On March 3, KAVOICE is organizing an ambitious effort at Glenview Village Hall, an early voting site, aiming to turnout 300 Korean American voters. This is the first step in increasing the voice and visibility of Korean American voters who have made substantial economic and cultural contributions to the state of Illinois and nationally.

With its official campaign launched on February 24, KAVOICE is seeking to increase the political representation of Korean Americans this election year by organizing voter registration drives, conducting voter education workshops and coordinating voter turnout campaigns. KAVOICE is a grassroots organization recently formed by multi-generational Korean Americans who felt the need to raise the voice and presence of Korean American voters. It is the first effort to truly organize and build power and presence for the Korean American electorate. For more information please visit www.kavoice.org.

Charlie Jung, president of KAVOICE, says, “The Korean American population is increasing and Korean American businesses are booming in suburban Cook County. But there are not many Korean Americans engaging in the political process and getting their voices heard. We hope to instill the importance and belief in voting to our community members and grow our visibility. This is an important right we all must exercise.”

What: 300 Korean American voter turnout effort organized by KAVOICE at Glenview Village Hall. Volunteers will be stationed at polling site.

When: Saturday, March 3, 2012 | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Where: Glenview Village Hall, early voting site (1225 Waukegan Road, Glenview, IL 60025_

Who: KAVOICE representatives, Korean American voters

Between 10-11 AM, following individuals have been invited:

• Candidates from Congressional District 8, 9, 10 INVITED
• Incumbent members of Congress from District 8,9,10 INVITED
• Representatives from Cook County Clerk’s Office INVITED

Sponsor: National Korean American Service & Education Consortium

###

According to Pew Research Center estimates, in 2008, young voters between the ages of 18 and 29 made up 18 percent of the electorate. Young leaders were key foot soldiers for partisan and nonpartisan civic engagement campaigns across the country. In several 2008 elections, Latino and immigrant voters were viewed as having made the decisive difference and thus have been taken more seriously than previously. So how should we understand the intersection of these two much-discussed groups? What role did immigrant youth play in civic engagement efforts in 2008 and what lessons do their efforts provide for how nonprofits can successfully engage immigrant youth during and between elections?

Contact:
HyunJoo Lee, NAKASEC, 323-937-3703

National Korean American Census Network:
Assisting Korean Americans across the U.S. to Fill Out the Census

(Los Angeles, CA) As households begin to receive their 2010 census forms in the mail, partner organizations of the National Korean American Census Network are organizing census assistance events in eight states to ensure that every Korean American fills out the forms and gets counted.

“In the 2000 census, the undercount for Asian Americans was 1% and nearly 5% for Pacific Islanders. It is estimated that up to 175,000 AAPIs were missed in California which resulted in a loss of about $2.1 billion in federal funds. With this year’s census, we have the opportunity to improve the lives of our communities and showcase our growing political power. That is why the National Korean American Census Network came together – to build a national voice encouraging all Korean Americans, from Los Angeles to Chicago to Washington D.C., to fill out the census form and have our community’s needs acknowledged,” said HyunJoo Lee of NAKASEC and affiliates, Korean Resource Center (Los Angeles) and Korean American Resource and Cultural Center (Chicago)

“Full integration is not just about finding a good job, decent housing, and education for kids. A critical component is understanding and then engaging in the civic and political process as Asian Americans. Census 2010 is one of the best ways to really exercise our voice and rights as members of this society and that is why the Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS) is committed to getting everyone counted in Georgia. We are also the lead for the Census Asian Complete Count Committee of Georgia and are working hard to ensure that all Asians in Georgia are counted for Census 2010 not only for the benefit of our Pan-Asian communities, but for the benefit of every single person,” said Helen Kim, Director of Advocacy and Education at CPACS.

“There are 9,000 Korean Americans living in Anchorage, including nearly 300 small business owners, 20 Korean churches, and over 20 community-based organizations. The Korean Community Center of Anchorage has been working with many groups and allies like the churches to educate and encourage participation in the census; through advertisements, community meetings, and outreach events, we are spreading the message. We have the opportunity to put Anchorage on the map and show everyone in the U.S. that our community is growing and striving to become civically engaged,” said Paul Moon, Chief Director of the Korean Community of Anchorage.

