Questions and Answers
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Interview #4

Name: Connie So
Profession: Professor at the University of Washington and teaches American Ethnic Studies
Nationality: Chinese American

We chose Connie So to interview because we saw her in a movie called The making of the Kong Yick buildings and she was explaining some of the history highlights of Chinese immigrants. Since she was a close resource, we decided to do a interview on her because she happens to teach a class that talks about the discrimination that was going on back then in the International District.

1) What about Chinatown/ International District most represents you and why?
A: It's the legacy of my ancestors. In fact, my maternal great-grandfather help found the Woo family association. Chinatown/ID is the place where despite segregation, Chinese and other Asian and Pacific Islander Americans have survived, thrived and created a special space to provide support to one another and find family.

2) What past memory do you remember most about Chinatown/ International District?
A: I remember the Kokusai Theatre where my mother would take my siblings and I to catch the latest Cantonese film back in the 1970s. This was all before VHS and DVDs. It was the one place where we could find some semblance of Hong Kong entertainment (I am an immigrant from Hong Kong). Of course, I also remember all the restaurants and grocery stores. There's been a number of changes, but always, it remains the place to find cheap, tasty Chinese food during all hours of the day. 

3) What do you know about Chinatown/ International District's history?
A: Quite a bit. I teach a class on it. I am often consulted about the area. 

4) How was Chinatown/ International District changed since you have first remembered it? And when was the first time you saw Chinatown/ International District?
A: The first time I saw Chinatown/ID was in February 9, 1969. We just immigrated from Hong Kong and upon our arrival to the US, we visited our great-grandparents (grandfather was a cannery recruiter) living in one of the old residential hotels in Chinatown. I think it was the former Bush hotel before the remodel. There were many stairs and all around were old Chinese people. It was still predominantly old, single males at the time. Nowadays, there are families and many younger people. Of those who are old, I think there's more widows than widowers now - similar to the rest of the US population. I also remember lots of gambling. Much of that has been eliminated with the Seattle police crackdown on Chinatown gambling in the 1990s. With that has come the fall of some of the family associations including the Woo Family Association. Now many of the old folks have no place to go except for Oak Tin (if you're a Chin, Woo or Yuen) or Kay Ying - which is also disappearing because of the sale of the Kong Yick to Wing Luke Asian Museum. 

5) Name something good in the past about Chinatown/ International District? Something bad?
A: See above for something good. Plus the fact that various Asian and Pacific Islander groups have come together in this area. But of course, the people would not have been here (East of Occidental Street) if not for the segregation practices of the city. 

6) Name something good in the present about Chinatown/ International District? Something bad?
A: Everything above plus I'd also like to add the Seafair parade, Wing Luke Asian Museum, all the great restaurants and social service agencies like the ACRS. Something bad includes the crime around the area, particularly as the city has "cleaned up" Belltown. 

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