KAYAC
KAYAC (The Korean-American Youth Assistance Coalition, Inc.) is a nonprofit organization founded with the mission of nurturing Korean American community’s next generation leaders for global posterity.
As a post immigrant generation living in the US, living in an age of globalization and diversity, how do we define our ethnic identity?
How are our children developing their own identity? What does the term “Korean-American” actually mean? Is it merely a hybrid of American and Korean, or is it another ethnicity altogether? Do we simply believe ourselves to be Korean-Americans because we are Korean descendants living in America, or do we truly understand what it means to be Korean-Americans and its inherent values?
An individual’s ethnic identity is rooted in the language, history, and culture connected to his/her ethnic ancestry. And we believe that ‘ethnic identification’ is a continuous process of discovering and learning to embrace her/his roots rather than an outcome or a decision.
Our goal is to support young Korean-Americans in learning their roots, embracing the inherited cultural values, contributing towards Korea and its culture, and helping them to become next generation leaders by providing various channels for the development of leadership skills.
In order to achieve our goal, we provide and promote identity education via Motherland Excursion program for selected 9th and 10th grade Korean youths, and provide opportunities for the KAYAC alumni to build a Korean-American Professional network via various events such as college tours and the Annual forum.