|
|
Mission Statement
“The mission of the Northwest Korean Culture Society is to provide opportunities to learn about and experience Korean culture, to seek understanding in issues of race and adoption, and to promote cross-cultural friendships.”
The Northwest Korean Culture Society is a non-profit organization devoted to the promotion of the Korean culture. NKCS, as a community of people with an interest in Korea, maintains a strong commitment to seek understanding in racial issues, to provide education in Korean history and culture, and to build cross-cultural friendships.
The mission of the NKCS is to provide opportunities to experience all facets of Korean culture through our community-wide events, our newsletter, and the promotion of language and culture classes. NKCS encourages pride in being Korean, an appreciation of Korean heritage, and the open and respectful discussion of racial issues important to all Korean-Americans.
The objectives of the Northwest Korean Culture Society are:
• To serve American families with roots in Korea, adoptive families with children born in Korea, and others with an interest in Korea, by providing activities for children, adults, and family groups.
• To provide opportunities to learn about Korean customs, culture, traditions, history, holidays and observances, food, literature and oral traditions, music, dance, arts and crafts, martial arts, everyday living, and current events and politics.
• To provide opportunities to learn to speak, read and write the Korean language.
• To provide opportunities to meet and socialize with individuals and families who have an interest in or a connection to Korean culture.
• To provide opportunities to celebrate Korean holidays and observances.
• To provide opportunities to discuss issues related to race and adoption in contemporary American culture.
• Through all its activities, to promote respect for Korean culture and pride in being both Korean and American.
Our Past
Jane will add.
Past NKCS Presidents:
Ellen Worcester (insert # of yrs as president)
Todd Kwapisz (insert # of yrs as president)
The Present
Jane will add.
Our Future
Jane will add.
Board of Directors
Jane Mauk – President
(add bio)
Michelle Lee – Treasurer
(add bio)
Jenny Lee – Editor
(add bio)
Miyoung Kim – Principal
(add bio)
Scott & Eun Ju Lee
(add bio)
Julianne Barclay
Julie was born and raised in a small town in Southern Oregon. After high school, she attended Oregon State University and graduated with a degree in Education and a second degree in Journalism. Julie taught for several years in Sherwood, Oregon before she “retired” to raise a family.
Julie and her husband, Jeff, are busy parents raising four children. Daughter Hannah was born in 1994 and son Nick was born in 1995. Julie and Jeff began pursuing a long time dream of adoption in 2001; then in 2002, welcomed their son Sam Jae-Bum from Korea. The Barclay family was complete until their adoption agency sent them a photo of a very sad and lost looking 7-year-old boy in Beijing, China. Julie wasn’t convinced that she could be the mom of four kids, but her husband looked at the picture and said, “this is our son.” Seven months later, Julie went to Beijing to bring home their fourth child, Zak Baoshan. Julie is excited to be a part of the NKCS board to show her commitment to Sam and the continuing process of teaching him his beautiful culture.
Tom Bikales & Lauren Kim
(add bio)
Culture
Calendar
e-Calendar
Look through our yearly calendar and see what we have to offer! As a community resource, other events hosted by local community organizations are also listed.
To post events to the calendar, please send an email to: president@nkcs.org AND treas@nkcs.org.
Events
Festivals (incl. bookmark)
4Kids (incl. bookmark)
Mini-Events (incl. bookmark)
Festivals:
Sol Nal Lunar New Year Festival – February 9, 2005
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with NKCS! 2005 marks the Year of the Rooster. Come learn to cook traditional Korean foods eaten during Sol Nal.
Date/Time: February 9, 2005
5:00-8:00pm
Location: Living Savior Lutheran Church
8740 SW Sagert Street
Tualatin, Oregon
Cost: Members: adults $8 / child $4
Non-members: adults $10 / child $5
Children under 4: FREE
Discount: Adults that pre-register before January 24th will receive $2.00 off admission, and children will receive $1.00 off.
