33 Keys to Decoding the Korean Wave, Hallyu 

#7 Masters of Laundry  

How did Korean immigrants conquer the US dry cleaning industry?

 

*한류를 이해하는 33가지 코드 #7 세탁의 장인들 <한국어 버전> 

http://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Focus&document_srl=4075956

 

Park Soo Keun (1914-1965), A Wash Place, 1954 

 

#Korean immigrants dominate the laundry industry

Why are the majority of dry cleaner owners in the US Koreans ?

Korean immigrants, who are hardworking and dexterous, moved to large cities such as New York, LA, and Chicago in the late 1970s, and then worked at a greengrocer or learned sewing skills due to language barriers, limited resources, and lack of qualifications and education needed to find a job. At the time, most of the dry cleaners were run by Jewish and Italian immigrants.

In “Caught in the Middle: Korean Communities in New York and Los Angeles,” published in 1996, City University of New York Chair Professor Pyong Gap Min explained why so many Korean immigrants were in the laundry business. Korean grocers turned to Jewish wholesalers to avoid racism from white suppliers, and after raising the money, they turned to the laundry & dry cleaning business .

Many Koreans bought dry cleaning businesses from Jewish owners. Laundry is simple, profitable, and can be done as a family unit. Although laundry required more capital than fruits and vegetables or fish, Koreans also benefit from less inventory burden, less labor intensity, shorter working hours because they can be closed on Sundays, and a business that can be run by a family.  Thanks to the sewing skills Koreans learned, they were able to provide repair services as well at the laundry facilities. As a result, the number of laundry companies operated by Koreans in New York City in the 1980s and 1990s reached 2,400. Before the 2008 financial crisis, the annual net income of Korean laundry companies in New York was between $200,000 and $300,000.

According to a 2002 survey by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there were about 34,000 laundry facilities nationwide. At this time, the Federation Of Korean Cleaners Association counted 17,000 Korean-owned laundry establishments. Of about 6,000 laundry establishments in the Greater New York district (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut), 5,000, or 85%, were found to be owned by Koreans.  The Korean-American Dry Cleaners' Association of New York estimated there were 3,000 laundry companies in New York in 2016, and about 80% of them were owned by Koreans.

In the United States, the laundry industry is the main business for Korean immigrants, along with grocery and deli, nail salons, and beauty supplies (beauty materials). The laundry industry faced a crisis due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Also, competition intensified due to the emergence of companies based on pickup & delivery service apps in the digital age. While the first generation of Korean immigrants worked in the laundry and dry cleaning industry,  later generations have entered various fields such as economics, medical care, law, IT, and culture and media after their children (1.5th, 2nd, and 3rd generations) received good educations in the United States.

 

 

Laundry is the specialty of Koreans 

 

Kim Hong-do, A Wash Place, Treasure No. 527, from “Danwonsokhwacheop/ Album of Danwon's Paintings,” National Museum of Korea/ Joseph de La Nézière, L'Extrême-Orient en images: Sibérie, Chine, Corée, Japon Paris, 1904/ Korean women washing clothes next to an overturned Russian T-34 tank, January 9, 1951. Photo: US National Archives and Records Administration, NARA

 

“It is said that Adam and Eve lived naked. There were only the two of them, so they wouldn’t have to worry about getting dressed or undressed. They also said that they covered their genitals with leaves when they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. Probably If Adam and Eve had done the laundry, only large leaves would have hung on the clothesline.”

-Kim Hong-shin’s novel “Human Market” (1981)-

 

The history of laundry began when humans began to wear clothes. In primitive times, laundry had a great religious significance, but as civilization advanced, humans washed clothes for health and not to offend others. Laundry became a part of life as it was connected with food, clothing and shelter. In particular, in the Confucian culture that values honor, it was more important than anything else for the Korean people to wear clean white clothes.  

