August Events: Korean Prisoners of War

The majority of those who were imprisoned at Honouliuli were not American civilans, but prisoners of war. Much like the Okinawan POWs, a large portion of the population at Honouliuli was made up of Korean men conscripted by the Japanese army. Forced into skirmishes in the Pacific, these men were captured and imprisoned, all for fighting for a country to which they held no loyalty.

For the month of August, the 10th anniversary focuses not only on the Korean POW story in Honouliuli, but the broader history of Koreans and Korean identity in the Hawaiian Islands.

In addition, there will also be a speaker highlighting the even lesser-known European incarcerees in Hawaiʻi, for Honouliuli imprisoned German and Italian Americans. This month will also feature taiko performances, a movie screening, and a special tour.

Please Note:

Nearly all of our Speaker Series events will be virtual.

Event details will be posted closer to the month in which they take place. Please check back for updates to the calendar and event pages.

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Speaker: Dr. Alan Rosenfeld

The University of Hawaiʻi

Date and Time: August 20, 2025, 6:00-7:00 PM (HST). Please register for the talk using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/F-UvarMIRnujGJbRDFzbKQ

Discussion Summary: Lessons from Camp Honouliuli: Breaking Down Myths and Assumptions about Wartime Internment in Hawai‘i

Looking primarily at the experiences of those civilians interned at Sand Island and Camp Honouliuli as German and Italian Alien Enemies, Alan Rosenfeld will discuss several common sense assumptions about civilian internment in wartime Hawai‘i that evaporate when measured against the historical record. In addition to logs maintained by internment camp authorities, Rosenfeld relies largely upon the transcripts of Hawaii's wartime hearing boards, which offered a vague semblance of jurisprudence to civilian internees. The lessons drawn from these experiences of more than eighty years ago may offer insights into contemporary political contexts.

Biography: Dr. Alan Rosenfeld is the Associate Vice President for Academic Programs and Policy (AVPAPP) for the University of Hawaiʻi System. In this capacity, Dr. Rosenfeld partners with the ten UH campuses and various UH System offices to provide leadership in academic program and policy development as well as articulation, transfer, strategic planning, inter-campus academic program collaboration, and the University’s efforts to address state workforce needs. Rosenfeld spent fourteen years at UH West O‘ahu, where he earned tenure and promotion to Professor of History. Rosenfeld served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and WSCUC Accreditation Liaison Officer at UH West O‘ahu, having previously held faculty roles as Humanities Division Chair and Faculty Senate Chair. Rosenfeld earned a BA in History at the University of Pennsylvania, followed by an MA and PhD in Modern German History at the University of California, Irvine.

 

Speakers: Korean Community Organizations

Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, Hawai‘i Korean Cultural Center, Korean American Foundation, Hawai‘i, and the United Korean Association of Hawai‘i

Date and Time: August 26, 2025, 6:00-7:00PM. Please register using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/cx05LzikTpy3fpTvhHpLtw

Discussion Summary: Partnering to Preserve an Unknown Part of Korean History in Hawai‘i

Over 2,700 Korean Prisoners of War were held at Honouliuli. Come and learn about the park’s partners within the local Korean community who are working to help understand and preserve this history. Featured partners are the Center for Korean Studies at the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa, Hawai‘i Korean Cultural Center, Korean American Foundation, and the United Korean Association of Hawai‘i.

Biographies:

David Suh
David was born in Daejeon, South Korea, and later immigrated to Hawaii, where he graduated from McKinley High School, the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and the William S. Richardson School of Law. Guided by his Christian faith, David currently serves as president of The United Korean Association of Hawaii, combining professional expertise with a deep commitment to community service and working passionately to preserve Korean-American culture, traditions, and values for the benefit and enrichment of the entire community.

Edward Shultz

Edward J. Shultz is a retired University of Hawaii professor who received both an MA and PhD from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and taught at Leeward Community College, UH West O’ahu, and then UH-Manoa. At UH-Manoa, besides being a faculty member, he was the Director of the Center for Korean Studies, the Dean of the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, and Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Education and Exchange. Subsequent to his retirement from UH in August 2013, he taught for a year at Sogang University in Korea, and then returned to be Interim Chancellor of Hawaii Tokai International College for six months.

