CHImmigration: My Family's Migration Stories - Jasmine Chi
Immigration from Korea to the U.S.
According to the Jie Zong and Jeanne Batalova’s article in Migration Policy Institute’s online journal, “Korean immigration to the United States has been driven by political, economic, and military relations between the two countries, opening up after restrictions on immigration from Asia to the United States were lifted in 1965.” The Immigration Act of 1965 allowed Asian migration and the population of Korean immigrants in the U.S. increased “seven-fold from 39,000 in 1970 to 290,000 in 1980” (Zong) which was around the time my grandfather, father, and the rest of their family came to America.Additionally, the article indicated that New York City, New York has one of the highest concentrations of Koreans in the U.S. (Zong). On a map of the United States with information sourced by Migration Policy Institute’s tabulation of data from the U.S. Census Bureau between 2011-15 (right), one can also see that the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California area had the largest concentration of Korean immigrants of about 225,000 people. The New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania area had the second largest concentration of about 151,000 people (Zong). I wanted to provide this information because my family lived in both New York and California once they came to America.
My 할아버지 (Grandfather)’s immigration experience
In 2006, one of my relatives had the opportunity to sit down, interview, and record my 할아버지 (grandfather) about his life, with the help of my uncle translating most of what he said into English. My grandfather’s name was Do Yun Chi and he was born in 1935. He was born into a wealthy family and initially recalled living in a big house on a large property of land overlooking a beautiful mountainous area (D. Chi). He lived with his father, mother, grandparents, great-grandparents, and his five brothers.
When he was a young boy, Korea was under Japan’s rule. At the end of WWII when the U.S. and Soviet Union forces captured the peninsula, Japanese rule over the country ended in 1945. As the Soviet Union came into North Korea, Communists targeted the upper class, which included my grandfather’s family. According to my grandfather, because of this, the Soviets took ownership of their property of land and acted as “landlords” (D. Chi). After 1945, these landlords took all of the property away and forced the family to move. In 1948, the family decided to take the train to go to Seoul as some of my grandfather’s older brothers were already living there. However, the train didn’t reach the city so they were forced to walk hundreds of miles to get there. While they were traveling on foot, the North Korean police caught them and to my understanding, they killed my grandfather’s grandfather. The rest of the family was put in jail temporarily in North Korea after being found. Because of how risky it was to travel down to South Korea during this time, my grandfather spent about a month looking for someone willing and unafraid to take him and his family across the border. Eventually, they joined my grandfather’s older brothers in Seoul but were not as well-off as they were in North Korea.
As the family began to settle into their new living situation, my grandfather pointed out how their South Korean neighbors were very cold toward them as they could tell they were from the North (D. Chi). However, my grandfather went on to jokingly reminisce about how all the brothers were so close and would have monthly meetings to discuss how they would become successful (D. Chi). The younger brothers sold newspapers while still going to school in an effort to provide for the family. Additionally, some of the older brothers were already in college and were planning on raising enough money between everyone to send my grandfather to the U.S. to study at a university. It was clear that family was very important and that they were all extremely supportive and caring of one another because they were all that they had.
In 1950, the Korean War occurred which caused a divide and Korea split into the two sovereign states. While many people were fleeing Seoul, my grandfather’s family heard a false radio broadcast that said the North Koreans were coming south but that it wasn’t an emergency which was why they stayed at first. The three eldest brothers got drafted to the North Korean army and unfortunately, my grandfather never found out what happened to them (D. Chi). In the midst of escaping the war, the family was further split and never reconnected. Additionally, after the older brothers left, one of the younger brothers went to the U.S. while the rest of the family struggled with money and were forced to start selling their belongings to buy food.