Registration Form (link to PDF)
Chusok Harvest Moon Festival – September 2005
4Kids:
Theo’s Dol: Celebrating First Birthdays – May 2005
Location: Kingstad Meeting Center
Beaverton, Oregon
Mini-Events:
Do you want to learn to cook yummy Korean food? Do you have stacks of photos that you need to put into scrapbooks? Do you just want to meet new people? Try something new and creative! NKCS is offering two quarterly events to help you expand your horizons. Space is limited, so register early!
Creating Lifebooks
Date & Time: March 12, 2005 | 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Instructor: Julie Barclay
Cost: $2.00
RSVP: Required. Limited to the first 15 people that register. An e-mail confirmation will be sent to all registrants with location information. Please e-mail Julie at jbarcla@earthlink.net to reserve your spot!
Julie Barclay has been busy at work. She’s been making lifebooks for her four children. Her latest is for her adopted son, Sam, who is from Korea. Come learn how to start your scrapbook project, or just get some new and creative ideas from others! Pictures are truly memories of the past, so get them out of the photo box and into scrapbooks! It’s quite soothing to explore your creative side. No experience necessary.
Not-So-Instant Ramen Party!
Date & Time: April 2005
Location: Beaverton, Oregon.
Hosts: Lauren Kim & Michelle Lee
Cost: Free
RSVP: Required. Limited to the first 6 people that register. An email notification will be sent to attendees with location information. Please email Michelle at treas@nkcs.org to reserve your spot!
Want to know the taste of traditional ramen noodles? The oldest, most traditional ramen from Korea has been delivered to Michelle Lee, NKCS Treasurer. If you’d like, you can bring your own childhood (or adulthood) favorite ramen. Besides the traditional ramen, it’s a great way to meet other people and watch a Korean film.
Membership
NKCS awaits your membership! Support the only Korean cultural arts program in Oregon by becoming a member.
Full Members – $25/year
ß Receive a printed newsletter in the mail
ß Special discounted rates at NKCS-sponsored events
ß Receive event information by e-mail
ß Membership privileges
ß Tax-deductible
e-Members – $10/year
ß Receive our electronic newsletter (in PDF)
ß Special discounted rates at NKCS-sponsored events
ß Receive event information by e-mail
ß Membership privileges
Friends – Free
Only receive event information by e-mail
Membership Form (PDF)
Please download, print and mail in the membership form.
Payment options:
[1] PayPal – online payment option
[2] Check – Send a check payable to:
NKCS
17675 SW Farmington Road, PMB 362
Aloha, OR 97007
Volunteer
Of course we can use YOUR help! NKCS is a volunteer-run organization and our volunteers make up our people-power. Here’s how YOU can help:
ß Administrative
ß Board Member
ß Childcare at Events
ß Cooking
ß Event Planning
ß Event Registration
ß Event Set-Up and Clean-Up
ß Fundraising
ß Grant Writing
ß Membership
ß Teaching Classes
Simply telling people about NKCS is great too! But, we’d like to see you at our events.
Also available:
ß Internships
ß High school volunteer hours
Donate
NKCS currently operates by grants received by Overseas Koreans Foundation and the Oregon Korea Foundation. However, donations from individuals really do go a long way. Donations of $25 or more are tax deductible.
We appreciate any amount you can donate to NKCS. Funds go towards the cultural events and festivals that we put on for our members and our community.
Ways to Donate:
ß Send in your donation by mail or through paypal
ß Find our if your place of employment has an Employee Match Program
ß Go to www.________ where X% of donations via this website will be made to NKCS
Resources
Organizations (incl. bookmark)
Books (incl. bookmark)
Videos/DVDs (incl. bookmark)
Websites (incl. bookmark)
Organizations
Asian Adult Adoptees of Washington (AAAW) – Seattle, WA
Korean American Adoptees Network (KAAN) – San Francisco, CA
www.kaan.org
Korean American Citizens League (KACL) – Portland, OR
www.kacl.org
Korea Society of Oregon (KSO) – Portland, OR
Korean Quarterly – Minneapolis, MN
Quarterly publication.
