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December 2006 Newsletter December 2006 Vol. 11. No. 1 MAKA Minnesota Association for Korean Americans Annual Newsletter MAKA Mission Statement MAKA was formed in 1995 as the Mothers Association for Korean Americans to serve the young Korean American community in Minnesota. In recognition of it primarily serving the state of Minnesota and, more importantly, the significant service of fathers in the organization, it was officially renamed the Minnesota Association for Korean Americans at the end of 2006. Its unchanged mission is: To promote and encourage young Korean Americans to learn about and take pride in Korean Culture. MAKA seeks to achieve its Mission by: ** Providing scholarships and grants to deserving young Korean Americans ** Facilitating connections and ties between the Korean community and the Korean adoptive community
MAKA welcomes anyone interested in advancing our goals to joins us. For further information, please contact President: Mrs. Hyun Sook Han (651-493-7911). Web page: www.imaka.org We appreciate any contributions and involvement. MAKA is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)3 charity organization. ______________________________________________________________________________________
MAKA Officers Hyun Sook Han: President Beth Brody: Secretary John Palmer: Treasurer Brian Boyd: Exec Vice Pres Cheryl Haley: Exec Vice Pres Misuk Palmer: Exec Vice Pres
Board of Directors Brian Boyd Beth Brody Suni Chun Kim Dalros Hyun Sook Han Cheryl Heley Sue Kim Mary Kwon Patty O’Neill Misuk Palmer John Palmer Mary Lou Peterson Jai M. Suh Shinjae Suh
Newsletter: Libby Pomeroy
Advisers Dave Kim Mark K. Kim Sandie Kim Sung Kyu Kim Youngsun Kim H. Phoebe Moon James Olson Libby Pomroy Dave Redmond
Scholarship Selection Committee Patty O’Neill: President Beth Brody Kim Dalros Sue Kim Mary Kwon. Jung Kyu Lee Jan Parkman, Shinjae Suh Kim Allgor: Secretary . News from the Scholarship Selection Committee .
ixteen applicants from the high school class of 2007 were selected to receive a college scholarship. The winners were selected for their excellence in academics, extra curricular activities and community involvement. Two MAKA sponsored and fourteen individually sponsored scholarships will be awarded. However, the awards this year were determined in a slightly different way. The top scoring male and female applicants will receive $1500 each. All others will receive the normal $1000 each. MAKA will provide the added $500 for the two top scoring students. All the students will be honored along with their families at our yearly event, Celebrating Tomorrow, in February of 2007 (See notes on Celebrating Tomorrow 2006 below). Over the last twelve years, we have received an increase in the number and quality of scholarship applicants. One hundred and sixty one deserving students have been recognized with a total of $141,000 since our founding. Our sincere thanks to all of you who have made these scholarships possible through your generous support and commitment to MAKA. MAKA extends its warmest congratulations to each student. At the same time, we proudly announce the previous class of 2006 scholar’s college choices. We wish all of them the best of luck. Scholarship Recipients for the Class of 2007
College Choices for the Class of 2006
1Notes on 2005 - 2006 MAKA Events1 [ Celebrating Tomorrow-2005MAKA’s annual event, Celebrating Tomorrow, was held at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel on December 18, 2005. This gathering celebrates the coming together of Korean American families, scholarship winners and our valued patrons. As in previous years, local Korean American artists provided the entertainment for the evening. A special trio with Sarah Kwak on violin, Beth Rapier on Cello and Timothy Lovelace on piano played several lovely pieces. This was followed by vocalist MiKyung Park, who sang several songs accompanied by Minjung Kim on piano. As a finale before the actual dinner, the Chang Mi Korean Dancers provided a beautiful example of traditional Korean Dance in costume with drums. After dinner and award of the scholarships, a delightful change of pace was provided by jazz singer Kimberly Michaels who was accompanied by keyboardist, Tony Axtell. It was an evening full of great talent enjoyed by all. Mr. Ed Heil was our most able Master of Ceremonies. Kim Dalros gave the Mentor Speech, a most inspiring and well done presentation. Patty O’Neill, chair of the Scholarship Committee, announced the awarding of the individual scholarships. This year an art show with selected pieces for sale replaced the silent auction that has been conducted in years past. Paintings, sculptures, pottery and drawings by several local artists were displayed in a most inviting arrangement. Several items were sold with a percentage going to MAKA. The evening brought almost $1000 in proceeds for the scholarship fund. As a special part of the dinner itself, a PowerPoint slide show of the past eleven years of MAKA history was shown for guests to enjoy as they ate. After dinner, as the awards were announced, a picture of each student was projected as they came forward to accept their scholarship. Also, a poster, with photo and background history, was placed on display for each scholarship recipient and presented to them afterwards. We would like to thank all of you who participated in Celebrating Tomorrow. It is only through your support that MAKA can carry out its mission to our youth. Mark your calendars for this year’s Celebrating Tomorrow on Sunday, February 11, 2007 at the Minneapolis Hilton Hotel. Look for your invitation at the end of January 2007. Please note that we have decided to delay the annual celebration until two months into the next year. This change was made to overcome concerns over the proximity to Christmas and crowded holiday season that we have endured in the past. [ Celebrating Tomorrow-2006 (2007)MAKA members are working hard to