In April 1990 representatives of the Pico Korea Union of electronics

In April 1990 representatives of the Pico Korea Union of electronics workers in Buchon city, south Korea, traveled to the United States in order to demand just settlement of their claims from the parent company of their employers, who upon the formation of the union had shut down operations without paying the workers. From the beginning, the union cause was championed by an unprecedented coalition of Korean American groups and deeply affected the Korean American community on several levels.

First, it served as a rallying focus for a diverse community often divided by generation, class and political ideologies. Most notably, the Pico cause mobilized many young second-generation Korean Americans, many of whom had never been part of a political campaign before, let alone one involving Korean issues. Members of this generation, unlike first-generation Korean Americans, generally fall within the more privileged sectors of the Korean American community and often feel alienated from their Korean roots. In addition to raising the political consciousness of young Korean Americans, the Pico struggle sparked among them new interest in their cultural identity. The Pico workers also suggested new roles that can be played by recent immigrants, particularly working-class immigrants. These immigrants’ knowledge of working conditions overseas can help to globalize the perspective of their communities and can help to establish international ties on a more personal level, as witnessed in the especially warm exchange between the Pico workers and recent working-class immigrants from China. In addition to broadening the political base within the Korean American community, the Pico struggle also led to new alliances between the Korean American community and progressive labor and social justice groups within the larger society—as evidenced in the support received from the Coalition of Labor Union Women and leading African American unionists.

The reasons for these effects lie in the nature of the cause. The issues raised by the Pico unionists had such a strong human component that differences within the community became secondary to larger concerns for social justice and workers’ rights. The workers’ demands for compensation and respect were unencumbered with strong ideological trappings. The economic exploitation faced by the Pico workers underscored the common interests of Korean workers, Korean Americans, the working class more inclusively, and a broad spectrum of community leaders.

The Pico workers’ campaign thus offers an important lesson. It demonstrates that ethnic communities need more than just a knowledge of history and culture as artifacts of the past in order to strengthen their ethnic identity. It shows that perhaps the most effective means of empowerment for many ethnic communities of immigrant derivation may be an identification with and participation in current struggles for economic and social justice in their countries of origin.

1. Which one of the following best describes the main topic of the passage?
(A) the contribution of the Korean American community to improving the working conditions of Koreans employed by United States companies
(B) the change brought about in the Korean American community by contacts with Koreans visiting the United States
(C) the contribution of recent immigrants from Korea to strengthening ethnic identity in the Korean American community
(D) the effects on the Korean American community of a dispute between Korean union workers and a United States company
(E) the effect of the politicization of second-generation Korean Americans on the Korean American community as a whole


2. The passage suggests that which one of the following was a significant factor in the decision to shut down the Pico plant in Buchon City?
(A) the decreasing profitability of maintaining operations in Korea
(B) the failure to resolve long-standing disputes between the Pico workers and management
(C) the creation of a union by the Pico workers
(D) the withholding of workers’ wages by the parent company
(E) the finding of an alternate site for operations


3. Which one of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as a recent development in the Korean American community?
(A) Young second-generation Korean Americans have begun to take an interest in their Korean heritage.
(B) Recent Korean American immigrants of working-class backgrounds have begun to enter the more privileged sectors of the Korean American community.
(C) Korean Americans have developed closer ties with activist groups from other sectors of the population.
(D) Previously nonpolitical members of the Korean American community have become more politically active.
(E) The Korean American community has been able to set aside political and generational disparities in order to support a common cause.


4. It can be inferred that the author of the passage would most likely agree with which one of the following statements about ethnic communities of immigrant derivation?
(A) Such communities can derive important benefits from maintaining ties with their countries of origin.
(B) Such communities should focus primarily on promoting study of the history and culture of their people in order to strengthen their ethnic identity.
(C) Such communities can most successfully mobilize and politicize their young people by addressing the problems of young people of all backgrounds.
(D) The more privileged sectors of such communities are most likely to maintain a sense of closeness to their cultural roots.
(E) The politicization of such a community is unlikely to affect relations with other groups within the larger society.


5. In the second paragraph, the author refers to immigrants from China most probably in order to do which one of the following?
(A) highlight the contrast between working conditions in the United States and in Korea
(B) demonstrate the uniqueness of the problem faced by the Pico workers
(C) offer an example of the type of role that can be played by recent working-class immigrants
(D) provide an analogy for the type of activism displayed by the Korean American community
(E) compare the disparate responses of two immigrant communities to similar problems


6. The primary purpose of the passage is to
(A) describe recent developments in the Korean American community that have strongly affected other ethnic communities of immigrant derivation
(B) describe a situation in the Korean American community that presents a model for the empowerment of ethnic communities of immigrant derivation
(C) detail the problems faced by the Korean American community in order to illustrate the need for the empowerment of ethnic communities of immigrant derivation
(D) argue against economic and social injustice in the countries of origin of ethnic communities of immigrant derivation
(E) assess the impact of the unionization movement on ethnic communities of immigrant derivation


7. Which one of the following most accurately states the function of the third paragraph?
(A) It explains why the Pico workers brought their cause to the United States.
(B) It explains how the Pico cause differed from other causes that had previously mobilized the Korean American community.
(C) It explains why the Pico workers were accorded such broad support.
(D) It explains how other ethnic groups of immigrant derivation in the United States have profited from the example of the Pico workers.
(E) It explains why different generations of Korean Americans reacted in different ways to the Pico cause.