He is the immediate past president of the Korean American Foundation, Hawaii (KAFH). The Foundation was founded in 2004 on the successful conclusion of the Korean community’s celebration of its 100th anniversary of immigration to the United States. KAFH has as its mission to commemorate Korean immigration and to promote Korean culture, heritage, and history. KAFH annually celebrates the January 13, 1903 arrival of the first Korean immigrants to the United States/Hawaii. KAFH also maintains the Centennial Monument at Pawaa In-Ha Park and Puuiki Cemetery in Waialua, commemorates historic sites via historic site plaques, and sponsors important community events such as the annual Korean Festival. It also awards annually individuals who have made significant contributions to the Korean community in Hawaii.

Christopher Bae
Christopher Bae was born in Korea to Korean parents. However, from an early age, he had an atypical upbringing; one that drew him to eastern Asian paleoanthropology from early on. At about the age of one he was orphaned in Seoul, Korea and after living in an orphanage for six months, Bae was then adopted by an American family. Growing up in a Caucasian-American household and neighborhood always made him aware and interested in topics such as race and human variation. In order to discover his ethnic “roots” Bae traveled to Korea during his undergraduate days on an exchange program. His original objective in going to Korea was to reconstruct his own past, but he has since expanded these interests to eastern Asian prehistory, as one of paleoanthropology’s goals is to reconstruct the past without all the pieces.

Amanda Chang
Amanda Soyoung Chang is an immigration lawyer in Honolulu, Hawaii. As an attorney, she volunteers and serves as a court appointed arbitrator for civil cases filed with the State of Hawaii.

Chang has been serving as a board member and president of HAWAII KOREAN CULTURAL CENTER, whose goal is to establish a center to share rich Korean culture and history with the people of Hawaii and those visiting Hawaii through a history museum, Korean school (K to 12 grades), and Korean kupunas in Hawaii.

 

Speaker: Mary Danico (feat. Dukhee Lee Murabayashi)

Center for Oral History

Date and Time: August 28, 2025, 5:00-6:00 PM (HST). Please register for the event using the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/w17UKZt9RtmGOulibiRRcA

Discussion Summary: Unpacking the Layered History of Korean Prisoners of War in Honouliuli (1943-1945)

Biography: Dr. Mary Kunmi Yu Danico, Director of the Center for Oral History (COH) and Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, will be joined by Dukhee Lee Murabayashi, President of the Korean Immigration Research Institute in Hawaiʻi and Associate Member at the Center for Korean Studies. Murabayashi is a leading scholar on the history of Koreans in Hawaiʻi.The Center for Oral History completed its administrative oral history project on Honouliuli in 2025 and is currently exploring the life experiences of Korean conscripted laborers who were brought to Honouliuli as prisoners of war between 1943 and 1945. The COH team is conducting archival research in both the U.S. and Korea and has interviewed descendants of Korean POWs who later returned to Jeju Island. Murabayashi contributed significantly to this research by translating the names of over 2,700 Korean POWs listed in the Free Press and has worked closely with Honouliuli efforts to highlight how Hawaiʻi’s Korean communities interacted with and responded to the presence of these POWs. Together, Danico and Murabayashi will offer a glimpse at the lived experiences of Korean POWs during their internment in Honouliuli and share insights into their lives upon returning to Jeju Island, S. Korea.

 

Korean Festival: Table Event (Concluded)

Date and Location:
August 2, 2025, Honolulu Hale Civic Grounds, 530 S. King St., Honolulu, HI, 96813, 10:00-5:00 PM

About the Event: Come say hello to Honouliuli National Historic Site staff and volunteers at Honolulu's 21st annual Korean Festival. Visit our table to learn more about the prisoners of war who were incarcerated at Honouliuli Internment Camp.

While the festival itself runs from 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM, Honouliuli NHS staff will be there until 5 PM.

The festival also features flavorful Korean foods, various Kids and Family Activities, and non-stop stage entertainment. Free festival parking will be available at Honolulu Hale and surrounding parking lots.

 

Taiko Center of the Pacific Performance

Date and Location:
August 10, 2025, John F. Kennedy Theater, 1770 E West Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822, 4:00-6:30 PM

You can purchase tickets to the event here. Parking is free at The University of Hawaii on Sundays.

