Korean American Day celebrated with lawmakers and community leaders in Washington

Korean Americans from various walks of life and their supporters got together in Washington on Thursday to celebrate Korean American Day in what has become an annual ritual to cement their unity and take stock of their achievements in the United States.

Korean American lawmakers and those from government, business and other sectors participated in the celebration four days ahead of the special day that marks the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States on Jan. 13, 1903.

In 2005, both the House of Representatives and Senate passed resolutions for the celebration of the day.

 

Among the attendees were new Rep. Dave Min and Rep. Marilyn Strickland who underscored their pride in Korean American heritage and growing international recognition of Korean culture and food.

Recalling his childhood in the 1980s, when Korea was what he called a “struggling” country, Min said it was not easy being a Korean American back then.

“I wasn’t always proud of my culture, and kimchi to me was the thing that I often felt embarrassed about,” Min said, referring to Korea’s traditional fermented cabbage dish.

But decades later, he said he has been seeing the popularity of Korean culture and food, not to mention kimchi.

“When we did the ceremony for Kimchi Day, to see so many young staffers of all different races and ages come up and ask if they could have more kimchi, if we had any leftovers … I am not an emotional guy, but it really brought a tear to my eyes, and that is a reflection of our community,” he said.

Min also noted the challenge of how to “balance the Korean and the American.”

“That’s a challenge that we’re going to have to keep going through,” he said.

He added, “I think there are so many things about the Korean experience that are fundamentally an American experience, and that is what I’m going to try to do in Congress.”

Strickland had her own story about kimchi, a longstanding icon evocative of Korean food culture, as well.

“I know sometimes when people think about Korean Americans, the first thing that comes to mind is — ‘Oh, do you like kimchi?'” she said.

“But here’s also what I like. I like being good in school. I like being a member of Congress. I like being a business owner. I like serving my country. I love being an educator. I love doing all the things that Americans do because the Korean American experience is, in fact, the American experience.”

Thursday’s event was also attended by some 50 U.S.-based university students of Korean descent — a group organized by the Korean American Grassroots Conference, a network of Korean American voters.

Yonhap