The custom of the Korean people to wear clean clothes is found in the 23rd volume of the book “Goryeodogyeong/Xuanhe Fengshi Gaoli Tujing/ 宣和奉使高麗圖經,” (1123), written by Xu Jing (徐兢), an envoy of the Northern Song Dynasty:

 

“The customs of Goryeo are clean ... they are still the same ...Laughing at the filthy sanitation conditions of the Chinese ... Waking up early in the morning and taking a bath before leaving the door I don’t think it’s strange even if I had a mixed bath in ... they wash clothes cleanly.”

In the late 19th century when the feudal Joseon opened the ports to trade, foreigners viewed Hanyang (the capital of Joeson) as a “giant laundry.” Horace Newton Allen (1858-1932), who came to Joseon as a medical missionary in 1884, founded Chejungwon (now known as Yonsei University Severance Hospital), Korea’s first Western hospital, and was appointed to the Chamchangwan (Consul General). In his 1889 book, “Korean Tales,” Allen wrote: 

"The washing is done wherever there is a brook and even at the sides of wells, the water sometimes finding its way directly back into the well in which it was dipped. All about the cities where there is a little brook or spring, there may be found a company of women with their paddles, pounding clothes on smooth stones in the water. In winter the ice is broken to allow for this cold and disagreeable work, for with white clothes worn by all, washing becomes a most necessary occupation."

Since the 1980s, many Korean immigrants in the United States have entered the laundry business. With their innate diligence, sincerity, the ppalli ppalli (hurry hurry) spirit, keen nunchi (social awareness), and exceptional dexterity, they achieved significant success in the American laundry industry. The New York Times and UK's Sun selected LG and Samsung washing machines as the best of 2020, respectively.

So how did Koreans come to demonstrate such outstanding skills in laundry? This deep cultural tradition, coupled with modern innovation, has allowed Koreans to excel in the field.

 

 

The Korean’s Skills of Laundry

 

Shin Yun-bok, “Gyebyeongahwa/ 溪邊街話/ A Beautiful Story by the Creek,” early 19th century, from 'Hyewon Jeonshincheop' (National Treasure No. 135), Kansong Museum of Art, Seoul  

 

For generations, Koreans have sought out water wherever it could be found—streams, wells, seashores, valleys—to do laundry. Wives would line up by the water to wash their clothes, using bats to beat out the dirt before spreading the freshly cleaned laundry on rocks and gravel to dry. Even during the freezing winter months, they broke through thick ice in creeks to continue their washing. During the Korean War, iconic images captured women washing laundry next to military tanks.

 

A laundry place appears in the genre paintings of Danwon Kim Hong-do and Hyewon Shin Yun-bok, and artist Park Soo Keun also enjoyed capturing the scenery of the laundry on canvas. French artist Joseph de La Nézière (1873–1944), who visited Joseon during the Enlightenment Period of Korea/ Gae WhaGi/ 開化期), was also fascinated by the scenery of the laundry. And he made a lithograph depicting the scene where Korean women wash their clothes in the stream.

Koreans have enjoyed wearing white clothes since ancient times. It was believed that white was the color of immortality, meaning heaven and earth. So we have been called “The People of White Clothes.” Korean women had to wash white clothes that were dirty all the time. It was first soaked in water and then washed by tapping with a stone or a bat, then using lye from wood or straw to remove the dirt. Natural ingredients were also used as detergents. Mulberry, rice straw, millet straw, coarse straw, weeds, perilla, buckwheat, soybean flour, mung bean powder, millet (mung bean and red bean) powder, rice bran, bean pods, and rice water were used for washing. After lye caustic soda (NaOH, sodium hydroxide) was imported, it was mixed with barley bran to make solid soap.

