Highlights
- First nationwide survey of self-identified Korean Australians finds high levels of satisfaction with career and quality of life
- Almost half of the Korean-born in Australia arrived in the last ten years
- 'I am proud to instil Korean values in my children': Second-generation Korean migrant Stephen Oh
"If you can speak two languages, you can accomplish three or four times more,” says Stephen Oh, a second-generation Korean migrant.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Stephen has built a reputation as an aerial cinematography specialist both in Hollywood and Australia.
"I am a professional drone, helicopter and jet plane cameraman and director. My recent movies include James Bond's No Time to Die, Fast & Furious 9, Star Wars: Episode IX, and Black Panther 2," he tells SBS Korean.
He says he owes a lot of his success to studying two languages while growing up in Australia.
It isn't just about learning languages, but also about learning culture. And culture can open so many doors.
"I met a Korean director of photography in Hollywood when working on Star Wars. Just like me, he would eat kimchi every day. A little thing like this makes me feel connected.”
Stephen says he is proud of his parents for teaching him Korean culture and sentiments.
"My parents have lived in Australia for nearly 50 years, but they still maintain Korean culture well, so I am proud of that, and I have learned a lot from them."
Stephen’s father, Young Youl Oh, immigrated to Australia in 1972 to teach taekwondo to the Australian police.
Young Youl says he was 27 years old when opportunity knocked.
Young Youl Oh immigrated to Australia in 1972 to teach taekwondo Source: Supplied
“An Australian named Jack Rosinski wrote a letter to the United Nations Command to find me when I was in Vietnam working as a taekwondo instructor, and I was invited to Australia to teach martial arts.
In the 1970s, most Aussies didn't know much about Korea. They asked me, 'Is Korea attached to Japan or China?’ They thought of Korea as a poor country that had been at war.
“My impression was Australians were very calm and the country was close to Asia. When I came here and saw them in person, I realised Australians had a lot of similarities with Koreans."
'The human link’
This year marks the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and South Korea.
In addition to growing diplomatic and defence ties, the influence of Korean immigrants living in Australia has grown significantly over the years.
The latest Census in 2016 recorded 98,776 South Korea-born people in Australia, an increase of 32.5 per cent from the 2011 Census. It shows 52.5 per cent of Korean Australians lived in New South Wales, followed by 18.6 per cent in Queensland and 15 per cent in Victoria.
Almost half of the Korean-born in Australia have arrived in the last ten years.
A new nationwide survey explores how the two countries are connected through people with lived experiences in both.
Between April and September 2021, a team of multidisciplinary scholars in the fields of migration, media and business gathered nearly 600 valid responses from self-identified Korean Australians on topics ranging from identity and discrimination to education and career.
Image
Dr Jay Song, a senior lecturer in Korean Studies at the University of Melbourne, is one of the scholars behind the survey.
She says, through their social and professional networks, Korean Australians make a significant contribution to building strong bilateral relations.
"In both countries, there will be exchanges between leaders, ministers, and there will be imports and exports at the material market level, but ultimately, the human link between the two worlds is what creates trust and consensus.”
"It's quite encouraging that James Choi served as Australia's Ambassador to South Korea since 2016, Elizabeth Lee is now the ACT Liberal Party leader, Dami Im was the Australian representative at Eurovision a few years ago and won second place, but Koreans stand out in many aspects of Australian society."
"It would ultimately promote Korea-Australia relations if more Koreans integrated into the mainstream and displayed their skills.”
Dr Daejeong Choi, a senior lecturer at the University of Melbourne who also participated in the study, says that Koreans living in Australia are highly satisfied with contributing to the Australian economy.
“Most respondents reported high levels of satisfaction with their careers and life. We base this on responses to questions about career achievement, career goal progression and learning opportunities.”
Among its findings, the survey suggests that the more proficient someone is in English the more likely they are to be satisfied with their life and career, and identify themselves as Australian.
While the scholars say the survey should in no way be used to generalise about the varied experiences of Korean Australians, they say it provides important data on people-to-people relations.
Similar surveys are to be carried out every two years.
'Korean cultural ambassadors'
Growing up, Stephen says he was always reminded of his Korean heritage, whether it was his mother’s traditional feasts of kimchi, soondae (blood sausage), jutcal (preserved seafood) and jjigae (soups) or his father’s traditional values.
“I always thought I would follow in my father’s footsteps and become a taekwondo master,” he says.
“Like many Koreans, we live by a strict family hierarchy system whereby loyalty and honouring elders is of key importance. I am proud to instil this in my own children too.”
Stephen’s son, Jinwoo, a university student, says he identifies as Korean Australian.
Stephen has built a reputation as an aerial cinematography specialist both in Hollywood and Australia. Source: Stephen Oh
Like his father, Jinwoo sees the value of learning the Korean language, which he speaks at home with his grandparents, but he admits he currently falls well short of business proficiency.
Despite this, he has many reasons to be proud of his Korean heritage.
“In Australia, Korean barbecue, Korean music, Korean dramas and Korean film, including Squid Game, are all gaining popularity among my friends,” Jinwoo says.
From her survey, Dr Song says members of the Korean diaspora remain connected with their Korean identity through food, news and entertainment.
They become ‘cultural ambassadors’ of K-food, K-pop, and K-drama as they introduce these elements of Korean culture to others in Australia.
