KACCSF Inaugural Statement
I, Jonathan Kim, president of the Jin Duck & Kyung Sik Kim Foundation and the 32nd president of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco & Bay Area (KACCSF), 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 and Seoul. 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.KACCSF lost its vibrancy.
As the 32nd president of KACCSF, I hope to reinvigorate KACCSF activities with a four-part action, as follows:
First, I will do my best to complete the repair of the Korean American Community Center of San Francisco and Bay Area (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, KACCSF must strive for transparency. We will publish all board meeting minutes and financial reports on KACCSF’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, KACCSF can serve the needs of the entire community.
Third, KACCSF 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 KACCSF, 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
Korean American Community Center of San Francisco & Bay Area (KACCSF)
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