Pachappa Camp: The First Koreatown in the United States

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Friday, October 20, 2023 | 5:30pm to 7pm

Prof. Edward T. Chang will present on University of California, Riverside’s traveling exhibition to preserve and share the history of America’s first Koreatown — Pachappa Camp — a community of Korean migrant workers in Riverside who contributed to the city’s citrus development. Among those workers was Korea’s most influential independence activists, Dosan Ahn Chang Ho, who helped foment Korea’s democratic movement. 

The traveling exhibition, funded by a Mellon Foundation grant, will include collaborations with a consortium of Asian American and civil rights groups based in Riverside, including Save Our Chinatown Committee, The Harada House Foundation, Americas Dosan Anchangho Memorial Business Association, and the Civil Rights Institute of Inland Southern California. Exhibitions will be presented along with national Korean American community organizations in Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and New Jersey.

Purchase Book: https://www.amazon.com/Pachappa-Camp-Koreatown-United-Communities/dp/1793645167

Author Bio

Presented By:

Edward T. Chang is Professor of Ethnic Studies and founding Director of the Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies at the University of California at Riverside. He earned his B.A. in Sociology and Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley, and M.A. in Asian American Studies at UCLA.

A prolific researcher, Prof. Chang has published twelve books, seven edited volumes, and numerous articles. His latest book Pachappa Camp: The First Koreatown in the United States (2021) received the “Grand Prize” from the Association for Studies of Koreans Abroad, and also featured in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, and PBS NewsHour. His other publications include Korean Americans: A Concise History (2019) and the Korean translation of Lonesome Journey (2016). He co-authored Korean American Pioneer Aviators: The Willows Airmen and the Korean book 1920, Opening the Skies of Korea (2013). He also translated the Korean book Unsung Hero: The Story of Col. Young Oak Kim (2011) into English.

Prof. Chang has studied and been a voice of the Korean community for more than 25 years. He is a leading expert on the Los Angeles civil unrest, race relations between Korean and African American communities, and Korean Americans.