Below are a list of Census Assistance activities that partners of the National Korean American Census Network are planning in late March 2010:

Center for Pan Asian Community Services (Doraville, Georgia)
Date: March 18-April 18
Time: 9AM – 5PM. The Doraville office will be open during the weekend.
Location: Doraville office at3760 Park Avenue, Gwinnet office at 5495 Jimmy Carter Blvd, Suite F-131
Description: CPACS will serve as a QAC at both Doraville and Gwinnet offices. They also planning an array of assistance events in the community. On March 21, from 12-6PM, CPACS will be providing assistance in collaboration with the Asian Haiti Fundraising Event (at their Gwinnet office) and on April 14, from 11-2PM, CPACS will be providing assistance at the Chinese Cultural Center in Doraville. For more information, please contact 770.936.0969, ext. 44

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (Chicago, Illinois)
Date: March 19-April 19
Time: 9AM – 5PM
Location: 6146 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
Description: KRCC will be a Questionnaire Assistance Center or QAC – community members may visit to receive assistance in filling out their census forms. For more information, please call 773-588-9158

Korean American Women in Need (Chicago, Illinois)
Date: March 26
Time: 1PM – 5PM
Location: H Mart at 801 Civic Center Drive, Niles
Description: In collaboration with the Korean American Resource and Cultural Center, volunteers and staff will assist community members fill out their census forms in front of the supermarket. For more information, please call 847-299-1392.

Korean Community Center of the East Bay (Oakland, California)
Date: March 15-April 15
Time: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 10AM – 3PM
Location: 4390 Telegraph Ave, Ste. A, Oakland
Description: Serving as a QAC, community members may come to receive assistance in filling out their forms. For more information, please call (510) 547-2662.

Korean Community of Anchorage (Anchorage, Alaska)
Date: March 15-Aril 15
Time: 8AM – 5PM
Location: 1204 West 33rd Avenue, Anchorage 99503
Description: Community members of Anchorage are encourage to visit the Korean Community QAC. For more information, please call 907-561-5345.

Korean Community Service Center of Greater Washington (Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.)
Date: March 15 – April 1
Time: 9AM – 5PM
Location: Virginia office at 7700 Little River Turnpike, Suite 406, Annandale (703-354-6345); Montgomery County office at 847-J Quince Orchard Blvd, Gaithersburg (240-683-6663); Prince George’s County office at 6410 Kenilworth Ave, Riverdale (301-927-1601).
Description: Community members are welcome to call or visit any of the three offices to receive assistance in filling out their census forms.

Korean Resource Center (Los Angeles, California)
Date: March 19-April 19
Time: 1PM – 5PM
Location: 900 S. Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles
Description: KRC will serve as a QAC to provide census assistance to community members. They will also have market assistance on March 27-28. For more information please call 323-937-3718.

Korean Service Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Date: March 15-April 15.
Time: 9AM – 5PM
Location: 630 Cedar Ave. S. #B-1 Minneapolis, MN
Description: KSC will serve as a QAC to provide census assistance to community members. For more information, please call 612-342-1345.

The National Korean American Census Network is a network of ten grassroots community-based organizations in ten different states who are working to educate and organize Korean Americans for this year’s census count. The goal is to compile and share resources such as in-language census materials and best practices in order to increase the capacity of partner organizations to assist and educate Korean Americans in states like Alaska, Georgia, and Virginia. The Network also seeks to build a unified national voice for policy recommendations that will ensure a fair and accurate count of immigrant communities like the Korean American community. For more information, please visit www.nakasec.org/census .

Census stories of Korean Americans are attached as addendum. Community leaders and members are available to interview with media. To schedule an interview, please contact HyunJoo Lee at hlee@nakasec.org/323-937-3703 x 202.

###

Founded in 1994, NAKASEC is a multi-issue civil and human rights organization that is based within the Korean American community. With affiliate centers in Los Angeles (Korean Resource Center) and Chicago (Korean American Resource & Cultural Center), NAKASEC works to project a national progressive voice for issues important to the immigrant and Korean American communities such as civil and immigrant rights.

For Immediate Release:
October 10, 2008

Contact: HyunJoo Lee, 323.937.3703, ext. 202

Release of the 2008 National Asian American & Pacific Islander Presidential Questionnaire
Educating Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters Across the Country

(Los Angeles, CA) The National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC) is excited to announce the release of the 2008 National Asian American & Pacific Islander Presidential Questionnaire, a project that was produced in collaboration with the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA). The Presidential Questionnaire was sent to Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, and Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain with the purpose of using the responses to educate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members across the country on where the presidential candidates stand on important issues such as civil rights, education, healthcare, housing and community development and immigration.

NAKASEC has translated the responses in Korean so that community members can receive in-language information that will shape their confidence as voters and thereby allow them to fully engage in the election process. Translation of the questionnaire in Korean can be found at www.nakasec.org.

