Mary Paik Lee
Quiet Odyssey:
A Pioneer Korean Woman in America
(Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1990)
Mary Paik Lee was born to Paik Suk Koo and Song Kuang Do. Paik Suk Koo was studying to be a minister when his family was forced to leave Korea. The family had lived there for many years when Korea was an independent country.
Korea was an independent country for centuries. The United States signed a commerce treaty with Korea in 1882. In 1904 Japan asked Korea to allow Japanese soldiers to pass through, with a promise to leave Korea independent. At the end of the Russo-Japanese war, Japan remained. The King of Korea abdicated in favor of his son. Tragedy struck the Korean people.
Mary Paik Lee and her family moved to Inchon. From Inchon the family moved to Hawaii. In Hawaii, anyone who was not white lived outside the city in settlements. Mary's father decided to move again. This was not what he had expected. The family moved to Colussa and then to Roberts Island. This prevented the family from starving. They were hired to farm. After living here for a while, the family moved to Indria. Mary Paik Lee's father wanted to mine silver, and the biggest silver mine was in Indria.
Mary Paik Lee received an education, which she paid for herself. She also married H.M., they then moved to Anaheim. She was told that she would not be able to conceive children. On September 24, 1925 Henry Farrow Lee was born. He was named after the doctor who helped her in conceiving. Mary's second child, Allan Paik Lee was born on January 16, 1929.
While in Anaheim, she and her husband owned a fruit business. The business made a lot of money. Mary Paik Lee sent money to her parents and her brothers. Her parents had not be so lucky. They struggled and tried to become comfortable. Unfortunately, Mary's husband broke out in a skin condition. His skin had terrible bumps and burned terribly. The business lasted for eleven years because Mary had to return to live with her family. Her husband's skin condition forced them to leave.
Mary's family was farming. In 1950, Mary quit farming and went to Whitter. In Whitter, no one would render her a house, she was not white. So she moved to Los Angeles. In L.A., Mary Paik Lee helped Asian Americans break down the language barrier. She tried to help non-white people fit in white society.
During World War II, Japanese families were being taken into concentration camps. Other Asian Americans were concerned about this, but still took jobs in the factories. In June of 1975, H.M., Mary' s husband, died. He professed how happy she made him. She believed that working hard is the way to achieve your goals. She endured hunger, cold, and deaths of loved ones. She helped her family and proved her beliefs.
Further Readings
Elizabeth Jameson and Susan Armitage, Writing the Range: Race, Class, and Culture in the Women's West (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997)
Mary Paik Lee, Quiet Odessey: A Pioneer Korean Women in America (University Washington Press, 1990)
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