KASM concluded its second annual WLP on July 23, 2004. The participants included 20 students from Sookmyung Women's University in Seoul, South Korea, and 2 students from the Yanbian University of Science and Technology in Yanji, China. As last year, the program included a speaker series, various forums, institution visits, and a research writing component. This year's speakers included Director Shinae Chun of the Department of Labor, the Honorable Young Woo Kang of the National Council on Disability, Colonel Thomas Fergusson, Director Jong-on Hahm of the NIH, and Professor Katharine Moon of Wellesley College, among a number of distinguished guests.
KASM is currently in preparations for our third annual WLP. Stay tuned for more information in the near future.
Since the conclusion of the first WLP, we have developed a set of concepts that embody the mission of the program and applied it to following WLP's with much success. The concepts are:
- Personal Leadership: WLP will jumpstart the leadership building process for the students by strengthening their personal attributes as leaders, emphasizing the importance of integrity, fairness, and effective communication.
- My Country and People: WLP will foster a sense of social responsibility in the students’ minds by raising awareness of their roles in building and fortifying Korean societies around the globe and by teaching them time-invariant lessons from the empires of the past and present.
- World Citizenship: WLP will enable the students to grow as respected, influential, and service-minded citizens of the world by exposing them to contemporary issues of importance and by offering real fieldwork experiences in world-renowned non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
For more information, please contact us.
Report of the 2003 Washington Leadership Program
Disaster and Emergency Relief in North Korea
Delivery of Food & Other Relief Aids
Most of our programs in North Korea were directed toward emergency relief in food (maize) for the famine victims, with additional shipments of fertilizer, medicine, clothing, and other supplies. Much of the delivery of the relief aids were carried out with assistance from other agencies that had established long term aid activities in North Korea, such as the Eugene Bell Foundation, World Food Program (WFP), and Mercy Corps International. Also, visiting dignitaries of the US, including Rep. Tony Hall and the Hon. William Perry, graciously carried KASM relief supplies with them on their visits. In 2001, KASM funded the delivery of about US$500,000 worth of sneakers donated by Nike with the assistance of Mercy Corps International. In 2002, again in cooperation with Mercy Corps, KASM delivered apple trees and socks.>
Helping Hands for Ryongchon
Most recently, in response to the train explosion in the city of Ryongchon in North Korea, KASM served as the administrative arm of Korean-Americans Helping Citizens of Ryongchon, a coalition of numerous Korean-American organizations collecting monetary and in-kind donations.
Report "Ryongchon Train Explosion Relief Project">(PDF, 124 kb)
Fundraising Activities
KASM’s fundraising efforts focused on church-based fundraising, special events, and mailing and media-based fundraising.
Participation in a Private Voluntary Organization (PVO) Consortium
Since 1999, we have been one of 9 member agencies that constituted a PVO Consortium, participating in its Phase IV Food-for-Work(FfW) projects to deliver 100,000 metric tons of food and its seed potato project. Over the two-year period, we made a financial contribution of $30,000 to the projects and sent Mr. Carl Harris on two occasions as a KASM representative in the FfW project team. While further study awaits for the evaluation of the seed potato project component of the Phase IV PVOC activities, we believe that its participation in PVOC made a significant contribution toward reconciliation between the US and North Korea at one of its critical junctures.
Advocacy and Awareness Building
We continue our advocacy role on behalf of the vulnerable people in North Korea, in cooperation with InterAction's North Korea Working Group and other Korean-American organizations. In an emotionally charged area of how best to assist food migrants in the border areas, we have recently issued a position statement advocating for a low-key and effective assistance instead of high-profile media based actions that may backfire. We will continue its effort to bring about better understanding of unique culture and history of North Korean people to American audience.
Previously KASM has held various events such as Open House Meetings, KASM Seminars, Guest Speaker Series, and World Day of Fasting.
Related Documents:
KASM’s Position on North Korean Refugee Issue (PDF, 45 kb)
Letter to USAID (PDF, 47 kb)
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Speaker Series
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 The speakers series provides an opportunity for visiting professionals and scholars to share their ideas and research with the KASM community. By carefully selecting topics, we strive to raise the awareness of current issues as well as inform the community about KASM-related activities. Please see examples below.
Photo: 4/15/2002 After a talk by Ms. Kathi Zellweger, of Caritas Hong Kong.
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| Speaker |
Affiliation |
Theme |
| Kathy Moon |
Wellesley College |
Sunshine's Shadows: Uttering the Unutterable Tasks of Korean Reconciliation |
Dennis Halpin |
House committee on International Relations |
I Have a Dream: North Korean Freedom Day and The Korean-American Community |
| Kathy Moon |
Wellesley College |
Democracy and Discord in Korea-U.S. Relations |
| Hazel Smith |
University of Warwick |
North Korean in China |
| K.A. Namkung |
U.C Berkeley |
The Bush Administration's North Korea Policy and the Opening of the American Mind |
| Kathi Zellweger |
Caritas Hong Kong |
An NGO experience of humanitarian aid to North Korea |
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Oasis of Mercy
Oasis of Mercy, previously known as Oasis of Love and hereafter addressed as Oasis of Mercy, is a humanitarian aids division of KASM. Its mission is to help the Iraqi people as well as the Korean aid workers there, in their efforts of reconstruction and rehabilitation.
Oasis of Mercy In Jordan
Starting January 2003, Oasis of Mercy prepared a refugee project on the Jordan border. It provided tea and sugar which World Food Project (WFP) had requested, and also provided IOM to the refugees of Ruwaishid camp in eastern Jordan. Oasis of Mercy sent three volunteers to work at the Ruwaishid camp.
Oasis of Mercy In Iraq
Immediately following the war, on April 13, 2003 Oasis of Mercy conducted assessments on Baghdad and Sadr. Starting on April 23, 2003, Oasis of Mercy has helped Iraqis through medical services and also served various NGOs and humanitarian organization in both Korea and the US by gathering and sharing information on the needs of the civilians in Sadr. Most of Oasis of Mercy? services have focused on Sadr, which has been long regarded as one of the most segregated and neglected region from before the war.
To this date, Oasis of Mercy has dispatched nine teams, consisting of 130 medical relief members. These teams have treated more than 10,000 patients in Al habibiyi, Al chuwadir, and Al daakhil in Sadr. It has also donated various general medicines and medical supplies to four hospitals in Sadr and DEC in Baghdad. Oasis of Mercy has been sponsored by a number of humanitarian organizations in Korea, including Global Civic Sharing, Good Neighbours, Global Care, and Yonsei Medical Center.
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Community Service Activities
The Korean Community Center, founded in 2002, is a unique cultural center located in Vienna, a suburb of Washington DC. The center presents Korean and Korean-American performances and holds visual and literary art exhibits. It also incorporates diverse works from other ethnic communities and provides space for community events.
KASM’s commitment to the Korean-American community in the Washington, DC Metro area has led to the foundation of the Korean Community Center in Vienna, VA, in 2002. The center presents Korean and Korean-American performances and holds visual and literary art exhibits. It also incorporates diverse works from other ethnic communities and provides space for community events.
Although KCC and the Art Center are now independent of KASM, KASM continues our commitment to the K-A community in the metropolitan area, working closely with other organizations to help meet the needs of the community.
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Leadership Program