Finding aid for the Sonia Sunoo papers 3023
Sarah Cassone
USC Libraries East Asian Library
2018 April
Doheny Memorial Library
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-1825
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries East Asian Library
Title: Sonia Sunoo papers
Creator:
Sunoo, Sonia Shinn
Identifier/Call Number: 3023
Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/6/resources/1512
Physical Description:
1.563 Linear Feet
2 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1971-1998
Abstract: Sonia Shinn Sunoo was a Korean American teacher, researcher, and writer. This small collection consists primarily of Sunoo's
oral history interview transcripts with early Korean immigrant picture brides (mail order brides). The collection also contains
research materials regarding this topic in the form of correspondence, clippings, and notes.
Language of Material:
English.
Biographical Note
Sonia Shinn Sunoo was a Korean American teacher, researcher, and writer. Her father left Korea for the United States in 1903,
as part of the very first Koreans to emigrate. He worked on a sugar cane planation in Hawaii for two years before moving to
California. Her mother left Korea at the age of nineteen as a picture bride to marry Sonia's father. Sonia was born in San
Francisco in 1915 and grew up in Chinatown. She went to San Francisco State College where she majored in English and Biology.
She also earned a M.A. in Human Development and Early Childhood Education.
In 1943, Sonia married Harold Sunoo. They had two children. Sonia taught Korean language at the University of Washington from
1943 to 1949. In 1951, she received a summer scholarship to attend Stanford for graduate work but had to leave prior to completing
her dissertation due to her husband's inability to find a job upon returning from oversees. After Harold was still unable
to find teaching work, Sonia ended up helping him with his grocery store business in between her own research in the 1970s
of Korean picture brides and early Korean immigrants as part of the Korean American Oral History Project. Both Sunoo and her
husband also wrote articles in the 1970s and 1980s regarding the first Korean women immigrants in the in the United States.
Sunoo's first book oral histories book was published in 1982.
An interview from 2001 revealed it was Sunoo's greatest wish to have her book on Korean picture brides published. Sunoo felt
these women were courageous pioneers who sought escape and freedom from the Confucian strictures of Korea and that they were
often misrepresented in their portrayal simply because they were marrying a stranger in the United States. Sunoo strived to
tell the stories of these women's desire for freedom and education and reveal the true feminist values they represented. "Korean
Picture Brides: 1903-1920: a collection of oral histories" was published on May 1, 2002.
Scope and Contents
The Sonia Sunoo papers, 1971-1998, consist primarily of oral history interview transcripts, as well as some research materials
in the form of correspondence, clippings, and notes, created and collected by Sunoo and relating to Korean picture brides
(mail order brides) who emigrated to the United States in the early 20th century. Shortly after 1910, there were more than
2,000 arranged marriages in the U.S. between older Korean men and younger brides.
This collection collects the interviews Sunoo conducted with these picture brides (all widowed and in their 80s), primarily
between the years 1975-1977, as part of the UCLA funded Korean American Oral History Project. These interviews were published
by the Korean American Oral History Project in the book "Korea Kaleidoscope: oral histories" in 1982, as well as in Sunoo's
2002 companion book entitled "Korean Picture Brides: 1903-1920: a collection of oral histories", which focuses specifically
on the trials and experiences of the first generation of Korean immigrant women in America.
The collection also contains some research materials for Sunoo's Oregon Historical Quarterly published article entitled "Korean
Women Pioneers of the Pacific Northwest", as well as general notes, clippings, and correspondence.
Conditions Governing Access
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Curator of the Korean
Heritage Library. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Korean Heritage Library as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Sonia Sunoo.
Preferred Citation
[Box/Folder# or Item name]. Sonia Sunoo papers, Collection no. 3023, Korean Heritage Library, USC Libraries, University of
Southern California.
Processing Information
This collection is not fully processed.
