Dream street

This is an interesting story about South Korean immigrants who have a thriving community in Anchorage Alaska. It is the same story as immigrants everywhere in the U.S. They work very hard to give their children a good education here, the children learn English, the parents are too busy. DP

In tightly knit Korean hub, families have begun anew

Story by JULIA O'MALLEY
AnchorageDailyNews.com: Hai Suk Yang begins his workdays at 2:30 a.m., filling pans with spongy balls of bread dough in the cramped kitchen of the Yummy Bakery on Fireweed Lane. His day doesn't end until long after dark, when his wife, Chan Im Yang, pulls the chain that turns off the neon "OPEN" sign in the front window.

The Yangs lived comfortably for many years in the busy city of Incheon, South Korea, where he supervised a semiconductor factory and she taught elementary school. Hai Suk studied the bakery trade, and in 2002, the family crossed the Pacific to begin a new life.

Hai Suk's boss in the semiconductor factory had said Alaska is the best place in the United States. The water and air are fresh, he told him. Small businesses could grow strong without competition. The schools are superior.

"It's more stressful for my parents but less for us" since the move here from Korea, explained their son, Min Cheol Yang, 21. "They do physical work ... Not that hard in Korea. Harder here."

The Yangs work more and make less money than they did in Korea. But here, Min Cheol and his sister, Min Young Yang, 23, can master English and pursue degrees at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where both study medical technology. That, the Yangs said, makes the long hours worth it.
Be sure to read the rest of this story! This is only a small part of it.