ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the formation of Korean Chinese entrepreneur class. These entrepreneurs ran a variety of businesses, including restaurants, travel agencies, and trading companies. Entrepreneurs were able to mobilize their resources to set up businesses only after securing the rights to economic autonomy granted by citizenship or a status offering equivalent rights. They established small- and medium-sized businesses in the enclave and hired labor, situating them in the petite bourgeoisie “class” position – a pre-eminent economic/class position within the enclave’s Korean Chinese population. And this position was the genesis of their effort to become the enclave’s leading group as well as their practices aimed at acquiring equal status in Korean society.
