View source for Korean Americans

{{short description|Americans of Korean ancestry}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Korean Americans
| native_name      = {{lang|ko|한국계 미국인}}<br />{{transliteration|ko|hangukgye migugin}}
| pop              = '''2,023,517''' (2023)<ref name="ACS 2023">{{cite web |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B02018 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2024-09-21 |title=US Census Data }}</ref><br/>(ancestry or ethnic origin)<br/>'''1,017,250''' (2023)<ref name="USCB Census">{{cite web|title=PLACE OF BIRTH FOR THE FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES, Universe: Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea, 2023 American Community Survey Estimates|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2023.B05006?q=B05006:%20Place%20of%20Birth%20for%20the%20Foreign-Born%20Population%20in%20the%20United%20States}}</ref><br/>(born in Korea)
| popplace         = {{hlist|[[Los Angeles metropolitan area]]|[[New York metropolitan area]]|[[Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area]]|[[San Francisco Bay Area]]|[[Seattle metropolitan area]]|[[Delaware Valley|Philadelphia metropolitan area]]|[[Greater Boston|Boston metropolitan area]]|[[Chicago metropolitan area]]|[[Atlanta metropolitan area]]|[[Houston metropolitan area]]|[[Anchorage, Alaska]]|[[Portland metropolitan area]]|[[Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex|Dallas–Fort Worth metropolitan area]]|[[Riverside, California]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=RODRIGUEZ-GITLER |first1=ARIANA |title=Top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Korean population, 2015 |url=http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/chart/top-10-u-s-metropolitan-areas-by-korean-population/ |website=PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Social & Demographic Trends |date=September 8, 2017 |publisher=PEW RESEARCH CENTER |access-date=2018-09-03 |archive-date=2018-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903215427/http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/chart/top-10-u-s-metropolitan-areas-by-korean-population/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| langs            = English, [[Korean language|Korean]]
| rels             = 61% [[Protestantism]]<br />23% [[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]]<br />10% [[Roman Catholicism]]<br />6% [[Buddhism]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths-overview.aspx |title=Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths |website=Pew Forum |date=July 19, 2012 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2013-07-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716064702/http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths-overview.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://projects.pewforum.org/2012/07/18/religious-affiliation-of-asian-americans-2/asianamericans_affiliation-8-2/ |title=Pew Forum – Korean Americans' Religions |website=Pew Forum |date=July 18, 2012 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130202232852/http://projects.pewforum.org/2012/07/18/religious-affiliation-of-asian-americans-2/asianamericans_affiliation-8-2/ |archive-date=2013-02-02 }}</ref>
| native_name_lang = ko
| related_groups   = 
| image = Americans with Korean Ancestry by state.svg
| caption = 
}}
{{Infobox Korean name/auto
| hangul = ^한국계 ^미국인
| hanja  = 韓國系美國人
| othername1 = Koreans in America
| hangul1 = ^미주 ^한인
| hanja1= 美洲韓人
}}
{{Korean people}}

'''Korean Americans''' ({{Korean|hangul=한국계 미국인}}) are [[Americans]] of full or partial [[Korean ethnicity|Korean ethnic]] descent. While the broader term '''Overseas Korean in America''' ({{Korean|hangul=미주한인/재미교포/재미한인|labels=no}}) may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American implies the holding of [[Citizenship of the United States|American citizenship]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=인 |first1=태정 |last2=오중환 |title=The Pre- and Post-Migration Life Satisfaction of Korean Americans in New York, New Jersey, and Boston Areas |date=May 2012 |script-title=ko:재미 한인의 미국과 한국사회 만족도 비교연구: 미국 북동부의 뉴욕, 뉴저지, 보스턴 지역을 중심으로 :미국 북동부의 뉴욕, 뉴저지, 보스턴 지역을 중심으로 |journal=문화와 사회 |language=ko |volume=12 |pages=147–189 |doi=10.17328/kjcs.2012.12.1.004 |issn=1975-7239|doi-access=free }}</ref>

As of 2022, there are 1.5–1.8 million Americans of Korean descent,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Greenwood |first=Shannon |date=2024-08-06 |title=Korean Americans: A Survey Data Snapshot |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2024/08/06/korean-americans-a-survey-data-snapshot/ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> of whom roughly 1.04 million were born abroad,<ref name="Batalova">{{Cite web |last=Batalova |first=Jeanne Batalova Cecilia Esterline and Jeanne |date=2022-04-13 |title=Korean Immigrants in the United States |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/korean-immigrants-united-states |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=migrationpolicy.org |language=en}}</ref> accounting for 8% of all [[Asian Americans]] and 0.5% of the total U.S. population.<ref name="USKoreanPopulation">{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP1Y2022.DP05?q=DP05:%20ACS%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Estimates&g=010XX00US_050XX00US34003|title=Demographic and Housing Estimates|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=August 18, 2024}}</ref> However, prominent scholars and Korean associations claim that the Korean American population exceeds 2.5–3 million,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=장 |first=안리 |date=June 2019 |title='Korean American' 용어에 대한 재미한인들의 개념 정의 및 내포에 대한 연구 |url=https://www.dbpia.co.kr/Journal/articleDetail?nodeId=NODE08745352 |journal=사회연구 |language=ko |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=321–354 |doi=10.14431/jms.2019.06.12.2.321 |issn=2005-2553 |s2cid=204367351|url-access=subscription }}</ref> which would make it the largest community [[Korean diaspora|Overseas Koreans]] in the world, ahead of China's [[Koreans in China|2.1 million]].

Nearly the entire population of Korean Americans traces its ancestry to [[South Korea]] (Republic of Korea),<ref name="Batalova"/><ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:재미 교포 在美僑胞 |trans-title=Foreign nationals in the United States |url=https://ko.dict.naver.com/#/entry/koko/27aaedbce8684a4aa30ebc516999ed41 |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=ko.dict.naver.com |language=ko |quote=1. 미국에 정착하여 미국 국민으로 살고 있는 동포. |trans-quote=1. A Korean who has settled in the United States and lives as an American citizen.}}</ref> with [[North Korea]] (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) [[North Korean immigration to the United States|accounting for a negligible number]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Admitting North Korean Refugees to the United States: Obstacles and Opportunities |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/admitting-north-korean-refugees-to-the-united-states-obstacles-and-opportunities/ |access-date=2025-02-01 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref> An estimated 20,000 second generation Korean Americans are "dual citizens by birth" of [[South Korea]] and the [[United States]] of America (선천적 한미 복수국적자).<ref>{{Cite web |script-title=ko:선천적 복수국적제 피해, 여성의 경우|url=http://www.koreatimes.com/article/20210624/1368659 |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=[[The Korea Times (Los Angeles)|The Korea Times]] |language=ko}}</ref>

In contrast to Northeast Asia, which is grappling with significantly low birth rates, the number of Korean Americans with both parents from Korea is growing by 5.9%. Moreover, the population of those with mixed heritage is increasing at a rate of 16.5%.

== Background ==
As of 2023, Korean Americans made up about 0.6% of the U.S. population, numbering approximately 2 million people. They are the fifth-largest subgroup within the Asian American community, following [[Chinese Americans]], [[Filipino Americans]], [[Indian Americans]], and [[Vietnamese Americans]].<ref name="s2015">{{cite web|title=ASIAN ALONE OR IN ANY COMBINATION BY SELECTED GROUPS |date=2015 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B02018&prodType=table|access-date=October 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214011110/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_1YR_B02018&prodType=table|archive-date=February 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first1=Jessica S. |last1=Barnes |first2=Claudette E. |last2=Bennett |title=The Asian Population: 2000 |series=U.S. Census 2000 |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |date=February 2002 |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-16.pdf |access-date=2009-09-30 |archive-date=2020-11-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116102137/https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/c2kbr01-16.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The United States is the residence of the world's most extensive Korean diasporas, largely from South Korea. As of 2006, due to historical diplomatic challenges stemming from the [[Korean War]] in the 1950s, the number of [[North Korean defectors]] to the United States has remained below 220, constituting a negligible 0.008352 percent of the total Korean American demographic. Thus, it is evident that an overwhelming majority, approximately 99.991648 percent, of the Korean American population traces its roots to South Korea. The Republic of Korea is acknowledged as a principal [[Alliance|ally]] of the United States, fostering a relationship built on intertwined economic interests, and strategic security cooperation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why The Number of North Korean Refugees in the United States Is So Low |url=http://www.nkhiddengulag.org/1/post/2021/08/why-the-number-of-north-korean-refugees-in-the-united-states-is-so-low.html |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=NKHIDDENGULAG |language=en}}</ref>

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, as of 2021, the population of Overseas Koreans residing in the United States was 2,633,777. This figure includes both U.S. citizens of Korean descent and South Korean nationals living in the U.S. Specifically, there were 1,529,855 U.S. citizens of Korean descent and 1,103,922 South Korean nationals.<ref name="MOFA">{{cite web | url=https://www.mofa.go.kr/www/wpge/m_21509/contents.do | script-title=ko:다수거주국가 &#124; 재외동포 정의 및 현황 외교부 }}</ref> By 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau reported the number of Korean Americans as 1,469,854, considering only those who identified with a single race. Notably, about 1,011,589 of these individuals were born in Korea. The population has remained relatively stable into 2023, with the Overseas Koreans Foundation reporting a figure of 2,615,419.<ref name="MOFA"/>

==Demographics==
{{main|List of U.S. cities with significant Korean American populations}}
{{Historical populations
| type = USA
|1910|462
|1920|1224
|1930|1860
|1940|1711
|1970|69130
|1980|354593
|1990|798849
|2000|1076872
|2010|1423784
|2020|1,508,575
| estref     =<ref name="population1">{{cite web
 |url=http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn31.html 
 |title=U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Illinois' 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting 
 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau 
 |access-date=2011-02-20 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219012241/http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn31.html 
 |archive-date=2011-02-19 
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |title=Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725044857/http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056/twps0056.html |archive-date=2008-07-25 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://proximityone.com/cen2010_asian.htm |title=America's Asian Population Patterns 2000–2010 |publisher=Proximityone.com |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2013-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323093118/http://proximityone.com/cen2010_asian.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/detailed-race-ethnicities-2020-census.html|title=
Detailed Races and Ethnicities in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2020 Census|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2023-09-23}}</ref>
}}

As of 2023, the United States, which is home to the largest population of [[Korean diaspora|overseas Koreans]], has the following distribution of Korean Americans.

