Koreans in New York

New York City, New York, the United States of America

April 30th, 1791

Jeong Yakyong strolled through the streets of New York City with his older brother Jeong Yakjeong and their official translator Major Williams. The trio walked past tall buildings (compared to Korean architecture) and walked past people of many different races: Whites, African Americans, and Native Americans. People peacefully went about their day in one of the biggest cities in the United States. Newspaper boys delivered newspapers to houses, shopkeepers opened up their shops for business, and a group of children ran around laughing and screaming as they made their way to New York City Primary School for their morning lessons. The smell of various foods, from Native American smoked venison to French Caribbean spices, wafted through the air while the sound of wagons and voices filled the streets.

The two Korean brothers were in the city for the second time. The first time they were in New York City, they were housed in a secluded building to await "processing" and only managed to catch a rushed view of the city before moving towards Xin (where a settlement had already being partially built for the arriving Asian immigrants). Yakyong was quite surprised that all the sheets he filled out were in Korean, but then again, the person that liberated hundreds of Korean slaves was a Korean (a Korean "American", Yakyong was told). After he filled it out, he was interviewed by one of the Marine officers that was with him on his trip to the United States. The man, despite his foreign appearance, spoke Korea good enough for the interview to finish without any problems. Once that was finished, he was reunited with the others, climbed into a wagon, and journeyed to their new home. What was strange was that several of the local residents cheered on the arriving Asian immigrants, which caused more than a few of them to be shocked.

Yakyong originally wanted to remain in Joseon, but decided to travel to the United States with his family. His family, being filled with Catholics, faced persecution in Joseon and was on the list of people the king wanted to exile. As a result, despite living a fairly comfortable life as an administrator for the government, he decided to follow his family and take an uncertain leap into an unknown world. When the "Americans" reassured the immigrants that people can worship any religion freely in their nation, his family members were beyond relieved. Yakyong himself wasn't Catholic, but he was also slightly relieved that he would be able to carry out his ancestral worship even in these foreign lands.

At first, Yakyong expected to be worked to the bone along with his family members to pay for their trip and settlement in a foreign land. However, he and the other immigrants that came with him enjoyed plenty of food, entertainment (in forms of English books translated to Korean and "American" games like chess, checkers, and cards), and an education. It was more than he and his family members could have hoped for and their long, four month journey was relatively comfortable. When they were told that they would be granted a job or even land if they learned English properly, they all decided to take their daily "English lessons" (taught to them for free by several "Marines" and sailors) extremely seriously. By the time the USS Charleston (he learned that the ship was named after a famous battle during the United States "Revolutionary War," with a Marine using the analogy of Joseon fighting a war for its independence from China) pulled into New York, he was confident that his English skills were at conversational level (he did have a knack of academics, as he was a former administrator for Joseon). His family members lagged behind in their English abilities, but they still had time. From what he heard, the "American Congress" was debating on a proposal for the newly arrived immigrants in order to help fund their efforts to settle in the United States. It was expected to take some time, but for the time being, the state of New York (which was like a province, but with much greater autonomy and its own provincial government) and Samuel Kim (he was still a mystery to many, but some immigrants heard rumors that he was a former slave, which Yakyong dismissed as being completely false) were providing them with the money needed for their settlement. One thing he noticed was that he and the others mainly received English education instead of learning about other subjects, which added a layer of mystery to the nation they were moving into (the only thing they were told was that none of them would ever be slaves again). However, he was determined to learn more about the "United States" and its history, and so he asked to venture out into the city with an escort. Major Williams, the intimidating black Marine (when Yakyong first saw him, he thought that the major was a mountain demon due to his dark skin and unshakable expression), was appointed to escort Yakyong and his brother to New York City. The man spoke fairly decent Korean (though with an incredibly heavy accent), though he had a dictionary with him to help out with certain words and sentences.

And now he was here, just a few weeks after his arrival in the United States, exploring the "fabled American city" that many immigrants had wondered about during the journey.

"What is he doing?" Yakyong asked in English slowly, pointing at a man in blue clothing looking around the streets with a club on his belt.

