Immigrant of the Day: Jin Kyu Robertson (Korea)

Jin Kyu Robertson immigrated to the United States as a housemaid when she was 22. From modest beginnings, she rose to the rank of major in the U.S. Army and earned a doctorate at Harvard.

Jin Robertson was the child of tavern owner, and neither of her parents ever attended school. Because her family lacked money for college, she worked in a factory and as a waitress and housemaid in Korea. One day, she saw a newspaper ad for a housemaid in America. She applied for the job, over her family’s objections. Little more than 10 years later, Robertson was a U.S. army officer stationed in Germany.  The Army allowed her to continue her college studies and she eventually beaome an officer. Robertson represented the U.S. Army as liaison to the Japanese Self Defense Forces, the first woman to hold that position.

Robertson kept her focus on education and completed a master’s degree at Harvard University in East Asian studies, and enrolled in a doctoral program, focusing on relations among the United States, Korea and Japan. After retiring from the Army as a Major, she returned to Harvard to finish her Ph.D.

Jin Robertson’s daughter, Jasmin, also is a Harvard graduate.

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