Dr. Edward T. Chang,
Professor of Ethnic Studies, University of California Riverside,
Director of the Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
10383 Bunche Hall
UCLA
Koreans who lived and worked in Riverside, CA in the early 1900s were strongly connected with the local Calvary Presbyterian Church. Official Korean immigration to the US began on January 13 1903 when 102 Koreans came to work on sugar plantations in Hawaii. Many of those pioneering Koreans left the Hawaiian Islands for the US mainland to find better paying jobs and living conditions. When Koreans migrated to the mainland they ended up in places like Riverside where the citrus industry was thriving. At the time, Calvary Presbyterian Church was located at 9th and Lime Streets in Riverside and welcomed members from every walk of life and of every ethnicity.
Many of the Korean immigrants were Christian converts. In 1905, attracted by Pachappa Camp and the Korean Labor Bureau established by Dosan Ahn Chang Ho, Koreans began to move to Riverside in large numbers. They presented themselves to the elders at Calvary Presbyterian Church and the church kept detailed records of the Koreans and other ethnicities in the area in their session of minutes. The church established a mission at the camp sometime in 1905. The church provided the Korean settlement with teachers for English classes, loans and charitable donations, and guidance. Calvary Presbyterian Church is closely intertwined with the Korean American history in Riverside. Individuals including Cornelius E. Rumsey—a church elder in the early 1900s—and the church’s pastor helped the Koreans and Pachappa Camp adapt to life in the citrus rich community.
Cost : Free and open to the public
Sponsor(s): Center for Korean Studies