* In California, there are 558,338 Korean Americans.
* New York City has a Korean American population of 141,745.
* [[Texas]] is home to 115,107 Korean Americans.
* [[New Jersey]]'s Korean American community numbers 113,736.
* [[Virginia]] is home to 94,275 Korean Americans.
* [[Washington (state)|Washington]] has a Korean American population of 92,798.
* [[Illinois]] includes 81,340 Korean Americans.
* [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]'s Korean American community comprises 75,525 individuals.
* [[Maryland]] has 48,468 Korean Americans.
* Other states collectively account for 509,870 Korean Americans.<ref>{{Cite web |last=america |first=north |date=May 24, 2023 |title=Korean population in United States 2023 {{!}} Korean Americans |url=https://uscanadainfo.com/korean-population-in-united-states/ |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=America Demografia |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2023, the proportion of Korean Americans in the population varies significantly across the United States. The highest proportion is in Hawaii, accounting for 3.87% of the state's total population. California follows with 1.43%, hosting a large Korean American community; this is notably high considering the overall Korean ethnicity ratio of 0.59% in the U.S. [[Washington (state)|Washington State]] (1.28%), [[New Jersey]] (1.19%), and [[Virginia]] (1.09%) also have relatively large Korean American communities. [[Maryland]]'s proportion is 0.97%, and [[Alaska]]'s is 0.95%. [[Nevada]] has 0.72%, New York City 0.71%, and [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] 0.69%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Top 10 States {{!}} Percentage of Korean Population {{!}} 2023 {{!}} Zip Atlas |url=https://zipatlas.com/us/state-comparison/percentage-korean-population.htm |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=zipatlas.com}}</ref>[[File:Day124ckoreatown.JPG|thumb|left|upright|Korean Americans have achieved a high [[demographic profile]] in some U.S. cities, including [[Koreatown, Manhattan|New York City]].]]
The two metropolitan areas with the highest Korean American populations as per the 2010 census were the [[Greater Los Angeles|Greater Los Angeles area]] [[Combined Statistical Area]] (334,329)<ref name=census2010>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov|title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA CSA|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |access-date=2012-06-27|archive-date=2020-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820053605/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[New York metropolitan area|Greater New York]] [[Combined Statistical Area]] (218,764).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov|title=Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA CSA|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=2012-06-27|archive-date=2020-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200820053605/https://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area]] ranks third, with approximately 93,000 Korean Americans clustered in Howard and Montgomery Counties in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia.<ref name="ktv">{{cite web|url=http://koreantvplus.com/pdf/mediakit/english/ktvplus-mediakit(English).pdf|title=KTV Plus Key Points |access-date=2011-05-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819134120/http://koreantvplus.com/pdf/mediakit/english/ktvplus-mediakit(English).pdf|archive-date=2011-08-19}}</ref> [[Southern California]] and the New York City metropolitan area<ref name=NYCSecondKorea>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hCegCgAAQBAJ&q=new+york+second+largest+korean+population&pg=PA326 |title=Savoring Gotham: A Food Lover's Companion to New York City: A Food Lover's...|author=Chi-Hoon Kim|year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-026363-8 |access-date=October 11, 2015}}</ref> have the largest populations of Koreans outside of the Korean Peninsula.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pyong Gap Min|title=Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PSYZMs8TzEC&pg=PA236|year=2006|publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-1-4129-0556-5|page=236|access-date=2015-10-18|archive-date=2017-02-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211173913/https://books.google.com/books?id=5PSYZMs8TzEC&pg=PA236|url-status=live}}<br/>{{cite journal |last=Ahn |first=Daniel |title=Profiling Culture: An Examination of Korean American Gangbangers in Southern California |url=http://www.boalt.org/aalj/archives/profiling-culture-an-examination-of-korean-american-gangbangers-in-southern-california.html |journal=Asian American Law Journal |publisher=University of California Berkeley School of Law |volume=11 |access-date=December 11, 2014 |archive-date=May 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525134721/http://www.boalt.org/aalj/archives/profiling-culture-an-examination-of-korean-american-gangbangers-in-southern-california.html |url-status=live }}<br/>{{cite book|author=Charles K. Armstrong |title=The Koreas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KQWCAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|date=August 22, 2013|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-16132-2 |page=82|access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=February 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211235107/https://books.google.com/books?id=KQWCAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA82|url-status=live}}<br />{{cite book |author=Rough Guides|title=The Rough Guide to California |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy5TLUbAwZAC&pg=PA89 |date=May 2, 2011 |publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-4053-8302-8 |page=89|access-date=October 18, 2015|archive-date=February 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211173929/https://books.google.com/books?id=Uy5TLUbAwZAC&pg=PA89|url-status=live}}</ref> Among Korean Americans ''born in Korea'', the Los Angeles metropolitan area had 226,000 as of 2012; New York (including [[North Jersey|Northern New Jersey]]) had 153,000 Korean-born Korean Americans; and Washington had 60,000.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/korean-immigrants-united-states#English|title=Korean Immigrants in the United States – Table 1. Top Concentrations by Metropolitan Area for the Foreign Born from Korea, 2008–12|author1=Jie Zong|author2=Jeanne Batalova|publisher=Migration Policy Institute|date=December 3, 2014|access-date=April 16, 2016|archive-date=September 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905065158/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/korean-immigrants-united-states#English|url-status=live}}</ref>

By percentage, the Korean American population of [[Bergen County, New Jersey#Korean American|Bergen County]], [[New Jersey]], in the New York City Metropolitan Area, at 6.5% of Bergen County's population in 2022,<ref name=BergenKoreanPopulation>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=DP05:%20ACS%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Estimates&g=050XX00US34003|title=ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates Bergen County, New Jersey|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=August 18, 2024}}</ref> was the highest of any county in the United States. Bergen County, host to the county's highly ranked [[Bergen County Academies|Academies]] [[magnet school|magnet]] public high school<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-public-high-schools-in-america-2016-3|title=The 50 smartest public high schools in America|author=Tanza Loudenback|website=Business Insider|date=March 29, 2016|access-date=2016-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015|title=America's Top High Schools 2015|magazine=Newsweek|access-date=2015-08-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php/bergen-county-academies |title=Welcome to the Bergen County Academies |publisher=Bergen County Technical Schools |access-date=October 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027232737/http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php/bergen-county-academies |archive-date=October 27, 2014 }}</ref> as well as to the North American headquarters operations of South Korean [[chaebol]]s including [[Samsung]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Samsung_Electronics_America_Inc.8c8cfbc91c0d265a.html|title=Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Company Profile|publisher=Hoover's Inc|access-date=June 26, 2015}}</ref> [[LG Electronics|LG Corp]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/englewood-cliffs/2017/02/07/lg-breaks-ground-englewood-cliffs-hq/97400212/|title=LG breaks ground on Englewood Cliffs HQ|author=Michael W. Curley, Jr.|publisher=NorthJersey.com – part of the USA TODAY network|date=February 7, 2017|access-date=March 6, 2017}}</ref> and [[Hanjin Shipping]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/stranded-container-ship-gets-go-ahead-to-dock-in-elizabeth-1.1663365|title=Stranded container ship gets go-ahead to dock in Elizabeth|author=Richard Newman|publisher=NorthJersey.com via Gannett|date=September 20, 2016|access-date=September 22, 2016}}</ref> was home to all of the nation's top 10 municipalities by percentage of Korean population.<ref name=BergenCountyKoreanPercentage>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/mahwah-library-hosts-korean-tea-ceremony-to-celebrate-new-year-1.1275756|title=Mahwah library hosts Korean tea ceremony to celebrate new year|author=James O'Neill|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=February 22, 2015|access-date=February 22, 2015}}</ref> These top 10 municipalities in the growing Korean hub of Bergen County, New Jersey, across the [[George Washington Bridge]] from [[Koreatown, Manhattan|New York City]], were led by [[Koreatown, Palisades Park|Palisades Park]],<ref name="books.google.com">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PSYZMs8TzEC&q=fort+lee+koreatown+pyong+min&pg=PA237|title=Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues Second Edition, Edited by Pyong Gap Min|publisher=Pine Forge Press – An Imprint of Sage Publications, Inc|year=2006|access-date=2014-07-11|isbn=9781412905565|archive-date=March 31, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331160120/https://books.google.com/books?id=5PSYZMs8TzEC&q=fort+lee+koreatown+pyong+min&pg=PA237|url-status=live}}</ref> the municipality with the highest density of ethnic [[Koreans]] in the [[Western Hemisphere]]. Displaying ubiquitous [[Hangul]] signage and known as the ''Korean Village'',<ref name="Palisades Park Municipal Court">{{cite web|url=http://www.town-court.com/getTownCourt.php?courtID=1071|title=Palisades Park Municipal Court|publisher=SpinJ Corporation|access-date=August 26, 2014|archive-date=October 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141028004824/http://www.town-court.com/getTownCourt.php?courtID=1071|url-status=live}}</ref> Palisades Park uniquely comprises a Korean majority, at 53.7% of the [[borough (New Jersey)|borough]]'s population in 2022.<ref name=PalisadesParkMajorityKorean>{{cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2022.DP05?q=DP05:%20ACS%20Demographic%20and%20Housing%20Estimates&g=160XX00US3455770|title=ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates Palisades Park borough, New Jersey|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=August 18, 2024}}</ref> with both the [[List of U.S. cities with significant Korean-American populations#Municipalities with density of at least 500 Korean Americans per square mile in 2010|highest Korean-American density and percentage]] of any municipality in the United States. The city of Los Angeles contained the highest Korean American population of any city proper in 2010, approximately 108,282.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0644000lk.html|title=Los Angeles city, California QuickLinks|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=October 27, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415235828/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0644000lk.html|archive-date=April 15, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Between 1990 and 2000, Georgia was home to the fastest-growing Korean community in the U.S., growing at a rate of 88.2% over that decade.<ref>[http://www.naka.org/resources/index.asp Korean American Population Data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904225911/http://www.naka.org/resources/index.asp |date=September 4, 2018 }} National Association of Korean Americans (Source: 2000 U.S. Census)</ref> There is a significant Korean American population in the [[Atlanta metropolitan area]], mainly in [[Gwinnett County, Georgia|Gwinnett County]] (2.7% Korean) and [[Fulton County, Georgia|Fulton County]] (1.0% Korean).<ref name=census2010/>
[[File:Census Bureau 2000, Koreans in the United States.png|thumb|right|upright=1.8|Koreans in the United States, on the census 2000]]
According to the statistics of the Overseas Korean Foundation and the Republic of Korea's [[Foreign relations of South Korea|Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade]], 107,145 South Korean children were adopted into the United States between 1953 and 2007.<ref>{{citation|publisher=Overseas Korean Foundation|year=2007|location=South Korea|access-date=2009-05-31|chapter-url=http://oaks.korean.net/n_stastics/StatsProg.jsp?bID=13003|chapter=Destination by Country, 1953–2007|title=Statistics on Overseas Koreans}} {{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In a 2005 [[United States Census Bureau]] survey, an estimated 432,907 ethnic Koreans in the U.S. were native-born Americans, and 973,780 were [[foreign-born]]. Korean Americans that were naturalized citizens numbered at 530,100, while 443,680 Koreans in the U.S. were not American citizens.<ref name="Census2005">{{citation|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:042&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=|publisher=United States Census Bureau|title=S0201. Selected Population Profile in the United States|access-date=2007-09-22|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212040142/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2005_EST_G00_&-reg=ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201PR:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201T:042;ACS_2005_EST_G00_S0201TPR:042&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format=|archive-date=2020-02-12}}</ref>

While people living in North Korea cannot—except under rare circumstances—leave their country, there are many people of North Korean origin living in the U.S., a substantial portion who fled to the south during the [[Korean War]] and later emigrated to the United States. Since the [[North Korean Human Rights Act of 2004]] allowed [[North Korean defectors]] to be admitted as refugees, about 130 have settled in the U.S. under that status after 2004.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/24/us/north-korean-refugees/?hpt=hp_t1 | work=CNN | title=In North Korea, a brutal choice | date=March 26, 2012 | access-date=2012-03-28 | archive-date=2013-08-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130828194156/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/24/us/north-korean-refugees/?hpt=hp_t1 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2012-jan-10-la-me-north-koreans-la-20120110-story.html | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | first=Victoria | last=Kim | title=Wary of notice and trying to fit in | date=January 10, 2012 | access-date=2012-03-28 | archive-date=2012-05-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516044739/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/10/local/la-me-north-koreans-la-20120110 | url-status=live }}</ref> The counties with largest Korean population are [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] and [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] in California, [[Bergen County, New Jersey|Bergen County]] in New Jersey, and [[Queens County, New York|Queens County]] in New York.<ref>[https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/korean-immigrants-united-states#:~:text=The%20top%20counties%20with%20Korean,population%20in%20the%20United%20States. Korean Immigrants in the United States]</ref>

