SEPTEMBER 2012 VOLUME 23 NUMBER 9

Classical piano plus hip-hop are music to CHLOE FLOWER’S EARS

Exploring the other KA experience DOWN UNDER

Three words:Oppa’n Gangnam Style!

BeamsMoonACTRESS MOON BLOOD-GOOD HAS EVERY REASON TO BE GLOWING, WITH A HIT TV SERIES, A NEW FILM AND HER MOST IMPOR-TANT PROJECT YET—A BABY ON THE WAY

BeamsMoonACTRESS MOON BLOOD-GOOD HAS EVERY REASON TO BE GLOWING, WITH A HIT TV SERIES, A NEW FILM AND HER MOST IMPOR-TANT PROJECT YET—A BABY ON THE WAY

Exclusion Act TwoASIAN AMERICANS

IN THE THEATER

Exclusion Act TwoASIAN AMERICANS

IN THE THEATER

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Australia was a different countryin 1974, as Jackson Choi recalled.

“Driving from the airport, the taxidriver thought I was Japanese,” saidChoi. “I’m not sure that people evenknew what Korea was.”

These days many foreigners areshocked for the exact opposite reasonwhen they arrive Down Under. Visitorsfind cities that are clearly multicultural,defying the stereotypical Australianimage of the crocodile hunter and thebikini babe.

Walking the streets of Sydneycan remind you of Singapore or SanFrancisco. The current telephone direc-tory lists the most popular surnames inthat city as Smith, Lee, Nguyen, Chen

and Kim. In the second largest city ofMelbourne, Nguyen and Singh makethe top five.

Australia does not have the longhistory of multiculturalism that theUnited States or the United Kingdomhas. In fact, the “White Australia Pol-icy” institutionally persisted as late as1973. However, its geographical prox-imity to Asia and a conscious govern-mental push for diversity has seen theEnglish-speaking country become apopular destination for Asian immi-

grants and students in the last 30 years.Contributing to this now cosmo-

politan Australia is a vibrant populaceof Korean émigrés and their descen-dants. In the 2006 census the numberof respondents of Korean backgroundwas over 150,000 in a country of justover 20 million people. In addition,the South Korean government reportsover 3,000 adoptees have been sent toAustralia since 1969.

After World War II, Australia’seconomic strategy shifted from NorthAmerica and Europe to East Asia. Ac-cording to 2010 Australian governmentstatistics, China, Japan and SouthKorea are among the country’s top fourtrading partners. However, at a societal

level the transition from aEurope/North America focus to Asiahas been a rocky road.

With the White Australia Policyhaving been fully dismantled only ageneration ago, the first wave of immi-grants from Asia landed in the 1970s.(There were minor exceptions to thepolicy before this, such as Chineseimmigrants arriving during the goldrush in the 19th century before Australiabecame a nation, and Japanese pearldivers in Western Australia. However,

the numbers were very small.) Likethe Southern Europeans who immi-grated during and after World War II,the early Asian arrivals faced tremen-dous obstacles in a society not yet usedto diversity.

Jackson Choi, one of the firstKorean arrivals, remembers touchingdown in Sydney as a young man inJuly of 1974. “I think there were lessthan 100 Koreans in the country whenI arrived. Coming from a poor Korea, Iremember being dazzled by all thebright lights in Sydney,” he said.

While Koreatown was beingchristened in Los Angeles, in the 1974version of Sydney, seeking comfortsfrom the motherland was a struggle.“There were no Korean shops or restau-rants. We found a small Chinese grocerystore in Haymarket that sold chilisauce, and that was the closest thing wecould find to gochujang,” said Choi.

“Chinese cabbage was nowhere tobe found, so we had to improvise withWestern vegetables to make kimchi,” headded, chuckling.

Choi’s new country in the 1970sseemed an innocent, almost naive,place. “The police didn’t carry gunsbecause the crime rate was so low. Andthey were so friendly [that], if youasked for directions, they would giveyou a lift to your destination!”

Arrivals from South Korea accel-erated during the 1980s when skilledmigration opened up. By this timeAustralia was getting used to its newidentity as a multicultural society, al-though hurdles still had to be over-come. John Howard, then an oppositionleader in the federal Parliament andlater Prime Minister, infamouslyproposed an end to multiculturalism in1988 and a slowing of Asian immigra-tion. Political and business leadersswiftly condemned Howard’s commentsand the proposal. However, there wasan uneasy undercurrent that Howardmerely reflected the sentiments ofmany of the “old” Australians.

Korean Australian Elizabeth Kim-Anandarajah says life was tough afterher family landed in 1984. She was 5 atthe time. “Memories are of hardship,”she said. “Trying to fit into a newcountry, learning the language, systemand culture. Mum was lucky to land ajob as a librarian fairly quickly, but thatcaused tension with Dad, as he didn’twant her working. When I think back

The island-continent-country is now home to aVIBRANT KOREAN POPULATION—a far cry from its “White Australia Policy,” whichpersisted as late as 1973.

by Tony Yoo

KOREANSDOWNUNDER

September 12 koream 37

on it, it mostly brings back feelings ofunhappiness and insecurity.”

Ironically, by the time Howardwas leading the country as PrimeMinister 15 years later, Australia hadchanged irreversibly—the very elec-torate he represented now had a largeproportion of Asian Australian voters.His successor as Prime Minister, KevinRudd, even spoke fluent Mandarin, muchto the fascination of Chinese diplomats.

