Although first immigrating to the United States in the 1890s, by 1960 there were only 16 Koreans in Indianapolis. The population grew slowly and steadily following the 1965 immigration act, which abolished quotas based on national origin. By 1990 there were 1,144 immigrants and people of Korean ancestry in Marion County, 927 in Indianapolis.
Korean individuals came to Indianapolis for many reasons, among them for educational and economic opportunities, as wives of American servicemen, and as orphaned children adopted by American families. Doctors, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and assembly-line workers were some of the most common professions of Korean residents in Indianapolis. The small community, centered principally in the vicinity of , also supported a variety of groceries and restaurants.
A number of Korean organizations have formed over the years. Around 1971, the Indianapolis Korean community founded a nondenominational church on the city’s east side, which spawned separate Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, and Presbyterian congregations during the 1980s. The Korean Society, founded in 1971 primarily as a social organization, provided services for newly arrived immigrants. A Korean language school, also established in 1971, taught Korean American children the language and culture of their ancestral homeland.
In May 1993, the local Black Panther Militia launched a boycott of a Korean American beauty supply business on the city’s eastside, arguing that the store channeled money away from the Black community. The Korean Association of Indiana, in turn, worked with community and business leaders to end the boycott, which the City-County Council and the mayor condemned, and to reduce the tensions between the two minority communities.
*Note: This entry is from the original print edition of the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis (1994). We are currently seeking an individual with knowledge of this topic to update this entry.
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