On behalf of the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation and the San Francisco Bay Area Korea Center, it’s an honor and a privilege to welcome you all to the opening ceremony of the San Francisco and Bay Area Korea Center.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the donors who made our dream come true. Thanks to your love, dedication, and donations, we’ve been able to complete our renovation of the handsome historical building at 745 Buchanan Street (only a 10-to-15-minute walk from the Asian Art Museum and City Hall. We gratefully acknowledge the visionary, generous donors who supported our Campaign for the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center (2022–2024), enabling us to construct this center, thereby creating an enduring legacy for Koreans in the United States.
Today, I am here to celebrate with you the opening of the new San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center, which opened after two years of construction.
Support from many dedicated Korean Americans was the driving force that allowed us to successfully complete the construction of the Korea Center.
Observing both the major donors who contributed literally hundreds of thousands and young students—who represent our future—save their pocket money and send donations for the construction of a Korean community center, I realized that the future of the Korean community is bright, indeed.
The San Francisco Bay Area served as the center of the independence movement initiated by our immigrant ancestors to regain their country's sovereignty during the Japanese colonial period, the starting point of the ROK-US alliance where Bobingsa (the first official Korean delegation to the United States) got its start in July 1883, and the first to participate in the Korean War to protect Korea's fledgling liberal democracy. It is therefore a location that is replete with meaning.
I urge Korean Americans throughout the area who have made donations to the Korea Center to rejoice together as we take stock of this achievement, which instills pride in us as a people, as it will help to maintain a strong sense of purpose and identity for future generations.
In this sense, completion of this historic construction project is not an end but rather a beginning. As the old Korean Community Center, which struggled to fulfill its mission, has now been reborn with a new look, we plan to continue to use this site to enable Koreans to gather together, communicate, interact, and cultivate their Korean identity. In addition, we plan to actively promote to mainstream US society awareness that we are now a powerhouse, both economically and culturally, as what’s become known as the Korean Wave is capturing the attention and imagination of the world.
The erection of a statue of an independence activist at the Korea Center late last year marked the beginning of a series of items, including videos and other things that will inform people about our history and introduce Korean culture, in part through the state-of-the-art Samsung Video Walls installed in the Korea Center. Beyond that, additional equipment and supplies will be provided, to ensure that the Center functions at an optimal level. We will continue to promote historical truth through such projects as “Finding the Names of Dokdo and the East Sea” and “Memorial for Japanese Military Comfort Women,” which have been promoted by the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation, of which I have been privileged to serve as president for more than a decade now.
Center programming includes a lunch program for local seniors, a variety of recreational programs (for example, involving traditional Korean instruments, traditional dance, yoga, and line dancing), legal services to assist with acquiring citizenship, educational programs offering high-quality instruction, and seminars to combat anti-Asian discrimination. We are also planning health seminars for seniors and mental health support programs for youth.
Though many have generously contributed to the construction of the Center to date, we are currently facing a shortfall of $400,000. We therefore ask for your support, to enable us to cross the finish line, to enable our new Center to become the kind of active, productive hub for Korean community that it has the potential to be.
Just as we now remember the patriotic spirit of our ancestors who selflessly devoted themselves to the independence of our motherland in the face of all kinds of adversity, our descendants will look back with fondness and gratitude upon those who exercised the initiative and leadership that provided them with the foundation upon which they will stand. Please keep this in mind as you consider how you will continue to support our Center, to enable it to be all that it can be, as it fulfills its rightful mission.
In closing, we bow our heads in gratitude to all who have helped us reach this joyous milestone.
The Korea Center, San Francisco & Bay Area including Silicone Valley has one of the best access to experience innovative & contemporary trends of 5000 year Korean culture, history, entertainment, & tourism. Welcome to San Francisco & Bay Area!
San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center offers:
• Mental health
• ESL (for Children, Young Adults, Seniors...)
• English Everyday Conversation (Seniors for Dr's office, Hospital, etc.)
