Resources for Research on Koreans in Hawaii
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ItemKorean Prisoners of War in the Honouliuli Internment Camp, 1943-1946(Center for Korean Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2015-11)Honouliuli, near the town of Waipahu on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu, is best known as a World War II internment camp for Japanese Americans. The camp also was the home of approximately 2,700 Korean prisoners of war from 1943 to 1945. These were largely non-combatant civilian laborers who had been forced to work for the war effort by the Japanese colonial government in Korea and were captured during the Pacific islands campaign. This document is based on a list published as an attachment to the December 15, 1945, issue of a newsletter produced in the camp titled Free Press Korean for Liberated Korea (자유한인보). It was transcribed from a copy of the newsletter in the National Archives of Korea and romanized versions of the names added by Juhee Lee.
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ItemThe Writings of Henry Cu Kim: Autobiography with Commentaries on Syngman Rhee, Pak Yong-man, and Chong Sun-man by Henry C. Kim(University of Hawaii Press, 1987)Henry Cu Kim (1889-1967) was a remarkable man. He was one of the first Koreans to come to the United States at the turn of the century, seeking an education, and when Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910 he began a fight against the Japanese for the cause of Korean independence that lasted until the country was liberated at the end of the Second World War. He was one of the leaders of the Korean independence movement in the United States, and he headed the Korean Commission for Europe and the United States for three years, from 1926 to 1929. However, unlike some of his friends and colleagues who survived the struggle and returned to Korea to assume leadership positions, Henry remained in the United States and abstained from participating in the politics of a divided Korea.
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ItemKoreans in Honolulu Newspapers, 1903-1945( 2013-01-10)This is an index of articles on Koreans and Korea found in Hawai‘i’s two largest newspapers, the Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin, from 1903 to 1945. The index will provide valuable assistance to those seeking to gain a better understanding of the two most popular topics on Koreans in America, those being the Korean independence movement in America and Korean American churches. It is hoped that this index will open new avenues into the study of Koreans in Hawai‘i. This index provides a look into the lifestyles, development, and evolution the Koreans who lived in the Islands during the first half of the twentieth century. It should be noted that these news articles were often the only contact between the Koreans and other races. As such, it will contribute worthwhile information on lesser studied issues such as crime, race relations, and so forth. The index was compiled from the microfilmed copies of the two newspapers by a single graduate student over the course of two and a half years (1998–2000). The years 1903 to 1945 were searched day by day and page by page for any article related to Korea in general, but most specifically for Koreans in Hawai‘i. In an effort to strike a balance between speed and efficiency, the article titles were scanned for words that could possibly be related to Asia, Korea, or Koreans. If a word within the title was surmised to be remotely related to this topic, the text of the article was read. Thus, in all likelihood, there are a number of articles that are not included because the titles gave no indication that the text was relevant. Work began on this index without foreknowledge that the project would evolve into an Internet resource. Because of this shortsightedness, the general user may encounter several inconveniences that should be noted. First, there is an unevenness to the citations. For example, some citations lack page numbers and citations are listed as mere dates appended to articles on the same subject. Second, a number of citations have dates or abbreviated titles that follow entries. These dates refer to other articles on the same topic. And finally, only a small number of articles have short summaries of their content. And finally, there are a limited number of citations for the post 1945 era. These are articles are from the microfilm collection known as the “newspaper morgue,” which can be found in the University of Hawai‘i Hamilton Library or the Hawai‘i State Library. These articles are filed according to subject or individual. The morgue is far from comprehensive, but offers a reasonable starting point. The index is set up in a simple manner. It offers the article title and date. Some citations contain a page number, summaries of the article content, or dates of related articles.
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ItemHawai'i Contributors to the Defense of An Chunggŭn, 1909-1910(Center for Korean Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, 2004-06)On October 26, 1909, An Chunggŭn assassinated Itō Hirobumi, the former Japanese resident general of Korea, in Harbin, China. An was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death by a Japanese court and executed on March 26 (March 25 in Hawai‘i), 1910, in Ruisoon prison in China. When Koreans in Hawai‘i heard about the assassination of Itō and An’s trial, they collected funds for his defense from December 1909 through March 1910. During that four-month period, 1,595 Koreans contributed $2,921 (equivalent to $60,000 in 2001) in donations of 25 cents to $15. The list of donors is included in Daedong wein An Chunggŭn jon (Biography of the Great An Chunggŭn), which was published in August 1911 in Honolulu.
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ItemKorean Ministerial Appointments to Hawaii Methodist Churches(Center for Korean Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, 2001-10)This list of ministerial appointments was compiled from Official Minutes of Annual Session of the Hawaii Mission of the Methodist Episcopal Church (present United Methodist Church) for the corresponding years (the name of the Conference changed subsequently). A minister’s known affiliated church in Korea prior to 1912 is included in parentheses. From 1962, a minister’s appointment to a church with other than a Korean congregation is noted in parentheses.
