Empowering Education: Korea-America Education and Culture Foundation Welcomes New Director in Exclusive Seattle Gathering
Director Lee Yong-wook explains the significance and goals of opening the Seattle Korean Education Center and asks for cooperation
Jennifer Son, President of Seattle-Bellevue Integrated Korean School, informs of the opening of the kindergarten
The Korean American Educational and Cultural Foundation (Chairperson Jennifer Sohn), which operates the Seattle and Bellevue Integrated Korean Schools, held a welcome meeting on the 12th in Bellevue to welcome the new director of the Seattle Korean Education Center, Yong-Wook Lee, who is opening for the first time in 25 years.
The meeting was attended by Director Lee Yong-wook and Consul Park Gyeong-ho of the Seattle Consulate General, and from the foundation, Chairman Jennifer Son, Vice Chairman Chae Yang-sik and Lee Jeong-hoon, and Directors Byeon Jong-hye, Kim Jae-hoon, and Jeong Eun-goo.
Newly appointed Director Lee Yong-wook explained the significance and purpose of establishing the Seattle Korean Education Center under the Ministry of Education, and expressed his aspirations for its operating principles and future plans, requesting active cooperation from the Korean community and the Korea-America Education and Culture Foundation.
In relation to this, we heard various opinions from participants about the educational goals of the Korean Education Center and the Integrated Korean School, and agreed on the common goal of establishing a Korean identity through education in Korean language, Korean history, and Korean culture.
Jennifer Sohn, the director of the Korea-America Education and Cultural Heritage Foundation, gave an overview of the current status of the Integrated Korean School, which is currently operating on two campuses in Bellevue and Seattle, and also announced the opening of a kindergarten affiliated with the Integrated Korean School, which has been in the works for a long time. She also announced plans to invite officials from the Consulate General and the Education Foundation to the opening ceremony scheduled for late September or early October.
Chairman Son also explained the current status of the Unified Korean School, difficulties in its operation, and the mid- to long-term development plan, and reaffirmed the role of the Consulate General Education Center as a stakeholder directly involved in the establishment of the Unified Korean School and the Korea-US Education and Culture Foundation, and requested active cooperation and support.
To increase the understanding of the new director of the institute, Director Byeon Jong-hye, who led the establishment of the integrated Korean school and foundation 28 years ago as the preparatory committee chairperson together with the Korean community, religious circles, and the Consulate General’s institute, gave a brief explanation.
In the course of this discussion, the Unified Korean School and the Korea-America Education and Culture Foundation made it clear that their ultimate goal is to grow and develop from the current weekend school into a regular school that offers full-day classes during the week with a curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education. In particular, they proposed to pursue this goal together with the Korean Education Center.
The director of the education center expressed surprise at the long-term goals set by the Korea-America Educational and Cultural Foundation, paid tribute to the efforts and ambitious goals of the Unified Korean School and the Korea-America Educational and Cultural Foundation, and asked many questions about the methodology for pursuing the goals to increase understanding.
Participants reported that this was an important moment for the Integrated Korean School, which was founded to support the next generation of Korean-Americans growing up in American society, and the Korean-American Education and Culture Foundation, to concretize their common goals with the Korean Cultural Center and pledge to work together.
Meanwhile, Director Yoon Bu-won, who is visiting Korea to attend the overseas regional meeting of the Democratic Peace Unification Advisory Council, is reported to have expressed regret for not being able to attend the meeting with the new director of the education center and paid for his meal.