The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC, and 미주한인봉사교육단체협의회 or 미교협 in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean **Korean dialects **See also: North–South differences in t ...

) is a national service, advocacy and education organization for two

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

multi-issue

grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...

local community centers: the Korean American Resource & Cultural Center in Chicago and the Korean Resource Center in Los Angeles. NAKASEC is based in Los Angeles and a D.C. office opened in late 2008. NAKASEC was founded in 1994 by local community centers to project a national progressive voice and promote the full participation of Korean Americans as a part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change. NAKASEC was one of the major players in the Korean American community during the restoration movement after the welfare reform of 1996 through the "''Fix '96'' Campaign" and continues to be active in the

immigration reform Immigration reform is change to the current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, ''reform'' means "to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses". In the political sense, "immigratio ...

debate.

History

KRC along with other centers in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

and other cities, were established in the early 1980s by political activists who escaped South Korea after

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

's military leadership crushed the Gwangju People's Uprising in May 1980. From the onset, the center set as its goals the delivery of social services, community education, rights advocacy, and preservation and enrichment of traditional cultures and work on identity. During the 1980s, it focused its advocacy in solidarity work with the democratization movement of South Korea, exposing grave human rights violations committed by the Chun regime. Because of its open challenge to the then dictatorial state of South Korea, KRC was a target of covert repression and kidnap attempts by the

KCIA KCIA may refer to: Places * Kansas City International Airport, Missouri, United States * Kunming Changshui International Airport, Yunnan, China * King County International Airport, Washington, United States Organizations The Korean Central Inte ...

and the Korean Consulate. With the Los Angeles Civil Unrest of 1992 and the anti-immigrant wave that swept across California with Proposition 187 in 1994, KRC steered its direction to issues of the Korean American community in Los Angeles, particularly around political education, civil rights and the defense of immigrant rights. In 1994, KRC and other sister centers across the United States, including YKASEC in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

KRCC KRCC (91.5 FM) is a public radio station in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It is owned by Colorado College and operated by Colorado Public Radio. KRCC broadcasts non-commercial news/talk programming, mostly from National Public Radio (NPR) an ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, founded the National Korean American Service and Education Consortium (NAKASEC, 미주한인봉사교육단체협의회), a national civil rights organization with a progressive Korean American agenda. Under the leadership of NAKASEC, centers fought against Proposition 187, held community education on issues of race, and formed a broad coalition in the Korean American community against the Welfare Reform of 1996. Through a community fundraiser involving thousands of individuals, a full-page ad was posted in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' in 1997 demanding the president to end the attack on immigrants, and a campaign to restore welfare benefits for immigrants was launched in the late 1990s, winning back various benefits for lawful permanent residents and other immigrants. Many Korean American seniors became politicized during this struggle for benefits.Lee, Eun Sook. 200
The Political Awakening of Korean Americans
In Koreans in the Windy City: 100 Years of Korean Americans in the Chicago Area. Pp. 337-350. Hyock Chun, Kwang Chung Kim and Shin Kim, eds. New Haven, CT: East Rock Institute for the Centennial Publication Committee of Chicago. NAKASEC coordinated a national two-week fast for the passage of the

DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for illegal immigrants who entered the Unite ...

in 2004 with the participation of 700 individuals, and held a summer community fundraising campaign, gaining the monetary contribution of 14,000 individuals, to post a full-page ad in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and ''

'' urging the American public to support comprehensive immigration reform based on the principles of legalization of undocumented immigrants, an end to measures that prevented many families to be together, and the defense of workers' rights and

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

& liberties.

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center

The Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (KRCC for short, and 한인교육문화 마당집 or 마당집 in Korean) was founded in March 1995. KRCC has a strong youth program and leadership has worked broadly in a multi-racial and multi-ethnic environment. KRCC is member of a number of local coalitions, including the Coalition of Asian, African, Arab, European and Latino Immigrants of Illinois and the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

Korean Resource Center

The Korean Resource Center (KRC for short, and 민족학교 in

) is a non-profit multi-issue, multi-mode

organization based in

Koreatown A Koreatown (), also known as a Little Korea or Little Seoul, is a Korean-dominated ethnic enclave within a city or metropolitan area outside the Korean Peninsula. History Koreatowns as an East Asian ethnic enclave have only been in existence s ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

that works with the

Korean American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

and low-income

people of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

communities of Los Angeles. It was one of the major players in the Korean American community during the restoration movement after the welfare reform of 1996 through the "''Fix '96'' Campaign" and more recently in issues of access to health services and

. During the late 1990s and early 2000s KRC diversified its rights advocacy component into specialized programs that addressed

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

immigrant rights Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short-t ...

and

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

. KRC was part of the March 25th Marches with a million protestors in downtown Los Angeles as well as other

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

. NAKASEC joined other labor, faith, and rights organizations in Southern California to form the We Are America Coalition, which mobilized hundreds of thousands of immigrants and allies in the May Day March. KRC has traditionally been supported by the Korean American community in its entirety and relied on small size individual donations, sales of used cans and garage sales to sustain its programs. A recent trend has been to rely more on foundation grants, but its tradition of community support is alive in its campaign fundraisers as well as its continuance of can and garage sales.

Community Groups

KRC has a very strong and large senior age base because of its work with welfare rights and social services. KRC's anniversary booklet claims that KRC served over 5,000 Korean Americans free of charge during 2006, mostly through education and enrollment of

Medicare Part D Medicare (United States), Medicare Part D, also called the Medicare prescription drug benefit, is an optional United States federal-government program to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for self-administered prescription drugs. Part D was enact ...

as well as

Medi-Cal The California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal or MediCal) is the California implementation of the federal Medicaid program serving low-income individuals, including families, seniors, persons with disabilities, children in foster care, preg ...

, low-income legal and tax services,

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

, etc. Many seniors are active in all of KRC's components. KRC runs its own poongmul troupe, called HanNuRi (traditional Korean peasant percussion music), and educates the community through its poongmul classes. KRC's poongmul troupe has become renowned in the activist community through its performance in rallies and cultural events.

References

External links

NAKASEC Website

Korean American Resource & Cultural Center (Chicago) Website

Korean Resource Center (Los Angeles) Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Korean American Service and Education Consortium Organizations established in 1994 Organizations established in 1983 Organizations established in 1995 Civic and political organizations of the United States Immigrant rights organizations in the United States Immigrant services organizations Korean-American organizations Non-profit organizations based in California Cultural centers in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Political advocacy groups in Chicago Cultural centers in Chicago Academic and educational organizations in Chicago Heritage organizations in Illinois