KAC-WA is the federation of first and second generation Koreans in Washington State, and it helps to bring the harmony and unity among the generation 2.0 of Koreans here. Newly appointed presidents and chairmen have actively worked as pivotal figures for the Korean community.
The perfectly bilingual lawyer Lee Junwoo Kim is the new president who is also an assistant administrator from the National Unification Advisory Council. Dr. Julie Kang from the University of Washington is the new vice president who is the president of United Seattle Korean School.
Soona Kim is newly appointed as the chairman of the board who is bilingual as well. Myunglae Park, the director of International Cooperation from Pierce College and Sandra Englund, the vice chairwomen from the Korean Women’s Association are the new vice chairmen of KAC-WA. Yun-sook Kim, a professional interpreter, is the trustee.
KAC-WA held their first happy hour social event with the new administration at Stuart Pub in Capitol Hill on April 16th. Lawyer Jessica Yoo and dentist Susan Kim each invited members of the Korean American Bar Association (KABA) and the Korean American Health Professionals Association (KAHPA).
The event was a great success filled with more than 100 second generation Koreans college students and first generation professionals in their 30-40’s. The purpose of the event was networked based, but people enjoyed themselves as well.
An international student from the UW mentioned, “I realized the most important thing is social networking after I came to America. I thought Happy Hour by KAC-WA is the best place to make more a personal connection for Korean youth.”
A venture company called ‘Giftstarter’ was introduced, as every event from KAC-WA has a new and different keynote speaker. The CEO of Giftstarter Arry Yu introduced herself and explained the idea of the company.
She was raised in a typical Korean family and went to Cornell University without many friends. However, she said she realized that building relationships with other people is really important to live a happy life. Aiming at social networking, Yu established Giftstarter (www.giftstarter.co), which enables people to send a group gift to someone.
President Junwoo Lee and Chairman Soona Kim stated, “If 1.5 and second generation Koreans who are law and health professionals register with the KABA and KAHPA, and people in all other fields register with the KAC, they would find a lot of help. It also would be great if the first generation informs their children about these organizations, helping to promote participation.”