==History==
[[File:Korean immigrants to the United States.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|right |North and South Korean obtaining lawful permanent resident status: fiscal years 1940 to 2016]]

Korean Immigration to the US can be divided into four phases:<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=History of Korean Immigration to America, from 1903 to Present {{!}} Boston Korean Diaspora Project |url=https://sites.bu.edu/koreandiaspora/issues/history-of-korean-immigration-to-america-from-1903-to-present/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=sites.bu.edu}}</ref>

# Small-scale immigration around 1884
# Early immigration from 1903 to 1950
# Immigration following the Korean war (1950–1964)
# Immigration following the 1965 Immigration Act

=== Small-scale immigration around 1884 ===

Around 1884, following the establishment of diplomatic relations between the US and Korea (then referred to as Chosen) through the [[Joseon–United States Treaty of 1882|Treaty of Peace, Anmity, Commerce, and Navigation]], a small number of diplomats entered the US as part of the [[1883 Korean special mission to the United States]]. Included among the members of this mission were {{Ill|Min Yong-ik|ko|민영익}} and [[Yu Kil-chun]], the latter of whom stayed in the US for several years to study, making him the first Korean exchange student in the US.<ref name=":1" />

=== Early immigration from 1903 to 1950 ===

One of the first Korean Americans was [[Philip Jaisohn]], who came to America in 1884 and became a leader in the movement for [[Korean independence movement|Korean independence]].<ref>Se Eung Oh, ''Dr. Philip Jaisohn's Reform Movement, 1896–1898'' (1995).</ref> Another prominent figure among the Korean immigrant community is [[Ahn Chang Ho]], [[art name]] Dosan, a Protestant social activist. He came to the United States in 1902 for education. He founded the Friendship Society in 1903 and the Mutual Assistance Society. He was also a political activist during the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese occupation of Korea]].
[[File:Korean-American-1922-football.jpg|thumb|upright|Korean American football player in Chicago, 1918]]

Another prominent figure among the Korean immigrant community was [[Syngman Rhee]], a Methodist.{{ref|identification5}} He came to the United States in 1904 and earned a bachelor's degree at George Washington University in 1907, a master's degree at [[Harvard University]], and a PhD from [[Princeton University]] in 1910. In 1910, he returned to Korea and became a political activist. He later became the first [[president of the Republic of Korea]].

In 1903, the first group of Korean laborers came to Hawaii on January 13, now known annually as ''Korean American Day.''<ref>{{cite web |author=Monsy Alvarado|title=North Jersey Korean Americans celebrate another year of community's emergence |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/North_Jersey_Korean_Americans_celebrate_another_year_of_communitys_emergence.html|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=January 13, 2014|access-date=January 13, 2014|archive-date=January 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116225558/http://www.northjersey.com/news/North_Jersey_Korean_Americans_celebrate_another_year_of_communitys_emergence.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The migration of Koreans to Hawaii can be explained by conditions in both the US and Korea. Koreans suffered from a series of natural disasters and heavy taxation. In Hawaii, plantation owners who had relied upon Chinese and Japanese labor faced a labor shortage after the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Koreans were brought in as an alternative labor source. King Kojong promoted Korean immigration by establishing a Korean Department of Emigration and granting American businessmen permission to recruit Koreans for immigration to Korea.<ref name=":2" />

Between 1904 and 1907, about 1,000 Koreans entered the mainland from Hawaii through San Francisco.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Ilse: First-Generation Korean Immigrants in Hawaiʻi, 1903–1972|last=Patterson |first=Wayne |year=2000|location=Honolulu |publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=0-8248-2241-2|pages=1–11}}</ref> Many Koreans dispersed along the [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast]] as farm workers or as wage laborers in mining companies and as section hands on the railroads. [[Picture bride]]s became a common practice for marriage to Korean men. Other than those seeking better economic opportunities in the US, there were also Koreans who left for the US as refugees of the Japanese empire. Between 1910 and 1918, 541 students escaped Japan and arrived in the US through a third country. Individuals such as Whang Sa Sun, who were deeply involved in the Korean independence movement also came to the US to escape Japanese persecution. Between 1905 and 1910, political activities in Korean American communities surged in opposition towards Japanese aggression towards Korea.

Korean Americans formed organizations throughout the US, with a concentration in Hawaii and California. In 1903, the same year that the first Korean laborers arrived in Hawai, Koreans formed the [[New People's Association|Sinminhoe]] (New People's Association).<ref name=":2" /> In 1909, two of the largest Korean American organizations would merge to form the [[Korean National Association]], the largest Korean immigrant organization in North America. Established in San Francisco, The Korean National Association, would eventually expand to 130 chapters.<ref name=":2" /> The organization coordinated the activities of Korean Americans across North America, holding mass protests and positioning itself as the official representative of Korean Americans. Leaders included An Changho, Syngman Rhee, and [[Park Yong-man]]. This organization, along with many others, would play a key role in the [[Korean independence movement]] between 1910 and 1945.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2003 |script-title=ko:[지평선]"사진 신부" |url=https://www.hankookilbo.com/News/Read/200305160094196526?t=20231122001854 |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=[[Hankook Ilbo]] |language=ko-KR}}</ref>

After the annexation of [[Korea]] by Japan in 1910, Korean migration to the United States came to a virtual halt. The Japanese colonial government had initially allowed Koreans to immigrate to the US starting in 1902, but later banned Korean emigration to secure manpower on the Korean peninsula and to protect Japanese Americans from Korean competition in the US. The Japanese government did, however, allow Korean women to immigrate to the US (many of whom arrived as picture brides) to pacify nationalist sentiment in Korean American communities.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Erika |title=The making of Asian America: a history |date=2016 |publisher=Simon & Schuster paperbacks |isbn=978-1-4767-3940-3 |location=New York}}</ref> The [[Immigration Act of 1924]] (also referred to as the ''Oriental Exclusion Act)'' also worked to systematically exclude Korean immigrants from coming to the US.

=== Immigration following the Korean War (1950–1964) ===

Due to the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952]], opportunities were more open to Asian Americans, enabling Korean Americans to move out of enclaves into middle-class neighborhoods. When the [[Korean War]] ended in 1953, small numbers of students and professionals entered the United States. A larger group of immigrants included women married with [[USFK|U.S. servicemen]] commonly referred to as "war brides". These women faced discrimination in the US as well as in South Korea, where many were labelled as whores or traitors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Moore |first=Tatiana |title=The Pattern of American Society: Treatment of Korean War Brides in the United States Following the Korean War |journal=Undergraduate Research Journal |volume=24 |article-number=7 |year=2020}}</ref> Following in 1953, South Korea had allowed international adoption. This had stemmed from the result of the Korean war as it left many children displaced. As a result of allowing [[International adoption of South Korean children|external adoption in South Korea]], a majority of the children have been adopted from families across the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nash|first=Amy|date=2014|title=Korean Americans|url=http://lpclibrary.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/galegale/korean_americans/0?|access-date=2021-10-25|website=Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America}}</ref> With the passage of the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]], Koreans became one of the fastest growing Asian groups in the United States, surpassed only by [[Filipino American|Filipinos]].

=== Immigration following the 1965 Immigration Act ===

The [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965]] abolished the quota system that had restricted the numbers of Asians allowed to enter the United States. Over 560,000 Koreans have immigrated to the US from 1970 to 1990.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Park |first=Edward |date=June 30, 2020 |title=A Divergent Path: Korean American Politics in an Age of Globalization |journal=Journal of Global and Area Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=29–43 |doi=10.31720/jga.4.1.2 |s2cid=225788551 |issn=2586-0305}}</ref> Large numbers of Koreans, including some from North Korea who had come via South Korea, have immigrated ever since, placing Korea in the top six countries of origin of immigrants to the United States<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2013-lawful-permanent-residents|title=Yearbook of Immigration Statistics: 2013 Lawful Permanent Residents Supplemental Table 1|publisher=U.S. Department of Homeland Security|access-date=June 25, 2014|archive-date=October 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013214828/https://www.dhs.gov/yearbook-immigration-statistics-2013-lawful-permanent-residents|url-status=live}}</ref> since 1975. The reasons for immigration vary and include the desire for [[Liberty|freedom]] and to seek better economic opportunities. The 1965 Immigration Act also generated a shift in the demographics of the Korean American community, with  "new immigrants" making up the majority of the Korean American population.