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ItemEarly Membership of Korean Methodist Churches in Hawai'i(Center for Korean Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, 2002-06)Membership lists of the early Korean Methodist churches in Hawai‘i were found in January 2002 in the Hawai‘i superintendent’s files at the Hawai‘i District Office of the United Methodist Church. The ledger sheets, written in English, are categorized by plantation church and membership categories (member, probationer, and catechumen). They contain six columns: date (received), member name, state in life (marital status), how received or baptized, how and when dismissed, and remarks. The list appears to have been recorded by a Korean, probably at the end of 1904, which makes it the earliest known list of Korean Methodist church members in Hawai‘i. The list identifies 108 out of 400 members as confirmed (baptized) Christians before they arrived in Hawai‘i. The list includes the names of missionaries, such as, James S. Gale, George Heber Jones, Samuel A. Moffett, and W. A. Noble, who baptized early immigrant Christians in Korea. These missionaries include Methodists (Noble, Jones, W. B. Scranton) as well as Presbyterians (Moffett, Gale, Horace G. Underwood). Jones was the minister of the Nai-Ri Methodist Church (known also as Yong-dong or the Chemulpo Wesleyan Church) as well as the superintendent of the West Korea District, including the Chemulpo (present Inch’ŏn) and Kangwha area. Jones encouraged church members to immigrate to Hawai‘i when the East-West Development Company was having a hard time recruiting potential immigrants. As a result, many members of churches in his district, including Nai-Ri Church, were among the immigrants on the first ship landing in Honolulu.
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ItemPassports Issued to Koreans in Hawai'i, 1910 -1924(Center for Korean Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, 2001-08)From the time Japan forcefully occupied Taehan Cheguk (Korea) on August 29, 1910, the Japanese government considered Koreans to be “Japanese.” Koreans who wished to travel abroad had to obtain permission and passports from the Japanese government. Koreans living in America, including the Territory of Hawai‘i, also had to obtain new Japanese passports to travel to Korea. In addition, Koreans living in Hawai‘i had to apply at the Japanese Consulate General in Honolulu for passports for family members or new brides (“picture brides”) coming to the Islands. The fourteen years between 1910 and 1924 were an open period for Japanese, including Koreans, to join their family members in Hawai‘i. The Oriental Exclusion Act of 1924 closed this window. As a part of the ongoing study of early Koreans in Hawai‘i, this list is limited to the period between 1910 and 1924. About six hundred passports were issued for Koreans living in Hawai‘i to travel to Korea. It is uncertain how many of the six hundred who received passports actually traveled to Korea, how many returned to Korea for good, and how many visited Korea. For example, Kim You-sun, a Methodist church pastor, returned to Korea permanently shortly after he received his passport in August of 1913. But Min Ŭi-Kyŏng (Frank Min’s father), visiting Korea with a passport received from the Japanese consulate in Honolulu, met a beautiful woman in Seoul, whom he married, then returned alone. He obtained a passport for his wife from the consulate, and she joined him in Honolulu at the end of 1913. In addition, approximately 1,300 passports were issued for Koreans in Korea to join family members in Hawai‘i. Again, there is no way of knowing who among these 1,300 passport holders actually came to the Islands. According to the reports of the Commissioner-General of Immigration, only 859 Koreans arrived in Hawai‘i from 1910 through 1924. Regardless of these uncertainties, the “passport list” conveys important information. First, this is the only record showing names in Chinese characters, which is the normal way of naming Koreans. (The ships’ passenger lists of those arriving in Hawai‘i contain romanized names with no indication of the Chinese characters for each name.) Further, if family members came to join their fathers, husbands, or sons, their approximate arrival time can be guessed from the passport issuance date. Third, the list confirms that those who arrived during this period included not only picture brides but also wives and children left behind in Korea when their husbands and fathers came to Hawai‘i. Some men even brought their mothers and fathers during this period. Fourth, the list indicates that Koreans in Hawai‘i were actively traveling to Korea. About one-third of the total passports issued were to Koreans living in Hawai‘i. This list was compiled from the records of the passports issued at the Japanese Consulate General of Honolulu, which are currently kept at the Gaikō Shiryō-kan 外交史料館 (Diplomatic Records Office) in Tokyo. For the convenience of English-speaking readers, names are romanized following the McCune-Reischauer system, even if certain names were commonly spelled differently. The last column indicates when the purpose of the passport application was “reentry” or a trip to Korea. In some cases, the applicant’s occupation was included.
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ItemKorean Passengers Arriving at Honolulu, 1903-1905(Center for Korean Studies, School of Hawaiian, Asian and Pacific Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, 2001-03)This list of Korean passengers arriving in Honolulu by steamship from 1903 to late 1905 was compiled from microfilmed copies of passenger manifests held by the National Archives and Records Administration. The compiled list includes the names of passengers on sixty-four voyages aboard eleven ships: the America Maru, China, Coptic, Doric, Gaelic, Hongkong Maru, Korea, Manchuria, Mongolia, Nippon Maru, and Siberia. The earliest voyage included in this list arrived in Honolulu January 13, 1903, and the latest, August 08, 1905.