Everyone knows about San Francisco’s Chinatown, but so few know about the small yet vibrant Korean immigrant community that took root here. From the merchants and political exiles who landed in San Francisco in the late 1800s, to the students, activists and families who landed on Angel Island during the Japanese occupation of Korea, these pioneers left their mark with their impressive organizational skills, their fervent anti-Japanese activism and their devotion to family and the church. We will visit locations where the earliest Korean settlers lived, worked and gathered and hear how they created a community to support each other in their new land, in a time marked by extreme hostility and prejudice against Asians.
This is a free walking tour. We will start near the Ferry Building and end in Chinatown. Tour length: 2 hours.
Next Tour: October 25, 2026, 10:30 AM
Meet your guide at R-Evolution at 1 The Embarcadero. Take public transit if you can. Embarcadero BART station and MUNI stations are nearby. Bring water, dress in layers and wear comfortable shoes.
My name is Rosemarie Nahm. Around 2014, I learned about the immigration history at Angel Island and discovered that about 1,000 Koreans were admitted to the U.S. at Angel Island between 1910 and 1940. As I dug deeper into this history, I soon realized that San Francisco was the hub of the early Korean settlement in the U.S. but so few people knew about it. I have been researching and sharing this history ever since. I also served on the board of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation (AIISF) where I gained a deeper appreciation for the shared history of all Asian immigrants. I have written about this history, given presentations at community events, curated an exhibit at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and now I am excited to share the forgotten stories from the early San Francisco Korean community through this walking tour!