Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, the pioneers of the Korean community in the United States were a small group of political and social reformers, expelled from Korea following an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government, who arrived as exiles in San Francisco. Among them was Suh Jae-pil, who later adopted the American name Philip Jaisohn. Mr. Jaisohn became the first Korean to become an American citizen and the first Korean-American to receive an American medical degree. In 1886, 4 years after getting his medical degree, Mr. Jaisohn established the first Korean newspaper. He became involved in the fight to keep Korea independent of China and, after 1910, to liberate it from Japan. Dr. Jaisohn devoted the majority of his life to the cause of Korean independence. His work in medical research and pathology and for Korean causes gained respect in both his homeland and in the United States. Mr. Jaisohn, like thousands of other Koreans who immigrated to the United States, played a central role in nurturing the political and religious evolution of modern Korea. Members of the Korean-American community have served with distinction in the Armed Forces, have helped the development of the first beating heart operation for coronary artery disease, and own and operate more than 135 businesses in the United States with gross sales of $46 billion annually.”