make the 12th MAKA Celebrating Tomorrow a special success. This year there will again be no auction but, instead, a display of works by several Korean artists. These works will again be for sale with a percentage going to MAKA. The MAKA recipe jewel box prepared by MAKA members will also be on sale again this year. This is a clear compact disc case holding twelve recipes with pictures and calendars. The event will be held on Sunday, February 11th, 2007 at the Minneapolis Hilton. The program will feature performances by several outstanding Korean musicians including Young-Nam Kim, well known violinist, and Kimberly Michaels, Jazz singer and recording artist. The Chang Mi dance group will again grace us with a demonstration of traditional Korean dance with drums. Look for all the details in our invitation at the end of January 2007. You will also find a reservation form on page 8 of this newsletter. (Please Note: We have changed the timing for the annual celebration from the traditional pre Christmas date to after New Years in February. This was done specifically to overcome concerns over the crowded schedule most people experience over the holidays. Assuming this change works out well, it will become the norm for the future. Please let us know what you think!) [ MAKA annual Meeting The 2006 Annual Meeting and Social was held on 3 November and was hosted this year at her home by MAKA Secretary, Beth Brody. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the excellent appetizers (elegantly prepared as usual by several of the members). Attendance was excellent and a good time enjoyed by all. [ Board of Directors and Selection Committee Meetings A members meeting was held in conjunction with and just before the fall social gathering noted above. At this meeting, the new Board of Directors members were selected, as listed at the beginning of this newsletter. The Selection Committee met on 18 August at the Shilla Restaurant in St Paul. Sixteen students were selected to receive scholarships. The top two scoring students will receive $1500 and the remainder $1000 each. [ Election of Officers Immediately following the annual MAKA meeting on 3 November, the newly elected Board of Directors members met and selected the new MAKA officers for the coming year. Mrs. Hyun Sook Han was selected as President but will also be assisted by three executive Vice Presidents – Misuk Palmer, Brian Boyd and Cheryl Haley. This new arrangement will help to reduce the individual workload involved in running the organization, especially in the preparation of Celebrating Tomorrow. John Palmer was selected as treasurer and Beth Brody was reelected as secretary through the end of 2008. The Board also decided to reduce the annual dues for membership to a minimum of $5. That is, any amount will be accepted and acknowledged as the individual desires but the minimum necessary for voting privileges will be $5. MAKA contributors for 2005-2006 Individuals
Organizations
The sign of * behind the above names indicates individual scholarship sponsors. You too can be an individual sponsor by donating $500 or more per year.
ab Student Essay By Sarah Limper I have always been an extremely curious person. When I was four, my mother was pregnant with my sister. I knew everything about the process of pregnancy. Sometimes when I asked my parents questions, even they could not provide all of my answers. One of the things that I have been most curious about is my background and my native culture. I am an adopted Korean-American. I was adopted when I was four months old, and have been trying to learn about my heritage by attending Korean culture camps since I was very young. When I first started attending Korean culture camps, I did not realize why I was really there. I just played games and sang Korean songs, just like all of the other Korean-American children. As I grew older, I started to see that camp was more of a place for me to identify with other Korean-Americans and to learn about my homeland. I am no longer able to attend these camps, but I recently completed a detailed sociology project about Korea. For this project, I was required to create a presentation that provided a detailed description of the many different aspects of Korean life and culture. I put my entire heart and soul into this project, and it turned out to be quite exceptional, because I had many resources about Korea and because it helped me connect to my own roots. Since then, I have gained a new respect for my birth culture, and I continue to look for more opportunities to learn anything that I can about Korea and the Korean people. Unlike some parents, my mother and father decided to tell me as soon as possible about my adoption. They felt that it was very important for me to know about Korea and that I should not feel bad about being from a different heritage than they were. Naturally, as soon as I was able to understand the concept of adoption, I wanted to know who my biological parents were and what they looked like. My supportive parents agreed to undertake a search for my birth mother. I was so excited; I would finally have a picture of my Korean mother. Months later, my parents received news that the adoption agency was unable to make contact with my birth mother. When I learned this news, I was completely devastated. 