IMMIGRANT SMALL BUSINESS AND INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LINKAGE - A CASE OF THE KOREAN WIG BUSINESS IN LOS-ANGELES, 1968-1977

This article investigates factors that have contributed to the growth of the import-export business among Asian immigrants. The central argu ment is that the development of Asian immigrants' import-export busine ss has been closely related to the increasing economic linkages betwee n Asian countries and their countrymen in the United States. Such econ omic linkages are a product of the global economic restructuring where by some developing countries of Asia have become major exporters of lo w cost/low price consumer goods to the United States. The Korean immig rants' wig business in Los Angeles is studied as a case of contemporar y import-export trade among Asian immigrants, with major findings summ arized as follows: first, the increased reliance of the United States on imported goods by the 1970s led to a rapid growth of the export-ori ented industry in South Korea; second, wigs became the major export it em of South Korea due to its cheap labor force and government-aid loan s to the wig industry; third, a strong vertical integration developed between Korean wig manufacturers in South Korea and Korean importers, wholesalers, and retailers in the United States - that integration pro vided Korean immigrants with initial business opportunities in the U.S . economy, particularly in the low-income minority areas.