=== The Korean American Experience after the 1980s ===
[[File:Korean Americans.jpg|thumb|left|A wide range of Korean Americans]]
In the 1980s and 1990s, Koreans became noted not only for starting small businesses such as dry cleaners or convenience stores, but also for diligently planting churches. They would venture into abandoned cities and start up businesses which happened to be predominantly African American in demographics. This would sometimes lead to publicized tensions with customers as dramatized in movies such as Spike Lee's ''[[Do the Right Thing]]''.
Their children, along with those of other Asian Americans, would also be noted in headlines and magazine covers in the 1980s for their numbers in [[Ivy League|prestigious universities]] and highly skilled [[white-collar worker|white collar]] professions. Favorable [[socioeconomic status]] and [[Education in the United States|education]] have led to the painting of Asian Americans, including Korean Americans, as a "[[model minority]]". However, this label is a controversial one: many individuals claim that the "model minority" label derides other communities [[Person of color|of color]] and dismisses the challenges that the Korean Americans, and other Asian American ethnic groups, face.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Model Minority Myth |url=https://thepractice.law.harvard.edu/article/the-model-minority-myth/|access-date=2020-11-12|website=The Practice|language=en|archive-date=2020-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111172247/https://thepractice.law.harvard.edu/article/the-model-minority-myth/|url-status=live}}</ref> For instance, 12.8% of all Korean Americans live at or below the poverty line.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Koreans {{!}} Data on Asian Americans |url=https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/fact-sheet/asian-americans-koreans-in-the-u-s/|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-11-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112014503/https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/fact-sheet/asian-americans-koreans-in-the-u-s/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Juju_Chang.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Juju Chang]] is a Korean American [[television journalist]] for [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]], and currently serves as an anchor of ''[[Nightline]]''.]]
A large number of Korean Americans do not have health insurance<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Korean American Community |url=http://www.koreanamericanhealthconference.com/the-korean-american-community.html|access-date=2020-11-12 |website=Korean American Health Conference|language=en|archive-date=2020-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024165533/https://www.koreanamericanhealthconference.com/the-korean-american-community.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=March 24, 2014 |title=Health Problems of Korean Americans: Access to Health Care |url=https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/korean/patterns/access.html|access-date=2020-11-12|website=Geriatrics|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123114743/https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/korean/patterns/access.html|url-status=live}}</ref> due to language access barriers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Antonio-Vila|first=Lydia|date=April 17, 2020|title=NAKASEC: Highlighting discrepancies in language access in the Asian American community|work=Fairfax County Times|url=http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/fairfax_county/nakasec-highlighting-discrepancies-in-language-access-in-the-asian-american-community/article_1a831186-8045-11ea-9dd3-9378d333e769.html|access-date=November 11, 2020|archive-date=May 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515133626/http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/fairfax_county/nakasec-highlighting-discrepancies-in-language-access-in-the-asian-american-community/article_1a831186-8045-11ea-9dd3-9378d333e769.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bharath|first=Deepa |date=November 14, 2019|title=Undocumented, uninsured Korean Americans find safe havens in nonprofit clinics |work=The Orange County Register |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2019/11/14/undocumented-uninsured-korean-americans-find-safe-havens-in-nonprofit-clinics/|access-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-date=October 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021051436/https://www.ocregister.com/2019/11/14/undocumented-uninsured-korean-americans-find-safe-havens-in-nonprofit-clinics/|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, older Korean Americans, who are at significant risk of developing mental health conditions, are less likely to access mental health services even when exhibiting symptoms. This is due to stigma and cultural misconceptions regarding mental health conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fewer older Korean Americans utilize mental health services |work=University of Hawaiʻi News |date=October 20, 2020 |url=https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/10/20/korean-americans-mental-health/|access-date=2020-11-12 |language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201105045322/https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2020/10/20/korean-americans-mental-health/|archive-date=2020-11-05 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sohn|first=Linda|date=2010|title=Health and health care of Korean American Older Adults |url=https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/korean.html |journal=ECampus-Geriatrics|via=Stanford School of Medicine |access-date=2020-11-12 |archive-date=2020-10-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027064410/https://geriatrics.stanford.edu/ethnomed/korean.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Los Angeles has emerged as a major center of the Korean American community. The city has undergone a rapid transition in the 1990s marked by an influx of Koreans and investment by Korean banks and corporations.<ref>{{cite book |first1=H. C. |last1=Laux |first2=G. |last2=Theme |chapter=Koreans in Greater Los Angeles: socioeconomic polarization, ethnic attachment, and residential patterns |editor-first=W. |editor-last=Li |title=From urban enclave to ethnic suburb: New Asian communities in Pacific Rim countries |year=2006 |isbn=0-8248-2911-5 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/fromurbanenclave00weil/page/95 95–118] |location=Honolulu |publisher=U of Hawaii Press |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/fromurbanenclave00weil/page/95}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Youngmin Lee |author2=Kyonghwan Park |title=Negotiating hybridity: transnational reconstruction of migrant subjectivity in Koreatown, Los Angeles |journal=Journal of Cultural Geography |year=2008 |volume=25 |issue=3 |pages=245–262 |doi=10.1080/08873630802433822 |s2cid=145462855}}</ref> Many entrepreneurs opened small businesses, and were hard hit by the [[1992 Los Angeles riots]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abelmann |first1=Nancy |last2=Lie |first2=John |title=Blue dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles riots |year=1997 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0-674-07705-9 |pages=}}{{page needed|date=November 2023}}</ref> More recently, L.A.'s Koreatown has been perceived to have experienced declining political power secondary to re-districting,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0801-koreatown-lawsuit-20120801,0,7093984.story|title=Koreatown residents sue L.A. over redistricting|author=David Zahniser|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 1, 2012|access-date=2012-08-27 |archive-date=2012-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923005720/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0801-koreatown-lawsuit-20120801,0,7093984.story}}</ref> and an increased crime rate,<ref>{{cite news |title=Koreatown Crime|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/koreatown/crime/ |access-date=2012-08-27|archive-date=2013-08-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801231321/http://maps.latimes.com/neighborhoods/neighborhood/koreatown/crime/|url-status=live}}</ref> prompting an exodus of Koreans from the area. Furthermore, the aftermath of the 1992 riots witnessed a large number of Koreans from Southern California moving to the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and opening businesses and buying property near downtown [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], furthering the growth of that city's [[Koreatown#Oakland, California|Koreatown]] until the early 2000s.<ref name="Oakland's got Seoul">{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-s-got-Seoul-Koreatown-emerges-as-hub-of-2810111.php#page-1|title=Oakland's got Seoul / Koreatown emerges as hub of Asian culture and downtown's rebirth|date=June 13, 2002|work=[[SF Gate]] |location=Oakland|access-date=March 2, 2013|archive-date=May 17, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130517220405/http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-s-got-Seoul-Koreatown-emerges-as-hub-of-2810111.php#page-1|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Park (1998), the violence against Korean Americans in 1992 stimulated a new wave of political activism among Korean Americans, but it also split them into two main camps. The "liberals" sought to unite with other minorities in Los Angeles to fight against racial oppression and scapegoating. The "conservatives," emphasized [[law and order (politics)|law and order]] and generally favored the economic and social policies of the Republican Party. The conservatives tended to emphasize the political differences between Koreans and other minorities, specifically blacks and Hispanics.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Park |first=Edward J. W. |title=Competing visions: Political formation of Korean Americans in Los Angeles, 1992–1997 |journal=Amerasia Journal |year=1998 |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=41–57 |doi=10.17953/amer.24.1.320208pj23401021 |s2cid=146498339 |url=http://aascpress.metapress.com/content/320208pj23401021/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826231444/http://aascpress.metapress.com/content/320208pj23401021/ |archive-date=2013-08-26|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Abelmann and Lie, (1997) report that the most profound result was the politicization of Korean Americans, all across the U.S. The younger generation especially realized they had been too uninvolved in American politics, and the riot shifted their political attention from South Korea to conditions in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abelmann |first1=Nancy |last2=Lie |first2=John |title=Blue dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles riots |year=1997 |location=Cambridge |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=0-674-07705-9 |pages=184–185}}</ref>

Also accelerated by the 1992 riots, [[Orange County, California|Orange County's]] Korean population grew from its starting point in [[Koreatown, Garden Grove]]. As of 2020, Orange County had the second largest number of Korean Americans of any county in America, neighboring Los Angeles County has the most, numbering over 229,593.<ref>{{Cite news |last=왕 |first=길환 |date=March 18, 2022 |script-title=ko:재미동포 인구 192만명…캘리포니아주에 55만7천여명 거주 |url=https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20220318039200371 |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=[[Yonhap News Agency]] |language=ko}}</ref> Koreans originally moved into [[Garden Grove, California|Garden Grove]] after Olympic gold medalist [[Sammy Lee (diver)|Sammy Lee]] bought a home in the 1950s signaling to other ethnic minorities that they could move into Orange County. Since then, Koreans have spread throughout northern Orange County, mainly concentrating in [[Buena Park, California|Buena Park]], [[Fullerton, California|Fullerton]], [[Cerritos, California|Cerritos]], [[La Palma, California|La Palma]], [[Cypress, California|Cypress]], and [[Irvine, California|Irvine]]. Garden Grove is now{{When|date=November 2022}} home to more than 1,500 Korean businesses, and has held a Korean festival, night market, and parade every year since 1983.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRxROUKX-TU | title=Korean Festival 2009 | website=YouTube | date=October 15, 2009 }}</ref> Mostly older and more traditional Korean businesses and food are found in Garden Grove, while newer and trendier Seoul based chains often locate in Buena Park and Irvine.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-11-27/koreatown-orange-county-garden-grove-guide | title=A guide to Koreatown in Garden Grove: Orange County's Korean cultural center | website=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=November 27, 2019 }}</ref> [[The Source OC]] is a multi-level Korean themed mall in Buena Park that houses over 100 restaurants, as well as Korean themed bars, a school, K-pop stores, and a PC gaming café.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://voiceofoc.org/2022/08/a-vibrant-korean-community-is-thriving-in-north-o-c/ | title=A Vibrant Korean Community is Thriving in North O.C. | date=August 26, 2022 }}</ref>

