By Ethen Lieser
The dry-cleaning business has been a fundamental way of life for many Korean Americans in the Washington, D.C. area, enabling them to educate their children, put bread on the table, and give them a sense of pride. It has allowed them to achieve the “American Dream.” But in Fairfax, Va., the appearance of DryClean Depots, the dry-cleaning counterpart of Wal-Mart and other large discount stores, has ignited fear and resentment within the Korean American community.
“For Korean Americans, the dry-cleaning business has been one of the mainstays,” said Sungkyu Yun, executive director of the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium. “Especially in Virginia, it ranks right up there along with deli groceries.”
In late May, more than 400 Korean Americans protested at a Fairfax County Planning Commission meeting concerning a zoning change that would allow DryClean Depot to expand business. Korean American fundraisers have amassed $80,000 to make a legal challenge to the zoning change. The case is now before the Virginia Supreme Court.
There are 11 DryClean Depots in the Fairfax area, with others to be built soon. Their high volume and low prices have the potential to force out all other competition. For example, a coat that could be dry-cleaned for $10 at most shops costs a mere $1.75 at DryClean Depot — causing smaller and more expensive Korean American dry cleaners to lose business.
Within the past decade, the growing Korean American population has become a visible economic force in the Washington, D.C. area. From a population of 66,000 Korean Americans, more than 80 percent of the 1,200 dry-cleaning businesses are Korean-owned. In Fairfax, it is 90 percent, nearly 300 of the 325 dry cleaners, according to the Korean American Drycleaners Association of Washington. Moreover, many stores are operated by recent Korean immigrants with limited English skills, compounding the problem of finding another line of work if their dry-cleaning businesses are shut down.
“The surge in population only tells half the story,” said Francey Lim Youngberg, Project Director of Access to Justice Partnership (AJP), a coalition of 12 Asian American non-profit organizations and five government agencies. “Asian American residents and business owners have a significant role in the city’s economic life. Many of the owners are older and have no time to improve their English skills. Korean Americans who have the vast majority of the ‘Mom and Pop’ stores routinely work 12 to 14 hour days, six days a week, to make a living.”
Carlos Cadenas, a Guatemalan immigrant, opened his DryClean Depot in Fairfax three years ago. He secured the necessary county permits and borrowed $1.7 million to open in an old shoe store. But soon after, Cadenas fell under the legal sledgehammer because of zoning issues. Korean Americans alleged that Cadenas’s store is too large to comply with county guidelines. A favorable zone ruling allowed Cadenas to open in 1998, but an appeal reversed the ruling, and the county has since ordered him to close.
“This is America, and competition is why we have maintained our strength as a nation!” reads DryClean Depot’s Web site. “These dry cleaners want to keep the price of cleaning high and you to pay for it. By using high priced cleaners in your area you are subsidizing their efforts to prevent us from serving you.” Cadenas has continued to vouch for the legitimacy of his store on the Web site and has collected 7,000 signatures in a petition drive.
“The government should handle this situation carefully,” Yun said. “It should look after consumers’ interests. And at the same time, it should pay attention to these community-based and family-owned small businesses, too.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Reach Ethen Lieser at elieser@asianweek.com. |
