Problems of Korean Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Abstract

This article analyzes major problems of Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States. It is based on interviews with 557 Korean immigrants in Los Angeles, ethnic newspaper articles and personal observations of the Korean community. Korean entrepreneurs’ long hours of work are detrimental to their physical and psychological well-being. Also, because of their business concentration in low-income, minority areas, Korean entrepreneurs are subject to frequent armed robberies, shoplifting, strikes, boycotts and other forms of rejection. Korean entrepreneurs are vulnerable to exploitation because of their dependence upon outgroup members for supplies of merchandise and their dependence on landlords for leases of store buildings. Korean immigrants are engaged in low level, blue collar businesses, and thus most Korean entrepreneurs face the problem of status inconsistency. Finally, Korean immigrants’ segregation into the ethnic sub-economy, while enhancing ethnic attachment and ethnic solidarity, hinders cultural and social assimilation.