Korea and Cuba: Photographing Homeland and Diaspora
By Natalia Ramirez
The histories of Korea and Cuba seldom overlap, yet their intersections tell saturated stories of migration, adaptation, and cultural preservation amid a cumbersome political environment. Beginning in the early twentieth century, hundreds of Koreans fled their homeland under Japanese colonial rule, seeking new opportunities across the Pacific. Many arrived in Mexico as contract labourers and later left for Cuba, drawn by the island’s thriving sugar industry. Their experiences—often with displacement, political upheaval, and the search for belonging—established a small but persevering community whose descendants continue preserving their culture more than a century later. Photography and film collectively tell the story of the Korean-Cuban diaspora, where two distant cultures converge under unique circumstances.
Michael Vince Kim, Photo of Green Hanbok in Cuba, 2017.
A green hanbok, traditional Korean attire, is owned by a member of the Korean-Cuban community. The hanbok, known for its vibrant colors and elegant silhouette, carries deep significance in both Korean culture and in the lives of the Korean-Cuban diaspora. For Korean-Cubans, the hanbok represents the preservation of Korean heritage in a foreign society, capturing the unique fusion of both cultures in the Korean-Cuban community.
The hanbok remains a powerful symbol of continuity and identity within the Korean-Cuban diaspora. Traditionally worn during important ceremonies such as weddings and holidays, the garment embodies respect for family, heritage, and cultural pride. For those living thousands of miles from the Korean Peninsula, the garment embraces a new meaning of visual expression of longevity and belonging. Within the Cuban context, the hanbok spans cultural space, serving as a bridge between histories, representing both the persistence of Korean tradition and its adaptation within a Caribbean environment. The photograph’s satiny green fabric parallels the community’s resilience, preserving its roots despite its shift into a distinct and localised identity.
The Korean-Cuban diaspora remains an often overlooked yet revealing example of transpacific migration. After enduring harsh labor conditions in Mexico, the first Koreans arrived in Cuba in the early twentieth century. Though many faced exploitation and isolation, they formed small havens that preserved and celebrated customs, language, and shared faith. Christianity, introduced to Korea in the late eighteenth century, accompanied these early migrants to Cuba, where it became a prominent mode of unity and identity. One of the most evocative surviving objects from this period is a Korean Bible, its pages worn and stained from generations of use, preserving the physical traces of those who turned to it for spiritual comfort in new environments.
Names unknown, Photo of an old Korean Bible, possibly the first Korean Bible that was brought to Cuba, n.d.
This intimate photograph depicts a Korean Bible that may have been among the first brought to Cuba in the early to mid-20th century. Visible pencil marks and weathered pages tell the story of faith, migration, and everlasting connections between homeland and new land.
These pencil marks, small punctures, and discolouration preserve the lasting connection between faith and memory. As both a sacred object and a historical artefact, the Bible reflects how religion became a mode of linguistic and cultural conservation throughout generations. Its pages offer a more intimate view into the lives of the diaspora, highlighting worries and hopes connecting experiences across oceans.
Photographer Michael Vince Kim, whose work has brought renewed attention to the Korean diaspora in Latin America, captures this negotiation of identity in his portrait of Olga and Adelina Lim Hi, sisters whose lineage goes back to the first Korean families to settle in Cuba. Their image, tight-knit and deeply human, shows the often-intimate determination of a culture carried through generations. The Lim Hi sisters’ coffee table of family photos demonstrates the multigenerational bond and yearning to keep memories close. Though their lives remain rooted in Cuba, their heritage remains vibrantly Korean, and their presence continues the long entwinement of two nations often perceived as distant and unrelated.
Michael Vince Kim, Photo of two Korean-Cuban Women in Cuba, 2017.
This portrait, vibrant yet cumbersome, depicts sisters Olga and Adelina Lim Hi, whose heritage remains Korean despite multi-generational residence in Cuba. Their lives reflect both Korean ancestry and Cuban upbringing, personifying adaptation and cultural continuity.
Another photograph, depicting Adelaida Kim Alemán and Antonio Kim Jam, carries this thread of remembrance. Both descendants of the early Korean settlers, they became advocates for cultural education and preservation within the community. Adelaida, dressed in a bright yellow skirt, embraces honour and commitment to heritage. Alongside Antonio, she worked to ensure that the stories and traditions of their ancestors remained alive in their community. Their lives transpired during the height of Cuba’s revolutionary era, a time when politics and international alliances—particularly between Havana and Pyongyang—impacted public life. In this context, their preservation of Korean culture became not only familial, but also political amid the rapidly changing nation.
Unknown photographer, Right to left, Adelaida Kim Alemán (in a yellow skirt), and Antonio Kim Jam (center), n.d.
This relaxed image captures two descendants of Cuba’s first Korean settlers, whose dedication to cultural preservation reflects the ongoing resilience of the Korean-Cuban community.
This story culminates in a photograph of Jerónimo Lim Kim (Im Um Yo) at the Monumento Bolo in Cienfuegos, erected in honor of the first Korean immigrants who arrived to work the sugar plantations. Jerónimo, a revered figure within the community, yearned to link the past and present Korean-Cuban legacy. The monument behind him does not merely commemorate a historical event: it symbolizes and solidifies a sense of belonging, recognition, and the unique convergence of two cultures under memorable circumstances. Through Jerónimo’s lifelong advocacy, the history of Korean Cubans has become part of the broader Cuban national heritage, promising that their story continues to be told.
Unknown photographer, Jerónimo Lim Kim (Im Um Yo) at the Bolo Monument, n.d.
Jerónimo Lim Kim (1926-2006), an important figure in the Korean-Cuban community, stands before the monument honouring early Korean immigrants. His advocacy ensured that their legacy became a recognised part of Cuba’s national history.
The story of the Korean-Cuban diaspora told through photographs demonstrates the intertwined and nuanced nature of politics, migration, and cultural preservation. Each portrait’s journey is defined not by displacement but by continuity: the green hanbok still worn in Havana, the Bible read across oceans, the faces of descendants who embody both the peninsula and the Caribbean Island. Mutually, they affirm that homeland is often beyond a fixed geography, but a living inheritance of resilience, faith, and remembrance.
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