About Us

End of World War 2

The second wave of Korean immigration was started because of Korean War in the early 50’s. At the end of the World War 2, despite the Koreans being released from Japanese colonialism, their taste of freedom was short-lived. The United States was a capitalist nation, while the Soviet Union was spreading communism wherever they could. Because Korea was newly independent, both countries aggressive fought over the Korean peninsula. It is still a mystery because they had no reason to interfere with the new nation. Both sides wanted to make a statement over their superiority of ideologies.

Uprising

These nations knew the intentions of the other. They decided that they should let the United Nations decide what would happen to Korea. Unfortunately, through the lack of trust from both sides, the elections were delayed and they decided to split the peninsula at the 38th parallel instigating a three year long civil war.

Casualties

The casualties of the Korean war was devastating. In South Korea alone there were 1.3 million casualties. In a way, the two great nations seemed to be indifferent to Korean casualties, blinded by the goal to have their ideology reign in the peninsula. The United States dropped over 600,000 tons of bombs, more than what they used during the entire second world war.

Separation

The separating line, the 38th parallel that ended the Korean War separated many families. The Korean War separated an estimated of 10 million families, about half a million became widowed and about 100,000 children were orphaned. These people made up the four main groups of Koreans that eventually immigrated to the United States in the second wave.