 

A view of a laundry in Changseong, Pyeonganbukdo. 1912-1913. Collection of the National Museum of Korea

 

In the life encyclopedia “Gyuhapchongseo” (閨閤叢書, 1869) written by Bingheogak Lee (憑虛閣李氏, 1759-1824), the only female Silhak scholar in the Joseon Dynasty, laundry detergent and stain removal techniques are detailed. As mentioned in this book, natural ingredients such as omija, plum fruit water, chive water, vinegar, apricot seed, lacquer powder, pickled cucumber, brine, burnt ash, peach leaves, ginkgo juice and garlic juice, donga juice, bellflower water, radish juice, seashell powder, ginger juice, iris root powder, taro boiled water, squid bone powder, alum powder, and jujube were also used as laundry detergents.

There are quite a few Korean proverbs about laundry. “You shouldn't do your neighbors’ laundry.” “Did you go to the laundry by the 10 mile River?” “The servant’s heels are white due to her master’s laundry.” “After it snows, the beggar does the laundry.” “If you hang the laundry at night, your husband will have an affair.” “If you wear less dry clothes, you will be on the gossip of the town.” These proverbs suggest that laundry was an important part of life.

Koreans’ obsession with sterilization and disinfection appears in boiling the laundry. Pre-washing is not enough, so many Korean women still boil towels, underwear, cloth diapers, and dishcloths in boiling water to kill germs. We love that dry and soft feeling.

 

 

The Culture of Dadeumi

 

Women pounding clothes in the 1910s. Photo: Wikipedia

 

Tok tok tok tok tok tok tok tok tok ...

Solo or two woman ensembles, moisten the cloth, place it on the stone and pound the mallet rhythmically to press out its wrinkles and soften.  Dadeumi is the traditional ironing method of the Korean people.

The sound of dadeumi is now the “disappeared sound of Korea.” Our ancestors called it one of “The Three Joyous Sounds (Samheeseong, 三喜聲)” to hear, along with the sound of a crying baby and reading a book. There will be descendants who will pass on from generation to generation, learning the principles of the world through writing, cultivating one’s mind, and being diligent and stable in living will be the joy of living.  It’s as symbolic as the dialogue of Mr. Kim, played by Song Kang-ho, in the movie “Parasite.”  “It’s symbolic,” Kim said when a friend of her son visited with a scholar’s rock.

Even in the late Joseon Dynasty, the dadeumi blocks were a necessity in life. They are said to be made of granite, marble, pyrophyllite, birch or zelkova wood, and the best quality is said to be made from Ganghwa-do Aesok. There were also various types of stones, from simple, plain, carved stones to carved patterns and colored stones with colorful paintings. The dadeumi bat was made of hardwood such as bamboo, jujube, and birch, and was used after smoothing it with a planer and sandpaper.

As a precious household tool, sitting on the dadeumi block  was a taboo. There was a custom of a father of the bride carrying the block when visiting his married daughter’s house. It was a consideration to be patient and to endure while relieving the hardships of living in a marriage with beating the block, a way of releasing stress. There are also some proverbs about the sanctuary block. “If a woman sits on the dadeumi block, she will be mistreated by her husband.” “If a daughter sits on the dadeumi block, she will be abused by her mother-in-law, if a son sits on the dadeumi block, he will be abused by his mother-in-law.” “If you sleep on the dadeumi block, your mouth will be distorted the next morning.”

 

 

Kisan Kim Jun-geun, Handling Fabrics (Housewives Treating the Clothes), from Kisan Genre Painting Album, Hamburg Museum of Ethnology (MARKK), Germany

 

After washing the clothes, treat them with starch and dry them, and then place them on a dadeumi block and pound them with bats. In finishing, the tissue of the fabric contracted by washing and starching takes its place and becomes denser. As the starch is spread evenly on the fabric, the unique luster of the fabric increases and the texture is revived.

In particular, the hanbok, the Korean traditional costume, had to be washed by tearing the sewn seam rather than washing it as it is. It was like wearing new clothes every time. For this reason, it was developed by washing, drying, and starching to straighten the threads like new cloth, and to pound them on the  dadeumi block. The beauty of the hanbok is also shown in the finishing touches.

