Since the 1950s, Korean Americans have made significant strides in U.S. elected offices, with female representation beginning in 1970 when Eleanor Kim Chow was elected to the Montebello Unified Board of Education. Chow served on the board from 1970 to 1993, paving the way for future generations of Korean-American women in politics.
A recent analysis by the Korea Daily of the Korean American Political Almanac, published by the nonprofit Korean American Institute (KAI), reveals that a total of 231 Korean Americans have held elected positions from the 1950s through 2024. Of these, 128 were men and 103 were women, showing a relatively balanced gender representation.
According to Chow’s 2022 obituary in the Whittier Daily News, she passed away at the age of 101 after battling lung disease. During World War II, Chow left college to work at a bank before becoming the first Korean American elected to a school board. A colleague described her as someone who dedicated her life to ensuring students from kindergarten to high school received a better education.
The next prominent Korean-American woman to be elected was Donna Mercado Kim, who served as a Hawaii State Representative (1982–1984), Honolulu City Council member (1986–2000), and Hawaii State Senator (2016–2020), becoming the first woman to enter the state legislature.
From 1990 to 1994, Jackie Young served as a Hawaii State Representative. Her obituary, published in the Star-Advertiser in 2019, noted that Young, who passed away at 84, was a pioneer in the early feminist movement and a staunch advocate for women’s rights.
Martha Choe’s career also stands out. She served on the Seattle City Council from 1992 to 1999 before becoming a director at the Washington State Department of Commerce. In 2004, she joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, eventually rising to the position of Chief Administrative Officer (CAO).
The 1990s saw an increase in Korean-American women elected to public office, expanding beyond the traditional strongholds of the West Coast and Hawaii to the East Coast. Mimi Kim McAndrews (Florida State Representative, 1992–1994) and Patty Kim (Pennsylvania State Representative, 2013–2024) were among the early female Korean-American legislators in eastern states.
In the 2020 election, Korean-American women Michelle Steel and Young Kim, both Republicans from California, and Marilyn Strickland, a Democrat from Washington, were elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. All three are seeking a third term in November 2024.
Currently, there are four Korean-American politicians serving in Congress, including Representative Andy Kim (D-NJ), who is making a historic bid to become the first Korean-American U.S. Senator. The political affiliations of these Korean-American lawmakers are evenly split, with two Republicans and two Democrats.
BY YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]