• Various Computer Classes (Beginner, Intermediate, Advance)
• Computer Coding Class (Elementary School Children, Youth)
• US Citizenship
San Francisco & Bay Area Korean Center provides:
• Calligraphy (Korean)
• Yoga
• Kouksundo
• Ballroom Dance
• Line Dance
• Korean Traditional Dance
• Nanta
• Ballet
• Book Club
San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center • Photo • Knitting Class • Pottary Class • Go • Chess • Various Seminars • Social Services
San Francisco & Bay Area including Silicone Valley Korean Center • Korean language for non-native speakers of Korean • Singing Class • Karaoke • Piano • Keyboard • Harmonica • Ukulele • Clarinet • Guitar • Taekwondo • Saxophone • Japanese Language • Chinese Language • After School Classes
Korean American Community Center of S.F & Bay Area Donation Request for Support in Remodeling Our Community Center
We are asking to you as a dedicated supporter of Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and Bay Area, a non-profit organization that works towards creating a better and stronger community.
As you know, our community center has served the local Korean American community for many years and has become a vital hub for community activities, events, and programs. However, with the passage of time, the center has become outdated and in dire need of remodeling. The renovations are crucial to ensure that the center remains a safe, accessible, and modern space for everyone in the community.
The remodeling project will include a complete overhaul of the interior and exterior of the center, including a new roof, updated electrical and plumbing systems, improved accessibility, and much-needed upgrades to the facilities. The estimated cost for the project is Three Million Dollars, and we need your support to make this dream a reality.
Any contribution, big or small, would go a long way in helping us reach our goal and would be deeply appreciated. Your support will help us continue to provide valuable services and programs to the community and ensure that the center remains a place where people can come together, connect, and grow.
If you would like to support the remodeling project, you can make a donation by sending a check made payable to Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and Bay Area.
Thank you for your continued support and for your consideration of this request. We look forward to your response and hope to hear from you soon.
San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center assists all Korean Americans in San Francisco and the Bay Area including Silicone Valley promote the cultural, social, educational, and economic progress of Korean-American. The organization builds an alternative community where Korean Americans can bridge the cultural gap between Korean Americans and other ethnic communities in SF and Bay Area through educating the public about the Korean culture and diverse programs. For instance San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center has organized and held the Annual Korean Day Festival since 1992. These Programs and events re-examine the Korean experience and re-evaluate the placement of Korean Americans in the society. In 1989, the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center moved to its current address on 745 Buchanan Street, in the Western Addition District. This location allows the association to communicate with more diverse populations in the Fillmore neighborhood. The mission is to support and cultivate the contributions of Korean Americans by workshops, educational programs, and events by the community. The community has provided various services and classes to more than 250,000 Korean Americans at no cost.
Born in Seoul, Jonathan H. Kim moved to the United States when he was a high school student. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of the Pacific (UOP) School of Dentistry, he serves asdirector of Jonathan H. Kim, DDS and the CEO of JK Property Management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was well-known for his work with Asian community leaders in San Francisco to stop hate crimes against Asians.
In 2012, Dr. Kim established the Jin Duck and Kyung Sik Kim Foundation to continue his parents’ support of the Korean American community in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The Foundation has helped the local community in numerous ways, such as by providing meals and educational scholarships, as well as sponsoring more than a hundred different cultural and sports events.
During the past decade, Dr. Kim has directed the focus of the foundation to issues of importance to the Korean community at large. As one example, hehas focused attention on the issue of re-claiming the island of Dokdo’s name (in accordance with a 1952 United Nations commission decision concluding that the island belongs to The Republic of Korea). Another prominent example has been the establishment of memorials in San Francisco, Seoul and Nanjing to the “Comfort Women” enslaved and abused by the Japanese military during World War II. Yet a third example is the global distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic of personal protective equipment (PPE), thereby saving countless lives.
As president of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and the Bay Area, Dr. Kim is leading the campaign to raise $3 million dollars in donations to renovate the handsome historical building at 745 Buchanan Street (only a 10-15-minute walk from the Asian Art Museum and City Hall), as the Center’s dedicated home. In addition to structural improvements to this important building, Dr. Kim’s vision includes commemorating the activists of the Korean Independence Movement and honoring their achievements, to educate and inspire future generations.