Pounding the clothes was hard labor for women. Each fabric, such as silk, linen, and cotton, had different processes and techniques for starch and finishing. The silk was carefully pounded (to increase the flesh) so that there were no holes between the yarns in summer. Linen, a summer garment, is beaten with a low intensity in winter. It is said that wealthy households had separate maids to do laundry, starching, and pounding.

The pounding sound is reminiscent of a percussion instrument. With the development of synthetic fibers and textile processing methods, the sound of the finishing bat and the beauty of the finished fabric have disappeared. In the Golden Village of Ganggyeong-eup, Nonsan, Chungcheongnam-do, twelve grandmothers formed the “Grandma Dadeumi Music Band” and became a hot topic.

“The sound of dadeumi is a fantastic harmony” / YTN

 

 

Laundry and Korean Culture: Art, Dance, Musical, Poetry & Film

 

Park Soo Keun's "A Wash Place" Sets New Auction Record

 

 

Park soo Keun Museum, Yanggu, Gangwon Province, South Korea.  Photo: Yunny Park  http://www.parksookeun.or.kr

 

Park Soo Keun, Washerwomen by the Stream, Oil on Canvas, 1950's.

Once, when I brought lunch to my mother and went to the laundry area, I saw you doing laundry. Since that moment, I've made up my mind to welcome you as my wife. I am a person who draws paintings. My possessions are nothing more than brushes and a palette. If you agree and accept my proposal to marry me, it might be a struggle financially, but I am confident that I can make you happier mentally than anyone else. I will become a great artist, and won't you become the wife of a great artist? 

- From a letter sent by Park Soo Keun to Kim Bok Soon -

 

Artist Park Soo Keun (1914-1965) is called “the Korean commoners’ painter.” Park portrayed the impoverished and gloomy landscape of Korea after the Korean War in a simple and lyrical way. He was particularly fascinated by the neighborhood laundry scene. Park once said that he enjoyed painting women sitting together by the river and doing laundry. He left three or four laundry landscape paintings and about ten drawings.

Park Soo Keun studied painting on his own, and liked painting the daily lives of ordinary people, like Jean-François Millet (1814-1875), a French rural painter whom he admired.  A working woman, a woman at the market, a girl with a child, a woman washing clothes, an alleyway, a shack, and a bare tree landscape. Park Soo Keun painted with his own unique technique. During a trip to Gyeongju, the capital of ancient Silla Kingdom, he was inspired by granite Buddha statues and stone pagodas to develop the Mathiere technique with a rough texture like a granite surface. In this way, it conveys a rustic, familiar, warm feeling and a unique Korean sensibility with achromatic tones and rough textures.

Ahn So-yeon, who curated the “Our Painter Park Soo Keun” retrospective at Hoam Gallery in Seoul in 1999, said, “Park’s painting achieves perfect balance between content and form, acquiring formativeness pursued by the modern artists ... Park is the most Korean and the most international painter.”

His oil painting “A Wash Place” (1954), was sold for 4.52 billion won at a Seoul auction in 2007(US $4.51 million), recording the highest price for a Korean art auction. This painting, which came from a private owner, was caught up in controversy over its authenticity after the auction, until a court ruled that it “cannot be regarded as a forgery.”

 In 2004, Park’s “Seated woman and jar” (1962) was sold for $1,239,500 at Christie’s auction house in New York, setting the highest auction price in the history of Korean contemporary art at that time. In 2002, the Park Soo Keun Museum was established in Yanggu-gun, Gangwon-do, his hometown. 

“I cover the raw surface of canvas with white and roman ocher paints mixed with sufficient oil. And I wait until it completely dries out. Then I add multiple layers, repeating the same process. For the final layer, I mix a very little amount of oil on purpose to prevent any possible cracks. Only when the surface is ready, I start sketching people and landscapes, employing bold black outlines.”