In the midst of turmoil, my grandfather continued to go to high school and focused on his studies. Unfortunately, his father passed away when we was a senior in high school and my grandfather told the interviewer that this took a further toll on the family (D. Chi). However, my grandfather was motivated to support his family and knew that finishing his schooling would not only help them survive, but it would provide him with opportunities necessary to be successful in the future. Upon graduating from high school, although he didn’t have the money to go to college, my grandfather came across a government job in Seoul. He was initially worried he wouldn’t qualify because he didn’t have a college degree but he found a test that he was allowed to take that would put him in the pool of applicants if he passed. While the odds were against him, my grandfather recalled studying till about 3 or 4:00 am every night for months and he ended up passing the test and getting the job (D. Chi). As I watched the interview video, I learned that my grandfather was the director to build the first subway line in Seoul. Additionally, he built roads, subway systems, and bus terminals all around the city. As a civil engineer, my grandfather was very successful but he still felt like something was missing.
In order to be closer to his younger brother in America, as well as to provide for his wife and children, he decided to move to the United States to start this new life. He was willing to give up his success in South Korea and move to the U.S. because of how much he cared about his family and this was more important than any sacrifice he had to make. My grandfather believed in the idea of 울타리, which symbolizes protection and loosely translates to a “family’s fence.” He believed that it was important for a family to stay together and to support one another always, whether it be emotionally, spiritually, or financially. He worried that if family members went outside of this “fence” that there was a chance they would stray away completely and become strangers. Later in his life and as I was growing up, our family would get together often and spend time together going to church or having picnics during the summer. Also, as my grandfather and his brother started their families, they would save any money they could put aside in the hopes of giving it to their children to help with school or scholarships.
Although there wasn’t a lot of information in my grandfather’s interview about his immigration experience to the U.S., I asked my father what he knew about it during his interview I conducted. According to my father, my grandfather had a difficult time assimilating into American culture because he was much older when he immigrated. My father said that it was difficult for my grandfather to learn an entirely new language but he did what he could in order to survive and make a life for himself and his family (J. Chi). When my grandfather initially arrived in the new country, he worked any available jobs that came his way which usually ended up being remedial labor jobs which were extremely different from his job back in Korea. He would clean buildings at night and work food service-type jobs during the day. My father pointed out that my grandfather truly had “to humble himself to work those jobs and do it for the family, so that [they] could have the basic staples” (J. Chi) in order to survive. In a way, I think my grandfather was motivated to provide for his children and achieve the “American dream.” For example, my father said that he moved all of them to South Pasadena only because he was told that my father would get a good education and the opportunity to further his education through the town’s school system. The following is an excerpt from my father’s interview as he finished discussing his own father which I think perfectly sums up my grandfather’s life:
My grandfather’s life was far from perfect but his willingness to persevere and to provide for his family is something I know will inspire and live on through my father, myself and the rest of our family.He had to endure so many hardships from the war, illness of his wife, immigration, humbling jobs, and sacrifices made for the children. But he did it, without ever complaining to us, children, or burdening us. Amazing man.
My Father’s immigration experience
I conducted my interview with my father over email and it was surprising to read his answers as some of it was entirely new information to me. My father was born on October 22, 1968, in Seoul Korea and was originally given his Korean name, Chi Yun Soo, by his father. Some of his earliest memories in South Korea included going down by the river to try and catch frogs and dragonflies, shopping for clothes on Thanksgiving and going to the public swimming pool during the hot summers. He also reminisced on “ice skating during cold winter days on the lake” and “playing in the snow” (J. Chi). Aforementioned, my father came to the United States when he was about eight years old in the late 1970s. He explained how his father’s brother was already in the U.S. and was, therefore, able to sponsor them to come. The family’s main reason for coming to the states was to provide better medical care for my father’s mother’s illness but also so they could seek new opportunities for themselves.
When I asked my father about his migrational experience, he responded by saying that in order to immigrate, one must have had a lot of money so he was aware that in Korea his family was well-off (J. Chi). He remembered being driven by a chauffeur from his father’s company to the airplane and he included that “everything seemed exciting and new but it took a while getting used to the American ways - it was a sink-or-swim system for many immigrants” (J. Chi). For the most part, my father spent the later-half of his childhood in Queens, New York and moved to South Pasadena, California as a teenager.