Currently serving as the 32nd president of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and the Bay Area, Dr. Kim’s awards—prior to the Frontier Award—include: the Republic of Korea’s Presidential Award (1988), the Overseas Koreans Foundation Distinguished Korean Award(2002) and the Camellia Medal of the Order of the People of the Republic of Korea (2014).
August 15 marks the 78th anniversary of Korea’s National Liberation Day. On this day in 1945, the Korean people regained their sovereignty after emerging from the Japanese colonial era, the darkest period in the modern history of Korea. I am very happy to share the joy of this occasion with Koreans in San Francisco and throughoutSilicon Valley. This year is particularly meaningful, as it marks the 120th anniversary of the first Korean immigrants to the United States and the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the Republic of Korea and the United States.
For the Korean people, modern history has been replete with suffering. The 35 years of oppressive Japanese colonial rule was a shame upon humanity. The Korean War was a tragedy of epic proportion that split the countryinto two. Notwithstanding these hardships, our people have built the Republic of Korea into one of the world's top ten economic powerhouses. They have also revived an amazing 5,000-year-old culture, creating the Korean Wave(Hallyu), captivating people the world over by their perception of Korean culture—including entertainment, fashion and food—as modern, stylish and sophisticated.
These impressive accomplishments were made possible because of our patriotic forefathers, who made numerous sacrifices for the country and its people. During all the trials of the Japanese colonial era, our ancestors—setting aside considerations for their own personal safety—did not for a moment abandon their aspirations for independence and freedom.
Some 120 years ago in San Francisco, Dosan Chang-ho Ahn and Pastor Dae-wi Lee created the Public Association, the Korean National Association and the Heungsadan, while Mr. Jong-rim Kim used his own personal funds to establish the Willows Flight School, representing the beginning of what is now the Korean air force.
The spirit of these proud immigrant ancestors deserves to be transmitted to our descendants. If we continue to cultivate our identity and pride as Koreans, our descendants will contribute in the same tradition to the Korean community here, as well as to the Republic of Korea.
It is with all this in mind that I am now involved in the creation within the Korea Center of a history museum, currently under construction. This project reflects the belief that there is nothing more important thaninvesting in resources for our future generations.
On the 78th anniversary of Liberation Day, we honor the patriotic ancestors who risked life and limb to regain our country. We hope that Koreans in the Americas and around the world will continue to enhance country and culture for future generations, in a way that will make everyone proud.
Thank you. President Jonathan Kim 32nd president of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco & the Bay Area
I, Jonathan Kim, president of the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation and the 32nd president of the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center (SFBAKC), declare as follows:
San Francisco and the greater Bay Area holds great geopolitical significance to Koreans living in Korea and abroad and especially for Korean Americans who call it home. In 1905, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho established the Public Association and in 1909, he established the Korean National Association, the United States’s first Korean Association. In 1908, In-Hwan Jang and Myeong-Woon Jeon announced the beginning of the resistance movement against Japanese imperialism.
I am inspired by the work begun by these and other Korean-American trailblazers. Twelve years ago, I established the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation to help the people in the Peninsula Bay Area. Since its creation, the foundation has provided scholarships, tackled the issue of Dokdo and installed the Comfort Women Monuments in San Francisco, Seoul, and Nanjing. The COVID-19 pandemic curtailed many of the foundation's normal activities. During 2020, the foundation shifted its focus to PPE and supplying masks first to Korea then to the community.
The pandemic also took a toll on the Korean American community in Northern California. The San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center lost its vibrancy.
As the 32nd president of San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center, I hope to reinvigorate SFBAKC activities with a four-part action, as follows:
First, I will do my best to complete the repair of the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center(SF Han In Hweh) as soon as possible. The reason this is a top priority for me is because SF Han In Hweh can provide opportunities for exchange and recreation in a safe, inclusive environment. The faster we complete the construction, the faster the senior citizens' associations and many other groups can begin to use it.
Second, the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center must strive for transparency. We will publish all board meeting minutes and financial reports on SFBAKC’s website. I will create and implement a calendar system in which any group can request use of the SF Han In Hweh’s facilities. This way, the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center can serve the needs of the entire community.
