My latest KT piece is on the candidacy of a Korea-American for Congress. The unusual part is that he is running in North Carolina, a state that generally sees ‘ethnic politics’ in black and white terms.
There is a Korean connection, besides his immigrant status:
His journey into politics began in 2002, when he returned to Korea to become an instructor in one of the colleges serving U.S. military personnel. That experience living in Korea again and working with members of the military had a strong impact of Cho and his views on community service. He vowed to “make a positive difference” when he returned to the United States three years later.
That vow led him to a position in the local board of transportation, a town council seat and the chairmanship of the Orange County (North Carolina) Republican Party, culminating in his current congressional campaign.
His candidacy is looking like a bit of a long shot. As of April 16, his primary opponent had three times as much cash on hand as he did. The general election is looking even tougher, with the incumbent (who is something like 9-2 in elections in the district) sitting on a cool half-million bucks. On the other hand, his endorsements include two current and one former member of the NC state legislature in the district, so he might have a better ground game than the money race would indicate.
The primary is today. Well, actually it is tomorrow because today is still yesterday in the States right now (OK, I’ve gone cross-eyed). I’ll update tomorrow, which will be today because… Oh, never mind!
BTW and in case you were wondering; I found out about Cho because he was on my ballot.
UPDATE: Cho lost pretty badly, although the vote margin was not a bad as the money gap.
11 Comments
In that part of the country (i.e. so close to VA), the fact that his surname is “Cho” is not going to work in his favor…
You must be joking, Wangkon. I’ll bet most of my colleagues here in Virginia can’t remember the name or even the ethnicity of the man who shot up VT one year ago.
Good luck to him…sounds like a stand-up individual who actually gives a shit (unlike many if not most politicians).
Hope does well and sets an example to Koreans here.
Wishful thinking I know. Koreans (in Korea) would never elect a foreigner born in Korea or a half blooded Korean to public office.
#4,
Why would Koreans elect a non-Korean to office? This is Korea; land of the Koreans. If they do not rule this little patch of earth, there is no other place in the world for them. I think it is a bit of an apples and oranges comparison.
I expect to see a few mixed-race people start getting elected to local offices in the next decade or two. Right now, most of the kids from mixed marriages are still too young to participate in public life.
“Wishful thinking I know. Koreans (in Korea) would never elect a foreigner born in Korea or a half blooded Korean to public office.”
Newlywed Vietnamese Wife becomes Village Chairwoman
http://www.arirang.co.kr/Tv/AP.....s_lang=Eng
Well, there you have it.
oh, dear god, a korean republican…
#7, Well, she isn’t a foreigner born in Korea. Maybe JohnT’s right about how racist Korea is and it won’t ever elect a foreigner born in Korea, just foreigners born in foreign countries like Vietnam.
Wait a minute… how can a foreigner run for public office? They’d have to be naturalized Koreans, so JohnT is right: Koreans will never elect a foreigner born to public office.
#8, About 1/3 of Korean-Americans are Republican.
I’m not surprised to learn some Korean-Americans tilt to the right.
There is plenty in modern Republican ideology that could be particularly appealing to a sizable segment of older, well-established and now affluent Korean-Americans:
1. “We got ours, don’t ask us for help getting yours…”
2. Jesus!
3. Aversion to Latino immigrants, Arab and/or African Americans
4. Pro-life (see #2)
5. Neutered abstinence-only sex-ed programs
“I’ll bet most of my colleagues here in Virginia can’t remember the name or even the ethnicity of the man who shot up VT one year ago.”
Here’s hoping that’s true.