[KS] Followup - Koreans in Japanese Internment Camps in WWII? (from Vol. 16 Iss. 18)

[Bub-Joo S. Lee (GKN-LA net)]

Just to add, I am told that "Korean groups (in the US) had a campaign to
distribute badges with crossed Korean and American flags. There was also a
registration program organized by KNA [the Korean National Association]
which kept Koreans from being interned."

Apparently there was precedent for some of this work, since KNA (?) and
other groups based in California worked way back in 1913 (with William
Jennings Bryan, who was the  Secretary of State at the time) recognizing the
KNA as representing Koreans in this country, and more importantly
recognizing (expressly or by implication) that they were not Japanese
citizens/subjects (even though Korea had been effectively annexed by Japan).

FYI, Philip Cuddy (flipped at pacbell.net) has physical samples of the
aforementioned badges (photo ID cards with a KNA stamp on them after they
were verified at the KNA building in Los Angeles). 

I encourage those of you interested on this matter to contact him directly
(By the way, for those of you who don't know, he is the grandson of "Dosan"
Changho-Ahn).

Regards!


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Date: Thu, 21 Oct 2004 16:11:45 -0500
From: Yuh Ji-Yeon <j-yuh at northwestern.edu>
Subject: Re: [KS] Koreans in Japanese Internment Camps in WW II?
To: Jim Hoare <jim at jhoare10.fsnet.co.uk>,	Korean Studies Discussion
	List <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>

The United Korean Committee sent representatives to Washington, D.C. and 
convinced U.S. officials that Koreans should not be interned with Japanese 
Americans. The State and Treasury Departments issued a special order 
stating that Koreans should not be treated as Japanese subjects and enemy 
aliens but instead should be accorded the same treatment as citizens of 
allied nations. So Koreans were not interned.

The United Korean Committee issued ID badges with the Korean flag and urged 
all Koreans to carry these badges as proof that they were not Japanese. 
Many Koreans also wore buttons saying "I am Korean." This was actually 
quite common: Many Asian Americans wore  buttons or put up signs in their 
store windows or living room windows saying things like "I am Chinese" or 
"I am Korean." There are many reports of Koreans and Chinese in the U.S. 
being harassed and attacked by white Americans who mistook them for
Japanese.

Many Koreans joined the war effort. They went to work for the U.S. as 
Japanese language interpreters, teachers and translators. Some joined the 
army and received training as agents to be sent into Korea and other 
Japanese-occupied areas. I don't know, though, whether anyone actually went 
and what happened on these missions.

I also do not know if any Korean Americans were detained as Japanese 
subjects by the United States before the special order was issued by the 
U.S. government. I don't think so, but I haven't done the research to 
confirm that.

Best,
Ji-Yeon

>----- Original Message ----- From: "Bert Edens" <bedens at apprenticeis.com>
>To: <Koreanstudies at koreaweb.ws>
>Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 6:34 PM
>Subject: [KS] Koreans in Japanese Internment Camps in WW II?
>
>
>>Greetings, all...
>>Does anyone know of any documented occurrences of Koreans being 
>>incarcerated in one of the many Japanese internment camps during World 
>>War II? It seems plausible considering the hysteria and general lack of 
>>knowledge regarding the difference between Asians. Considering also that 
>>Koreans were also subject to using Japanese names during the occupation, 
>>it could be even more possible, although I would assume Koreans here 
>>would have not used Japanese names.
>>Thank you in advance for your time...
>>
>>- Bert Edens
>>
>

Yuh, Ji-Yeon
Assistant Professor of History
Associate Director of Asian American Studies
Northwestern University
Harris 202
1881 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208 USA
j-yuh at northwestern.edu
1-847-467-6538
fax: 1-847-467-1393
[The Alliance of Scholars Concerned about Korea---<www.asck.org> ]