[[File:Randall_Park_2015.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Actor [[Randall Park]], who since 2015 portrayed [[Eddie Huang]]'s father, Taiwanese-American restaurateur Louis Huang, in [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s television show ''[[Fresh Off the Boat]]''.]]
A substantial number of affluent Korean American professionals have settled in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]] since the early 2000s (decade) and have founded various academically and communally supportive organizations, including the Korean Parent Partnership Organization at the [[Bergen County Academies]] [[magnet school|magnet]] high school<ref>{{cite web|url=http://academyppo.com/Korean%20PPO/index.shtml|title=Bergen County Academies Parent Partnership Organization – Korean PPO|access-date=2010-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905223922/http://academyppo.com/Korean%20PPO/index.shtml |archive-date=2010-09-05}}</ref> and The Korean-American Association of New Jersey.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kaanj.org/eng/index.html|title=The Korean-American Association of New Jersey|access-date=2010-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090916142323/http://www.kaanj.org/eng/index.html|archive-date=2009-09-16}}</ref> [[Holy Name Medical Center]] in [[Teaneck, New Jersey]], within Bergen County, has undertaken an effort to provide comprehensive health care services to [[Health insurance coverage in the United States|underinsured]] and uninsured Korean patients from a wide area with its ''Korean Medical Program'', drawing over 1,500 Korean American patients to its annual health festival.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/korean-medical-program-draws-1-500-to-holy-name-medical-center-in-teaneck-1.1097631|title=Korean Medical Program draws 1,500 to Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck|author=Aaron Morrison|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=September 27, 2014|access-date=September 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140928131008/http://www.northjersey.com/news/korean-medical-program-draws-1-500-to-holy-name-medical-center-in-teaneck-1.1097631|archive-date=September 28, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/225683871_North_Jersey_Korean_health_fair_data_help_track_risks.html|title=North Jersey Korean health fair data help track risks|author=Karen Rouse|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=September 29, 2013|access-date=September 29, 2013}} {{dead link|date=March 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/events/Annual_Korean_Health_Fair_draws_crowds_at_Holy_Name_Medical_Center_in_Teaneck.html|title=Annual Korean health fair draws crowds at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck|author=Barbara Williams|work=2012 North Jersey Media Group|date=October 20, 2012|access-date=2012-10-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003045808/http://www.northjersey.com/news/health/events/Annual_Korean_Health_Fair_draws_crowds_at_Holy_Name_Medical_Center_in_Teaneck.html|archive-date=2013-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/180665391_Holy_Name_will_screen_2_000_for_Hepatitis_B.html|title=Holy Name will screen 2,000 for Hepatitis B |author=Barbara Williams|work=2012 North Jersey Media Group|date=November 24, 2012|access-date=2012-11-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003045818/http://www.northjersey.com/news/180665391_Holy_Name_will_screen_2_000_for_Hepatitis_B.html|archive-date=2013-10-03}}</ref> Bergen County's Broad Avenue [[Koreatown, Palisades Park|Koreatown in Palisades Park]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PSYZMs8TzEC&q=fort+lee+koreatown+pyong+min&pg=PA237|title=Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues Second Edition, Edited by Pyong Gap Min |publisher=Pine Forge Press – An Imprint of Sage Publications, Inc.|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4129-0556-5|access-date=2010-11-08}}</ref> has emerged as a dominant nexus of Korean American culture,<ref>{{cite web |author=BrianYarvin |url=http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/06/new-jersey-palisades-park-koreatown-korean-banchan-nj.html |title=Jersey Dispatch: Bergen County Koreatown |publisher=Newyork.seriouseats.com |date=June 13, 2008 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2017-06-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619204220/http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2008/06/new-jersey-palisades-park-koreatown-korean-banchan-nj.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and its Senior Citizens Center provides a popular gathering place where even Korean grandmothers were noted to follow the dance trend of the worldwide viral hit ''[[Gangnam Style]]'' by South Korean "[[K-pop]]" rapper [[Psy (rapper)|Psy]] in September 2012;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/celebrities/170803886__Gangnam_Style__dance_craze_catches_fire_in_North_Jersey.html|title='Gangnam Style' dance craze catches fire in North Jersey|author1=Sachi Fujimori|author2=Elyse Toribio|work=2012 North Jersey Media Group|date=September 22, 2012|access-date=2012-09-22|archive-date=2013-12-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233816/http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/celebrities/170803886__Gangnam_Style__dance_craze_catches_fire_in_North_Jersey.html|url-status=live}}</ref> while the nearby [[Koreatown, Fort Lee|Fort Lee Koreatown]] is also emerging as such. The [[Chuseok|Chusok]] Korean Thanksgiving [[harvest festival]] has become an annual tradition in Bergen County, attended by several tens of thousands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/community/Koreans_in_North_Jersey_give_thanks_at_harvest_festival___.html|title=Koreans in North Jersey give thanks at harvest festival|author=Mary Diduch|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=September 14, 2013|access-date=September 15, 2013|archive-date=September 18, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918144755/http://www.northjersey.com/community/Koreans_in_North_Jersey_give_thanks_at_harvest_festival___.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Bergen County's growing Korean community<ref name = BergenCountyComfortWomen1>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/06/japanese-american_congressman_visits_nj_comfort_women_memorial.html#incart_m-rpt-1|title=Sexual slavery issue, discussed internationally, pivots around one little monument in N.J.|author=S.P. Sullivan|date=June 8, 2013|access-date=June 9, 2013|archive-date=August 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180812111721/https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/06/japanese-american_congressman_visits_nj_comfort_women_memorial.html#incart_m-rpt-1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/bergen_news/North_Jersey_Korean-Americans_relieved_but_worried_about_transition.html|title=North Jersey Korean-Americans relieved but worried about transition|author=John C. Ensslin|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=December 20, 2011|access-date=2011-12-20|archive-date=2013-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014140157/http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/bergen_news/North_Jersey_Korean-Americans_relieved_but_worried_about_transition.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=atty>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/Korean_War_vets_honored__at_Cresskill_church.html|title=Korean War vets honored at Cresskill church|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=June 26, 2011|access-date=2011-06-27|archive-date=2013-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014140203/http://www.northjersey.com/news/Korean_War_vets_honored__at_Cresskill_church.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/113719969_Kim_named_Central_Municipal_Court_judge.html|title=Hackensack attorney appointed to court|date=January 15, 2011|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|access-date=2011-06-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110120003001/http://www.northjersey.com/news/crime_courts/113719969_Kim_named_Central_Municipal_Court_judge.html|archive-date=2011-01-20}}</ref> was cited by county executive Kathleen Donovan in the context of [[Hackensack, New Jersey]] attorney Jae Y. Kim's appointment to Central Municipal Court judgeship in January 2011.<ref name=atty/> Subsequently, in January 2012, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie nominated attorney Phillip Kwon of Bergen County for [[New Jersey Supreme Court]] justice,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/North_Jersey_Koreans_welcome_state_Supreme_Court_nomination.html|title=North Jersey Koreans welcome state Supreme Court nomination|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|author=Monsy Alvarado|date=January 24, 2012|access-date=2012-01-25|archive-date=2013-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003045756/http://www.northjersey.com/news/North_Jersey_Koreans_welcome_state_Supreme_Court_nomination.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/nyregion/christie-names-gay-and-asian-men-to-nj-supreme-court.html|title=Christie Names a Gay Man and an Asian for the Top Court|author=Kate Zernike|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=January 23, 2012|access-date=2012-01-24|archive-date=2012-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124022459/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/nyregion/christie-names-gay-and-asian-men-to-nj-supreme-court.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/012312_Christie_nominates_gay_black_man_Asian_to_NJ_Supreme_Court.html|title=Christie nominates gay black man, Asian to N.J. Supreme Court – video|author=Juliet Fletcher|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=January 23, 2012|access-date=2012-01-24|archive-date=2013-10-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003045738/http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/012312_Christie_nominates_gay_black_man_Asian_to_NJ_Supreme_Court.html|url-status=live}}</ref> although this nomination was rejected by the state's Senate Judiciary Committee,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/in_rejecting_supreme_court_nom.html|last=Baxter|first=Christopher|title=In rejecting Supreme Court nominee Phillip Kwon, Dems send Gov. Christie a message|access-date=September 29, 2013|newspaper=Star Ledger|date=March 25, 2012|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723005436/https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/in_rejecting_supreme_court_nom.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and in July 2012, Kwon was appointed instead as deputy general counsel of the [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/Philip_Kwon_hired_at_high-ranking_job_at_Port_Authority.html|title=Update: Philip Kwon, rejected N.J. Supreme Court nominee, scores a top Port Authority job|author=SHAWN BOBURG AND JOHN REITMEYER|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=July 26, 2012|access-date=2012-07-29 |archive-date=2012-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728031127/http://www.northjersey.com/news/Philip_Kwon_hired_at_high-ranking_job_at_Port_Authority.html|url-status=live}}</ref> According to ''[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]'' of Bergen County, the U.S. Census Bureau has determined the county's Korean American population—2010 census figures put it at 56,773<ref name="Monsy Alvarado">{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/leonia/Bergen_County_swears_in_first_female_Korean-American_assistant_prosecutor.html|title=Bergen County swears in first female Korean-American assistant prosecutor|author=Monsy Alvarado|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=September 4, 2012|access-date=2012-09-04|archive-date=2013-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014140207/http://www.northjersey.com/leonia/Bergen_County_swears_in_first_female_Korean-American_assistant_prosecutor.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Korean_language_ballots_coming_to_Bergen_County.html|title=Korean language ballots coming to Bergen County|author1=Karen Sudol|author2=Dave Sheingold|work=2012 North Jersey Media Group|date=October 12, 2011|access-date=2012-09-04|archive-date=2012-05-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512220215/http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Korean_language_ballots_coming_to_Bergen_County.html|url-status=live}}</ref> (increasing to 63,247 by the 2011 [[American Community Survey]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212210151/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_11_1YR_DP05&prodType=table|archive-date=2020-02-12|title=ACS DEMOGRAPHIC AND HOUSING ESTIMATES 2011 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates – Geographies – Bergen County, New Jersey|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2013-04-16}}</ref>—grew enough to warrant language assistance during elections,<ref name="Karen Sudol and Dave Sheingold">{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Korean_language_ballots_coming_to_Bergen_County.html|title=Korean language ballots coming to Bergen County|author1=Karen Sudol|author2=Dave Sheingold|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=October 12, 2011|access-date=2011-10-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512220215/http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen/Korean_language_ballots_coming_to_Bergen_County.html |archive-date=2012-05-12|url-status=live}}</ref> and Bergen County's Koreans have become a significant voice in local politics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/166724576_After_decades_of_work__Bergen_County_Koreans_have_earned_political_respect.html|title=After decades of work, Bergen County Koreans have earned political respect|author=John C. Ensslin|work=2012 North Jersey Media Group|date=August 20, 2012|access-date=2012-08-23|archive-date=2012-08-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823205257/http://www.northjersey.com/news/166724576_After_decades_of_work__Bergen_County_Koreans_have_earned_political_respect.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rebecca D. O'Brien">{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/174039211.html|title=New Jersey's Korean community awakens politically|work=2012 North Jersey Media Group|author=Rebecca D. O'Brien|date=October 14, 2012|access-date=2012-10-19|archive-date=2013-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003045742/http://www.northjersey.com/news/174039211.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/173234571_Korean-Americans_to_sponsor_three_debates.html|title=Korean-Americans to sponsor three debates|author=Monsy Alvarado|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=October 9, 2012|access-date=May 12, 2014|archive-date=2013-10-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014140159/http://www.northjersey.com/news/173234571_Korean-Americans_to_sponsor_three_debates.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As of May 2014, Korean Americans had garnered at least four borough council seats in Bergen County.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/south-korean-officials-menendez-lead-englewood-discussion-on-improving-joint-economy-1.1014570|title=South Korean officials, Menendez lead Englewood discussion on improving joint economy|author=Monsy Alvarado|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=May 12, 2014|access-date=May 12, 2014|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081227/http://www.northjersey.com/news/south-korean-officials-menendez-lead-englewood-discussion-on-improving-joint-economy-1.1014570|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Flatbush boycott===
In 1990, Korean American owned shops were boycotted in the [[Flatbush, Brooklyn|Flatbush]] section of the [[borough (New York City)|borough]] of [[Brooklyn]] in New York City. The boycott started by [[Black nationalism|Black Nationalist]], [[Sonny Carson]], lasted for six months and became known as the [[Flatbush boycott]].

===Comfort women===
In May 2012, officials in Bergen County's [[Palisades Park, New Jersey|borough of]] [[Koreatown, Palisades Park|Palisades Park, New Jersey]] rejected requests by two [[international diplomacy|diplomatic]] delegations from Japan to remove a small monument from a public park, a [[brass]] plaque on a block of stone, dedicated in 2010 to the memory of [[comfort women]], thousands of women, many Koreans, who were forced into sexual slavery by [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese soldiers]] during [[World War II]].<ref name = BergenCountyComfortWomen1/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/nyregion/monument-in-palisades-park-nj-irritates-japanese-officials.html|title=In New Jersey, Memorial for 'Comfort Women' Deepens Old Animosity|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|author=Kirk Semple|date=May 18, 2012|access-date=June 9, 2013|archive-date=May 29, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190529231015/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/19/nyregion/monument-in-palisades-park-nj-irritates-japanese-officials.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Days later, a South Korean delegation endorsed the borough's decision.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/community/at_the_library/news/Palisades_Park_monument_to_comfort_women_stirs_support_anger.html|title=Palisades Park monument to 'comfort women' stirs support, anger|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|author=Monsy Alvarado|date=July 12, 2012|access-date=2012-07-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714013436/http://www.northjersey.com/community/at_the_library/news/Palisades_Park_monument_to_comfort_women_stirs_support_anger.html|archive-date=July 14, 2012}}</ref> However, in neighboring Fort Lee, various Korean American groups could not reach consensus on the design and wording for such a monument as of early April 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/04/critics_cause_fort_lee_to_reconsider_monument_honoring_korean_wwii_prostitutes.html#incart_river_default |title=Critics cause Fort Lee to reconsider monument honoring Korean WWII prostitutes|author=Dan Ivers|date=April 6, 2013 |access-date=April 8, 2013|archive-date=July 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712060208/https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/04/critics_cause_fort_lee_to_reconsider_monument_honoring_korean_wwii_prostitutes.html#incart_river_default|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/fortlee/Controversy_puts_planned_comfort_women_memorial_in_Fort_Lee_on_hold.html|title=Controversy puts planned 'comfort women' memorial in Fort Lee on hold|author=Linh Tat|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=April 4, 2013|access-date=April 8, 2013|archive-date=April 15, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130415081032/http://www.northjersey.com/fortlee/Controversy_puts_planned_comfort_women_memorial_in_Fort_Lee_on_hold.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2012, a similar memorial was announced in nearby Hackensack, to be raised behind the [[Bergen County Court House|Bergen County Courthouse]], alongside memorials to the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]], the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Irish Famine]], the [[Armenian genocide]], and [[Slavery in the United States]]<ref name="Rebecca D. O'Brien"/> and was unveiled in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/03/bergen_county_marks_international_womens_day_with_korean_comfort_women_memorial.html#incart_river_default |title=Bergen County marks International Women's Day with Korean 'comfort women' memorial|author=S.P. Sullivan |date=March 8, 2013|access-date=2013-03-08|archive-date=2018-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712032000/https://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2013/03/bergen_county_marks_international_womens_day_with_korean_comfort_women_memorial.html#incart_river_default|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/Bergen_County_officials_.html |title=Memorial dedicated to women forced into sexual slavery during WWII |author=Monsy Alvarado|publisher=North Jersey Media Group, Inc.|date=March 8, 2013|access-date=2013-03-08}}</ref> An apology and monetary compensation of roughly $8,000,000 by Japan to South Korea in December 2015 for these crimes largely fell flat in Bergen County, where the first U.S. monument to pay respects to comfort women was erected.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/mixed-reaction-to-japan-apology-on-comfort-women-1.1481398|title=Mixed reaction to Japan apology on 'comfort women'|author=Matthew McGrath |publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=December 28, 2015|access-date=December 29, 2015|archive-date=December 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151229041247/http://www.northjersey.com/news/mixed-reaction-to-japan-apology-on-comfort-women-1.1481398|url-status=live}}</ref>

