Korea (steamer)

The first arrival of a Korean merchant vessel at a United States port occurred late in 1952 with the arrival at Portland of the 10,000-deadweight ton former Japanese steamship Korea, sunk by a mine near Pusan during the second World War and later refloated and returned to service under Korean ownership. The vessel was commanded by Capt. Pak Okkyu, a veteran of 24 years in Japanese merchant vessels who held the rank of commodore in the Korean Navy. The owner, Ryun Nam Koong, president of the Far East Marine Transport Co., was also on board for this historic voyage. Scrap iron from Korean battlefields was discharged for Dulien Steel Products Co., and a full cargo of barley was loaded for the return voyage. Gordon Newell, Maritime Events of 1952-53, H. W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle: Superior Publishing Company, 1966, p. 582.

Citation: Tacoma Public Library