– Park Soo Keun - 

  

 

Nam Jungho's choreography “Pallae: Womanhood Story” New York Performance

 

“Pallae: Womanhood Story” Photo: Ko Heung-kyun/ Korea National Contemporary Dance Company

At the beginning of the new year 2006, a notable Korean dance work was introduced at the APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals), a showcase performance conference of performing artists from around the world gathered in New York. It was “Pallae: Womanhood Story,” choreographed by Nam Jeongho, a professor at Korean National University of the Arts (KNUA) and performed by KNUA Dance Company at Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse. Professor Nam premiered an earlier version of the work in 1993 with the title “Women at the Well,” then changed the title to “Pallae: Womanhood Story” in 1994.

In “Pallae,” five women gather at a well in the middle of the night to do the laundry, bathe, and play until the clothes are dry to relieve their boredom. “The dancers in ‘Pallae’ express the joys and sorrows of Korean women’s lives and a sense of community. It seemed to emphasize the aesthetics of ‘slowness’ lost by modern people who became slaves to speed wars through nostalgia for the past. With the rhythm of drums and the sound of a lullaby in the background, ‘Pallae’ delivers a message that emphasizes the sacredness of labor and the bond between women. Sometimes it is reminiscent of Shin Yun-bok’s (1758-1814) genre paintings, other times the serene paintings of the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), and of Pablo Picasso’s (1881-1973) “Les Demoiselles d’Avignon,” leaving a lingering impression.

In February 2022, at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center, director Park Sohyun’s documentary “Pallae: Womanhood Story” about the performance was screened. 

  

 

Long run musical 'Pallae' 

 

Musical “Pallae”

 

There’s also an original Korean musical titled “Pallae” as well. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the musical had been running for fourteen years in Korea. The musical “Pallae” was presented at the graduation performance of the KNUA in 2003 with the collaboration of director Choo Min-joo and composer Min Chan-hong. After its premiere in 2005, “Pallae,” which caused a boom in small theater musicals in Korea, was performed a total of 5,000 times and seen by 800,000 people. In addition, the musical team was invited to perform in Japan (2012) and in China (2016).

“Pallae” is the story of Na-young Seo, who lives in a semi-underground neighborhood of a slum in Seoul, just like the place Kim’s family was living in the movie “Parasite.”  She moved from Gangwon-do with the dream of becoming a writer, and works at a bookstore. One day she goes up to the roof to dry laundry and meets Solongo, a young migrant worker from Mongolia.

The characters in this musical are the socially underprivileged, such as the disabled, non-regular workers, and migrant workers, showing the daily lives of small citizens, such as a grandmother who is a housekeeper who takes care of her paralyzed daughter, and a merchant in Dongdaemun Market. Ms. Choo vividly accuses social problems through the daily life of the lower classes.

Pallae is an opportunity for Na-young and Solongo to meet on the roof, and the diapers fluttering on the clothesline make them sigh as they are the powerless class in the society. Pallae to remove dirt and grime is a purifying process as well as relieving stress. Laundry seems to be the motif of a warm and peaceful life.

Choo Min-ju, who was in charge of the story and dialogues as well as directing, won the 2010 Korea Musical Awards Lyricist/Book Award and the 2016 Young Artist Award.

 

 

Catholic Nun/ Poet Lee Hae-in’s “Please do the laundry”

 

 

When you’re feeling down/ Do your laundry/ Let the sun’s song bounce around you/ And soon you’ll be brightened.When you miss your lover/ Do your laundry/ See his face swaying/ In the water/ And you’ll keep smiling.When you cannot pray/ Do your laundry/ Rinse it over and over/ Savor the quiet waiting/ Your prayer will come on its own.When you struggle to forgive/ Do your laundry/ In the scent of soap’s crumble/ Your heart will soften/ And happiness will follow.

