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Until the 1970s the Korean community of Toronto
was apparently too small to support a newspaper press. According
to oral testimonies collected at the sound archives of the Multicultural
History Society of Ontario, there were some ten Korean families
living in greater Toronto in the 1950s. Some were immigrants, others
students either on missionary sponsorships or on their own.
Those
who, at this stage, came as bona fide immigrants - either professionals
or businessmen - joined those students who chose to remain in Canada.
Until
1971 this rather elite immigrant group seems to have depended on
receiving newspapers by mail either from Korea, or cities in the
United States where there were older and larger Korean settlements.
Although Korean immigrants developed a sense of community in the
1950s and early 1960s, no single ethnic neighbourhood emerged until
the 1970s.
The
Korean Canadian Association of Toronto was only formed in 1965,
and the first two Korean Christian churches were established in
1967.
Korean
settlement in Toronto increased appreciably with the liberalization
of the Canadian immigration law. Reverend Ha-kyu Park, a visiting
theology student turned immigrant, remembers that in 1965 there
were approximately seventy Korean residents in the Toronto area.
By
1966 this number had increased to about one hundred; and by the
end of 1969, over two thousand Koreans were known to be permanent
residents in the city and surrounding boroughs. An increasing number
of Koreans continued to settle here in the early 1970s.
In
1975 Moon-ryang Kim, then president of the Korean Canadian Association
of Toronto, reported an estimated number of ten thousand Koreans
in the Toronto area.Also by this time, small Korean communities
existed in various cities and towns across Ontario.1
One
extraordinary feature of the Toronto Koreans of this era was that
a large number of them were young and extremely well educated, often
holding post secondary degrees.
Initially
spending time taking English classes and working in factories, the
majority of these people quickly moved into more independent work
areas.
For
example, some became managers of convenience chain stores. Others
opened small businesses, such as specialty food stores, restaurants,
travel agencies and real estate offices.
As
a result of this, beginning in 1970, a visible, multi-institutioned
Korean neighbourhood began to emerge in Toronto (on Bloor Street
west of Bathurst). At this time the Korea Times from Seoul was distributed
in small grocery stores throughout the city, or by mail. (The distributor,
Toronto bureau chief for the Korea Times, later became publisher
of the Canada News.)
The
success of Korea Times and the growth of institutions suggested
that the community had become large enough to support its own press.
The
fact that the community started out with well educated young people
and that the majority of these people went into business at a certain
stage of their settlement had a great bearing on the development
of the community's institutional life, encouraging the astonishing
growth of the Toronto Korean language newspapers.
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These
people were avid readers, and through advertising their products in
the community newspapers, they became important monetary sponsors.
Thus their own financial success contributed to that of the press.
The
first Korean language newspaper appeared in Toronto in 1971. Seven
other titles followed during the next ten years. The latest of these
began printing in 1981. Here is a brief description of each title
in the order of its inception:
Han Ka Joo Bo / Korean Canada Times
Toronto, weekly in Korean Published and edited by Taehoon Jung
March 19, 1971 -July 17, 1972
Korion Jonol / The Korean Journal
Toronto, weekly in Korean Published and edited by Young-rin Ryu
November 26, 1972-
New
Korea Times
Toronto, weekly in Korean Published and edited by Choong-lim Chun
October 24, 1973-
Canada News
Toronto, weekly, semi-weekly in Korean Published by Lawrence M.
Kim and edited by Suk-hyun Lee April 25, 1975-May 30, 1981
Minjoong Shinmoon (Minjoong Newspaper)
Toronto, weekly in Korean Published by Chul-ki Chung and edited
by Hyunjae Park February 23, 1979-
Han'In Hoebo / The Korean Post
Toronto, monthly, irregular publication in Korean Published by
the Korean Canadian Association of Toronto and edited by Sun-il
Hwang, Yoon-sik Lim and Man-soo Sur March 1, 1979-
Baidal Sinbo / The Baidal Times
Toronto, monthly in Korean Published by Hong-hi Choi and edited
by Hyon-du Kim March 1979-March 1982
Korea Times Toronto
Toronto, daily in Korean Published by Lawrence M. Kim and edited
by Suk-hyun Lee June 1, 1981-
These
eight Ontario Korean newspapers are all based in Toronto. They also
represent the majority of Korean language newspapers in Canada.
We are probably now witnessing the zenith of Korean ethnic press
activity, reflecting a community that is literate, prospering, but
deeply committed to its separate ethnoculture.
The
eight titles listed above, addressing themselves to the Korean communities
in Toronto and across the province, are either deposited at the
Multicultural History Society of Ontario or are within easy reach.
NOTES
1.
See: Ha-kyu Park, "My Ten-Year Sojourner's Life in Canada," New
Korea Times (Toronto, 22 January 1977); George Yun, "Presidential
Message," Bulletin of the Korean Canadian Association of Toronto
(Toronto, 1969), p. 1; and, Moon-ryang Kim et al., "Current Situation
and Problems in the Korean Community in Canada: A Panel Discussion,"
Vision 4 (October 1975), p. 45.
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