Skip to main content

Korean American Leftists in the 1950s collection

 Collection
Identifier: 3000

  • Staff Only
  • Select an item to initiate a request

Scope and Contents

The Korean American Leftists in the 1950s collection (1950-1961, 1988-1994) consists of four folders of government documents from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) as well transcripts from the U.S. Congress House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) regarding suspected Communism amongst Korean Americans Leftists in the 1950s. The majority of the collection focuses on Do Sik Shynn, a North Korean man born in 1896 who emigrated to Seattle, Washington in 1920 and was arrested in 1954 after failing to report his address. The voluminous photocopied documents from the INS reveal a paper trail from prior Korean American detainees beginning in 1950, which eventually led to the suspicion of Shynn's Communist ties. Shynn's fight with the INS for his freedom spanned years after his initial order of deportation and subsequent appeal. The records fail to reveal if Shynn's appeal was accepted.

The remainder of the collection is comprised of two folders. The first contains collected photocopied U.S. Congress HUAC transcripts regarding Korean-American Communist activities in the Pacific Northwest Area (Seattle), Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Hollywood between the years 1951 to 1955. The second reveals correspondence between USC's Korean Heritage Library and the INS from 1988 and 1994 in an attempt to secure the documents for this collection, so that it may assist scholars in piecing together the full story of Koreans in the United States throughout history.

Dates

  • Creation: 1950-1961, 1988-1994

Conditions Governing Access

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of the Korean Heritage Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Korean Heritage Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Historical Note

The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was formed in 1933 by a merger of the Bureau of Immigration and the Bureau of Naturalization. This agency also looked into any possible Communist parties ties, which was set forth by the House Un-American Activities Committee.

Doo Sik Shynn was one such individual investigated by the INS in the 1950s. He was born in North Korea in 1896 and emigrated to United States in 1920, settling in Seattle, Washington. In 1954 he was arrested or failing to make annual reports of his address to the INS in a violation of immigration laws. However, he had been identified prior to this as possibly having Communist ties. Shynn was charged with advocating Communism and ordered to be deported, which was then appealed.

Extent

0.44 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003. This small collection comprises government documents from the INS as well as transcripts from the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) pertaining to suspected Communist connections amongst Koreans residing in the United States in the 1950s. The collection focuses primarily on Doo Sik Shynn, a North Korean man who emigrated to Seattle, Washington in 1920.

Arrangement

Folders are arranged chronologically.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Requested from the Immigration and Naturalization Service by the USC Korean Heritage Library on October 14, 1988. Received by the United States Department of Justice Immigration and Naturalization Service in two installments on September 16, 1994 and November 4, 1994.

Title
Finding aid for the Korean American Leftists in the 1950s collection
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Cassone
Date
2018 April
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the USC Libraries East Asian Library Repository

Contact:
Doheny Memorial Library
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-1825 United States