As a Korean American myself this is something I've always wondered, especially since there's not much information I can find about the Korean American experience prior to the Korean War. I know that during WW2 Korean Americans faced racial discrimination, but I was curious if legally they were considered Japanese due to the annexation of Korea in 1910. If so, were Korean American also interned with Japanese Americans? I do know about the 442nd Infantry Regiment, which consisted almost entirely of Japanese Americans, and notably the only Korean American officer Colonel Young-Oak Kim. Were there other Korean Americans that also served in the 442nd/WW2 in general?
I know that there's a lot of focus on the Japanese American experience during WW2 simply because the US was at war with Japan, so I would love to hear more about any Korean American experiences during this time period.
From 1910, Korean were typically internationally recognised as Japanese subjects. Even if the ethnic distinction between Koreans and Japanese was noted, Koreans were recognised as subjects of the Japanese Empire (and not citizens of Japan, if that made a difference).
The Korean population in the US was small until the Korean War. Korean emigration to the US began in 1882, when the Treaty of Amity and Commerce was agreed between the US and Korea, and largely ended in 1905 when the Korean government banned emigration to the US. Under Japanese rule, Korean emigration to the US continued again, but in small numbers. When the US entered WWII, the Korean population of the US was about 7,000, most living in Hawaii. About 1/3 were aliens, and 2/3 were American-born citizens. Non-citizen Koreans were classified as enemy aliens, leading to protests by many of them:
For years we've been fighting the Japanese and now they tell us that we're Japs. It's an insult and we refuse to be so classified!
for example (quoted in Kim (2003)), and
Japanese say Koreans are Number One enemy to Japan, and our American friends put us on the enemy side, while we are trying to show our loyalty. ... It is really hard to understand.
and
Why should the alien Koreans be classified as enemies and let them pass the taint to their children, when they hate the Japs and taught their children to hate the Japs?
(these two quotes from Macmillan (1985)).
In early February 1942, in response to those protests, the US Department of Justice removed restrictions that had been placed on enemy aliens who were Axis subjects (and not Axis citizens) living in the continental US. Thus, when the internment of Japanese-Americans began in late February, Koreans and Americans of Korean descent were not interned. The DOJ decision didn't remove restrictions from Korean-Americans in Hawaii, but they (and Japanese-Americans in Hawaii) were not interned.
Following the Cairo Declaration in November 1943, which stated, among other things,
The aforesaid three great powers, mindful of the enslavement of the people of Korea, are determined that in due course Korea shall become free and independent.
led to a new decision by the US government that Koreans were not enemy aliens, which changed the legal position of Korean-Americans, especially in Hawaii, but didn't have much practical impact. Koreans did suffer from racism, including mistaken identification as Japanese. On Korean woman in Hawaii described the experience as:
Everyone looks at me as though I'm Japanese and I feel so mad and guilty because I can't change my face, and I have no way to tell them I'm just the opposite of Japanese.
(from Kim (2003)); "the opposite of Japanese" is a very Korean sentiment of the time, and being treated as Japanese and/or mistaken for being Japanese could be an emotionally painful experience.
Korean-Americans typically supported the US war against Japan, some quite enthusiastically. Some strongly supported the internment of Japanese-Americans. Since some, or even much, of this sentiment was due to anti-Japanese feeling and desire for Korean independence, there was some suspicion of Korean motives:
They are taking advantage of the present emergency to harp on the desire for independence.
However, some viewed it quite positively, even when recognising the origin of some of these feelings:
Of all peoples now aligned against Japan there can be no doubt as to the Korean people's bitterness for that nation, and there can be no doubt as to the Korean people's loyalty to the United States on whose victory they place their efforts and faith for the recovery of the Korean independence.
(both quotes from Kim (2003)).
Some Korean-Americans served in WWII, but relatively few, only about 100 of the 4 and half thousand citizens of Korean descent - Japanese-Americans were about 7 times as likely to serve in the US armed forces. The best known Korean-Americans to serve were:
Young-Oak Kim, who you already noted, and whose patriotic and anti-racist comment in response to the offer of a transfer when the battalion commander realised he was Korean deserves to be better known: "there [are] no Japanese nor Korean here. We're all Americans and we're fighting for the same cause."
Fred Ohr, the only Korean-American fighter ace of WWII, who had joined the army in 1938, and became a pilot in 1940. He finished his combat tour as a squadron commander.
Susan Ahn (later Susan Ahn Cuddy, after she married CPO Frank Cuddy after the war), who joined the US Navy after Pearl Harbor. She was the first Asian-American woman in the USN, and became a air gunnery instructor for the Navy, helping train pilots. For more on Susan, watch https://www.pbs.org/video/susan-ahn-cudd-korean-american-pioneer-and-woman-warrior-akb/
Philip Ahn, Susan's older brother, 10 years her senior. Philip had been acting in movies in Hollywood since 1935. He enlisted after Pearl Harbor, and served in the Special Services, the entertainment branch of the American military, until discharged due to an injury. He made movies throughout the war, frequently playing Japanese roles (as a villain, of course). After the war, his acting career continued, with his last movie in 1977. Most of his roles were Chinese or Japanese, with a few movies (especially Korean War movies) giving him Korean roles. One of his best known roles was as Master Kan in the TV series Kung Fu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxvCxYvv2aU
Ralph Ahn, Susan's younger brother, 11 years her junior. Due to his age, he only enlisted in the US Navy in 1944. His fame rests on that of his older siblings, and also on his post-war acting career in Hollywood - he followed his brother into acting. Two other Ahn siblings, about Susan's age, did not enlist. The three who enlisted: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ahn_Siblings_World_War_II.jpg
Ernie Kim, a parachute officer with the 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment, captured during the Battle of the Bulge, who barely survived his captivity, and became a well-known ceramic artist after the war.
Herbert Choy, who served in the Hawaii Territorial Guard 1941-1942 and the US Army 1942-1946. He finished WWII in the JAG Corps, the legal branch of the US Army. He isn't famous for his wartime service, but for his postwar achievement of becoming the first Asian American to serve as a United States federal judge.
References
Lili M. Kim, "The Limits of Americanism and Democracy: Korean Americans, Transnational Allegiance, and the Question of Loyalty on the Homefront during World War II", Amerasia Journal 29:3, 79-96 (2003). https://doi.org/10.17953/amer.29.3.0146620261212648
Michael E. Macmillan, "Unwanted Allies: Koreans as Enemy Aliens in World War II", The Hawaiian Journal of History 19 , 179-203 (1985).
