Recently a group of elderly Korean Americans were ousted from a McDonald’s in Queens for loitering too long, before reaching a truce.
The incident pointed to a need for community for a growing Korean immigrant population, according to PRI.
Ironically a senior center sits not too far from the Queen’s McDonald’s. But when asked, the Korean seniors said they were not familiar with the center.
“Most practitioners in the senior-services world say there are a lot of services available, but the problem is that immigrant seniors aren’t reaching out, or aren’t able to access them in one way or another,” said Christian González-Rivera. a researcher with the think tank, the Center for an Urban Future.
Gonzalez-Rivera said many Korean immigrants come to the United States later in life, making it more difficult for them to learn the language and to assimilate.
You can hear more about this problem in the report from PRI below.
PRI: Korean immigrants struggle to create community
