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`The year 2003 marks the centennial anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States. A century ago, on the dawn of January 13, 1903, the first Korean immigrants disembarked from the American merchant ship Gaelic and set foot on Pier 2 in Honolulu, Hawaii. And so begun the history of Korean immigration to the United States, marked by achievements of lofty dreams as well as backbreaking hardships. During the initial stages of immigration, Korean immigrants consisted of a wide range of occupation but most started out their new lives as laborers in a life filled with endless toil. Their efforts and sacrifices that endured and overcame hard labor and suffering became the foundation for regaining the independence of a nation that had lost its sovereignty to the Japanese. Since then, Koreans in the US have grown into a proud group that steadily advanced into prominent positions in diverse sectors of the American society including judges, lawyers, professionals, doctors and entrepreneurs. The Korean communities scattered across the world in this rapidly-changing global environment have achieved solid growth with the confidence instilled from the pride in their history and traditon. This sense of confidence is drawn not only from the phenomenal economic success of the Korean community in the US but also from their identity as Koreans, Americans, and as worldly cosmopolitans. It is hoped that the two million Korean immigrants in the US as well as all Koreans taking root in every corner of the world become fully aware that they belong to the proud Korean community of the world, harmonize with other peoples of the world, respect the history and tradition of other people, and grow with the world. The design of the stamp, ``Taegeukgi (the Korean flag) and Stars and Stripes`` was chosen from the 2003 International Postage Stamp Design Contest and commemorates the centennial of Korean immigration to the United States.`