"He's a "policeman," Major Williams replied, speaking clearly for the two Koreans to understand, "He makes sure to stop crime and protect the citizens."

"So he's like a magistrate," Yakyong wondered out loud in Korean.

"A bit different, but the idea is similar. A "policeman" is not a judge, he carries out the law."

The former Joseon official nodded his head and looked around. The city was smaller than Hanyang, but it was just as lively, if not more more so. Not only were the people different (he was still struggling to grasp the concept of different races as he had only seen Koreans and a few Chinese merchants in his entire life), but the general atmosphere was different as well. He wasn't sure if it was the air, but something was different in the United States. He earned a few friendly looks as people walked by and one of them even stopped Major Williams and chatted with him in rapid English. Yakyong caught a few words here and there (he heard "Korean," "Samuel," and "clothes"), but confusedly watched as the Marine laughed while the stranger looked embarrassed and walked away.

"What did he say?"

"He thought that you were Samuel Kim and asked why you were asking "funny clothing."

Yakyong blinked, "Are my clothes weird?"

The two Korean brothers looked at each other's clothing. Both were wearing the traditional Korean hanboks. Yakyong wore a gat (a hat made of horsehair and bamboo that was worn by yangbans (nobles) or people that passed the civil exams) while his brother wore his hair shortly.

"No, just interesting. The only Korean in the United States for the past decade has been Samuel Kim, and he always dressed and acted like... one of us," Major Williams replied.

"Just who is this "Samuel Kim" person and why does everyone seem to know him and hold him up like a king?" Yakjeong, the Catholic brother, cut in.

Major Williams adjusted his military cap, "Perhaps it will be easier for you to read about it then explain it to you. You have the Korean-English dictionary, correct?"

Both men nodded and the Marine smiled, "Then let us visit a bookstore in order for you to purchase some books. I'll buy some for you."

The three ventured to a bookstore called New York Times Publishing Company on a street called Times Street. The bookstore was filled with thousands of different books and a few people were in it to explore the vast selections available for the public to purchase. Yakyong gaped at the sight, "Are all these books available for commoners?"

"If they have the money, yes. Usually they can also read the books for free in here, but there's a public library that's better suited for that,' The Marine answered.

"There's a library available to commoners as well?" Yakyong asked, even more surprised than before.

"Yes, though the number of books is fairly small. It just opened up last year. Now, what would you like to read about?"

Yakjeong went on his way to find books about Catholicism and the United States, while Yakyong picked out a few books about philosophy (he saw the names "Voltaire," "Rousseau," "Diderot," and "Plato"), American History, republicanism (one of which was written by the mysterious Samuel Kim), and English grammar. After the two brothers picked out the books, Major Williams pulled out several coins (Yakyong noted that the coins were all different in terms of size, composition, and weight) and handed them to the shopkeeper.

While Major Williams offered the two to visit some of the industrial sites in New York City (specifically, a steelmill and a weapons factory operated by the Samuel Kim), both of them politely turned down the offer. They decided to return to their home and read the new books they acquired. Soon, the two of them parted ways with Major Williams (who lived with the other translators and assistants in the outskirts of Xin) and made their trek back to their home.

Xin was a town with around a thousand individuals so far, nearly all of them of Asian origin (though it wasn't unusual to get the occasional "American" visitors that wandered around the town to sell goods). The town was situated just north of New York City (AN: it's pretty much the same location of New Rochelle) and was only partially complete, as laborers worked hard to expand the town for future immigrants to settle into. As Yakyong walked through Xin to get to his home (which was in the eastern outskirts), he walked past a few Koreans setting up a small marketplace for them to sell some of their old belongings for money and a group of Chinese people playing weiqi out in the streets. Unlike New York, there was hardly any pleasant or foul smells and only the smell of fresh, unearthed dirt was recognizable to Yakyong. Instead of the sound of wagons and chattering voices, only a few scattered laughs and mumbles was noticeable throughout the streets of Xin. Many of the buildings were built in Korean and Chinese style, an aesthetic blend of the two that was in stark contrast to the "European" styles of the American buildings. The town wasn't as lively as New York City, but he could see the roots of civilization spreading in this small settlement. From what he was told, a school was going to be built here (that was free to attend for all!) and an official marketplace was going to be built in the center of the town (which was fairly empty, by design).