1 thought she was dead. For unknown reasons, I displaced my anger on my father. I refused to talk to him at all for a very long time. I believe I felt this way because, up until that point, he had always been able to solve any problem in my young life. Eventually, I realized that it was not his fault that we were not able to find my birth mother. My father and I again became close. Even though I was very young, I believe that not being able to find my birth mother was one of the toughest things that I have had to deal with so far in my life. As a child, it was difficult for me to grasp the fact that just because the adoption agency was unable to find my birth mother did not mean that she was not alive and well. At that time, I felt the biological attachment that I had to her. I may not have remembered her, but she gave birth to me after all. A few years ago my family made a trip to Seoul, South Korea and we were able to meet with my foster mother. It was such an amazing experience to be able to meet this woman who took care of me when I was young and vulnerable. before 1 was adopted by the wonderful parents that I have now. Looking back on the search for my birth mother, I can see why I was upset. All I had wanted was one picture and not being able to have it was like closing a special part of my life. I think that meeting my foster mother brought me to a place where I feel at peace about not knowing who my birth parents are. I know some adopted Koreans who were able to meet their birth family and who had brothers and sisters in Korea that they had not known of for years. Sometimes I think that I would like to find out that I have a Korean brother or sister somewhere that I have not met yet I feel that going to Korean camp has been such a great way for me to identify with other Koreans and to learn how to embrace the culture that I come from. I now know that my birth mother made an adoption plan for me because she loved me and wanted the best for me. Most of all, I know that she would want me to include my Korean heritage into my life every day. I look forward to my next visit to the land of the Morning Calm By Daniel Kim The greatest obstacle that I have had to face is one that I am still trying to overcome. The obstacle is the limitations that I set for myself through personal fear and the want to give up. My life revolves around high standards that my Korean parents placed for me. Being minorities in a dominating place such as the United States, we must work harder than the majority to achieve the American dream of being successful. My parents immigrated here to America to make a better life, to live to our fullest potential. That is why there are high expectations that I must achieve by overcoming my inner obstacles of fear of failure and surrender. When I first came to the United States, I was not only faced with a culture shock of how radically different America was to Korea, but I was also faced with the different language. Language is the main aspect that defines human beings; it allows us to communicate our thoughts as well as to grow in character. Oliver Wendell Holmes stated, "Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow”. Language can be a powerful thing in society and can also be frightening. Just imagine yourself in a foreign land, a land with a totally different culture and society than what you were used to; a land where the buildings, way of living, and even people were radically different Then imagine trying to live in this land while failing to communicate with those around you; failing to express agreement or disapproval and even failing to ask simple questions such as, "Can 1 go to the bathroom?” This was exactly what I had to face during my early years in the United States and as you can envision, the difficulty of readjusting to the new culture and society of America was multiplied ten-fold by not knowing the native language. I was forced to adopt and overcome the new language of Eng1ish and along with it my inner obstacles that stood to prevent me. Stress, fear, want to give up, and low self-esteem were the inner obstacles that I faced while trying to defeat English. My peers made fun of me for not being able to speak English and I, since I could not communicate fully, was unable to defend myself. This constant abuse as well as the extra help I had to receive from the Language Teachers made me feel inferior and lowered my self-esteem. Stress was commonplace and I started to become depressed. The language seemed too confusing and too difficult to learn, I wanted to quit, but when I look back now I firmly believe that it was high self-motivation and self-discipline that allowed me to overcome the obstacle of language. As at first I was discouraged but, with consistent help from both my parents and teachers, I started to gain confidence. My parents, whose love has given me courage and comfort as well as Korean values of Korean history, want for education, never giving up, and knowing ones nationality, allowed me to realize that Korea will always be a big part of my life. This, along with the help from my teachers, I began to realize that, while others can help me open the door to success, it is my responsibility to step through. With great struggle and hard work I was able to, step by step, learn the language of English and start to overcome my inner obstacles. Through my struggle of overcoming my inner obstacles to learn the English language, I learned many things about myself during the process. I learned that I can accomplish anything through bard work and patience, that by overcoming tough struggles I can only get stronger. I see that now my English has gotten considerably better with persistent effort. I think back to when I felt I could not learn the language of English, that it was too hard and impossible; now I know that nothing is impossible. Learning the English language may have been an obstacle, but there are greater obstacles everyday in my inner self. I assume that I am still in the stage of overcoming the challenges of personal fear of failure and the want to give up, but I work rigorously everyday to face these barriers. Obstacles provide us with not only challenges that make us better but also are an indicator of all the things that we have accomplished. It is through our obstacles that we learn to become better people. From the numerous things I have learned overcoming obstacles in my life, it can all be summed up by a quote from the African American activist for equal rights, Booker T. Washington, "Success is to be measured not so much by position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome."
