Rose Parade float stars
replica of Korean ship

The SS Gaelic brought the first
documented Korean immigrants
to Hawaii a century ago

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By Laura Wides
Associated Press

DUARTE, Calif. >> As the United States and North Korea engaged in a diplomatic showdown over nuclear weapons and South Korea criticized U.S. policy, a Rose Parade float was taking shape to celebrate 100 years of Korean immigration to America.

The float featured a replica of the SS Gaelic, which brought the first documented group of Korean immigrants to Hawaii, and South Korea's national treasure, the massive Namdaemun Gate, built in the 14th century as part of a fortress wall to protect Seoul.

"The Rose Parade is world-famous," Pyong Yong Min, head of the Hawaii-based national Korean American Centennial Committee, said in a recent interview. "And we wanted to bring our celebration to the world."

Centennial float chairman Ray Park said he hoped that in light of North Korea's decision to restart its nuclear weapons program, the float would highlight a positive side of Korean history and culture.

"We want to let the mainstream know who we are and to know we are part of them," Park said.

The float was designed to depict palace guards, courtesans and white herons, using more than 75,000 roses and other flowers. Walnut shells, oats and ground cinnamon cover the gate walls.

Olympic gold-medal diver Sammy Lee, Texas Rangers pitcher Chan Ho Park and CNN broadcaster Sophia Choi were to ride the float down Pasadena's Colorado Boulevard in the New Year's Day spectacle.

The float is the most visible of centennial celebrations to be held nationwide in 2003. A Smithsonian exhibit will look at the first Koreans who came in 1903 to work on Hawaii sugar plantations, and at the immigrants who arrived in the 1950s during the Korean War.