-Lee Hae-in, Please Do Your Laundry

Claudia Lee Hae-in, a Catholic nun and renowned poet, penned the poem Please Do Your Laundry to show that laundry is more than a chore—it becomes a spiritual act. In her poem, washing clothes symbolizes cleansing the soul, removing depression, longing, and anger, and creating space for prayer, forgiveness, and happiness.

As a devoted Catholic, Sister Lee Hae-in’s poetry shines with simple yet profound language, filled with unique metaphors and delicate nuances. Her work touches on universal themes like life, compassion, forgiveness, hope, and the natural flow of change.

Interestingly, artist Park Soo Keun and Sister Lee Hae-in share the same hometown of Yanggu, Gangwon-do. Born in 1945, Lee Hae-in joined the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Busan in 1964 after graduating from high school. Her poetry, which transcends religious boundaries, reflects her deep spirituality. Sister Lee also forged a close friendship with the Buddhist monk Beop Jeong (1932–2010), author of Non-Possession, through their exchange of letters.

 

Korean American movie "Happy Cleaners"

 

“Happy Cleaners,” directed by Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee

 

Happy Cleaners, a film about a laundry business in New York City, was co-directed by two Korean Americans, Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee. It premiered as the closing night film of the 2019 Asian American International Film Festival in New York.

 

The film follows the Choi family, who run a dry cleaning business in Flushing's Koreatown, Queens. The first-generation immigrant parents grapple with the challenges of making a living, generational conflicts, cultural differences, and racism. Tensions within the family intensify as they navigate these struggles.

 

In an interview with NYCulturebeat, co-directors Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee shared the inspiration behind the film:

"The idea for Happy Cleaners dates back to 2012. We wanted to create a feature film that would capture the Korean American experience in Flushing. We often reflected on the experiences that shaped us, strengthened us, and challenged us, and we wanted to share those stories with others. Most of the scenes in the movie are based on real-life events we or our friends experienced. My parents ran small businesses, so we were both familiar with that world. Julian’s parents owned a dry cleaner, which gave him firsthand insight into the industry. The laundry business is often the first step for many immigrant families in the U.S. and symbolizes a variety of small businesses."

 

In addition to its New York debut, Happy Cleaners was invited to the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival and San Francisco’s Center for Asian American Media Festival (CAAMFest) in May 2019, further highlighting its resonance within the Korean American and Asian American communities.

 

 

Searching for the Korean-American Dream

Books about laundry published in Korea.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, many businesses, including laundries, were forced to close. In July 2021, the LA Times published an article titled “Long a Path to Success for Korean Immigrants, Dry Cleaners Struggle in the Pandemic,” detailing the "dire straits" facing the industry. Korean-owned laundries in Southern California lost at least a quarter of their income due to the pandemic, and many were forced to shut down, leaving only 800 to 900 still operating.

At the end of the 1980s, Koreans operated 80% of dry cleaners in Southern California, but by 2021, this had decreased to 60%. Running a dry cleaner was often a lonely and grueling endeavor for Korean immigrants, who worked thirteen-hour days, dealt with difficult customers, and were exposed to potentially hazardous chemicals. The children of these families often helped out, doing homework at the store, translating for their parents, sorting hangers, and even assisting with laundry during busy hours, according to the LA Times.

In fact, the dry cleaning industry had been in decline even before the pandemic. As businesses shifted toward telecommuting and office attire became more casual, the demand for dry cleaning services dwindled. For many Korean immigrants, laundry was never intended to be a family business passed down through generations. Instead, it was a stepping stone toward a better future for their children—a means of providing them with the opportunities for first-class education in fields like medicine, law, and business, opportunities that their parents' generation couldn’t achieve due to language barriers.

 

Today, many second-generation Koreans who grew up helping in their parents’ laundries are now doctors, lawyers, professors, and other professionals, fulfilling their parents' American Dream and making the sacrifices of the previous generation worthwhile.