Mission Statement

The Korean American Coalition (KAC) is a non-profit, non-partisan, community advocacy organization. Established in 1983, its mission is to facilitate the Korean American community's participation in civic, legislative, and community affairs, encouraging the community to contribute to and become an integral part of American society.

Objectives

  • To be an effective bilingual advocate for the Korean American community by articulating community concerns and interests and establishing channels of communication with elected officials, private and public agencies, other community organizations, media and the general public.
  • To promote and advocate the civil and civic rights interests of Korean Americans, increasing civic and legislative awareness and the general social consciousness of the Korean American community.
  • To be an informational resource and referral for and about the Korean American community.
  • To maintain networks of communication and cooperation between KAC and other organizations in the Korean American community as well as with organizations representing other racial and ethnic communities.
  • To maintain a viable working organization composed of first, second, and third generation Korean Americans.
  • To organize and implement leadership development programs encouraging Korean American students to become capable leaders in community and civic affairs.

History

Early Roots

Incorporated as a non-profit in 1983, KAC advocates for the interests of the 1.5 million strong Korean American community. As recent immigrants and members of an ethnic minority group, Korean Americans face many barriers in their pursuit of full and meaningful participation in American society. KAC was established to serve as the vehicle to overcome those obstacles.

KAC's priorities have remained untouched since inception: advocacy, empowerment, outreach, organization, education and a multi-generational collaboration. As a bilingual and non-partisan membership organization, KAC has been able to bridge the inter-generational gap and galvanize multi-generations of Korean Americans into taking action.

Organizational Growth

One of the major turning points in KAC's history was the 1992 Los Angeles Riots when KAC emerged as the voice of the Korean American community. KAC represented concerns of the community that had been devastated by inner-city violence to the mainstream media, elected officials, and government agencies. With a $500,000 grant from New York Life Insurance Company, KAC provided relief assistance for affected businesses and increased advocacy efforts on behalf of the underrepresented and underserved Korean immigrant community. Since then, KAC has strived to expand its reach and capacity to address rapidly growing community needs and become the voice of all Korean Americans.

Milestones

Throughout the years, KAC has developed various programs aimed at empowering and educating the community. Over the course of more than 20 years, KAC has registered more than three fourths of Korean American voters, processed nearly 30,000 citizenship applications; coordinated forums, seminars, workshops on legislative, political and social issues; has sponsored over 200 college internships; and graduated more than 800 college students through the leadership conference. KAC has also continued to develop relations with media, government agencies, and elected officials. In addition, KAC has developed and maintained collaborative partnerships with the leaders of other ethnic communities

National Expansion

In 1993, KAC took its first step towards national representation, beginning with the Cerritos Chapter. It would take another four arduous years for this dream to begin to take shape with the addition of an office in Washington D.C. and the launch of three chapters in Sacramento, South Bay and Orange County. Shortly thereafter, the KAC expanded its national network to include chapters in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, San Francisco, Colorado, Chicago, Cerritos City, Los Angeles, Dallas Fort Worth, and Atlanta; with affiliate organizations in Seattle, New Jersey/New York and Houston. And we are happy to announce that Austin, Texas will also be joining us as our latest chapter. Currently, KAC is working with leaders in Boston, Kansas City, Miami, New York City, Portland, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City to establish new chapter charters.