“We have already seen record voter turnouts by communities from all different backgrounds this year. NCAPA member organizations will be sharing results of the presidential questionnaire on the ground and together we will work to educate, engage and mobilize AAPI voters for the coming elections. The AAPI community is no exception; AAPI voters will vote and continue to make their voices heard in this year’s election,” said EunSook Lee, Executive Director, NAKASEC and Vice-Chair of Programs, NCAPA.

“In an effort to develop a more visible presence in helping the Presidential candidates understand the issues that are critical to our communities, NCAPA issued a questionnaire to the respective presidential campaigns. The response to the questionnaire was intended to give Asian Pacific Americans a view of each candidate’s solution to some of the problems that we face. Then we will have a basis for supporting one candidate or the other. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders no longer will be the invisible minority. We want to be heard and want our concerns addressed,” said Floyd Mori, Chair of NCAPA.

###

NAKASEC was founded as a consortium in 1994 by local community centers that realized that only by coming together can we build and contribute to a national movement for civil rights. Its founding was the culmination of the base building work our affiliates had been doing for years in their respective cities. Our mission is to project a national progressive voice on major civil rights and immigrant rights issues and promote the full participation of Korean Americans in American society. NAKASEC is a nonpartisan, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. NAKASEC neither supports nor opposes any political party or any candidate for public office.

Author: HyunJoo Lee, NAKASEC

Today, Sept. 17, is Citizenship Day.

It’s a day of joy for immigrants who have waited many years to participate fully in the American Dream.

But it’s a day many law-abiding immigrants may never get to celebrate.

Backlogs of citizenship applications lead to waits up to five years, and family-sponsored immigration can now take up to two decades.

In a country where immigrants help fuel innovation, economic growth and prosperity, we must streamline this process so that dreams are cultivated, not destroyed.

Meet John Yi and Kyunghee Kim, two Korean Americans who came to the United States with big dreams and ideas. Their efforts to become citizens took a combined sum of 19 years, but their stories remind us that the immigrant spirit is an exuberant one.

As a 26-year-old immigrant to the United States, John Yi’s American dream was to play the keyboard. With a wife and four children, his dream expanded to include a future of opportunity and security. He wanted his children to go to college, lead healthy lives and gain successful careers. When John applied for citizenship, what he did not anticipate was an unexpected five-year wait. It was during this period that he lost his restaurant business and his home. It was a trying period for the entire family. When the letter finally arrived at his home with the date of his naturalization ceremony, it was with a heavy heart that he opened the letter.

Kyunghee’s mother applied to bring her daughter and son to the United States, where the rest of her family had immigrated years earlier. After 10 long years, their visa was finally approved and they came to the United States in 1998. Along with her mother and brother, Kyunghee applied for citizenship. While the rest of her family swiftly went through the process, Kyunghee’s application was held up because it was “pending FBI investigation.” What FBI investigation? She kept asking herself that question, one her family worried about for four years. Deep relief swept over her and her family when she received the letter that finalized her citizenship process.

The day of her naturalization ceremony, I met her outside the Los Angeles Convention Center. Her mother was close to her side, and as I congratulated Kyunghee, she smiled and waved her certificate. I asked her if she felt any different and what the word “citizen” meant to her. She looked at me behind big sunglasses and said that it was just a piece of paper; it is what you do with it that brings meaning to it.

For her, it was having the right to vote and exercising that right; to have your voice heard and make change.

John told me a similar thing when I posed the same question to him one late Friday afternoon. The word “citizen” means nothing on its own, he said. But the fact that now I can vote and have a say in who my leaders will be means everything.

Like John and Kyunghee, millions of Americans come to the United States in search for something better.

We must work to make that journey a dignified one.

And we can do that, one vote at a time.

HyunJoo Lee is the national organizing coordinator for the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, based in Los Angeles. She can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.

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published on September 17, 2008 in The Progressive             www.progressive.org/mp/lee091708.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the Modesto Bee www.modbee.com/opinion/national/story/432858.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the Island Packet online www.islandpacket.com/nation/opinion/story/613356.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the News and Observer www.newsobserver.com/2191/story/1222180.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the Tri-City Herald www.tri-cityherald.com/987/story/319794.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the Fresno Bee

www.fresnobee.com/644/story/874846.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the Bellingham Herald www.bellinghamherald.com/317/story/556696.html

published on September 17, 2008 in the Lake Wylie Pilot www.lakewyliepilot.com/435/story/152756.html

Power Vote 2008: An Introduction to Civic Engagement
New Guide for Korean American Voters

(Los Angeles, CA) In preparation for this historic election year, NAKASEC is proud to release its 2008 election guide: “Power Vote 2008: An Introduction to Civic Engagement.” This non-partisan bilingual resource provides information on the U.S. government, how the election process works, how a bill becomes law, the history of the Voting Rights Act, the different ways of voting, important election deadlines such as voter registration, and much more.

