The Connections Between S. Korea And Minnesota.

The Korean War + Minnesota:

Posted - February 15th, 2025

Minnesota has long been known as “The land of a gazillion Korean Adoptees”, but Korean Adoptees often wonder why there are so many Korean Adoptees in Minnesota. This writer confesses to even hearing about how many Korean Adoptees lived in Minnesota as a kid, and shrugging and saying, “Wow, they must be really cold.”

However, we recently spoke via Zoom with a 95 year-old Korean man who emigrated to the US and who gave us a very interesting insight into the historical connections between S. Korea and Minnesota.

He said (we have paraphrased):

”At the start of the Korean War in 1950, US General Douglas McArthur told the Pentagon that the American troops could not sustain the cold in Korea. McArthur tried to figure out who could fight in such harsh conditions. So the Army called up the Minnesota National Guard. Thus began a Sister City relationship. The Minnesota National Guard was mobilized for the Korean War. That is the reason why so many Korean students started coming to the US for study. Most of them went to the University of Minnesota.”

We checked online to verify this story and came across this Wikipedia entry:

Minnesota National Guard

”1946–1953
(Photo Caption) - An F-51D of the Minnesota Air National Guard in the early 1950s
America again found itself at war in 1950 – this time in Korea. In January 1951, as a result of the massive and sudden reinforcement of North Korean forces by Soldiers from Communist China, the Minnesota Guard was again called up. Many of its members were seasoned World War II vets and the 47th Division was selected to serve as a training division for two years during the Korean War. Most of its personnel were eventually reassigned as replacement troops in Korea or Germany. Minnesota's Air Guard was also activated, contributing pilots to Korea's "Mig Alley." “

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Read also about the Minnesota Project, a post-Korean War US development project which brought Seoul National University’s (SNU’s) best medical students to the US to study at the University of Minnesota.

Minnesota Project:

Paying It Forward: Lessons from the Minnesota Project

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KSS (Korea Social Service) Connection

The 95 year-old man with whom we spoke had attended the same famed high school - Gyeonggi High School - as had KSS Founder Baek Geun-chil / Paik, Kun Chil / 백근칠. However the two men did not know one another and likely attended in different years.

KSS Founder Baek Geun-chil / Paik, Kun Chil / 백근칠 also attended the University of Minnesota as part of The Minnesota Project in the 1950s, becoming the first Korean to earn a Master’s Degree in Social Work from a US University. Please see:

KSS Historical Figures 
KSS History

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For another explanation of why there are so many Korean Adoptees in Minnesota, please see:

Korean Transracial Adoption in Minnesota