In the early stages, female immigration mainly occurred through following husbands who were laborers on farms, or through picture marriages. Other women who came to America were either students or missionaries, but their numbers were not significant.
Among the first group of 93 immigrants who arrived in Hawaii in 1903, 22 were women who came with their families.
Before emigrating, those who applied for immigration had to go through the necessary procedures and wait. During this time, the immigration company encouraged men to cut off their topknots and even provided them with suits. However, women were not encouraged to cut their hair, nor were they given Western clothes. They arrived in Hawaii wearing traditional Korean hanbok, and many continued to wear hanbok even 4-5 years after their arrival. This was likely because many of the women worked indoors doing household chores like cooking and laundry, rather than laboring in the fields.
From January 13, 1903, to June 30, 1905, a total of 7,226 Koreans immigrated to Hawaii, of which 637 were women, and 541 were children. After that, from March 1910 until May 15, 1924, when the ‘Oriental Exclusion Act’ was passed, the total number of Korean immigrants was 951 to Hawaii and 115 to the mainland United States, totaling 1,066 immigrants.
The sharp decline in immigration numbers after 1905 was due to the Japanese government restricting Korean immigration to the United States.
The reason Japan requested the Korean government to stop immigration to Hawaii in 1905 was to protect Japanese workers in Hawaii from losing their jobs to Koreans.
Another reason was Japan’s strategic goal of using Koreans militarily and economically as part of their broader plan to occupy Asia. To pave the way for occupation and to import Korean rice to Japan, which required a large workforce, they prevented Koreans from emigrating to Hawaii.
According to a survey conducted by the Korean National Association of America in 1910, the Korean population on the U.S. mainland consisted of 1,999 men and 22 women.
Characteristics of Korean Immigrant Women by Era
- 1903-1910: Women during this period mostly followed their husbands or were students. Women who came for education were generally from wealthy families in urban areas and had received higher education. During this period, women made up less than 10% of the Korean population in America, which was around 8,000.
- 1910-1924: During this period, when immigration was banned, the women who came to America were mainly brave picture brides who sought to escape poverty or pursue education in the New World. Those who came for education were young, well-educated, and actively participated in political activities like the independence movement. They often worked in agriculture or took care of meals and laundry for men living alone, contributing to household income.
- 1950-1964: During this period, many Korean women came to America through GI marriages, marrying U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea. These women were known as “Korean War Brides.” The war had made them the breadwinners of their families, having lost their fathers or brothers. Many married U.S. soldiers as a way to escape poverty in the rapidly Westernizing post-war Korea. However, these marriages had a high divorce rate. Despite their personal sacrifices, these women made significant contributions by sending money back to Korea and helping their families immigrate to the U.S. and establish themselves.
- Late 1960s: Highly educated professional women made up the majority of immigrants, and from the mid-1970s onwards, women from various economic backgrounds began immigrating to the U.S. from urban areas.
Picture Marriage
From 1903 to 1905, only 10% of Korean immigrants to Hawaii were women, leaving many early Korean immigrants as bachelors without families. After a long day’s labor, many of these men had no family to return to, leading to loneliness that some tried to alleviate through opium, alcohol, and gambling. This led to frequent fights in labor camps, becoming a serious social issue. Labor productivity declined, and after group immigration was halted in 1905, it became difficult to recruit new immigrants. By 1907, revised laws prevented people from leaving Hawaii for the mainland, causing thousands of bachelors to lose hope.
In response, the authorities recognized that the best way to stabilize the labor force was to encourage marriage, leading to the creation of a new marriage law known as ‘picture marriage.’
The government allowed women who entered through picture marriage to immigrate and granted them permanent residency. The picture marriage system was first applied to Asian immigrants in the U.S. and Hawaii. In this system, men in America and Hawaii would send their pictures to young women in their home countries. If the women were willing to marry after seeing the picture, they would be brought to the U.S. to get married.
The first picture marriage occurred on December 2, 1910, when Choi Sara, a 23-year-old from Honam, arrived in Honolulu and married the 38-year-old bachelor Lee Naesu, who was then the president of the Korean National Association in Hawaii. The ceremony was officiated by Pastor Min Chan-ho.
Many of the early Korean women who came to America through picture marriages were from the Yeongnam region, as it was close to the Japanese port of Yokosuka, a common transit point. Women from Seoul departed from Jemulpo, and those from Hamgyeongdo and Pyeongando traveled to America via Shanghai.
Most picture brides were intelligent, relatively well-educated, and devout Christians. In contrast, many of the early male immigrants who sought picture brides were older and less educated. This often led to issues because men would sometimes lie about their age and education when seeking a picture bride.
Many women who came to America through picture marriage hoped to study and build a new life. However, upon arrival, many were disappointed to find that their husbands were older and less educated than they had expected, leading some to seek divorce.
When Syngman Rhee first arrived in Hawaii in January 1913, he encountered many women who had come to America through picture marriage but had left their husbands and were living separately in labor camps. This situation was so serious that he established the ‘Susanna Wesley Home’ to house them.
An editorial in the March 25, 1915, edition of the Shinhan Minbo expressed concern about picture marriage, warning that “if a man marries a woman superior to himself, he will be humiliated for life.” Despite these challenges, many women accepted their difficult circumstances and played a vital role in encouraging their husbands to move from manual labor to skilled professions, and some even moved to mainland cities like San Francisco to start businesses, establishing the roots of Korean American communities.
Life of Early Immigrant Women
A description of the living conditions of Korean immigrants in Hawaii by Hyun Soon, who worked as an interpreter, illustrates the difficult lives of early immigrant women. According to her account, housing was typically wooden buildings with a central hallway and 10 or more rooms on either side. Families were usually given a single room. Women who came with their husbands often experienced a decline in health due to frequent pregnancies and the harshness of their lives. Some women had to care for 20-30 bachelors, cooking, washing, and ironing from early morning until late at night.
In 1903, at the Pahala Plantation in Hawaii, for example, there were 42 men and only two women. The women had to cook, wash, and iron for all 42 men, performing the same kinds of work they did in Korea.
The most challenging aspect of life for early immigrant women was the discord arising from not knowing their spouses well due to picture marriage, and the fear of various insults and violence from white men. The Korean immigrant community had three main rules: “strengthen solidarity among compatriots,” “respect and protect women,” and “do not tolerate immoral women in the camp.” The fact that two of these rules concerned women indicates the importance of women’s issues in those times when there were few women among the immigrants.
Education and Independence Spirit of Korean American Women
One of the most serious issues faced by early immigrant families was the education of their children. In addition to school education, it was vital to instill a love for their homeland in their children, and this responsibility primarily fell to the mothers. The Shinhan Minbo editorial of February 22, 1916, titled ‘Education Policies for Korean Women in America,’ strongly urged mothers to promote unity, ensure the reproduction of the nation, and instill a patriotic spirit in their children.
Despite their hardships, early immigrant women actively supported Korea’s independence movement by sending donations several times to support national causes like the Debt Repayment Movement. In 1919, when they raised funds for Korea’s independence, women often carried babies on their backs as they walked long distances to various plantations to collect donations under the scorching sun.
In San Francisco, early immigrant women received education in English and sewing at Ellen Stark Ford Home with the dedicated help of Mrs. Lake. They made efforts to improve their social status and used their newfound skills to sew clothes for themselves and their children.
답글 남기기