Aimed at voters young and old, new and experienced, the information presented is relevant to all those interested in the election process. Within the Korean American community, 78% are foreign born and 76% prefer to speak Korean in their homes; hence a bilingual election guide is critical in ensuring that our constituents are educated and confident to participate in the voting process.

For the first time, the election guide will include a directory of community-based organizations working to civically engage Korean American voters. These ten partner organizations are located in nine states across the nation and will be distributing over 26,000 election guides to their constituents. They are:

• Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote in Detroit, MI;
• Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center in Washington, D.C.;
• Center for Pan Asian Community Services in Doraville, GA;
• Georgia Asian Pacific Islander Community Coalition (GAAPICC) based in Doraville, GA;
• Korean American Association in Houston, TX;
• Korean American Citizens League in Portland, OR;
• Korean American Resource and Cultural Center in Chicago, IL [NAKASEC affiliate];
• Korean Community Service Center in Gaithersburg, MD and Riverdale, MD and Annandale,VA;
• Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles, CA [NAKASEC affiliate]; and
• Korean Women’s Association in Tacoma, WA

“We are very excited to be partnering with community organizations working on the ground to engage and activate the Korean American community for the upcoming November elections. Communities from all different backgrounds will be turning out to vote in record numbers, and the Korean American community will not be ignored; we are a growing electorate and it is critical to mobilize our constituents so that our issues and needs are addressed,” said EunSook Lee, executive director of NAKASEC.

For more information and to obtain a free copy of the guide, please visit nakasec.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/nakasec-power-vote.pdf or contact HyunJoo Lee at hlee@nakasec.org or 323-937-3703.

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While the number of persons naturalized in 2007 is lower than in 2006, the number of naturalization applications doubled from 730,000 in 2006 to 1,380,000 in 2007.

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/statistics/publications/natz_fr_07.pdf

July 3, 2008

INFLUENCE OF ASIAN AMERICAN VOTERS INCREASING IN STATE, U.S.

ELECTIONS

Letisia Marquez, lmarquez@support.ucla.edu, 310-206-3986

The growing electoral clout of Asian Americans could play an important role in the upcoming presidential election, but still more can be done to increase voter registration and citizenship rates among this population, UCLA researchers say in newly issued report.

“Super Tuesday of the 2008 presidential primary was a milestone in the emergence of Asian Americans as a factor in American politics,” said report co-author Paul Ong, a UCLA professor of urban planning and Asian American studies. “National news outlets discussed and analyzed California’s Asian American voters, who helped Senator Hillary Clinton win the Democratic vote.”

“That momentum has to continue as we move into the heat of the presidential election season, and the most crucial way to do that is by increasing the number of Asian American voters,” he said.

“Awakening the New ‘Sleeping Giant’? Asian American Political Engagement,” prepared by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, the University of California Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Multi-Campus Research Program, and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, charts Asian American electoral trends in the context of population growth, demographics and immigration status and highlights the challenges of translating Asian Americans’ growing numbers into strength at the polls.

According to the report, which is based on 2006 U.S. census figures, Asian Americans make up nearly 5 percent of the U.S. population, with the highest percentages in Hawaii (56.4), California (13.4) and New Jersey (7.9). Seven additional states have Asian American populations of 5 percent or greater.

The report also notes that the Asian American population is primarily an immigrant one — roughly 61 percent of Asian Americans are non-native born. Yet the Asian American population is diverse enough that while immigrants constitute a small minority of the population in Hawaii, they make up 75 percent of the Asian American population in California.

“This difference can influence the political issues that Asian Americans are most concerned about, because Asian immigrants and U.S.-born citizens have different concerns,” said Ong, who noted that immigrants may be more concerned with immigration issues and educational opportunities for students with limited English-language skills than native-born Asian Americans.

Nationally, a majority of Asian immigrants — more than 57 percent — have acquired citizenship, and the rate of naturalization continues to increase each year, the report notes. However, there is still a substantial minority who are not citizens, and naturalization rates tend to be lower outside the West Coast, so there is still room for improvement. Additionally, some of those who do become citizens report difficulty in registering to vote, either because they do not know how or because of language problems, the report says.

Despite these barriers, said Gautam Dutta, executive director of the Asian American Action Fund, the UCLA analysis signals that Asian Americans can play a critical role in the 2008 presidential election, as they have in state contests.

