Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-39), one of the first Korean American women to serve in Congress, introduced a bipartisan resolution with fellow California Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) to designate January 13, 2022 as National Korean American Day.
76 colleagues including fellow Korean American Reps. Michelle Steel (CA-48), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10) and Andy Kim (NJ-03) joined Kim and Gomez in introducing this resolution.
Rep. Kim led a similar resolution each year during her time in the California State Assembly to honor her heritage and the more than 1.8 million Korean Americans who call the United States home.
“Since the first Korean immigrants arrived in the United States on January 13, 1903, Korean Americans have made significant contributions in all aspects of American life across our nation’s communities,” said Congresswoman Kim. “As one of the first Korean American women to serve in Congress and an immigrant from South Korea who represents a district that includes a vibrant Korean American community, I am proud to honor my heritage, recognize the 1.8 million Korean Americans in the U.S. today and promote the important role that Korean Americans play in defining America as a land of opportunity by introducing this resolution to honor Korean American Day.”
“Since the arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States 119 years ago, Korean Americans have added tremendous value to the social fabric and economic output of this country,” said Congressman Gomez. “Most recently, we have seen countless examples of Korean American businesses and community groups stepping up to do their part to keep our neighbors safe and healthy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud to represent Koreatown in Los Angeles—home to the largest Korean American community in the United States—and it is a great pleasure to lead this resolution to recognize the contributions of Korean Americans across the country.”
“Since the first Korean immigrants arrived in the United States in 1903, many Korean Americans like me came to this country with the hope of achieving their own American Dream. Today we celebrate the vibrant community of Korean Americans in the United States, and all that they have worked to achieve. I’m proud to honor our community with this bipartisan resolution,” said Congresswoman Steel.
Read the text of the resolution HERE.