www.koreanquarterly.org
Books
Single Square Picture
By: Katie Robinson
Unforgotten War
By: Thomas Park Clement
Videos/DVDs
Sun Gu Ja: A Century of Korean Pioneers
Director: Ian McCluskey
www.nwdocumentary.org
First Person Plural
Director:
Websites
Gallery
Sol Nal Festival 2004 – Celebrating the Year of the Monkey
Children’s Day – May 2004
NKCS Family Picnic – July 2004
Chusok Harvest Festival 2004 – September 2004
The Korean American Identity – November 2004
Contact
Mailing Address: 17675 SW Farmington Road
PMB 362
Aloha, OR 97007
Phone: (503) 699-3342
E-Mail: info@nkcs.org
Website: www.nkcs.org
President: Jane Olson Mauk
president@nkcs.org
Treasurer: Michelle Lee
treas@nkcs.org
Editor: Jenny Lee
editor@nkcs.org
Principal: Miyoung Kim
Jane Olson Mauk was born in Seoul, South Korea. Adopted in 1957, through the Holt Adoption Agency, she grew up on a large dairy farm in the state of Washington with five brothers and one sister who was also adopted from Korea.
After graduation from Skagit Valley Community College and Western Washington University with a degree in Speech Communications, Jane held retail management positions in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR for over 4 years. For the next 15 years, she worked at Nationwide Insurance, most recently as an Executive Training Manager for three Call Centers. She currently holds her Oregon State Insurance Agents license. For the past 5 years she has volunteered at her son’s school participating on the school boards Development Special Events Team as its Co-Chair, PC Booster Secretary and Fundraiser Chair for the Middle Years Parent Steering Committee.
Jane has been married for the past 21 years to Danny Mauk and they have one child, Erik (12), and currently live in Northeast Portland. She enjoys using her communication, management and organizational skills, and currently serves as the President of NKCS.
Michelle Lee immigrated in 1976 with her family when she was in 3rd grade. She grew up in Queens, New York, and then went to college at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Michelle returned to New York City to finish her Master’s degree in teaching from Teachers College at Columbia University. Michelle has taught elementary grades at private schools in New York City and Oakland, California, and is a substitute teacher at the Oregon Episcopal School.
She and her husband Michael (immigrated from Korea in 1970 when he was 3 years old) have a daughter Harriet (2). The Lee’s moved to Portland in September of 2002 from San Francisco. They love Portland and decided to complete their family through adoption. Their son Theodore Seung-Min (1) came home from South Korea in February 2005.
Michelle became interested in NKCS after searching the Portland area for an organization that would support their family’s cultural preservation interests and also to find a way to contribute as a member of this community. It is her hope that NKCS maintains a steady growth that will eventually be a conduit for all persons interested in helping to tie the Korean American community of the greater Portland-area together. Michelle uses the term “Korean-American community” to include anyone touched by Korean adoption, married to a Korean spouse, lived in Korea, etc. She would like to offer assistance in some capacity to see that the organization stays alive and grows with the changing times of the community. Michelle currently serves as the Treasurer of NKCS.
Jenny Lee was born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon and is a 1999 graduate of Oregon State University. At OSU, she was active in the Asian/Pacific American Student Union, Asian Cultural Center, and other student organizations. Her involvement with multicultural student organizations and her studies in Ethnic Studies played a key role in her interest around community service & social justice.
For the past five years, she has worked at the Oregon Department of Human Services, Office of Multicultural Health. She primarily coordinates projects around health issues affecting communities of color. She is also involved with different community projects. In 2003, Jenny joined the Korean American Citizens League (KACL), a civil rights organization that bridges the Korean first-generation, second-generation, adoptee, multi-racial, and non-Korean communities around civil rights and social justice. She currently serves as the Secretary and Board of Directors. She also volunteers with other community groups focused on youth empowerment and community involvement. Jenny is also active at her church and has connections to Asian American and Korean American churches in the Portland-area.
Jenny currently serves as the newsletter editor and graphic designer for NKCS. Her interest in joining NKCS is primarily around program development, especially programs for youth and young adults. She also has interest in bringing together the Korean American community and the Korean adoptee community. She feels that the Korean American experience is comprised of a diverse group of people that share the Korean heritage by ethnicity, adoption, marriage, family, friendships, etc. There is a need to cultivate an environment where there is a sense of unity and understanding within our community.