===East Sea controversy===
According to ''[[The Record (Bergen County)|The Record]]'', the Korean American Association of New Jersey petitioned Bergen County school officials in 2013 to use textbooks that refer to the [[Sea of Japan]] as the ''East Sea'' as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/207667261_Korean_group_petitions_schools_over_textbook.html|title=Korean group petitions schools over textbook |author=Linh Tat|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=May 16, 2013|access-date=May 16, 2013|archive-date=October 14, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014140238/http://www.northjersey.com/news/207667261_Korean_group_petitions_schools_over_textbook.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2014, Bergen County lawmakers announced legislative efforts to include the name East Sea in future New Jersey school textbooks.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/02/new_jersey_lawmaker_cause_international_stir_with_bill_to_rename_sea_of_japan.html#incart_river_default#incart_hbx#incart_best-of|title=New Jersey lawmakers cause international stir with bill to rename 'Sea of Japan'|author=Matt Friedman|date=February 14, 2014|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=July 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723005326/https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/02/new_jersey_lawmaker_cause_international_stir_with_bill_to_rename_sea_of_japan.html#incart_river_default|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/Whats_in_a_name_Bergen_state_lawmakers_push_Korean_claim_that_Sea_of_Japan_is_East_Sea.html|title=What's in a name: Bergen state lawmakers push Korean claim that Sea of Japan is East Sea|author1=John C. Ensslin |author2=Michael Linhorst |publisher=North Jersey Media Group |date=February 14, 2014|access-date=February 14, 2014|archive-date=March 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311023853/http://www.northjersey.com/news/Whats_in_a_name_Bergen_state_lawmakers_push_Korean_claim_that_Sea_of_Japan_is_East_Sea.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2014, a bill to recognize references to the Sea of Japan also as the East Sea in [[Virginia]] textbooks was signed into law.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/3/virginias-east-sea-textbook-bill-a-nod-to-korean-a/|title=Virginia's 'East Sea' textbook bill a nod to Korean Americans|author=David Sherfinski|newspaper=The Washington Times|date=April 3, 2014|access-date=April 4, 2014|archive-date=April 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404042434/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/3/virginias-east-sea-textbook-bill-a-nod-to-korean-a/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===''Sewol'' ferry tragedy memorial in the United States===
In May 2014, the [[Koreatown, Palisades Park|Palisades Park Public Library]] in New Jersey created a memorial dedicated to the victims of the tragic [[Sinking of the MV Sewol|sinking of the ''Sewol'' ferry]] off the South Korean coast on April 16, 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/palisades-park-library-creates-memorial-for-south-korean-ferry-victims-1.1008109 |title=Palisades Park library creates memorial for South Korean ferry victims |author=Monsy Alvarado|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=May 2, 2014|access-date=May 3, 2014|archive-date=August 16, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816065642/http://www.northjersey.com/news/palisades-park-library-creates-memorial-for-south-korean-ferry-victims-1.1008109|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Nail salon abuse===
According to a 2015 investigation by ''[[The New York Times]]'', abuse by Korean [[nail salon]] owners in [[Korean Americans in New York City|New York City]] and [[Koreatown, Long Island|Long Island]] was rampant, with 70 to 80% of nail salon owners in New York being Korean, per the Korean American Nail Salon Association; with the growth and concentration in the number of salons in New York City far outstripping the remainder of the United States since 2000, according to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]]. Abuses routinely included underpayment and non-payment to employees for services rendered, exacting poor working conditions, and stratifying pay scales and working conditions for Korean employees above non-Koreans.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html|title=The Price of Nice Nails |author=Sarah Maslin Nir |others=Reporting was contributed by Sarah Cohen, Jiha Ham, Jeanne Li, Yuhan Liu, Julie Turkewitz, Isvett Verde, Yeong-Ung Yang and Heyang Zhang, and research by Susan C. Beachy|newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 7, 2015 |access-date=May 7, 2015 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription|archive-date=May 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507135300/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/nyregion/at-nail-salons-in-nyc-manicurists-are-underpaid-and-unprotected.html}}</ref>

=== Recent statistics ===
It is hard to determine the accuracy of this reporting due to the figures being sourced from the Korean Consulate in Korea, and the channels of various Korean-affiliated organizations. For example, tens of thousands of immigrant women who have been married to USFK since the 1950s and who have been adopted since the liberation of the United States have not been identified in the Korean consulate statistics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/main/index.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331063253/http://www.mofa.go.kr/ENG/main/index.jsp|archive-date=March 31, 2013|title=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea|date=March 31, 2013}}</ref>

==Languages==
[[File:Korean newspaper machines labeled in two languages.png|thumb|upright|Korean-language newspapers being sold in the United States (2018)]]
Korean Americans can speak a combination of [[American English|English]] and [[Korean language|Korean]] depending on where they were born and when they immigrated to the United States. New immigrants often use a mixture of Korean and English ([[Konglish]]), a practice also known as [[code-switching]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/02/137_104323.html |title=Konglish |publisher=[[The Korea Times]] |date=February 7, 2012 |access-date=2013-02-16 |archive-date=2018-09-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904225837/https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2012/02/137_104323.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Memorials and celebrities==
Korean American Day, celebrated on January 13, commemorates the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States on January 13, 1903. This day was first proclaimed by President [[George W. Bush]] in 2003 and officially recognized by the U.S. Congress in 2005. It honors the significant contributions of Korean Americans in various fields such as small business, the military, faith leadership, medicine, the arts, and politics, reflecting over a century of their impact on American society.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2022 |title=Korean American day |url=https://www.gateway-korea.org/news/2022/1/13/korean-american-day |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=Gateway Korea Foundation |language=en-US}}</ref>

Celebrities are named at [[List of Korean Americans]].

==Politics==
{{multiple image
| align             = right
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 240
| image1            = Jay_Kim.jpg
| caption1          = [[Jay Kim]] (R-CA)
| image2            = Sen Andy Kim 118th Congress (cropped 2).jpg
| caption2          = [[Andy Kim (politician)|Andy Kim]] (D-NJ)
| image3            = Young Kim 117th U.S Congress.jpg
| caption3          = [[Young Kim]] (R-CA)
| image4            = MichelleSteel.jpg
| caption4          = [[Michelle Steel]] (R-CA)
| image5            = Marilyn Strickland 117th U.S Congress.jpg
| caption5          = [[Marilyn Strickland]] (D-WA)
| image6            = Rep._Dave_Min_Official_Portrait.jpg
| caption6          = [[Dave Min]] (D-CA)
}}

In a poll from the Asia Times before the [[2004 U.S. presidential election]], Korean Americans narrowly favored [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[George W. Bush]] by a 41% to 38% margin over [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[John Kerry]], with the remaining 19% undecided or voting for other candidates.<ref>{{cite news |work=Asia Times |title=Asian-Americans lean toward Kerry |date=September 16, 2004 |last=Lobe |first=Jim |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI16Aa01.html |access-date=2008-05-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040916213328/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/FI16Aa01.html |archive-date=2004-09-16}}</ref> However, according to a poll done by the AALDEF, the majority of Korean Americans that voted in the 2004 presidential election favored [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[John Kerry]] by a 66% to 33% margin over [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] candidate [[George W. Bush]].<ref name="AALDEF">{{cite web |last=Lee|first=Bryan|title=The Asian American Vote in the 2008 Presidential Election|year=2009 |url=http://www.aaldef.org/docs/AALDEF-ExitPoll-2008.pdf|access-date=2012-04-12|work=AALDEF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017012249/http://www.aaldef.org/docs/AALDEF-ExitPoll-2008.pdf|archive-date=2018-10-17}}</ref> And another poll done by the AALDEF suggest the majority of Korean Americans that voted in the 2008 presidential election favored Democrat [[Barack Obama]] by a 64% to 35% margin over Republican [[John McCain]]<ref name="AALDEF"/> In the [[2008 U.S. presidential election]], Korean Americans favored Democrat [[Barack Obama]] over Republican [[John McCain]], around 59% to 41%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naasurvey.com|title=National Asian American Survey|date=October 21, 2015|website=Naasurvey.com |access-date=January 9, 2018 |archive-date=June 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627091625/http://naasurvey.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, there are still more registered Republican Korean Americans than registered Democrats. Korean Americans, due to their Republican and Christian leanings, overwhelmingly supported California's constitutional gay marriage ban, [[Proposition 8]].<ref>{{cite web|work=SF Weekly|date=July 20, 2010 |title=Korean Americans hate gay marriage the most |url=https://www.sfweekly.com/archives/korean-americans-hate-gay-marriage-most-new-poll-reveals/article_0f1f6c04-92e3-5c13-aa5e-4493ef382596.html}}</ref>

According to a multilingual exit poll from the 2012 election, 77% of Korean Americans voted for Democrat [[Barack Obama]], while only 20% voted for Republican [[Mitt Romney]].<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|title=2012 AALDEF exit poll |url=http://aaldef.org/AALDEF%202012%20Exit%20Poll%20Presentation.pdf|publisher=Aaldef.org|access-date=January 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928003350/http://aaldef.org/AALDEF%202012%20Exit%20Poll%20Presentation.pdf|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref> The poll also showed that 60% of Korean Americans identify themselves as being Democrats, while only 14% of Korean Americans identify themselves as being Republican.<ref name="autogenerated1"/>

In the 2016 presidential election, a majority of Korean Americans (75%) voted for Hillary Clinton.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 16, 2017|title=2016 Post-Election National Asian American Survey|url=https://naasurvey.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/NAAS16-post-election-report.pdf|access-date=May 12, 2021|website=[[National Asian American Survey]]}}</ref>

===Korean Americans in Congress===

Elected in 1992, [[Jay Kim]] was the first Korean American person elected to Congress.<ref>{{cite news
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/28/us/political-briefing-to-his-own-party-persona-non-grata.html
|date=April 28, 1998
|access-date=2009-05-14
|title=Political Briefing; To His Own Party, Persona Non Grata
|author=Drummond Ayres Jr., B.
|work=[[The New York Times]]
}}</ref> He represented portions of Orange County, California. He was defeated for re-election in the Republican primary in 1998.

In 2018, [[Andy Kim (politician)|Andy Kim]] was elected to Congress from central New Jersey, becoming the first Democratic and second overall Korean American to serve in Congress.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/andy-kim-tom-macarthur-nj-3rd-district_us_5bbcd8c5e4b01470d055d5eb|title=Andy Kim Is A South Jersey Boy. The GOP Calls Him 'Not One Of Us.'|last=Reilly|first=Ryan J.|date=October 30, 2018|work=Huffington Post|access-date=October 30, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[2020 United States House of Representatives elections|2020 elections]] saw the first three Korean American women elected to Congress, Republicans [[Young Kim]] and [[Michelle Steel]] of California and Democrat [[Marilyn Strickland]] of Washington.

