Korean: Emerging communities

21 Jun 2012, 11:30 am   -   Source: Andy Park, SBS
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Some wonder where Australia's "Little Korea" is and if the community "lacks profile". But look at the global success of the Aussie K-pop twin sisters bursting out of Sydney's mega churches. Like with Korean cuisine, the once shy South Koreans are entering the spotlight.

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By Andy Park


Shy, unassuming and pious.

Australia's "Little Korea" around Sydney's Eastwood, Strathfield and Campsie assumes some of the characteristics of South Koreans themselves.

But second generation Korean-Australians have clung to only two of those stereotypes: they are anything but shy.

Youtube pop stars Jayesslee are twin sisters Janice and Sonia Lee and have sprung from the introverted inner world of Australia’s thriving Korean church community, to sell out shows around Asia.

While playing mostly covers in English, they ride high on the cultural cache of effervescent K-Pop, whose global popularity is only matched by the success of Korea's "Kollywood" film industry.

Like many Australians with a Korean background, they place church at the epicentre of their community.

"We consider Jayesslee as our mobile church, cause we go around sharing music, sharing our hearts about what the biggest passion of our life is, which is Jesus," 25-year-old Sonia said.

Their New Life Community Church in Rydalmere, which they describe as “charismatic Presbyterian”, is a successful English-language breakaway from the Korean language service, and regularly gets up to 500 young Korean-Australians people.

It's appeal can be likened to the Hillsong church, with it's enthusiastic pop rhythms and even eager youth following.

"Having found our identity in Christianity was a very, very huge security for us," Janice said.

There are hundreds of Korean churches in Australia's greater metropolitan areas - more than 150 in Sydney alone.

However, some Koreans say they attend church even if they are not especially religious, as the social and business contacts are a vital part of the perpetuation of Korean Australia.

The cluster of suburbs in Sydney's west hosted the original "family of 500" of South Koreans who came to Australia in the 1970s.

Various deregulations in either Korean's access to Korean passports or Australia's skilled migration requirements saw increases throughout the 80s and 90s.

Many Korean IT workers and hairdressers migrated at that time.

One study at the University of Technology found that Korean immigrants have levels of entrepreneurship twice the average.

Yet some question the Korean community's "lack of profile" in Australia, wondering where our "Little Korea" is to rival Chinatown or Cabramatta.

Heather Jeong is one of Australia’s leading experts on Korean cuisine and culture.

"Koreans have been quite shy about promoting food in the past. We do have a lot of sushi restaurants Koreans own which are doing well," Mrs Jeong said.

"We are very entrepreneurial," she said.

While some Korean culture might be hidden by a cloistered church community or by the savvy restaurateurs who market popular food rather than national cuisine, Mrs Jeong defends Korean-Australia's profile.

"We do have a short history of migration into Australia. The Chinese came here a hundred years or so years ago. We only came here about 35 years ago.

Census , South Korea , Andy Park SBS

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