Providing Representation: An Ethnographic Study for The M-NCPPC, Department of Planning

Abstract

This paper examines changes in Korean population trends in Beltsville, Maryland, and Prince George’s County, Maryland (P.G. County). Our report contributes to the existing body of research on Koreans in the United States (U.S.) by providing suggestions for how to fill the literature gap on Beltsville Koreans. In the 20th century, the U.S. Census and other government surveys did not correctly count Korean immigrants. Moreover, there is a shortage of information on the Korean immigrant community in the Beltsville/Route 1 corridor, whom settled in the late 1900s, started businesses, and vacated by the 1990s. We provide a methodology to inform a context study on all aspects of life for the Korean population, including push-pull factors, everyday life, geographic data, cultural influence, and significant places such as churches and restaurants.