Today, South Korean businessesand residents can be found all over

the two biggest cities of Sydney andMelbourne, with pockets of diaspora inother state capitals. Australia is also apopular destination for temporary visitorsfrom Korea, such as backpackers andEnglish-language students.

Scores of adventurous Koreanitinerants can be found working in thehotels and restaurants for travelingmoney in the scorching desert heat atUluru, one of the nation’s most populartourist destinations. Similarly, budgettravelers are also found seasonally at

farms all over the country as fruit pickers,working for cash to continue theirbackpacking. The most famous Koreantraveler Down Under was the Olympicgold medalist swimmer Park Tae-hwan,who spent a year training in Australiabefore the 2008 Beijing Games.

Korean Australian children, liketheir North American counterparts, tendto grow up well integrated into main-stream society. Second-generationKorean Australians have contributed tothe Australian zeitgeist, such as the ac-

I think there were less than 100 Koreans in the countrywhen I arrived. Coming from a poor Korea,

I remember being dazzled by all the bright lights in Sydney.”—Jackson Choi, an early immigrant to Australia

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tress/singer Sun Park. Politically therehave been Korean Australians electedat the local government level. “I’mvery proud of the achievements of theyounger generations of Koreans inAustralia,” declared trailblazing im-migrant Choi. “With no language orfinancial barriers, they do just as wellas anyone else.”

Notwithstanding the successes ofthe second generation, one generalcriticism of the immigrant KoreanAustralian community is its insularity.

Councillor Keith Kwon is a formermayor and a current member of localgovernment at Strathfield, an area ofSydney with a substantial Korean

presence. He expressed his concernsabout the introversion. “As the Koreancommunity has established enclaves indifferent parts in Sydney, Melbourneand Brisbane, they tend to be inward-looking, though this is understandablegiven the language barrier,” he said.Kwon feels the current structure of theKorean Australian community is animpediment. “There are no leadershipgroups which are competent in dealingwith mainstream society, and mostmembers of the Korean community aretoo preoccupied with church activities,”he said.

“Korean Australians work hardand are very entrepreneurial, but Idon’t think we assimilate as well aswe should,” said Kim-Anandarajah.She compares Korean Australians andKorean Americans to illustrate thispoint. “In part, I think that’s due to theAustralian culture in that it doesn’thave as strong a national identity as theU.S.A., and it doesn’t enforce it. WhenI meet Korean Americans, they’re verymuch ‘Americanized,’ whereas theKorean Australians I meet are still verymuch Korean. I think now that thesecond generation are coming intoadulthood, we’re a little bit more as-

similated, but we have long way to go.”There is a noticeable lack of a

dominant “K-town” in Australia.However, in Sydney, areas such asStrathfield, Eastwood and Campsie allhave visibly obvious concentrations ofKorean businesses and residents.

Strathfield is popular with thetransitory Korean student population.Restaurants, cafes, karaoke joints andeven Korean street food, all geared to-wards a younger crowd, can be foundhere, just a 15-minute train ride fromdowntown. The cashed-up students’appetite for dining and entertainmenthas led to Strathfield having the high-est concentration of Korean foodbusinesses in Australia, with 49 suchoutlets, according to the SydneyMorning Herald.

Campsie, a grimy, working-classarea in the inner southwest, was theoriginal functional center of the Koreandiaspora in Sydney. A generation ago, ifone needed anything Korean—importedgroceries, a tasty bowl of jjajangmyeon,electrical appliances, afterschool tuition,Korean-speaking doctor or lawyer—

“There are no leadership groups which are competentin dealing with mainstream society, and most members ofthe Korean community are too preoccupied withchurch activities.”

—Strathfield Councillor Keith Kwon (pictured above), critiquing what he sees as the insularity of the Korean Australian community

Elizabeth Kim-Anandarajah, pictured herewith her brother Mark Kim, immigrated toAustralia with her family at age 5.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELIZABETH KIM-ANANDARAJAH

Campsie represents the original center of theKorean diaspora in Sydney.

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Campsie was the place to visit. With thegrowth and spread of Korean Australians,the suburb no longer holds the impor-tance to the community it once did, butis of historic significance.

Eastwood lies in the affluent andleafy northern district of Sydney and hastaken over from Campsie as the localeof choice for permanent residents ofKorean heritage. A north-south railwaydivides Eastwood in half, with thewestern side displaying a heavy Chineseinfluence, while Korean businesses and

residents dominate the eastern side. Asa visitor wanting to sample the KoreanAustralian experience, this is the placeto come to in Sydney.

Kim-Anandarajah’s uncle openedthe first Korean shop on its street inEastwood. It began as a tiny hole-in-the-wall grocer, but is now the largestshop in the neighborhood; these dayssurrounded by numerous other Koreanstores. “I didn’t know it at the time, butthey worked incredibly hard with thattiny store,” Kim-Anandarajah said of the

early years. “My aunt would regularlycollapse from exhaustion.”

Eastwood is in the heart of theelectorate that former Prime MinisterHoward once represented. Despitehis concerns, in the space of just onegeneration a homogenous nation hastransformed into something special: acultural and physical intersection ofthe west and the east. The crocodilehunters and the bikini babes are stillhere, but who knows what ethnicitythey are these days.

In the Strathfield part of Sydney, there is the highest concentration of Korean food businesses in Australia, with an estimated 49 such outlets.

PHOTOS BY DEREK FUNG