Koreans in Hawai'i
Between 1910 and 1924, what group immigrated from Korea to Hawai’i and continental US for the promise of marriage and creating “a thriving next generation of Korean Americans”?
Picture Brides (Redefining Boundaries, Kim 106)
Open response: What is the significance of food as shown in Lee’s memoir?
Ch.1: yut candy, grandfather owning a crop stand, giving mulberry leaves to silkworm factories, the Chinese cook giving the Paik family hot noodles after not having eaten for days; ch.3: having roast beef for the first time; ch.4: the crowd being fed, the vast amount of plant and veggies, the fish, picking peaches; ch.6: not eating in at the table with the family in Hollister; ch.9: growing rice, the carps; ch.10: the fruit stand; ch.11: farming again with Mr. Bauer, H.M.'s sea-fishing; ch.12: farming with Mexican workers; ch.13: making muk for Syngman Rhee; ch.14: cooking a Korean dinner for the Korean Assembly members; ch.15: digging for clams, ocea fishing
In the surveys conducted by Grace Chung, Ramona Faith Oswald, and Angela Wiley, Korean American queer women participants said that “A Good Daughter…”
Protects Her Parents or Is Open and Honest with Her Parents (Good Daughters, 109, 111, 114)
When was the enemy alien status repealed from Koreans in both the US and Hawai’i?
US, December 1943; Hawai’i, May 1944
According to Arissa H. Oh's "Adoption in Korean America," what are the three "discrete phases" of Korean immigration to the US?
Pre-WWII, post-WWII to 1965, and post-1965
What act kickstarted the practice of sending Picture Brides to Hawai’i? Explain what the effects of the act were.
The Gentlemen’s Agreement Act of 1907
Open response: What role does the American Dream play in Lee’s life story and her family’s life story? In the life story of Korean Americans in general?
Ex: ch. 2, Father saying that they must study hard and show Americans that they are just as good as they are; ch. 10, "For Whites Only" sign; constant moving to reach better opportunities
Who was the “warrior woman” leader of the Korean Women’s Relief Society of Hawai’i, and why was she such an important figure of her time? (“Korean Independence Movement in Hawai’i and the Continental United States” by Lili Kim)
Maria Hwang, who left her husband to immigrate to Hawai'i on her own with her children; "I can no longer live under these circumstances with you. I am taking our children to America and will shame you in the future. These children shall become educated and I shall become a wonderful person. You can remain as you are.” (177)
What is the 38th parallel?
The latitude line (38 degrees N) that approximately divides North and South Korea
Who drafted the Korean Declaration of Independence?
Ch'oe Namson (Choe Nam-seon)
In 1908, in Hawai’i, the first Korean women’s organization formed in order to teach children the Korean language; what was this organization called?
Hankuk Buin Hoe (The Korean Women’s Association)
Who wrote the introduction and edited A Quiet Odyssey?
Sucheng Chan
How were women able to fill in stand out roles in the Korean Independence Movement? What made them the “mediators of the new and old worlds”? (Redefining, Kim 116)
Actively participating in church spheres (bible study leaders, teachers, etc.), managing their family's finances (being able to donate to Independence organizations), forming organizations for Korean women
After WWII, what were the occupying forces in the Korean Peninsula that would eventually participate in the Korean War on opposing sides?
Soviet forces in the North, US forces in the South
In 1941, Diamond Kimm was told he had 60 days after the end of WWII to voluntarily depart from the US. What prevented him from doing so in 1945?
He was employed by the US Military's Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in July of '45, and left in September of '45, the same month WWII was declared over; his applications to the State Department to receive an exit permit to return to Korea "never received a reply" (20).
According to “Korean Independence Movement in Hawai’i and the Continental United States” by Lili Kim, no fewer than 24 Korean political organizations existed in both Hawai’i and the continental US by 1907, starting with a wave in 1905. Name at least one of them FROM MEMORY!