About the Event: Join Taiko master Kenny Endo for the Kenny Endo 50th Anniversary Celebration Concerts on August 9 and 10 which will feature artists from Japan, world class musicians, and collaborations. The August 10 performance will feature the Taiko Center of the Pacific Performing Ensembles and new and existing work composed by TCP members. To help honor Honouliuli National Historic Site’s 10th anniversary, Kenny Endo will also feature a taiko drum that was used at Honouliuli Internment Camp at the August 10 performance.

 

Konko Mission Tour

Konko Mission of Wahiawa

Date and Location: August 16 2025, Konko Mission of Wahiawa, 207 Muliwai Ave, Wahiawa, HI 96786, 10:00-11:00 AM

Street parking is available but this may be difficult since the Mission is located in a residential neighborhood. No RSVP required.

About the Event: Honouliuli National Historic Site recognizes and honors the women incarcerated at the camp during wartime. In honor of Women's History Month, we are partnering with Konko Mission of Wahiawa, a mission founded in 1940 by Reverend Haruko Takahashi, a Honouliuli incarceree. The Konko Mission of Wahiawa will reflect upon the history, vision, and legacy of Takahashi and explain the mission's significant connection to Honouliuli, give an overview of the spiritual practices conducted, and even have a hands-on experience to write a prayer of gratitude. Haruko Takahashi's life story will be shared and there will also be a showcase of her memorobilia and photos.

For more information on Japanese women in internment camps, visit our Women in the Camps page or read Breaking the Silence for an overview of Honouliuli.

 

Movie Screening: "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" with Panelists

Doris Duke Theatre; Kinetic Productions

Date and Location: August 17th, 2025, Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art, 900 S Beretania St, Honolulu, HI 96814, 2:00-4:00 PM including the panel after the movie concludes. Tickets can be reserved here in the future.

Parking information can be found here

About the Event: Local Hawaiʻi resident and Director Ryan Kawamoto has created multiple documentaries about internment and incarceration in Hawaiʻi with his production company Kinetic Productions. "Voices Behind Barbed Wire" tells the story of Japanese-Americans living in Hawaiʻi after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and how their families were affected by martial law. Thanks to Pacific Historic Parks, the community will be able to watch the one hour film for free at the Doris Duke Theater at the Honolulu Museum of Art. This special film screening will be followed by a discussion of Honouliuli and Hawaii's internment experience with panel members, including Ryan Kawamoto himself, Carole Hayashino, the former President/Executive Director of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i, and author Tom Coffman who wrote a book on how Hawaiʻi protected its Japanese American population from mass incarceration.

Acknowledgements
Courtesy of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, Voices Behind Barbed Wire

Another Ryan Kawamoto documentary will be screened as part of Honouliuli's 10th anniversary celebrations in October:

Removed by Force (October 19)

Earlier this year, NPS partnered with the Honolulu Museum of Art to screen the film Untold Story:

Untold Story (June 22)

 

Okinawan Festival: Table Event

Date and Location:
August 30-31, 2025, Hawai‘i Convention Center, 1801 Kalaukaua Ave, Honolulu, HI, 96815; August 30th: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM, August 31st: 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM

About the Event: Honouliuli National Historic Site is joining the Okinawan festival to bring the community a table event. The National Park Service will have information specifically about the Okinawans held at Honouliuli to help share this important history of Honouliuli National Historic Site.

The festival will also feature Okinawan foods, cultural performances, and historical information for those interested about learning of the history of Okinawa in Hawai‘i.

 

Honouliuli Traveling Pop-Up Exhibit: Central Pacific Bank (Main Branch)

Central Pacific Bank

Date: August 11-29, 2025, Central Pacific Bank, 220 S. King St, Honolulu, HI 96813.

About the Event: From August 11-29, the main branch of Central Pacific Bank will be the home of Honouliuli National Historic Site's traveling exhibit. Visit the bank to read up on the history of Honouliuli and what work has been done on the site since its discovery.

 

Honouliuli Monthly Bookstore Educational Item

Pearl Harbor National Memorial Gift Shop

Date and Location: August 2025, 1 Arizona Memorial Place, Honolulu, HI, 96818

About the Event: The Honouliuli National Historic Site bookstore is located in the Pearl Harbor National Memorial bookstore. The bookstore, which carries items beyond just books, provides visitors with a range of interpretive and educational materials about Honouliuli. The income generated from these items supports important historic preservation, ongoing research, visitor interpretation, natural and cultural resources management, and educational programs at the park.

To find other ways to help support the park, explore the drop down menu under the Get Involved section of the navigation banner.