LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to
proclaim January 13, 2016, as Korean American Day in the State of New
York

WHEREAS, In 2003, the United States Congress declared January 13th as
Korean American Day, a day on which the contributions of Korean Ameri-
cans should be recognized and celebrated; and
WHEREAS, Koreans immigration to the United States began in December of
1902 when a group of 102 Korean immigrants including men, women and
children, embarked on a dangerous cross-Pacific voyage on the S. S.
Gaelic to land in Honolulu, Hawaii, on January 13, 1903; and
WHEREAS, During the next three years, approximately 1,000 Koreans
entered the United States mainland through San Francisco, where their
countrymen had established a new home, educated their children, and
established the first Korean American political organizations and native
language publications; and
WHEREAS, After becoming established on the West Coast, Korean Ameri-
cans gradually migrated to the eastern United States as employment
opportunities opened up and subsequent generations of Korean Americans
established themselves in new communities; and
WHEREAS, Korean Americans have been patriotic citizens, serving with
distinction in the U.S. Armed Forces, fighting for their new homeland
during World Wars I and II, the Korean conflict, the Vietnam War and in
the Middle East conflicts; and
WHEREAS, Thousands of Koreans fleeing economic turbulence and a
hostile political environment, war, and political repression, entered
the United States during the mid-20th Century; and
WHEREAS, As countless immigrants have done before them, these new
Americans came searching for a better life and new opportunities; and
WHEREAS, The enactment of the federal Immigration and Nationality Act
of 1965 paved the way for a new wave of Korean immigrants who have since
become one of the fastest growing groups of Asian Americans in the
United States; and
WHEREAS, Since their arrival in the United States more than one
hundred years ago, the outstanding contributions of Korean Americans
have spanned every area of society and their rich culture, heritage and
traditions have enriched the fabric of life in our country and contrib-
uted greatly to the quality of life for residents of New York; and
WHEREAS, New York State has the second largest number of Korean-owned
businesses in the country and they generate nearly $80 billion annually
in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Many Korean Americans have chosen to live and work in Queens
and through their hard work and tenacious effort have overcome culture
and language barriers and helped create a thriving multi-cultural commu-
nity; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
memorialize Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim January 13, 2016, as
Korean American Day in the State of New York, honoring the contributions
of Korean Americans in the United States and New York; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New
York; the Korean American Association of New York, and the Korean Ameri-
can Association of Queens.