0.36 Oil and gas extraction 115953 68 0.06% 0.15 117 0.10% 0.12 Transportation equipment 13673 8 0.06% 0.15 25 0.18% 0.21 Water Transportation 15788 9 0.06% 0.15 15 0.10% 0.11 Metal mining 1819 1 0.05% 0.14 8 0.44% 0.51 Coal mining 2242 1 0.04% 0.12withheld Forestry 14051 5 0.04% 0.09 0 0.00% 0.00 Heavy construction, except 64314 17 0.03% 0.07 63 0.10% 0.11 building Lumber and wood products 106569 21 0.02% 0.05 83 0.08% 0.09 Museums, botanical, zoological 5205 1 0.02% 0.05 1 0.02% 0.02 gardens Electric, gas, and sanitary 31345 6 0.02% 0.05 41 0.13% 0.15 services Nonmetallic minerals, except 6862 0 0.00% 0.00 0 0.00% 0.00 fuels Tobacco products 133 NA NA Pipelines, except natural gas 136 NA NA INDUSTRIES NOT CLASSIFIED 1480003 10156 0.69% 1.81 29026 1.96% 2.28
Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Economic Census, 1997 Note : Concentration Ratio is the proportion in each industry group divided by proportion of population for each race/ethnic group
NOTES
1 For a detailed political economic analysis of the early Korean immigration to Hawaii, see Wayne Patterson, The Korean Frontier in America: Immigration to Hawaii, 1896-1910 (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1988).
2 Starting with the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the U.S. Congress enacted a series of laws in order to exclude the Chinese from the United States and by 1900 Chinese were totally banned from entering the country including Hawaii. On the other hand, Japanese laborers in Hawaii organized themselves to demand their rights. There were twenty-nine Japanese inspired work stoppages between 1890 and 1897 and plantation owners looked for another source for more docile labor. See Wayne Patterson, Korean Frontier in America, p. 6.
3 Most of the Korean labor immigrants were poor and not able to afford a trans-Pacific journey to find a spouse. Instead, pictures were exchanged between prospective spouses. Women brought through such arrangements were called picture brides. This practice was also common for Japanese and Filipino immigrants at the time.
4 Korea was under the Japanese colonial rule between 1910 and 1945. For activities of Korean-American women in this period, see Eun Sik Yang, "Korean Women in America: 1903-1930," in Korean Women in Transition: At Home and Abroad, ed. Eui-Young Yu and Earl H. Phillips (Los Angeles: Center for Korean American and Korean Studies, California State University, Los Angeles, 1987), pp. 167-181.
5 Warren Kim, Koreans in America (Seoul: Po Chin Chai, 1971), pp. 23-26.
6 Won Moo Hurh and Kwang Chung Kim, Korean Immigrants in America: A Structural Analysis of Ethnic Confinement and Adhesive Adaptation (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984), p.
49.
7 Won Moo Hurh and Kwang Chung Kim, pp. 49-52.
8 Daniel Booduck Lee, "Marital Adjustment Between Korean Women and American Servicemen," in Koreans in America: Dreams and Realities, ed. Hyung-chan Kim and Eun Ho Lee (Seoul: The Institute of Korean Studies, 1990), p. 102.
9 New York Times, April 21, l988.
10 Korean government targeted to stop the overseas adoption program by 1996. The number of children adopted to foreign homes declined accordingly. It was 4,191 in 1989, 2,962 in 1990 and 2,197 in 1991. See Joong-Ang Ilbo (Seoul edition), May 5, 1992, p. 2.
11 Since no separate statistics on Koreans were compiled before 1948, this number reflects the period of 1948-50. However, there was practically no Korean immigration to the United States between 1941 and 1947.
12This number reflects only those Koreans who identified themselves as Korean alone. If those who identified themselves as Korean in combination with other ethnicity and/or race are included, the total increases to 1,228,427. Please see sections below for further discussion on different categories of Koreans as employed in the 2000 Census.
13 U.S. Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce News, “People Who Reported Two or More Races Are Young and Tend to Live in the West,” November 29, 2001.
14 Wayne Patterson, The Ilse: First-Generation Korean Immigrants in Hawai’i, 1903-1973 (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2000), pp. 123-124.
15 It is estimated that Korean women married to American soldiers and Korean children adopted to American homes constitute nearly one-quarter of approximately 800,000 Korean immigrants admitted to the United States since 1948 according to statistics published by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
16 Pyong Gap Min, Caught in the Middle: Korean Communities in New York and Los Angeles, (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996), p. 31.
17 The 1990 census revealed that 34% of Korean immigrants who were twenty-five years of age or older had completed four years of college education as compared with 20% for the general population. U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990 Census of Population, Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States (1990 CP-35), Tables 3 and 5.
18 Pyong Gap Min, Caught in the Middle: Korean Communities in New York and Los Angeles, (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1996), p. 30.
19 Eui-Young Yu, "Koreatown in Los Angeles: Emergence of a New Inner-City Ethnic Community," Bulletin of the Population and Development Studies Center Volume XIV (Seoul: Seoul National University, 1985), p. 37.
Pyong Gap Min, "Problems of Korean Immigrant Entrepreneurs," A paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Asian Studies Association, San Francisco, March 26, l988, p. 2; Eui-Young Yu, "Korean Communities in America: Past, Present, and Future," Amerasia 10:2 (l983), pp. 23-35; Won Moo Hurh and Kwang Chung Kim, Korean Immigrants in America: A Structural Analysis of Ethnic Confinement and Adhesive Adaptation (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984), p. 226. The Los Angeles Times Poll reported in Karl Schoenberger, "Moving Between 2 Worlds," Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1992, p. A24.
21 Harold L. Sheppard, "The Potential Role of Behavioral Science in the Solution of the 'Older Worker Problem'," American Behavioral Scientist XIV-1 (September - October 1970), pp. 71-80.
22 Won Moo Hurh and Kwang Chung Kim, Korean Immigrants in America: A Structural Analysis of Ethnic Confinement and Adhesive Adaptation (Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, l984); Eui-Young Yu, Korean Community Profile, 1990 ; Karl Schoenberger, "Moving Between 2 Worlds," Los Angeles Times, July 12, 1992; Ivan Light and Edna Bonacich, Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Koreans in Los Angeles 1965-1982 (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1988.
23 Edna Bonacich, Mokerrom Hossain, and Jae-hong Park, "Korean Immigrant Working Women in the Early 1980s," in Korean Women in Transition: At Home and Abroad, ed., Eui Young Yu and Earl H. Phillips (Los Angeles: Center for Korean-American and Korean Studies, California State University, Los Angeles, 1987), pp. 219-247; Kwang Chung Kim and Won Moo Hurh, "Employment of Korean Immigrant Wives and the Division of Household Tasks," In Korean Women in Transition, pp. 199-218.





U.S. Korean Population: 1,423,784

The U.S. Census data was organized to show the Korean population in each state (www.factfinder2.census.gov). Many Koreans did not cooperate with the Census, and it is believed to be more than 1,423,784 Koreans in the U.S. Since only 0.5% of the total population is Korean, the U.S. government does not give many benefits to Koreans compared to African Americans or the Chinese, who are 12.6% and 1.1%, respectively. The top 5 states with the largest Korean populations are:

http://www.houstonkcc.org/
1. California: 451,892 Koreans (Los Angeles County: 216,501)
2. New York: 140,994 Koreans (Queens County: 64,107)
3. New Jersey: 93,679 Koreans (Bergen County: 56,773)
4. Virginia: 70,577 Koreans (Fairfax County: 41,356)
5. Texas: 67,750 Koreans (Harris County: 11,813)

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pjk01