Korea in the World: Atlanta, Georgia, USA

In the archives of Atlanta’s Emory University rests a memento from its first Korean student: a copy of the Korean National Anthem written in the hand of the song’s writer, Yun Ch’i-ho. As a convert to Christianity, Yun chose to study at Emory University because of the institution’s Methodist origins. Experiencing the strong racism of the American South caused him great agitation, but he did not regret his time there.

Many more Korean students have come and gone since Yun Ch’i-ho graduated and returned to serve in his country’s royal court; in fact his granddaughter Hena Chun graduated from the university herself in 2010. Atlanta is now home to roughly 80,000 Koreans and Korean-Americans. The city’s unofficial “Koreatown” is the fastest-growing one of its kind in the US, having doubled in sized between 1990 and 2000. The opening of a KIA manufacturer in 2009 and the partnership of Korean Air with Atlanta’s Delta Airlines can have only accelerated that growth.

Four local television stations now broadcast in the Korean language and a newspaper written in Hangeul, the Atlanta ChoSun, has served the community for years. On the city’s most popular music station, the grocery store Trader Joe’s advertises “Korean pancakes,” or jeon.

So what’s the big attraction to Atlanta? An article in the Chosun Ilbo on November 20, 2006 (“Georgia: Home to America’s Newest Koreatown”) suggests the answer is the South’s low property values and slower pace of living. One woman said, “We just sold the house in New York, and were able to buy a house and another store with that money.”

According to AsianWeek’s July 15, 2005 article on the subject, the woman’s experience is typical of Atlanta’s Korean “immigrants”. Most of the new arrivals are actually coming from costlier places like New York City, not directly from South Korea.

The community has existed long enough to start exporting as well as importing; a few Atlanta residents who grew up in the community are now semi-famous faces. The most well known personality is Hines Ward, the Superbowl MVP football player and Goodwill Ambassador to South Korea. Born to an African-American father, Hines Ward has spent $1 million USD of his fortune to create social change, particularly by combating the discrimination faced by multiracial children.

Yet the most exciting social change in Atlanta’s Koreatown may have started in September of 2013. The South is known for having America’s best (albeit least healthy) cooking. Last September, the world’s first “Korean-Southern” diner opened, a restaurant named Sobban. The best product of Atlanta’s Koreatown may be yet to come.