Student Essay By Arum Lim I was in front of the doctor, stunned by the news. 1 could not say anything to my family and friends, and I felt like I was the most miserable person in the world. All people looked so happy except me. Nothing helped me to raise my feelings. It was unbelievable news that I have a disease, and its name was Lupus. Lupus was the greatest obstacle in my life. The disease attacks the immune system of the human body, so that the human can become tired, and be more susceptible to viruses. Also, a human with Lupus needs to take a lot of medicines everyday, and the medicines can hurt the human body. Depending on the health condition of the individual, one can live as well as a regular person or he or she can die from it. When I had pain in my joints and knew that I had Lupus, I could not go to school, because I was really sick and became tired so easily. The first time I had pain in all of my joints and muscles, I could not walk longer than five minutes, and I could not even sleep. My family decided to go the U.S. because they thought that the U.S. has a better environment to study and treat my health condition. My father gave up his business in Korea and all of my family just decided to go the U.S. for me. I was sorry for my family that they gave up their lives in Korea. Since I have been here, I go to school and take medicine everyday. Sometimes I become really sick and lose a lot of weight when Lupus is active. However, I usually control my health condition well and my parents always care for me. I have learned many lessons from having this disease. For example, I learned how human life is important. When I entered the hospital about four years ago, there were a lot of patients who had worse pain than I in the hospital. A woman who was in the same room with me had cancer in her mouth and she had no teeth at all. I thought that I was not the most miserable person in the world at that time. Also, when I was in the hospital, I felt the love of my parents. They prayed for me everyday and sometimes I saw tears in their eyes. Since I found that I had Lupus, I feel that I am becoming closer to God. I pray a lot for myself and also for others who are in pain. Having Lupus has made me learn what is really valuable to me. Things such as the importance of life, the love of my parents and my relationship with God. I learned that I have to study and control my health condition more than the others, and I realized that I received a lot of care and love from other people. As a result, I will give all of my efforts to serve other people. With this scholarship, I am going to study chemistry and become a pharmacist. I want to support students who have diseases like me. I know that I am going to live my life very differently, but I will give all my effort as I want to help others who are sick and in pain.
Please join us For Celebrating Tomorrow - 2006MAKA (Minnesota Association for Korean Americans) invites you to an evening of dinner, cultural entertainment and some inspiring words to honor this year’s scholarship recipients. The entertainment will include several well known local Korean musicians, both classical and modern, as well as the Chang Mi dancers who will perform a program of traditional Korean dance. We welcome all families and friends who share a Korean-American heritage to help us in “Celebrating Tomorrow” as one. Time: 4:00 P.M. Sunday February 11th, 2007Place: Minneapolis Hilton Hotel Ball Room (1001 Marquette Avenue Minneapolis) Cost: $50.00 per person, $35.00 per student
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Name: __________________________ Tel. #: _______________________
Address:__________________________________________________________ ___ I would like to attend. Enclosed are my reservations and check for the tickets. Number of adults: ______ Number of students:______ ___ I am unable to attend, but enclosed is a check for a tax deductible donation to MAKA. $_______
· Make checks payable to MAKA and mail to: John Palmer 5101 62nd Street West Edina, MN 55436 · For further information and reservations: Hyun Sook Han, 651-493-7911
MAKA welcomes anyone interested in advancing our goals to join us. We appreciate all contributions and involvement. MAKA is a working partnership between all individuals of Korean heritage and their families. We especially invite families of children adopted from Korea to benefit from our services and participate in our activities. Complete the registration form and send it along with the $5 annual membership fee to help cover newsletter and mailing costs. Note: Membership fees are due by 1 February for the 2007 year and must be received for you to vote on issues at any member meetings. Thank you.
MAKA MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION Name: _________________________________ Phone: _______________________ Address: _______________________________ email: _______________________ __________________________ Zip: _______ The enclosed are my annual membership dues of $5.00 and an additional donation to MAKA of $____________. MAKA is a 501(c)3 charity. Individual donations are tax deductible. Mail to: MAKA c/o John Palmer, Treasurer 5101 62nd St W Edina, MN 55436
MAKA Minnesota Association for Korean Americans
P.O. Box 390553 Visit MAKA at our website – www.imaka.org - and keep up with events! |
