Recap of CKA 2019: Feeling Our Impact​

2019 was an amazing journey for the Council of Korean Americans. We started the year with fresh leadership and a renewed mission of empowering Korean American leaders for greater effectiveness and impact. Our goal is to be a national voice that represents and protects the interests of the Korean American community.

In the past year, CKA has hosted 25 member gatherings, 11 executive dinners, envision retreats in Bozeman and Napa Valley, elevate training with AAJA New York and Storybrand, 9 public service interns in DC, NYC, and Seoul. We have also connected over Empower Summit 400 leaders, visited over 21 cities across the country, conducted 10 podcast interviews with Korean American leaders, and accepted 27 new members for a year-end total of 240 members.

After more than sixty programs across the country, CKA has made great strides toward these goals. Meeting with community leaders and hearing your life stories have been one of the most meaningful parts of our job this year.

Our community is one of movers and shakers — Korean Americans are trailblazers in the fields of law, business, non-profit, technology, politics, finance, and media. The secret? Hard grit and hustle inherited from 1st generation Korean Americans coupled with a hard-earned education and good ol’ Korean creativity.

But despite much progress in our communities, many of us still face professional and societal hurdles. Unfortunately, there is still work to be done in leveling the playing field for Asian Americans. We need to do a better job of working together to break those barriers and ensure a better future for the leaders of tomorrow.

There are many crucial challenges and conversations that we need to address within the Korean American community. Civic engagement, citizenship, mental health, elderly care and race relations— our community is making good headway in these areas but there’s still a ways to go.

With these lessons in mind, I invite you to reflect upon CKA’s many programs and outreach in 2019. We’ve outlined these notable activities across the country below and in case you missed it, here’s an overview video of CKA’s mission.

We would like to sincerely thank all of you who have supported us throughout the 2019 year. 

To our donors, partners, members, and supporters — our success would not be possible without passionate individuals like you!

With your continued support, together we can create a grand impact on 2020. If you wish to be part of this legacy and contribute to our cause, click here to visit our page and donate!

Thank you,

Abraham Kim, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Council of Korean Americans