Korean American

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A Korean American (Korean: 한국계 미국인, Hanja: 韓國系美國人, hangukgye miguk'in) is an American of Korean descent.

Although there were earlier immigrants to the U.S., Korean immigration to the U.S. is widely accepted as having begun January 13, 1903, when laborers arrived in Hawaii to work on sugar plantations. More began arriving after the passage of the Immigration Act of 1965.

As of 2000, ethnic Koreans living in the United States numbered some 1.3 million, with large concentrations in California, New York, Texas, Washington, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia. Los Angeles, with its Koreatown district, is home to the largest concentration of Koreans outside of Asia. The 2000 Census counted 1,076,872 Korean Americans, up from 798,849 in 1990. About one-tenth of these are adoptees who are or have been raised mainly by white families; they may be found anywhere in the country, and in most cases they do not have Korean names. The 2000 Census also recorded an additional 151,555 Americans of part-Korean ancestry.

However, The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade counted 2,157,498 ethnic Koreans living in the U.S. in 2003; a large number of these are students or temporary workers and hence do not have permanent residence status.

In 1993, Jay Kim became the first Korean American to be elected to the U.S. Congress, while Chang-rae Lee became the first Korean American writer to receive the PEN/Hemingway Award in 1995.

For other notable Korean Americans, see the list.

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