Arrangement
Folders are arranged alphabetically.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Immigrants -- Korea -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Korean American women -- California -- Interviews -- Archival resources
Korean American women authors -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Mail order brides -- Korea -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence
Oral histories (document genres)
Notes
Research (documents)
Magazines (periodicals)
Photographs
Sunoo, Sonia Shinn -- Archives
Ahn, Philip, 1905-1978
Box 1, Folder 1
Ahn, Young-ho (Joan Ahn - matchmaker, comical story) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560568
1976
Box 1, Folder 2
Ahn, Seung-wha (Korean American oral history project) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560569
1975-12-03
Box 1, Folder 3
Ahn, Philip [clipping] /repositories/6/archival_objects/560570
1975-12-03
Box 1, Folder 4
Cha, Kyong-soo (Park Kyong-sein's sister) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560571
1977-02-18
Box 1, Folder 5
Cha, Song-dal (died in LA 1989) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560572
1975-12-03
Box 1, Folder 6
Chang, Lee Wook, Dr (Korean woman pioneers) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560573
1981-1982
Box 1, Folder 7
Char, Edward (Yong-Chun) Ada (died March 1982) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560574
1975-12-18
Box 1, Folder 8
Charr, Emsen /repositories/6/archival_objects/560575
1975-1982
Box 1, Folder 9
Charr, Evelyn (née Young-sun Kim) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560639
1975-1998
Box 1, Folder 10
Choy, Joseph /repositories/6/archival_objects/560640
undated
Box 1, Folder 11
Choy, Nung Yik /repositories/6/archival_objects/560641
1976-07-28
Box 1, Folder 12
Chu, Kuang-Myong /repositories/6/archival_objects/560642
1976-11
Box 1, Folder 13
Chu, Young-Han /repositories/6/archival_objects/560643
1976-01
Box 1, Folder 14
Chun, Ho-taik (1904) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560644
1976-01-31
Box 1, Folder 15
DeYoung, Henry, Dr. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560645
1979
Box 1, Folder 16
DeYoung, Zona (Mrs. Henry de Young) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560646
1979-1985
Box 1, Folder 17
Har, Sang-ok, Mr. and Mrs. Myong-Won (née Sook-ja Woo) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560647
1980-1988
Box 1, Folder 18
Hyun, Chul /repositories/6/archival_objects/560648
1976-01-20
Box 1, Folder 19
Kang, Young-sun, Dr. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560649
1975-1994
Box 1, Folder 20
Kim, Choon-ha (Mrs) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560650
1976-1994
Box 1, Folder 21
Kim, Choon-ha /repositories/6/archival_objects/560651
1976-1983
Box 1, Folder 22
Kim, Dong-woo /repositories/6/archival_objects/560652
1976, 1985
Box 1, Folder 23
Kim, Hei-won, Mrs. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560653
1975-12-08
Box 1, Folder 24
Kim, H. Young-soon, Mrs. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560654
1976
Box 1, Folder 25
Kim, James (wife Sarah refused interview) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560655
1976-1977
Box 1, Folder 26
Kim, Kyeng-bo /repositories/6/archival_objects/560656
1975-12-05
Box 1, Folder 27
Kim, Pil-kwon /repositories/6/archival_objects/560657
1973-06-22
Box 1, Folder 28
Kim, Sarah, Rev. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560658
1976-01-09
Box 1, Folder 29
Kim, Herbert /repositories/6/archival_objects/560659
1976-01-07
Box 1, Folder 30
Kim, Hyong-soon /repositories/6/archival_objects/560660
1977-01-25
Box 1, Folder 31
Kim, Sae-sun /repositories/6/archival_objects/560661
1978
Box 1, Folder 32
Kim, Sam (Kyong-sam) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560662
1971, 1977
Box 1, Folder 33
Kim, Sung-nak, Rev. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560663
1975-1982
Box 1, Folder 34
Kim, Warren /repositories/6/archival_objects/560664
1976
Box 1, Folder 35
Kim, Young-chul /repositories/6/archival_objects/560665
1976-07-16
Box 1, Folder 36
Kown, Yong-ho /repositories/6/archival_objects/560666
1976-01-09
Box 1, Folder 37
Kor Sch-role of Ch-Kmeth [church articles and clippings] /repositories/6/archival_objects/560667
1977-1996
Box 1, Folder 38
Lee, Anna /repositories/6/archival_objects/560668
undated
Box 1, Folder 39
Lee, Bom-young /repositories/6/archival_objects/560669
1976-01-02
Box 1, Folder 40
Lee, Chang-hei /repositories/6/archival_objects/560670
1979
Box 1, Folder 41
Lee, Dai Wi, Rev. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560671
1981
Box 1, Folder 42
Lee, Ke-man, Mrs. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560672
undated
Box 1, Folder 43
Lee, Mary Kwang-son Paik /repositories/6/archival_objects/560673
1977
Box 1, Folder 44
Lee, Sundo /repositories/6/archival_objects/560674
1976
Box 1, Folder 45
Lee, Thos sang-gi /repositories/6/archival_objects/560675
1975
Box 1, Folder 46
Lee, Wha-mok (Mrs. Sun-do) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560676
1975-12-19
Box 1, Folder 47
Lim, Mable /repositories/6/archival_objects/560677
1975-12-09
Box 1, Folder 48
Lim, Doo Wha (Blanche) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560678
1976
Box 1, Folder 49
Park, Maria (Mrs. Kwanboo, née Lim) /repositories/6/archival_objects/560679
undated
Box 1, Folder 50
Namkung, Hyok, Rev /repositories/6/archival_objects/560680
1982-04-27
Box 1, Folder 51
Paik, Myeung-son /repositories/6/archival_objects/560681
1976-1983
Box 1, Folder 52
Park, Ne-qun /repositories/6/archival_objects/560682
1975-1979
Box 1, Folder 53
Park, Julian Rev. and Mrs. Mildred /repositories/6/archival_objects/560683
1977-2002
Box 1, Folder 54
Rhee, Byong-uk /repositories/6/archival_objects/560684
1976
Box 1, Folder 55
Shin, Tong-gi and (Mrs) Han So-je, M.D. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560685
1976-01-12
Box 1, Folder 56
Song, Leo /repositories/6/archival_objects/560686
1975, 1986
Box 1, Folder 57
Sunoo, Rosa /repositories/6/archival_objects/560687
1975-11-28
Box 1, Folder 58
Whang, S., Mrs. /repositories/6/archival_objects/560688
1971, 1977
Box 1, Folder 59
Whang, Sa-sun /repositories/6/archival_objects/560689
1971, 1977
Box 1, Folder 60
Yang, Choo-Eun /repositories/6/archival_objects/560690
1976
Box 1, Folder 61
Yoon, Do-Yun /repositories/6/archival_objects/560691
1975
Box 2
Additional materials /repositories/6/archival_objects/675459