In addition to helping Hillary Clinton in California, where 71 percent of Asian American voters, who represent an estimated 12 percent of the state’s electorate, cast ballots for the former first lady, Asian Americans have played a pivotal role in other nationally significant contests.

In 2006, for instance, 76 percent of Virginia’s Asian American and Pacific Islander voters went for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Webb, Dutta said. Webb’s win helped tip the balance in the Senate in favor of the Democrats.

“Without their votes, Senator Webb would not have pulled off his razor-thin, upset victory over former Senator George Allen, and the Democrats would not have retaken the United States Senate,” said Dutta, who represents a group that works to increase the number of Asian American elected officials. “Similarly, the Democratic presidential nominee cannot win the major battleground states without the Asian American vote.”

Alice Mong, executive director of Committee of 100, an influential Chinese American nonprofit organization, said the report reveals the impact Asian Americans can have on Election Day and how their electoral power has global implications.

“Although Asian Americans are only 5 percent of the population in the U.S., Asian Americans have links to more than 60 percent of the world’s population through our ethnicity, culture and roots,” Mong said. “It is vital that we play our role and exercise our civic duty as Americans to become informed voters.”

The report — the first update to an in-depth 2006 UCLA study of California’s Asian American population — is available at: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/archives/SleepingGiantBrief_070208.pdf

Contacts:
Yong Ho Kim, KRC, 323.937.3718 (Korean, Spanish)
Sookyung Oh, NAKASEC, 267.334.5918 (English)

A Gift to “Aspiring Americans”
Korean Americans to promote immigrant integration
in celebration of Independence Day

(Los Angeles, CA) On July 11th and 12th, the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and the Korean Resource Center (KRC) will be celebrating Independence Day with two immigrant integration events – a voter registration drive held at a naturalization ceremony and a citizenship application clinic.

“Independence Day presents more than an opportunity to celebrate America’s birthday with fireworks. Drawing from our country’s rich history of advancing full participation and representation, we are proud to mobilize Korean Americans to join other immigrant communities to promote two worthy national efforts: Building America Together and the We Are America Alliance. Efforts that seek to integrate, rather than isolate, such as voter registration drives and citizenship clinics, are a potent antidote to heightened anti-immigrant sentiment,” stated EunSook Lee, Executive Director at NAKASEC.

“On July 11th, we will be there at the Los Angeles Convention Center where the naturalization ceremony will take place to celebrate with the thousands of immigrants who have waited very patiently to become citizens and to encourage them to take advantage of all the rights of U.S. citizens, including the full ability to have your voice heard through voting. It is imperative that citizen members of our community vote to hold our elected officials accountable, ensuring that reasonable and workable policies are introduced. The next day, a citizenship clinic will be held so that more members of our community who are eligible to become citizens receive the help they need. Citizenship and the right to vote are two interwoven elements of being an American, and we are excited for the opportunity to be working with the Korean American community to celebrate Independence Day and the values that make this nation unique,” stated Dae Joong Yoon, Executive Director at KRC.

Planned Events
What: VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE AFTER NATURALIZATION CEREMONY
Date: Friday, July 11, 2008
Time: 9:00am – 4:00pm
Location: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa Center, Los Angeles, CA
Partners: Mobilize Immigrant Vote (MIV)

What: NATURALIZATION CLINIC
Date: Saturday, July 12, 2008
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: 1102 Crenshaw Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
Partners: Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA)
###

Contact: HyunJoo Lee, 323.937.3703, ext. 202

Helping Our Communities Vote
NEW Civic Engagement & Voter Empowerment Resource Available

(Los Angeles, CA) On June 20, 2008, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) released the “2008 Glossary of Election Terms,” which contains thousands of terms and phrases used in the administration of elections. The EAC invited the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC), the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC), and the Korean Resource Center to translate the entire guide into Korean.

“NAKASEC was happy to be a part of this national effort that will promote Korean American and Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) civic engagement & voter empowerment. Translated educational materials are critical in ensuring that our community members can fully participate,” stated HyunJoo Lee, National Organizing Coordinator, NAKASEC.

To obtain a copy:
1) Go to: www.eac.gov/voter/language-accessibility-program-1
(Other languages that are available include: Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, Tagalog, &Vietnamese)

2) Call toll free to Edgardo Cortes or Laiza Otero at 1-866-747-1571 for a physical copy.

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Note: According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 1.6 million citizens over age 18 speak an Asian or Pacific Island language at home and English less than “very well.” Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act requires jurisdictions with large minority language populations (including Hispanic and Native Alaskan and American Indian) to provide translated voting materials, such as registration notices and ballots.