Korean-Americans have the highest voter turnout ever
Title
Korean-Americans have the highest voter turnout ever
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Vtmbh article article order
6
Vtmbh article author
Jun-Whan Lee, Jong-Whun Kim
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Vtmbh article body
On Election Day, the Korean-American voter turnout was the highest ever recordeda 50 percent increase since the last election.
The Young Korean-American Service and Education Center (Chairman, Sokon Kim) provided translation services at voting sites and surveyed exiting voters. According to the data they compiled, over 100 Korean Americans voted in the voting sites such as Queens Flushing JHS 189, Flushing High School, RS Senior Center, and PS 69. These statistics show a 50 percent increase since the last election.
Eun-joo Kang, a volunteer translator for Korean voters at the St. Sebastian High School in Queens, said, 20 Korean Americans voters were expected to vote here but 46 Koreans actually came to vote. It is obvious that a lot more Koreans voted this time, compared to previous elections.
In the main election of 2001, 110 Koreans voted in the RS Senior Center, but now 170 voted. At the JHS 189 voting site, 250 people voted compared to around 100 voters last yeara twofold increase.
In 1999, Korean voters who participated in these same voting sites totaled 50 persons. In only four years, this number increased eight times.
Korean voting rates in Palisades Park, New Jersey were also high. There, around 900 Korean American cast absentee ballots, and 200 people voted in person. This totals about 84 percent of the eligible Korean voters, accounting for over 41.5 percent of the total voter turnout. At present, Palisades Park has 7,043 registered voters, among whom 1,300 (18.4%) are Korean, a 1.4 percent increase from the last election.
It seems that the reason for the increasing number of Korean voters is that more Koreans have gotten American citizenship over the past several years and the get-out-the-vote campaigns by several Korean associations were effective.
Yu Soung Mun, executive director of the Young Korean-American Service and Education Center, said that even though there were not many big issues which allude to the concerns of Korean Americans, nor was there a Korean candidate in New York. Nevertheless the reason why the numbers of Korean voters increased is that Koreans have finally begun to recognize the importance of voting and have confidence in participating in public affairs as American citizens.
The chairman of the Korean American Community Empowerment Counsel, Yoon-Yong Park, also said Korean associations endless voter registration campaigns have had a large effect in this election, to good result. He added that this proves that Korean Americans firmly acknowledged that we are the subject in American politics and society.
The Young Korean-American Service and Education Center (Chairman, Sokon Kim) provided translation services at voting sites and surveyed exiting voters. According to the data they compiled, over 100 Korean Americans voted in the voting sites such as Queens Flushing JHS 189, Flushing High School, RS Senior Center, and PS 69. These statistics show a 50 percent increase since the last election.
Eun-joo Kang, a volunteer translator for Korean voters at the St. Sebastian High School in Queens, said, 20 Korean Americans voters were expected to vote here but 46 Koreans actually came to vote. It is obvious that a lot more Koreans voted this time, compared to previous elections.
In the main election of 2001, 110 Koreans voted in the RS Senior Center, but now 170 voted. At the JHS 189 voting site, 250 people voted compared to around 100 voters last yeara twofold increase.
In 1999, Korean voters who participated in these same voting sites totaled 50 persons. In only four years, this number increased eight times.
Korean voting rates in Palisades Park, New Jersey were also high. There, around 900 Korean American cast absentee ballots, and 200 people voted in person. This totals about 84 percent of the eligible Korean voters, accounting for over 41.5 percent of the total voter turnout. At present, Palisades Park has 7,043 registered voters, among whom 1,300 (18.4%) are Korean, a 1.4 percent increase from the last election.
It seems that the reason for the increasing number of Korean voters is that more Koreans have gotten American citizenship over the past several years and the get-out-the-vote campaigns by several Korean associations were effective.
Yu Soung Mun, executive director of the Young Korean-American Service and Education Center, said that even though there were not many big issues which allude to the concerns of Korean Americans, nor was there a Korean candidate in New York. Nevertheless the reason why the numbers of Korean voters increased is that Koreans have finally begun to recognize the importance of voting and have confidence in participating in public affairs as American citizens.
The chairman of the Korean American Community Empowerment Counsel, Yoon-Yong Park, also said Korean associations endless voter registration campaigns have had a large effect in this election, to good result. He added that this proves that Korean Americans firmly acknowledged that we are the subject in American politics and society.
Vtmbh article date
2002-11-06
Vtmbh article edition
41
Vtmbh article hit count
70
Vtmbh article keywords
Vtmbh article line breaks
1
Vtmbh article original language
Korean
Vtmbh article publication
Korea Daily News
Vtmbh article section
elec02
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Vtmbh article title
Korean-Americans have the highest voter turnout ever
Vtmbh article translator
Jeongwoo Han
Source
born-digital
Media Type
article
Created by Author
yes
Described by Author
no
Date Entered
2002-11-06
Collection
Citation
“Korean-Americans have the highest voter turnout ever,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed October 1, 2026, https://911.dev.chnm.gmu.edu/items/1584/.