Korean Immigrants Honored as 'Pride of America'Chosun.com / July 9, 2010
Short track speed skater Simon Cho and Irvine Mayor Kang Suk-hee have been included on the Carnegie Corporation's annual "Immigrants: The Pride of America" list honoring exemplary immigrants to the U.S.
According to the Carnegie Corporation, Cho (18) immigrated to America illegally in 1996 with his father when he was just four years old, and after working hard in the country his family acquired permanent residency in 2001 and citizenship in 2004. Cho realized the American Dream this year by winning the bronze medal in the men's 5,000 m relay at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Kang (56) became the first Korean-born mayor of an American town through a direct election in 2004. Irvine is a mid-sized town in Orange County, California.
The Carnegie Corporation was established in honor of Andrew Carnegie, who immigrated to the U.S. from Scotland. Since 2006, it has selected successful immigrants to the U.S. each year and featured their names and stories in the New York Times.[/img]
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A second story on this subject from the Korea Herald:
Kang, Cho among immigrants honored by CarnegieJuly 12, 2010 / Korea Herald
www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100712000502Two Korean-Americans -- Kang Suk-hee, 56, the mayor of Irvine, California, and Simon Cho, 18, an Olympic medalist in short track speed skating -- are among a prestigious group of 46 people honored by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The corporation salutes immigrants who have made significant contributions to the U.S. each year since 2006, in memory of achievements by its founder Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish immigrant.
The notables are featured along with their face photos in “Immigrants; The Pride of America,” a full-page advertisement of the New York Times around the Fourth of July.
This year, they appeared on the July 2 edition. The advertisement is sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation.
“The U.S. remains a land of immigrants. Andrew Carnegie, who founded Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1911, was an immigrant from Scotland. We at Carnegie Corporation salute his legacy, along with the contributions of the millions of other immigrants who have made, and continue to make, our nation strong and vibrant,” the corporation said in the advertisement.
Kang became the first Korean American to be elected as mayor of a major U.S. city in 2008. He was born and raised in Korea and immigrated to the U.S. in 1977 where he raised two children. He was elected to the Irvine City Council in 2004 and re-elected in 2006.
Kang has extensive business experience, beginning his professional career with Circuit City Store sales and customer service. He was quickly promoted to senior management positions, and inducted into the “Colonel’s Club,” for his dedication and service to the company.
Cho made the U.S. Vancouver Olympic team and won the bronze medal in the men’s 5,000-meter speedskating relay this year.
He was born in Seoul and began skating at the age of 3. His family sneaked into the U.S. illegally in 1996 when he was 4 years old. He lived most of his 18 years in Maryland.
His father, Jay Cho, did not intend to bring his family from South Korea without proper paperwork after arriving in the U.S. to work in 1993, but the wait for green cards was seven years, and he missed his family. In 1996, he met his wife, daughter Anna, and Simon in Vancouver. They stayed for a week, then made their way without incident across the border. Helped by more relaxed immigration regulations at that time, the family obtained green cards by 2001, and all became U.S. citizens by 2004.
The 46 U.S. citizens honored in this year’s ad include Gata Kamsky, a Russian immigrant who became a chess master; Ahmed H. Zewail, an Egyptian American who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry; Paul Anka, a Candian American singer; Charles Kao, from China, who received the Nobel Prize for physics.[/img]
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Tags: Simon Cho / Short Track Speedskating