Korean American Day
Did you know that Korean American Day is celebrated every year on January 13? The day commemorates the first Korean immigrants to the United States, who arrived in Hawaii on January 13, 1903. In Chicago, Korean immigrants began arriving in significant numbers in the 1960s, and the city’s Korean American population continued to grow for the next few decades. In 1993, a stretch of Lawrence Avenue was given the honorary designation of Seoul Drive to commemorate the large number of Korean American owned businesses in the area.
Chicago Public Library’s Korean American Archives project aims to document the experiences of Korean Americans in Chicago through photographs, organizational records, publications, websites, and more. While the project is still in its early stages, the collections offer insight into groups and individuals who called Chicago home over the past few decades.
Korean American History through Oral History
Throughout the project, CPL staff have been fortunate to learn from and collaborate with local organizations that are doing their own important work to document the history of Korean Americans in Chicago. One area where a significant amount of work has been done is oral history. Oral histories are an engaging way to learn about the past, as they offer in-depth, personal perspectives that often capture details that do not appear in written records. They are a great source for everyone from curious members of the general public to students to advanced researchers.
To begin exploring Korean American history in Chicago through oral history, check out some of the sources listed below. All are freely available to stream anywhere with an internet connection.
- Our Untold Stories: Chicago Korean American Oral History features interviews with older Korean American immigrants to the Chicago area who discuss their lives in Korea and the United States. The interviews range from 25 minutes to a little over an hour. Created by the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago.
- The Korean Adoptee Oral History Initiative features 15-25 minute interviews with Korean American adoptees from the Chicago area who discuss their experiences as adoptees and their Korean American identities. Also from the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago.
- Trailblazers: Korean American Women Ahead of their Time (2010) and Chicago Korean American Women Storytelling (2021) use oral history to highlight stories of accomplished Korean American women in the Chicago area. Both documentaries were produced by the Korean Women’s International Network Chicago.
- Korean Americans in Chicago: From Lawrence to the Suburbs (2021) features community leader and business owner Jin Lee discussing the history of Korean Americans in Chicago. This program was organized and hosted by CPL Librarian Young Park.
- Korean Cooking in Chicago with Chef Beverly Kim (2021) features Beverly Kim, an award-winning Chicago chef who discusses her career and demonstrates Korean cooking. Also organized and hosted by CPL Librarian Young Park.
Taken together, these oral history interviews offer an excellent introduction to the diverse experiences of Korean Americans in Chicago. Thank you to the Korean Cultural Center of Chicago and Korean Women’s International Network Chicago for creating such impressive collections and allowing us to link to them.
After listening to oral history interviews, researchers can continue to explore Korean American history in the archives by making an appointment to look at collections from the Korean American Archives project. For example, the Sejong Cultural Society Records were donated by Sejong Cultural Society Executive Director Dr. Lucy Park, one of the interviewees in Chicago Korean American Women Storytelling.
To make a research appointment or learn more about the Korean American Archives project, please contact the Northside Neighborhood History Collection at northsidehistory@chipublib.org or 312-742-4455.
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