Navigating Crisis and Exclusion: Pandemic Experience and Access to COVID-19 Relief among Korean Immigrant Small Business Entrepreneurs in the New York Metro Area, USA

The U.S. federal government provided more than $1 trillion in COVID-19 relief for small businesses. We, however, know little about the impacts of these programs on immigrant small business entrepreneurs. This qualitative study explores the economic experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic and access to government relief among Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in the New York Metropolitan Area. The study analyses in-depth interview data from 24 participants, using inductive thematic analysis. Five main themes emerge from the data: (1) study participants had varied economic experiences in terms of impact of the pandemic and access to government relief; (2) relief programs served as essential lifelines for those who received them; (3) structural and informational barriers limited access to relief programs; (4) access to government relief was shaped by eligibility, language proficiency, digital literacy, professional accounting support, and ethnic networks; and (5) pre-existing regulations and disrupted government services had adverse effects. This study identifies three distinct trajectories of economic recovery among study participants. Additionally, accessing government relief programs impacted participants not only economically but also psychologically and emotionally. The findings support mixed embeddedness theory by showing how institutional and socio-cultural contexts of the host society, ethnic networks, and individual capabilities collectively influenced immigrant entrepreneurs’ pandemic experiences and economic outcomes. Our findings call for government policies that ensure access to government relief among those in economic need, such as clear and fair eligibility rules, proactive outreach efforts, inclusive language services, and enhancing internet access and digital literacy in preparing for future disasters.