In 2024, Andy Kim became the first Korean-American to be elected as a United States Senator and was sworn in on December 9, 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/nyregion/nj-senate-kim-bradshaw.html |title=Andy Kim wins in New Jersey to become the first Korean American senator.|website=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 6, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yam |first=Kimmy |date=November 6, 2024 |title=Andy Kim ushers in a 'new era' as he becomes 1st Asian American N.J. senator |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/andy-kim-new-jersey-first-asian-american-senator-rcna176913 |access-date=November 6, 2024 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562024/approved/20241208a.shtml|title = Governor Phil Murphy Appoints Andy Kim |last=Fox |first=Joey |date=December 8, 2024 |accessdate=December 8, 2024}}</ref> Democrat [[Dave Min]] of California was also elected to the House of Representatives that year.

Out of the six Korean Americans elected to the U.S. Congress, only Andy Kim and Dave Min were born in the United States: Jay Kim, Young Kim, Michelle Steel, and Marilyn Strickland were all born in Korea and immigrated, with Strickland having a father in the American military.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stangarone |first=Troy |date=January 12, 2021 |title=Meet the Four Korean American Members of the 117th Congress |url=https://keia.org/the-peninsula/meet-the-four-korean-american-members-of-the-117th-congress/ |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=Korea Economic Institute of America |language=en}}</ref>

# [[Andy Kim (politician)|Andy Kim]]: Kim was born on July 12, 1982, in Boston, Massachusetts to Korean immigrant parents. He has been serving as a member of the Democratic Party representing New Jersey since January 3, 2019. He is the first Korean-American to serve in the United States Senate, having assumed office on December 9, 2024.
# [[Young Kim]]: Young Kim was born on October 18, 1962, in Incheon, South Korea. She is a Republican Congresswoman representing California's 39th Congressional District, having assumed office on January 3, 2021.
# [[Michelle Steel]]: Born in South Korea, Michelle Park Steel is a Republican Congresswoman representing California's 48th Congressional District. She has been serving since January 3, 2021.
# [[Marilyn Strickland]]: Marilyn Strickland was born in Seoul, South Korea. She is a Democratic Congresswoman representing Washington's 10th Congressional District and has been in office since January 3, 2021. Strickland is notably the first African-American to represent Washington State at the federal level and the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress in its history.
# [[Dave Min]]: Min was born in Providence, Rhode Island to South Korean immigrants. He is a Democratic Congressman representing California's 47th Congressional District since January 3, 2025.
# [[Jay Kim]]: Jay Kim, who served in the past, was born in 1939 in Gyeongseong (now Seoul), South Korea, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. He immigrated to the United States in 1961 and later served as a Republican Congressman.

==Religion==
{{Pie chart
| thumb = right
| caption = Religious Makeup of Korean-Americans (2012)<ref>{{cite web |title=Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2012/07/19/asian-americans-a-mosaic-of-faiths-overview/ |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=April 28, 2019 |date=July 19, 2012 |archive-date=July 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130716064702/http://www.pewforum.org/Asian-Americans-A-Mosaic-of-Faiths-overview.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>
| label1 = [[Protestantism]]
| value1 = 61
| color1 = DarkBlue
| label2 = [[Irreligion|Unaffiliated]]
| value2 = 23
| color2 = Gray
| label3 = [[Catholicism]]
| value3 = 10
| color3 = Purple
| label4 = [[Buddhism]]
| value4 = 6
| color4 = Gold
}}
Korean Americans have historically had a very strong Christian—particularly Protestant—heritage. Between 60% and 65% identify as Christian; 40% of those consist of immigrants who were not Christians at the time of their arrival in the United States. There are about 4,000 Korean Christian churches in the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.christiantoday.co.kr/news/324702|script-title=ko:미국 내 한인교회 3천5백 개… 남가주 1천개로 '압도적'|date=August 19, 2019 |website=종교신문 1위 크리스천투데이|access-date=May 11, 2020 |archive-date=August 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810022321/https://www.christiantoday.co.kr/news/324702|url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2016 survey, Presbyterian churches accounted for 42%, followed by Baptists (17%) and Methodists (12%).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.christiantoday.us/24398|title=≪크리스찬투데이≫ 해외한인교회, 114년만에 6000을 넘다|website=크리스찬투데이|access-date=2020-05-11 |archive-date=2020-01-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200111042827/http://christiantoday.us/24398|url-status=live}}</ref> However, according to a study by UC Riverside in 2020, 64% of Korean American Christians identify as Presbyterians, followed by Methodists (11%) and Baptists (7%).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.christiantoday.us/|script-title=ko:크리스찬투데이|website=크리스찬투데이 |access-date=2020-05-11|archive-date=2020-05-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513160616/http://christiantoday.us/|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to a survey conducted in 2022–2023, Korean Americans have the second largest percentage of individuals who identity as Christian. Fifty-nine percent of Korean Americans identify as Christian. These statistics are in contrast with other Asian American groups such as the Chinese, Japanese, Indian, and Vietnamese of whom 15 to 36% identify as Christian.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rotolo |first=Besheer Mohamed and Michael |date=October 11, 2023 |title=Religion Among Asian Americans |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2023/10/11/religion-among-asian-americans/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project |language=en-US}}</ref>

The majority of Korean Americans across various social categories go to church. Won Moo Hurh attributes this to 4 factors, including the Christian backgrounds of both early and recent immigrants and the ethnic function of the Korean American Church.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hurh |first=Won Moo |title=The Korean Americans |date=1998 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=978-0-313-29741-0 |series=The new Americans |location=Westport, Conn.}}</ref> Many early Korean immigrants were Christians in Korea who came to the US through the support of American missionaries. The churches established by early Korean immigrants thus became associated with ethnic organizations. Korean immigrants who arrived in the US following the US Immigration Act of 1965 also came from urban middle-class backgrounds and were predominantly Christian.<ref name=":0" />

In 2004, there are 89 Korean Buddhist temples in the United States; the largest such temple, Los Angeles' Sa Chal Temple, was established in 1974.<ref name="suh">{{citation|title=Being Buddhist in a Christian World: Gender and Community in a Korean American Temple|last=Suh|first=Sharon A.|publisher=University of Washington Press|isbn=0-295-98378-7|pages=3–5|year=2004}}</ref> A small minority, about 2 to 10% of Korean Americans are Buddhist.<ref name="ency">{{cite book |last=Lee|first=Jonathan H. X.|author2=Kathleen M. Nadeau |title=Encyclopedia of Asian American folklore and folklife |publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2011|isbn=978-0-313-35066-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas00leej/page/703 703] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofas00leej/page/703}}</ref> Reasons given for the conversion of immigrant Korean families to Christianity include the responsiveness of Christian churches to immigrant needs as well as their communal nature, whereas Buddhist temples foster individual spirituality and practice and provide fewer social networking and business opportunities, as well as social pressure from other Koreans to convert.<ref>{{cite book |last=Yoo|first=David|author2=Ruth H. Chung |title=Religion and spirituality in Korean America |publisher=University of Illinois Press |year=2008|isbn=978-0-252-07474-5}}</ref> Most Korean American Christians do not practice traditional Confucian [[Veneration of the dead|ancestral rites]] practiced in Korea (in Korea, most Catholics, Buddhists, and nonbelievers practice these rites).<ref name="ency"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Park|first=Chang-Won|title=Cultural Blending in Korean Death Rites|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |date=June 10, 2010|pages=12–13|isbn=978-1-4411-1749-6}}</ref>

== Socio-economic status ==
According to a 2019 analysis of 2017–2019 American Community Survey by the Pew Research Center, the median annual household income of all Koreans in the U.S. was $72,200 (less than the $85,800 for all Asians in the U.S.). The median household income of US-born Koreans, however, was $88,100 exceeding the median household income for all Asians in the U.S.

In terms of employment (of civilians aged 16 or older), 62% of all Koreans in the U.S. were employed as compared to 62% for all Asians in the U.S. At an employment rate of 68%, U.S. born Koreans were slightly more likely to be employed than foreign born Koreans who have an employment rate of 59%.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Budiman |first=Abby |title=Koreans in the U.S. Fact Sheet |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/fact-sheet/asian-americans-koreans-in-the-u-s/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project |date=April 29, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Cuisine==
[[File:David_Chang_David_Shankbone_2010.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[David Chang]], at the [[Time 100]] gala in [[Manhattan]], is a Korean American restaurateur, author, and television personality.]]
"Korean American cuisine" can be described as a fusion of traditional [[Korean cuisine]] with American culture and tastes.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Authenticity and representation: cuisines and identities in Korean-American diaspora |journal=Postcolonial Studies|volume=8|year=2005 |first=Young-Rae|last=Oum |doi=10.1080/13688790500134380|issue=1|page=109 |s2cid=145365993}}</ref> Dishes such as "[[Korean taco]]s" have emerged from the contacts between Korean [[Bodega (store)|bodega]] owners and their Mexican workers in the Los Angeles area, spreading from one [[food truck]] ([[Kogi Korean BBQ]]) in November 2008 to the national stage eighteen months later.<ref>{{cite news |last=Edge |first=John T. |date=July 28, 2010 |title=The Tortilla Takes a Road Trip to Korea|work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/dining/28united.html |access-date=2010-07-28 |archive-date=2010-07-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729044233/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/dining/28united.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to Chef [[Roy Choi]] (of Kogi Korean BBQ fame), [[sundubu-jjigae]] was a dish developed by Korean immigrants in Los Angeles. In 2021, ''[[Thrillist]]'' named Bergen County, New Jersey as America's best Korean barbecue destination.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Musni |first=Lauren |date=September 26, 2022 |title=New Jersey's 10 best Korean barbecue restaurants, ranked |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2022/09/new-jerseys-10-best-korean-barbecue-restaurants-ranked.html |access-date=2022-11-26 |website=nj |language=en}}</ref>

Often, chefs borrow from Korean flavors and preparation techniques that they will integrate into the style they are most comfortable with (whether it be [[Tex-Mex]], [[American Chinese cuisine|Chinese]] or purely American). Even a classic staple of the American diet, the [[hamburger]], is available with a Korean twist—[[bulgogi]] (Korean BBQ) burgers.

With the popularity of cooking and culinary sampling, chefs, housewives, food junkies and culinary aficionados have been bolder in their choices, favoring more inventive, specialty and ethnic dishes. Already popular in its subset populations peppered throughout the United States, Korean food debuted in the many Koreatowns found in metropolitan areas including in [[Koreatown, Los Angeles|Los Angeles]]; [[Koreatown, Garden Grove|Garden Grove]] and [[Buena Park, California|Buena Park]] in [[Orange County, California]]; [[Koreatown, Long Island|Queens]] and [[Koreatown, Manhattan|Manhattan]] in New York City; [[Koreatown, Palisades Park|Palisades Park]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://snoh.wordpress.com/2007/06/11/palisades-park-nj-k-town-west-of-hudson/|title=Palisades Park, NJ: K-Town West of Hudson|date=June 11, 2007 |publisher=WordPress.com|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-date=September 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905023327/https://snoh.wordpress.com/2007/06/11/palisades-park-nj-k-town-west-of-hudson/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|reason=See unreliable sources list on [[WP:KO/RS]]|date=November 2024}} and [[Koreatown, Fort Lee|Fort Lee]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://njmonthly.com/articles/best-of-Jersey/seoul_mates.html |title=Thriving Korean communities make Fort Lee and Palisades Park a boon to epicures.|publisher=Copyright 2012 New Jersey Monthly Magazine|author=Karen Tina Harrison|date=December 19, 2007|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-date=2014-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215042934/http://njmonthly.com/articles/best-of-Jersey/seoul_mates.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704330404576291030180585192|title=Bergen County's Fort Lee: Town With a View |author=Melanie Lefkowitz|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=April 30, 2011 |access-date=June 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904230002/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704330404576291030180585192|archive-date=2018-09-04|url-status=live}}</ref> in [[Bergen County, New Jersey]]; [[Annandale, Virginia]]; [[Koreatown, Philadelphia|Philadelphia]]; [[Buford Highway|Atlanta]]; [[Dallas]]; and [[Albany Park, Chicago|Chicago]]. Korean cuisine has unique and bold flavors, colors and styles; these include [[kimchi]], an often spicy dish made of salted and fermented vegetables ([[baechu-kimchi]], [[Kkakdugi|kkaktugi]]), long-fermented pastes ([[gochujang]], [[doenjang]]), rice cake or noodle dishes and stews ([[tteok-bokki]], [[Naengmyeon|naengmyun]]), marinated and grilled meats ([[bulgogi]], [[galbi]]), and many seafood dishes using [[fish cake]]s, octopus, squid, shellfish and fish.

