From left to right: Dr. Kim, Mr. & Mrs. David Hyun, Dora Kim, Colonel Kim, Ellen Thun

Korean American Pioneers are descendents of the first wave of Korean immigration at the turn of the century. At this time the pioneer generation is generally made up of second generation Koreans who are sixty and over. Although there are many who migrated from Hawaii, on the U.S. mainland they are primarily descendents of 1,100 Korean immigrants who arrived in the United States mainland between 1903 and 1924. In order to make a living, early Korean immigrants worked, often along side their second generation children, in a wide range of occupations ranging from contract labor and migrant farm work to operating restaurants and retail grocery business, from small specialty businesses such as laundries to cigar shops and fruit stands, from publishing to working in the ministry.

While the descendants of the Koreans who came to America at the turn of the century are few in number, their achievements are not. The number of citations and honors awarded to the pioneer generation attests to the tremendous impact that the pioneers and their families had within their communities. Pioneers who have garnered public recognition include, among others: Sammy Lee, medal winning Olympic diver; Mary Shon, well-known educator and social worker; Philip Ahn, well-known actor (role of Master in Kung Fu); Colonel Young O. Kim, celebrated war veteran and strategist of the Japanese American 442 troupe, Dora Yum Kim, social worker and activist.

Despite living in a society largely ignorant of Korean heritage, maintaining cultural identity was critical to these Korean American immigrants. Family stories, recounted by surviving second generation family members, reveal the importance of creating a Korean American culture separate from Korean culture, and serve as the historical base for Korean American identity formation. In contrast to the belief held by some that intermarriage can "dilute" culture, oral histories reveal that the high rates of intermarriage in the third and fourth generations have not diminished the importance of Korean American culture and identity. Instead, Korean American culture integrates new external influences.

The Pioneer Council at the Korean American Museum is an integral part of Museum. Structured as a support organization for KAM, the Pioneer Council provides volunteers as well as expertise for programming and fundraising . KAM and the Pioneer Council maintain an up-to-date list of over 500 pioneers on the mainland United States. After the 1996 presentation of the "ReViewing the Past: Finding Family Stories" exhibition that focused on the 8 pioneer generation family stories, an exhibition which featured edited videotaped interviews with pioneers, the Pioneer Council organized its own oral histories project to videotape as many life narratives of pioneers as possible.

The collection of life stories, particularly of the pioneer generation is an on-going priority for the Korean American Museum. At this time the Korean American Museum is collaborating with the Korean Heritage Library at the University of Southern California to collect the life stories of the remaining members of the pioneer generation. These digitized transcriptions and audio texts will be made available via the Internet through the Information Systems of Los Angeles web site.