Once my father and his family were in America, he told me that his biggest challenge was the language barrier as he initially knew little to no English and there was no support for English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Since teachers were not trained to handle ESL students at the time, he acknowledged that he either had to learn quickly or get left behind (J. Chi). In South Korea, my father was surrounded by predominantly one race and culture. Contrastingly, in New York and California, he immediately noticed the diversity of races and cultures and as a young child, he was very curious.
When asked if he ever faced discrimination, he said he never personally felt discriminated against but in New York “the people did not treat [him] bad, but they were just curious as to who [he] was” (J. Chi). He believed it was more of a perceived stereotype people placed on him as a young, Korean male which didn’t necessarily have good or bad connotations at the time. When asked whether or not he maintained his Korean identity or conformed to American society, my father recognized that in order to be successful, he had to assimilate. Around early high school, he became a U.S. citizen and had the opportunity to change his name, so he became Jeffrey Allen Yun Soo Chi. He chose the name Jeffrey at random because it seemed like a popular name and he figured it would help him further assimilate into the society. In regards to assimilating, he also said, “On the outside, we didn’t think much of showing or exhibiting our Korean culture because we were busy trying to be successful - it wasn’t our priority” (J. Chi) but within his family and his home they upheld their traditions and culture. Coming to America, my father knew that it was not going to be easy and that nothing would be handed to him or his family. He knew that if he worked hard and kept his morals and values aligned with those of his family, he would reach his goals and achieve success.
Christ In Concrete connection
Based off of what I know and as I was interviewing my father, one of the connections I wanted to make to my family’s immigration experiences was Pietro Di Donato and his coming-of-age novel, Christ in Concrete, that we read in class this semester. While the writer’s bildungsroman has autobiographical elements, it is about a young man named Paul who was trying to achieve the “American Dream.” To many of the Italian immigrants presented in Di Donato’s novel, the “American Dream” was an idealized future that many of these people worked for in the hopes of achieving someday. Both my grandfather and father came to America to pursue an education and various careers in order to succeed not only for themselves but for their family. They both were and are extremely hard working individuals that had what it took to reach their goals. In Fred Gardaphè’s introduction to Christ in Concrete, he said “through [Paul’s father, Geremio], America remains the dream of an immigrant anchored in God and the belief that God will provide the means by which the immigrant will prevail” (Di Donato) whether that be a family with successful offspring or a house to raise their families. To compare, my family grew up in the church and practiced Christianity together. Through their triumphs and failures, they always kept their faith and remained true to God. They believed that God has provided for them because they have believed in Him. Similarly, religion played a huge role in Christ in Concrete as it is was foundational not only in Di Donato’s life but in the life of his characters.
Having had the opportunity to learn about my own family’s immigration experiences has made me feel closer to my roots and proud to be in this family. I now understand where my family’s strong bond comes from and why we value it so much. I see so much of my grandfather in my father as well as myself now. Additionally, this course has opened my eyes to all migrant stories because no one story is the same and each one comes with different triumphs and struggles that should be listened to and understood. I’m extremely thankful that I took this course because not only has it challenged my mind but it has opened me up to be a more conscious student and citizen of this world.
Works Cited
Chi, Do Yun. Personal video interview. 2006.
Chi, Jeffrey. Personal interview. 3 Dec. 2018.
Di Donato, Pietro. Christ In Concrete. 1939.
Zong, Jie, and Jeanne Batalova. “Korean Immigrants in the United States.” Migrationpolicy.org. Migration Policy Institute, 8 Feb. 2017. Web. 5 Dec. 2018
This page has paths:
Contents of this path:
This page references:
- Korean map
- Dad at two years old
- With grandfather
- Dad and his mother in Korea
- Top Destination Metropolitan Areas for Korean Immigrants in the U.S. 2011-15
- Dad and his father in Korea
- Top Concentration by Metropolitan Area for the Foreign Born from Korea, 2011-15
- Dad and his sister in Korea
- Dad in NY
- Dad's trip back to Korea
- Grandfather's wedding