The Korean dining scene was noted to have grown sharply in New Jersey during 2018.<ref name="KoreanFoodNewJersey">[https://www.nj.com/expo/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/01/17cb8ba3108536/the-18-most-popular-new-jersey.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103212049/https://www.nj.com/expo/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/01/17cb8ba3108536/the-18-most-popular-new-jersey.html|date=January 3, 2019}} Accessed January 3, 2019.</ref> Broad Avenue in Bergen County's Palisades Park Koreatown in New Jersey has evolved into a [[List of Korean desserts|Korean dessert]] destination as well;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/244591021_The_sweets_of_Palisades_Park.html|title=Ung: Destination spot for desserts|author=Elisa Ung|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=February 9, 2014|access-date=February 9, 2014|archive-date=March 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302065908/http://www.northjersey.com/food_dining/244591021_The_sweets_of_Palisades_Park.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/five-korean-dishes-to-try-this-summer-1.1034170|title=Five Korean dishes to try this summer|author=Elisa Ung|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=June 12, 2014|access-date=June 12, 2014|archive-date=October 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025214209/http://www.northjersey.com/food-and-dining-news/dining-news/five-korean-dishes-to-try-this-summer-1.1034170|url-status=live}}</ref> while a five-mile long "[[Kimchi|Kimchi Belt]]" has emerged in the [[Koreatown, Long Island|Long Island Koreatown]] in New York.<ref name=KimchiQueens>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/dining/critics-notebook-pete-wells-explores-korean-restaurants-in-queens.html|title=In Queens, Kimchi Is Just the Start – Pete Wells Explores Korean Restaurants in Queens|author=Pete Wells|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 16, 2014 |access-date=December 16, 2014|archive-date=December 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216200832/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/dining/critics-notebook-pete-wells-explores-korean-restaurants-in-queens.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Korean [[coffeehouse]] chain [[Caffe Bene]], also serving [[misu (drink)|misugaru]], has attracted Korean American entrepreneurs as [[franchisee]]s to launch its initial expansion into the United States, starting with Bergen County, New Jersey and the New York City Metropolitan Area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/coffee-with-a-taste-of-korea-1.1029736|title=Korean coffee chain expanding in North Jersey|author=Joan Verdon|publisher=North Jersey Media Group|date=June 5, 2014|access-date=June 5, 2014|archive-date=June 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606224341/http://www.northjersey.com/news/business/coffee-with-a-taste-of-korea-1.1029736|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Unauthorized immigration ==
{{See also|Illegal immigration to the United States|Asian American#Illegal immigration|l2=Illegal immigration amongst Asian Americans}}
In 2012, the [[United States Department of Homeland Security|Department of Homeland Security]] estimated that there were 230,000 "unauthorized immigrants" born in South Korea; they are the seventh-largest nationality of unauthorized immigrants behind those from Mexico, [[El Salvador]], [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], the [[Philippines]] and India.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_ill_pe_2012_2.pdf |title=Estimates of the Unauthorized Immigrant Population Residing in the United States: January 2012 |author=Nancy Rytina |author2=Bryan C. Baker |date=January 2012 |work=DHS Office of Immigration Statistics |publisher=[[United States Department of Homeland Security]] |access-date=April 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180818013207/https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ois_ill_pe_2012_2.pdf |archive-date=August 18, 2018 }}</ref>

==Notable people==
{{main list|List of Korean Americans}}

==See also==
{{Portal|North Korea|South Korea|United States}}
* [[Asian Americans]]
* [[Greater Dallas Korean American Chamber of Commerce]]
* [[International adoption of South Korean children]]
* [[KoreAm]]
* [[Korean Americans in Greater Los Angeles]]
* [[Korean diaspora]]
* [[Korean National Association]]
* [[Koreans in New York City]]
* [[Koreans in Washington, D.C.]]
* [[Koreans]]
* [[Koreatown]]
** [[Koreatown, Fort Lee]]
** [[Koreatown, Long Island]]
** [[Koreatown, Los Angeles]]
** [[Koreatown, Manhattan]]
** [[Koreatown, Palisades Park]]
** [[Koreatown, Philadelphia]]
* [[List of American writers of Korean descent]]
* [[List of Korean Americans]]
* [[National Korean American Service & Education Consortium]] (NAKASEC) – progressive immigrant rights organization
* [[yKAN]]
* [[North Korea–United States relations]]
* [[South Korea–United States relations]]
* [[Council of Korean Americans]]

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Abelmann, Nancy and Lie, John. ''Blue Dreams: Korean Americans and the Los Angeles Riots.'' (1995). 272 pp.
* Chung, Angie Y. ''Legacies of struggle : conflict and cooperation in Korean American politics'' (2007) [https://archive.org/details/legaciesofstrugg0000chun online]
* Kibria, Nazli. ''Becoming Asian American: Second-Generation Chinese and Korean American Identities'' (2003) [https://archive.org/details/becomingasianame0000kibr online]
* Kim, Illsoo.'' New urban immigrants: the Korean community in New York'' (Princeton University Press, 2014) [https://books.google.com/books?id=88r_AwAAQBAJ&dq=Korean+American&pg=PP1 online].
* Kim, Ilpyong J. ''Korean-Americans: Past, Present, and Future'' (Hollym International, 2004).
* Kim, Katherine Yungmee. ''Los Angeles's Koreatown'' (2010)
* Kim, Simon C., and Francis Daeshin Kim. ''Reconciling Cultures and Generations: Reflections on Today's Church by Korean American Catholics'' (2018)
* Korean American Historical Society, comp. ''Han in the Upper Left: A Brief History of Korean Americans in the Pacific Northwest.'' (Seattle: Chin Music, 2015. 103 pp.)
* Kwak, Tae-Hwan, and Seong Hyong Lee, eds. ''The Korean American Community: Present and Future'' (Seoul: Kyungnam University Press, 1991).
* Lehrer, Brian. ''The Korean Americans'' (Chelsea House, 1988).
* Lim, Eunjung, and Dennis Halpin. ''The Korean Wave in American Politics'' (US-Korea Institute at SAIS, 2015) [http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep11119 online]
* Min, Pyong Gap. "Korean immigrants in Los Angeles" in ''Immigration and entrepreneurship'' (Routledge, 2017) pp.&nbsp;185–204. [https://escholarship.org/content/qt2w76n5vs/qt2w76n5vs.pdf online]
* Min, Pyong Gap. ''Caught in the Middle: Korean Communities in New York and Los Angeles.'' (1996). 260 pp.
* {{cite web|author=Min, Pyong Gap|url=https://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/Centers/RCKC/Documents/Koreans%20Immigration%20to%20the%20US.pdf|title=KOREANS' IMMIGRATION TO THE U. S: HISTORY AND CONTEMPORARY TRENDS|publisher=The Research Center for Korean Community, [[Queens College of CUNY]]|date=January 27, 2011|access-date=2019-08-05|archive-date=2022-02-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218005253/https://www.qc.cuny.edu/Academics/Centers/RCKC/Documents/Koreans%20Immigration%20to%20the%20US.pdf}}
* Nash, Amy. "Korean Americans." in ''Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America,'' edited by Thomas Riggs, (3rd ed., vol. 3, Gale, 2014), pp.&nbsp;23–39. [https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3273300109/GPS?u=wikipedia&sid=GPS&xid=dfd4ffc2 online]
* Oh, Arissa H., "From War Waif to Ideal Immigrant: The Cold War Transformation of the Korean Orphan," ''Journal of American Ethnic History'' (2012), 31#1 pp 34–55.
* Park, Heui-Yung. ''Korean and Korean American Life Writing in Hawaiʻi: From the Land of the Morning Calm to Hawaiʻi Nei'' (Lexington Books, 2015).
* Park, In Young, and Marquisha Lawrence Scott. "Understanding the Ethnic Self: A Qualitative Study of 1.5 Generation Korean American Immigrants" ''Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies'' 9#2 (2022), pp.&nbsp;171–98. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/48710343 online]
* Park, Kyeyoung. ''The Korean American Dream: Immigrants and Small Business in New York City'' (1997)
* Park, Kyu Young. ''Korean Americans in Chicago'' (2003)
* Patterson, Wayne. ''The Korean Frontier in America: Immigration to Hawaii, 1896–1910'' (University of Hawaii Press, 1988).
* Patterson, Wayne, and Hyung-Chan Kim. ''Koreans in America'' (Lerner Publications, 1992)
* Takaki, Ronald. ''From the Land of Morning Calm: The Koreans in America'' (Chelsea House, 1994).
* Won Moo Hurh. ''The Korean Americans'' (Greenwood Press, 1998).
* Yoo, David, ''Contentious Spirits: Religion in Korean American History, 1903–1945''  (2010)

==External links==
{{Commons category|Korean diaspora in the United States}}
* [https://www.kccla.org/english/home.asp Korean Cultural Center]
* [http://www.KoreanAmericanStory.org/ KoreanAmericanStory.org: A Non-profit Organization Dedicated to Preserving Stories of Korean-Americans]
* [http://www.arirangeducation.com/ Arirang – Interactive History of Korean Americans] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927061412/http://www.arirangeducation.com/ |date=September 27, 2011 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030904155748/http://www.asianweek.com/2003_01_10/feature_timeline.html AsianWeek: Korean American Timeline]
* [https://archive.today/20060518164303/http://www.koreamjournal.com/Magazine/index.php KoreAm Journal]
* [http://www.southkorean.com/ Korean-American Community and Directory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720221921/http://southkorean.com/ |date=July 20, 2019 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060307120823/http://www.kafusa.com/ Korean American Foundation]
* [http://www.koreanamericanheritage.com/ Korean American Heritage Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051030000923/http://www.koreanamericanheritage.com/ |date=October 30, 2005 }}
* [http://www.kahs.org/ Korean American Historical Society]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100513065310/http://koreanamericanliterature.com/ Korean American literature]
* [http://www.kamuseum.org/ The Korean American Museum]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121224234028/http://www.ieas.or.kr/vol14_4/14_4_3.pdf Early Korean Immigrants to America: Their Role in the Establishment of the Republic of Korea]

{{Korean diaspora}}
{{Asian Americans}}
{{Demographics of the United States}}

[[Category:Korean diaspora in the United States|*]]
[[Category:American people of Korean descent|*]]
[[Category:Korean diaspora by country|American]]
[[Category:East Asian diaspora in the United States]]