November 6, 2008Chueng-Ryong Ji

KSEA President-Elect

International Migration and Network ofKorean-American Scientists and Engineers

Outline

• Demographic Background in US & Brief History of Immigration• Personal KSEA Experiences• Reflection on KSEA Activities• Concluding Remarks

Demographic Background in USPopulation ClockU.S. 303,634,416World 6,656,772,73604:17 GMT (EST+5) Mar 15, 2008US Total Population = 281.4 M (April 1,’00)Asian Population = 11.9 M (~4.2%) = 2.7 M (Chinese) +2.3M (Philipino) +1.9M (Indian) +1.2M (Korean) +1.2M (Vietnamese) +1.1M (Japanese) +….In 1990, US Total Population = 248.7 M Asian Population = 6.9 M

~13% increase~72% increase

Median Age•US total = 35.3 yrs. •Asian only = 32.7 yrs.•Asian combo = 31.1yrs.

WWII

WWI

WWII

WWI

Pearl Harbor Attack1941Executive Order 9066Roosevelt-Ford1942-------1976

Early History of Asian Immigration1600s: Chinese & Filipinos reach Mexico1763: First Filipinos in America1790: First Asian Indians in US1820: First Chinese in US1848: Gold Rush in CA (Opium War 1842-1852)1882: US-Korea First Treaty1886: US approved Korean Immigration1898: Philippine & Hawaii annexed to US1902: King Kojong recognized approval of immigration1903-05:6701man+677woman+465children to Hawaii1905: Kongnip Hyop Hoe, Kongnip Shinpo1906: San Francisco Earthquake1907: Japan-US ``Gentlemen’s Agreement”1914-18: WWI1939-45: WWII (Nazism failed)

Evening Bulletin in Hawaii

Feb.26,1903``They appear to be hard workers, yet they

are paid the least. … would work tenhours from dawn to sunset for sixty-ninecents a day.”

1906~1924: Korean ``picture brides”``Korean men insisted on marrying Korean women only.”

After WWII1950-53: Korean War1956: CA repeals its alien land law; Dalip Singh Saund elected to Congress from CA1962: Daniel Inouye-US senator; Spark Matsunaga-US Congressman from Hawaii1964: Patsy Takemoto Mink-first Asian American woman to serve in Congress1965: Immigration Law abolishes ``national origins”; Asians become equal footing with others in US.1974: March Fong Eu elected as CA’s secretary of state1975: Vietnam War ends.1979: Diplomatic relation with People’s Rep. of China1982: Vincent Chin clubbed to death by two Euro-American men1987: Korean immigration peaked1990: Immigration Act of 1990; Korean immigrants ~18K/yr.

Personal Experiences in KSEA2007-08: Vice President, Chair of National Contest Committee & Scholarship Committee2006-07: Program Chair of US-Korea Conference (UKC2007)2004-07: Elected Councilor of Group A1998-01: Elected Councilor of Group A1992-94: NC-Chapter President1989-99: Organizer of NC-Chapter Workshops & Technical Symposiums

Motivations & Difficulties~1903: Earn money and live a better life.~1980: Prospects of a higher standard of living; Better opportunity for child education.• Language barrier (different from Indians & Philippines)• Cultural shock (unfamiliar with American customs)• Economic restriction & political inequality• Not a large enough group (different from Chinese & Japanese)• Exclusion from Chinese/Japanese-American organizations

•Little choice but to join non-ethnic or multi-ethnic mainstream groups•Learning from other cultures and from their own 2nd generations•Understanding difficulties of others

Major Activities• US-Korea conference (UKC) on science,

technology, and entrepreneurship• National math & science competition (NMSC)• Young generation technical & leadership

conference (YGTLC)• Scholarships for undergraduate and graduate

studentsWA(1) WI NE(3) OR(1) IL(1) IN NJ(1) NW Region(1) MO CA(5) MD(1) SW Region(1) AL(1) NC(1) TX(2+1) MS(2) GA(1+1)

Raleigh, North CarolinaJuly 16-19, 2009

Science Contest Snapshots

Rocket Challenge

Egg Drop Contest

Raft Rally

Members by Ages

Age

14%

11%

23%32%

18%2%

Over 60

50-60

40-50

30-40

20-30

Below 20

Visions for Greater KSEA

• To become a premier association to promotethe application of science and technology forthe general welfare of society

• To foster the international cooperationespecially between the US and Korea

• To represent the majority of ethnic Koreanscientists and engineers in the US

(Korean-American Scientists & Engineers Association)

Concluding Remarks

• First generation was the seed for the next generation.• Being a role model has been very

difficult.• However, we stood up on our own

cultural root and the heritage from ourmotherland.