Virginia legislator Mark Keam is predicting the first Asian American US president will be of Korean descent, reports the Korea Times.
“I think of all Asian-American ethnic groups, I would say at this stage based on our history and trajectory, the first U.S. president of Asian descent will be Korean,” said Keam, himself a Korean American.
The Korean American population in the United States spiked 40 percent in the last decade to 1.7 million in 2010.
Keam thinks Korean Americans are better positioned to take the presidency than other Asian American groups.
“Chinese-Americans have made a mark, but we have to consider the fact that there are at least twice as many Chinese as Koreans in the U.S.,” he said. “Their level of success has peaked out as there are no real prominent elected Chinese officials now.”
Do you agree with Keam? Do you think an Asian American will be elected US President in your lifetime?
You can read more of Keam’s thoughts in the Korea Times.
RE: First Asian American US President predicted to be Korean American: Am sure it will come as a complete surprise, despite the fact I will welcome the notion. Why not?
RE: First Asian American US President predicted to be Korean American: Thanks for posting this article. I want to clarify a quote that I think is out of context. I had a long conversation with the reporter, and I mentioned the Japanese American experiences that led them to being elected in the 1950s-80s. Then, the Chinese Americans became prominent in the 1960s-90s. I then said that I believe today, the Korean Americans (and Indian Americans) are following suit, and my prediction was that more Korean American politicians will be active for the next couple of decades, compared to other major East Asian groups since Korean immigration is increasing while the other two are not. I am well aware of numerous Chinese American and Japanese American political leaders who are in office today, and I would never say that they are not prominent. But in my interview, I was not focusing on any specific individuals, but rather, ethnic group as a whole. I regret that the article made it sound like I was dismissing Chinese American political leaders of today, which I certainly didn’t mean to. I’m very sorry if that’s the way I came off sounding, and I apologize to anyone who read my quote and was offended. Mark Keam
RE:First Asian American US president predicted to be Korean American: You need to double check your census figures Mr. Keam. The Chinese American population increased more between 2000 and 2010 in both relative (38 vs 33%) and absolute numbers (1 million vs 450k) than the Korean American population did.
RE: First Asian American US President predicted to be Korean American: I’m confused as to why Mr. Mark Keam had to bring another Asian race in to this piece. Supporting your prediction as to which Asian race would be the closest to run for presidency should not entail your thought of another race nor the need to speak poorly about them. The Chinese American community is larger than the Korean community and that is probably true due to many factors (ones that may be discussed at another time) but to say the population is the reason why we (Chinese Americans) have made a mark is ignorance at large. According to the US history, most minority groups have done their time to build this nation and to see a Virginian Legislator undermine the Chinese Americans is a uncalled for. There are plenty of Chinese American elected officials in the USA but perhaps not in Virginia. If there are no “real” prominent elected Chinese officials now, what makes you think that there wouldn’t be any in the near future?
RE: First Asian American US President predicted to be Korean American: Koreans always think that they are relevant, somehow deluding themselves that they are better or more prominent than the Chinese or Japanese. It’s a classic case of Korean jealousy towards Chinese and Japanese because they were pawns to the Chinese for more than 1,000 years and under Japanese rule for a couple of decades. If it weren’t for Japan, Korea would still be a backwater third-world country under Chinese or Russian control. Oh wait, North Korea is one. Korea owes most or nearly all of its modern infrastructure to Japanese colonial rule. Instead, Korean children are fed lies and are instilling hatred of the Japanese people day by day, no different than what the CCP is doing to propagandize hatred of Japan and the Japanese.
On average, Chinese-Americans and Japanese-Americans have been and still far more prominent in American politics compared to the other Asian ethnicities.