When you think about pasttimes most identified with middle- and senior-aged Korean Americans, golf and karaoke immediately come to mind. But in recent years, ajushis and ajumas have been dancing to a new tune, literally, cha-chaing their stresses away and waltzing to strengthen their bodies and marriages.

 

Mirroring national and international trends, more and more Koreans are embracing ballroom dancing.

 

According to USA Dance Association’s Peter Pover, America’s Dancing with the Stars on ABC, which was modeled after an equally popular British TV show, has helped revive DanceSport, as it is sometimes called.

 

Lucy Long, a folklorist and ethnomusicologist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, believes that ballroom dance has also gained popularity in recent years because people are exercising more and looking for new ways to spend quality time with their partners. They are realizing that adults need to play, too.

 

But an activity characterized by spins, dips and, at times, hip-shaking seems a particularly surprising choice for a generation known for toiling as immigrants in a new country and devoting most of their waking hours to a small business to support their family. Who had time for a hobby aside from the occasional golf outing?

 

Some observers schooled in Korean culture say ballroom dance is a good match for a people sometimes known for their flare for the dramatics.

 

“Koreans are sociable, exuberant and feel intensely,” says Long, who lived in Korea for eight years. “Ballroom dance fits [them] because it’s expressive.”

 

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“1-2-3. 1-2-3,” calls out Susie Kim, as her students attempt to move their feet in tempo to the waltz. The athletic instructor then demostrates.

 

People giggle at their mistakes. One woman, not laughing, walks away from her husband and sits down.

 

Kim coaxes her back to the dance floor.

 

A former professional ballroom dancer herself, Kim has been teaching international style and the slower-tempo American social style ballroom method at the Susie Kim Dancesports studio in Los Angeles since 1989. Before that, she was involved with running a dance studio at a different Koreatown location with her ex-husband, also a competitive ballroom dancer, since the mid-‘80s.

 

“When I began competing in ballroom dancing, I found the atmosphere of competition so gorgeous — the costumes, the lighting and the music,” recalls Kim, who has always been athletic. “It was so attractive to me and moved me.

 

“Because I’m a competitive person, I also enjoyed that aspect.”

 

Dancing began as a hobby for Kim after she immigrated to the U.S. from Korea in 1979, but then she fell hard for what she calls the “artistic sport,” studying in New York with top American and British coaches. She met her ex-husband who would become her dance partner while in New York, and they competed professionally in the U.S. and Korea before opening their L.A. dance studio.