Third, the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center will assist and encourage its members and community at large to participate in elections. Actively participating in the democratic process will allow our community to vote for leaders to represent us, our ideas, and our interests.
Lastly, during my tenure as 32nd president of SFBAKC, I will increase the number of volunteers in my executive team. Increased participation will create more diversity and inclusiveness which will lead to better decision making and problem solving and bring greater opportunity for the maximum amount of people.
Thank you. December 17, 2022 President Jonathan Kim 32nd president of the San Francisco & Bay Area Korea Center
A Winning Formula with the growth in numbers and importance of the Korean American community in the United States, it is only appropriate that a world-class organization in the form of the Jin Duck &Kyung Sik Kim Foundation (website at jkkimfoundation.org) has developed, to serve the needs of its members and advance their noble agenda. Dating back more than a century, the Korean American community now exceeds two million members, excelling in a wide range of areas, spanning business, science, medicine, the arts and even sports.
In the area of commerce, Korean businesses constitute a significant portion of the US economy, employing thousands of Americans. Korean culture is a vibrant and influential element of the US cultural landscape, with Korean restaurants, shops and cultural institutions serving as a major draw for tourists and residents alike. As one of the most diverse communities in the US, the Korean American community, home to people from all walks of life, is a source of strength and resilience for its members, as well as the country as a whole. The Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation was established in 2012 by four offspring (eldest son Jonathan, eldest daughter Soon-ok, second daughter Soon Ran, second son Jeong Kwon and third daughter Soon Seong) of Jin Duck and Kyung Sik Kim, to honor the memory of their parents and the high standards and worthy goals to which they tirelessly aspired.
It stands to reason that the individual work, in all its dimensions,of the Foundation’s primary founder serves to illuminate the story and work of the Foundation itself. Jonathan H. Kim moved to the United States when he was a high school student. A graduate of UC Berkeley and the University of the Pacific (UOP) School of Dentistry, he serves as director of Jonathan H. Kim, DDS and the CEO of JK Property Management. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was well-known for his work with Asian community leaders in San Francisco to stop hate crimes against Asians, an alarming trend that has manifested itself throughout the Bay Area in recent years.
Under the direction of Dr. Kim and his team, the Foundation has helped the local community in numerous ways, such as by providing clothing and meals to the homeless and supporting the education of special needs children, as well as sponsoring more than a hundred different cultural and sports events and organizations, including the Korean American Festival, the San Francisco Korean American Day celebration, Silicon Valley Korean School and various Silicon Valley Korean Associationevents, among others.
During the past decade, furthermore, Dr. Kim has directed the focus of the Foundation to issues of importance to the Korean community at large. As one example, he has focused attention on the issue of re-claiming the Dokdo archipelago’s name (in accordance with a 1952 United Nations commission decision concluding that the archipelago is rightly the sovereign territory of The Republic of Korea). Dr. Kim was in fact the first to call attention to the fact that Dokdo’s name on Google Maps has been incorrectly changed to Liancourt Rocks (derived from the name of a French whaling ship that came close to being wrecked on the rocks in 1849). Another prominent example has been the establishment of memorials in San Francisco, Seoul and Nanjing to the “Comfort Women” enslaved and abused by the Japanese military during World War II. This effort came to fruition with the support of 13 other communities, in cooperation with that of the Korean community, including those of China, the Philippines and the Netherlands. Yet a third example is the global distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic of personal protective equipment (PPE), thereby saving countless lives. By providing scholarships to future generations of leaders, the Foundation helps to ensure that all of the good work it is undertaking will continue in decades to come.
In recognition of this multitude of contributions over the years, a variety of honors have been conferred upon Dr. Kim, including the Republic of Korea’s Presidential Award (1988), the Overseas Koreans Foundation Distinguished Korean Award (2002), the Camellia Medal of the Order of the People of the Republic of Korea (2014) and the Frontier Award (2023).
