Senator Avella’s Bill Designating January 13th as Korean-American Day Moves Out of Committee

Queens, NY   –   Today, State Senator Tony Avella’s bill, S.1766, designating January 13th as Korean-American Day moved out of the Senate Finance Committee. The bill will now begin aging on the calendar. After three days, the bill will be eligible to be placed on the active list, subsequently bringing the legislation to the Senate’s floor for a vote.

In December of 1902, the S.S. Gaelic left Korea with 56 men, 21 women and 25 children and brought the first immigrants to the U.S. to Hono-lulu Hawaii. They arrived on January 13th, 1903, a day that the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States commemorated with a Resolution in 2005. Several states, municipalities and cities already recognize this day as Korean American day.

Senator Avella introduced this bill to include New York among the states commemorating this important day, and cited a 2010 United States Census which documents over 153,000 Korean Americans living in the state of New York.

“New York has an extensive and long established Korean American population. More than 153,000 Korean Americans live in and contribute to the culture of our diverse state. It is only fitting that we commemorate January 13th as Korean American Day, in respect to the first Korean immigrants that landed on U.S. soil in 1903. Several states, cities and municipalities, not to mention our Congress, already recognize January 13th as Korean American Day; It’s time for New York to join the ranks and officially recognize the vibrant Korean culture of our iconic melting pot,” said State Senator Tony Avella.