In Hawai’i: Kongniphoe (Mutual Aid Society) founded in April of ‘05, the Changanhoe (Self-Strengthening Society) founded in October of ‘05, the Noso Tongmaenghoe (Young and Old Alliance) founded in February of ‘07
In the US: Kongjehoe (Mutual Salvation Society) found in ‘07, the Tongmaeng Sinhunghoe (Newly Rising Alliance) founded in ‘07, the Taedong Pokukhoe (All-Together Protecting the Nation Society) founded in ‘07
Open response: Lee discusses moments of solidarity between herself as a Korean woman in America and Mexicans, Black people, and Japanese people. What are other moments of solidarity we’ve seen in other readings, documentaries, etc. and why are they important to the larger conversation of Korean American history?
Ch.5, the movie and Mary's Mexican friends being as unnerved by the racism towards the Chinese character; ch.11, watching over the farms of Japanese neighbors; ch.16, attending a predominately black church
Open response: In the surveys conducted by Grace Chung, Ramona Faith Oswald, and Angela Wiley, between the three control groups, International students, 1.5 generation, and 2nd generation, what might be the reasons behind the perspective on coming out to their parents and being open about their queerness shift from group to group?
Ex: International students believing that staying closeted to their families would protect their parents from such a "big burden" (110); 1.5 generation women stayed closeted completely and were motivated to do so by "family loyalties" and an understanding of "parental sacrifice," (112); 2nd generation women had a more "Americanized view of family relationships" and "explicitly critiqued Confucian beliefs" (114)
What were some of the ways Korean Americans tried to distinguish themselves from the Japanese in the US and Hawai’i during WWII?
“I am Korean” pins and IDs, and using white supremacist rhetoric from “anthropologist” Dr. Hrdlicka
What were at least three of the items "enemy aliens" were prohibited to have in their possession under President Roosevelt's Proclamation 2525?
Section 5 of Proclamation 2525: "Firearms. Weapons or implements of war or component parts thereof. Ammunition. Bombs. Explosives or material used in the manufacture of explosives. Short-wave radio receiving sets. Transmitting sets. Signal devices. Codes or ciphers. Cameras. Papers, documents or books in which there may be invisible writing; photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of any military or naval installations or equipment or of any arms, ammunition, implements of war, device or thing used or intended to be used in the combat equipment of the land or naval forces of the United States or any military or naval post, camp or station."
Open response: Where do we see moments of intersectionality in Lee’s memoir? The crosshatching of race and ability, gender and immigrant status, etc? What is important about those moments?
Ch.6, "although girls and women were supposed to be soft and obedient, they should also learn to think like men and make correct judgements." (44); H.M.'s skin condition, Tony's life long medical issues, Dr. Farrow, "Men don't know about women's bodies." (79); "For Whites Only" sign, "you don't have to be careful like I do" (78)
Open response: In “Toward Queer Korean American Horizons: Diaspora, History, and Belonging” by Anthony Yooshin Kim and Margaret Rhee, why does Jeong-Hyun An say in his Master’s thesis, “A Split Reality: On Being Gay and Korean American,” that “to most Koreans, being ‘gay’ and ‘Korean’ is an oxymoron, simply inconceivable”?
Ex. "We can no longer believe that a desirably queer world is one in which we remain perpetual aliens—queer houseguests—in a queer nation." (538); "heterosexual endogamous marriages were ways that traditional Confucian-derived Korean values such as filial piety, androcentric family lineage, and patriarchy could perpetuate in a foreign environment." (540); "protecting this heterosexual and intra-ethnic Korean family might be seen as a bulwark of safety and support within the context of anti-immigrant, anti-foreign, and racist sentiments." (541)
The arrest of two Korean Americans in Hawai’i for curfew violations led to a string of protests and pushback against the enemy alien status placed upon Koreans due to technically being Japanese, under Japanese occupation. Who were they and what precedent did this set?
Syung Woon Sohn (Son Sông-un) and Mrs. Do Kyung Lee, reaffirmed Koreans’ enemy alien status for the sake of “national security” (Enemy Alien, Kim 205)