Mi Kyung Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. In Korea, she received her Education Teaching Degree and taught preschool and was an elementary kindergarten teacher for two years. At age 22, she moved with her parents to Philadelphia. In 1980, she married Sam Kim and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. She operated her own preschool for four years in San Jose, and served as Director of a private kindergarten for two years. The Kim family moved to Portland in 1991 and started an upholstery business in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Mrs. Kim was a teacher of preschool and primary classes at the Central Korean Academy in Beaverton for ten years. In 2001, Mrs. Kim became Principal of the Korea Society of Oregon’s Language School. The Kim’s have two grown sons, Christopher and Robin. Mrs. Kim is a founding Board Member of NKCS and currently serves as the Korean Culture Liaison.
Scott came to the U.S. from South Korea in 1993, and Eun Ju immigrated in November 2003. Scott works as an office manager for a Korean company, and Eun Ju is a Korean School teacher in Portland. They’ve recognized the importance of volunteerism and the overall impact it makes on the community. This led to their desire to get involved with the local Korean American community.
The Lee’s learned about NKCS after speaking to Miyoung Maguire, a valuable NKCS volunteer. Because of their close ties to their Korean heritage, they want to share their traditions and customs with others wanting to learn about Korean culture.
Tom Bikales and Lauren Kim moved to Portland from Boston, Massachusetts in 2004. Tom was born and grew up in Boston and Lauren was born in Seoul, South Korea and immigrated with her family in 1978. Lauren grew up in Queens, New York and was a grade school friend of NKCS Treasurer Michelle Lee. She attended Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts and met Tom while he was at school at Harvard College. Tom and Lauren spent the next phase of their lives together pursuing graduate studies. Tom received a Ph.D in Cultural Anthropology from New York University and Lauren received an M.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Lauren completed her residency in internal medicine at Yale University while Tom was in law school at Yale.
Lauren and Tom moved to Boston where Tom worked at a large law firm and Lauren pursued a fellowship in rheumatology. During this time, Tom and Lauren had two children, Jamie (5) and Cate (1), and decided that it was time to try out a new part of the country. Tom is currently the director of legal and regulatory affairs at the ODS Companies and Lauren is a rheumatologist at OHSU.
Tom and Lauren hope that their work with NKCS will help connect them with aspects of Korean culture and their children with important parts of their own histories. They also hope to meet people with similar interests and to build new friendships.
Julie was born and raised in a small town in Southern Oregon. After high school she went on to Oregon State University and graduated with a degree in Education and a second degree in Journalism. Julie taught for several years in Sherwood, Oregon before she “retired” to raise a family.
The Barclay’s have a daughter, Hannah (11) and son Nick (10). Julie and her husband Jeff began pursuing a long time dream of adoption in 2001. In 2002, their son Sam Jae-Bum came home from South Korea. Their family was complete until their adoption agency sent them a photo of a very sad and lost looking 7-year-old boy in Beijing, China. Julie wasn’t convinced she could be the mom of four kids, but her husband looked at the picture and said, “this is our son.” Seven months later, Julie was in Beijing bringing home their fourth child, Zak Baoshan.
Julie wants to be a part of the NKCS board to show her commitment to Sam and the continuing process of teaching him his beautiful culture.
Derek and Lisa moved to Portland from Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2002. Derek attended the University of Northern Colorado and currently works as a Business Analyst for Intel Corp. Lisa attended the University of Colorado at Denver and completed graduate studies at the University of Northern Colorado. Lisa taught Research Methodology and Social Sciences at Metropolitan State College of Denver and later at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Derek and Lisa have one child, Michael, who joined their family through adoption from South Korea in 2004.
The Chilcote Bacco’s enjoy celebrating the diverse heritage represented in their family through food, holidays, travel and cultural events. As new board members, Derek and Lisa hope to help give voice and support to adoptive parents within the NKCS community.