"Rekindling the Spirit to Forge Our Tomorrow" is the theme of the 12th annual Korean-American Students Conference (KASCON XII) being cohosted by Yale and Wesleyan universities Thursday-Sunday, March 26-29. The conference will be held on the Yale campus and at the Omni New Haven Hotel.
Since its inception in 1987, KASCON has sought to unify and empower the Korean-American community. More than 10,000 students from 200 colleges and universities around the country have participated in the organization's conferences over the years. This year's meeting is expected to draw about 1,000 students.
"KASCON XII will grapple with important issues," says Eugene Auh '99 of Calhoun College, who is codirector of KASCON XII with Mark Im '98 of Wesleyan. Discussion topics will range from "Economic Problems in Korea" to "Interracial Dating" to "Building a More Responsible Korean Students Association."
This year's gathering will feature a new event, the Korean-American Exhibition, featuring displays by Korean student and non-student organizations about how to become more active in the Korean-American community. The event, which is designed to develop lines of communication between schools and Korean-American communities, will be held on Saturday, March 28, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in University Commons, corner of College and Grove streets.
Also highlighting the conference will be talks by three noted individuals: K.W. Lee, considered the "dean of Asian-American journalism"; Steve Park, a Korean-American actor; and Pyong Gap Min, professor of sociology at Queens College in New York.
Lee is president of the Korean-American Journalists Association, which is affiliated with the Sacramento Union newspaper in California. He has promoted the Asian-American political voice on the West Coast since the late 1950s. His talk will take place at 10 a.m. on Friday, March 27, in the main ballroom of the Omni New Haven Hotel, 155 Temple St.
Park has appeared on the television series "In Living Color" and "Friends" as well as in the movies "Fargo" and "Falling Down." He will speak on "Non-Traditional Korean Professions" on Friday, March 27, (time to be announced) in Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall, corner of Prospect and Grove streets. Park will also participate in the plenary session on Saturday, March 28, 10-11:30 a.m. in University Commons.
Min is the author of the books "Changes and Conflicts: Korean Immigrant Families in New York City," "Caught in the Middle: Korean Merchants in America's Multi-Ethnic Cities" and "Give Me Back My Youth: The Korean Victims of Sexual Slavery and the Redress Movement in Korea" (forthcoming), among others. He will speak Saturday during closing ceremonies beginning at
4:45 p.m. in Battell Chapel, corner of College and Elm streets.
There is a registration fee for the conference. Information about registration and more details about the program are available at the KASCON web page, www.kascon.com.
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