Dr. Kim’s leadership involvement with the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and Bay Area (KACCSF)in a sense represents an extension of his pathbreaking work with the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation. Serving as the 32nd president of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and the Bay Area, Dr. Kim is currently leading the campaign to raise three million dollars in donations to renovate the handsome historical building at 745 Buchanan Street (only a 10-15-minute walk from the Asian Art Museum and City Hall), as the Center’s dedicated home. In addition to structural improvements to this important building, Dr. Kim’s vision includes commemorating the activists of the Korean Independence Movement and honoring their achievements, to educate and inspire future generations. The synergy between the Foundation and the Center, with Dr. Kim as a major catalyst, is illustrated by the Foundation’s donation in December 2020 of the sum of one million dollars toward the renovation of the Center.
Dr. Kim’s KACCSF inaugural statement, delivered in December 2022, offers some important information about the man and his vision. In this statement, he began by declaring that “San Francisco—and the greater Bay Area—is imbued with meaning, engraved in the hearts and minds of Koreans as a center of great brotherly love, as expressed toward our immigrant ancestors escaping the tyranny of the Japanese occupation of our beloved motherland, from the early 1900s to 1945.”
To provide some historical background, he explained how in 1905 the great Korean independence activist Ahn Chang-ho (whose pen name was Dosan, meaning island mountain, a reference to Dokdo) established the Public Association independence movement organization. This was followed several years later, in 1909, with theestablishment of the Korean National Association, the earliest US-based Korean Association. It was the year before (1908) in San Francisco that two other noted independence activists, In-Hwan Jang and Myeong-Woon Jeon, announced the beginning of the resistance movement against Japanese imperialism.
Dr. Kim’s statement offers some important glimpses into the thinking that went into his considered decision to serve as KACCSF’s 32ndpresident. One important consideration was the toll that COVID-19 has taken on Northern California’s Korean community, which has shrunk considerably—with remaining members facing many difficulties—as a result of the pandemic.
In his quest to work proactively and energetically to provide practical help for all the members of the Korean American community who need it, Dr. Kim proposed a four-part action plan, the first part of which called for regarding KACCSF as a medium of communication and exchange. A key part of the plan, is to use the Korean Center, when completed, as a meeting place for senior citizens' associations and other groups.
The second part of the articulated plan involves commitment to the principle of transparency. “In order for KACCSF to function effectively as an organization for Koreans,” Dr. Kim explained, “the participation of significant numbers of Koreans is absolutely essential. In order for that to happen, KACCSF’s doors must be wide open to Koreans. We will make a concerted effort to create a Korean association where all Koreans can participate, not just a meeting place for the exclusive use of executives and directors. In addition, through the regular disclosure of all board meeting minutes and financial reports, all Koreans can check the details of KACCSF’s operations.” This emphasis on democratization of the organization is key to its potential for effectiveness and long-term survival.
The third part of the plan calls for investing substantial effort into enhancing the political power of Korean Americans, who must be encouraged to actively engage in all dimensions of mainstream society, as a necessary condition for enjoying the ability to speak out with dignity and to be free from discrimination. “By participating in elections and supporting the politicians of our choice,” according to the statement, “we will be able to advance our interests. In this way, we will be able to nurture the leaders of the next generation, to support them so that they can develop into effective politicians who will energetically channel the voices of Koreans.”
The fourth and final part of the plan articulated by Dr. Kim in his December 2022 KACCSF inaugural statement calls for a focus on supporting the Korean community through the composition of the committee. Previously, Dr. Kim explained, “too much authority had been concentrated in the top leadership, increasing the chances of unfair or incorrect decisions. To safeguard against this in the future,” Dr. Kim stated, he is committing to form individual committees—such as those dedicated to finance, building management, complaints and the development of political power—actively supporting the chairpersons with regard to the independent disposition of their duties. These committees will serve to expand the channels of communication, ultimately resulting in greater practical help for Koreans. Dr. Kim concluded by appealing for “wholehearted support and participation from the Koreans of the area,” as a necessity for the success of the endeavor.
Based upon this overview of Dr. Kim and his vital contributions relating to both the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation and the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and Bay Area (KACCSF), it would seem that his success is based on a combination of dedication to service for both his community and country, enlightened leadership on his part and the skillful application of knowledge gathered through decades of observation and experience.The end result is numerous benefits—as described above—to countless people, together with the advancement of truth, justice and equality.