The house of the Jeong family was designed off the Hanok (traditional Korean houses) in Joseon. It was much more spacious than the family home he had back in Joseon, and it was certainly big enough to fit the six family members that he came with (three brothers and three sisters). After being bombarded by his family members with questions about the city (Were the white and black people rude and condescending? Did you speak any English to those foreigners? Was it safe for them to go to?), he retired to his private room. He opened up a few of the books and spent the next several days reading tirelessly.

In his views, the "American Republic" was absolutely fascinating (a form of government he had never even considered back in Joseon). He had always believed that the people should be subservient to the government, while the government should provide for their well beings in return. However, the American Republic was different. The people were the government themselves, and in turn, provided for the well being of the people on their own. It was a foreign concept, radical even. But he could see the wisdom behind a republic (and the flaws behind it as well). If the people represented the government and led it, then they would know what would be best... for the people. Thus, the government would ensure that the proper resources and money were allocated to the necessities of the people. He had seen the corruption of the Joseon government and knew that a government separated from the ordinary people had many problems, so there was a certain appeal to that idea. Of course, that didn't mean the system wasn't flawed. There was always a chance that a liar, or someone with incredible wealth and influence, could influence the people themselves, thus subverting the people to their whims. Even so, it was definitely something different, something he didn't expect. The Constitution of the United States was an absolutely stunning piece of literature and he enjoyed reading about it, even if he didn't agree with everything it had to say (like arming the people, that sounded like a terrible idea considering the potential for rebellions).

As for philosophy, he was surprised to find so many different types. From "liberalism" to "conservatism," from "absolutely monarchies" to "republics," there were a wide variety of selections for him to read from. In his mind, he was already forming a new political theory (one that combined the teachings of Confucius with some of these European and American ideas) to create the "best" form of government. He had written several books on political theory in Joseon (indeed, it was one of the reasons why the King took a special liking to him), but he expected this project to be far greater than anything he had written before.

And American History was... impressive, to say the least. Having a Korean (though Yakyong highly doubted that Anyoung, the Korean American's real name, was a son of former slaves) lead foreigners in battle and win a war against a major empire was certainly appealing, especially since the history books mentioned that "Samuel Kim" would go on to serve as the nation's first leader. Incorporating so many different races, encouraging people of all creed and color to come to the nation to settle, and creating a radical new government... the United States had a very storied and interesting history despite the fact that it had only existed for a decade and a half. By the time he left his private room (he had been fed by his family as he read in his room by himself), he was absolutely certain that he knew more about American history than most "Americans."

However, there was one question he wanted to ask to an American, which prompted him to leave his room and travel to Major Williams' house. The major lived in a small house with his small family (a wife and two daughters) towards the southern end of Xin. Apparently, the major was tasked with ensuring that the immigrants settled in smoothly and was living in the house for free while he worked with the immigrants. As such, he lived in Xin with his family and worked from within the town itself. When Yakyong knocked on the major's door, the Marine opened it up and greeted him in Korean, "Mr. Jeong, do you need something?"

"I read the books and I wanted to ask a question."

"Yes?"

"Why didn't the Kim declare himself as a monarch and rule America as a king? He had the power to do so, the military was on his side and the people supported him." Yakyong asked.

Major Williams thought for a moment and shook his head, "Because he didn't want to."

"Why not?"

"President Kim once told me this," Major Williams said, ""With great power, comes even greater responsibilities." He believed that he had a responsibility to ensure that the will of the people was heard and to bring about a democratic, republican form of government. Even if the others wanted him as king, he would have never accepted it. He fought for the ideals of the republic and of liberty, not for his own personal gain. After all, that is the core belief of our nation: that every citizen has a duty to ensure that the republic is upheld for all who live in it."

The Korean man thanked the major and left. He needed some time to think.