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I am delighted to welcome you to the Korea-US Washington Forum homepage.<\/p>\n
KUWF is an assembly of members who have worked in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area in different professions with widely varying experiences. It is a place where we take time off from our respective work places to engage in open and informal discussions on topics affecting the United States and the Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n
Our members and their guests gather together to exchange information, carry on debates, and try to promote a better understanding and cooperation between the two great countries.<\/p>\n
Whether we meet each other on line or in person, we want to leave each meeting enriched by the experience and feeling refreshed from having gone out of our routine and listened to ideas, views, dreams, and sentiments from different perspectives.<\/p>\n
We hope this kind of exchanges and personal interactions will help us gain better and wiser judgment in living our lives and carrying on our business in our respective fields and communities. In the process, KUWF hopes to make a small contribution toward peace and harmony in the world.<\/p>\n
Sincerely,<\/p>\n
Gregg Brazinsky, Interim President
\nKUWF<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[NOTE: YongSang Kim resigned as the President of the KUWF on July 24, 2023.][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/3″][vc_single_image image=”4825″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]Gregg Brazinsky[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1595125665383{background-color: #e5e5e5 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1595125838513{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-left: 5px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1595125665383{background-color: #e5e5e5 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1595125838513{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-left: 5px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner css=”.vc_custom_1595125665383{background-color: #e5e5e5 !important;border-radius: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_inner css=”.vc_custom_1595125838513{margin-right: 5px !important;margin-left: 5px !important;}”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1632683775463{background-color: rgba(71,71,71,0.14) !important;*background-color: rgb(71,71,71) !important;}”]<\/p>\n
April 25, 2021<\/p>\n
Dear KUWF members and friends,<\/p>\n
It is with my great honor that I stand here today as the President of the KUWF. As many of you are already familiar with, our Forum started under the name, Washington Korean-American Forum (WKAF), in 2007 by former Congressman Jay C. Kim and a few other prominent Korean Americans in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan area. Back then, we would often gather in Jay Kim\u2019s Vienna VA house whenever there were visitors from Korea and we would also invite as guests, Korean Embassy officials and secondees of Korean businesses. Many of them are now back in Korea and also in leadership positions of their organizations, including Korean government agencies, various public and private entities, media, academia and in various other fields.<\/p>\n
In 2019, we revamped our Forum and got it incorporated as Korea-US Washington Forum (KUWF), as a US Federal income-tax exempt non-profit incorporation under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes. Under the leadership of Dr. Young-Key Kim-Renaud, we continued our meetings and stayed as active as we could despite the challenges of the global pandemic.<\/p>\n
As of April 2021, I have assumed the role of the President and I have given some thoughts as to our future.\u00a0 I believe we have two unique opportunities.<\/p>\n
The first is geographical expansion opportunity presented to us by relocation of our key members, such as the Founder Hon. Jay C. Kim, Richard Shin and myself to Seoul. The second is the generational expansion opportunity.<\/p>\n
First, Geographical expansion opportunity. Our members are now in Seoul and also other parts of the world as well as in Washington D.C. We should hold regular meetings both in Washington DC and in Seoul. We will also have as many ad hoc<\/em> meetings whenever there are opportunities regardless of the location. We should also collaborate with other organizations, such as Former Members of Congress, Changjoon Kim Academy of Politics and Economics, the Federation of Korean Industries, Kwanhun Club and Korean-American Club.<\/p>\n Second, generational expansion opportunity. We have proud and strong 14 years of history. We started with very successful and established leaders and have reached a point now that we could benefit from recruiting more of new and young members from the upcoming generation. That does not mean we aim for the generational shift, but we are aiming to expanding our generational reach which will bring new energy to our Forum. By such an expansion, all our members, regardless of age, gender, nationality, and profession, will all benefit from the vibrant discussions and activities of the Forum.<\/p>\n Our Forum is a platform where we can meet new people, encounter new thoughts, and enrich the lives of those around us. We have a very good base and we\u2019ll grow from here. I invite your active participation as well as active recruitment of new members.<\/p>\n Yours truly,<\/p>\n YongSang Kim (\uae40\uc6a9\uc0c1)[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1611697460711{background-color: rgba(71,71,71,0.14) !important;*background-color: rgb(71,71,71) !important;}”]<\/p>\n January 23, 2021<\/p>\n Dear KUWF members and friends,<\/p>\n I am delighted to see you all again, albeit only on screen. My remarks today, while covering the current status of our Forum, also serve as my last regular formal speech as President of KUWF.<\/p>\n I would like to start by saying that I am most grateful for all the support and friendship you, as KUWF members, have shown me and other members during the last four years that I have served at this distinguished organization. Above all, I have learned so much from all of you through our discussions and while building our website (kuwf.org). We come from diverse backgrounds but are united by our common interest in promoting knowledge and a good relationship between Korea and the United States of America.<\/p>\n Our Forum started under the name, Washington Korean-American Forum (WKAF), in 2007 by former Congressman Jay C. Kim and a few other prominent Korean Americans, who were born in Korea but were active in the Greater Washington, DC Metropolitan area.<\/p>\n During my tenure as the President, it was decided that our forum should expand in terms of our interest and most crucially in terms of our membership. We have widened our initial focus on economy and politics to encompass all areas that may concern the Republic of Korea and the United States. Our members are no longer limited to people of Korean heritage but now consist of Korean and non-Korean persons and even institutions, regardless of their expertise and background, who have operated in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.<\/p>\n In 2019 we were incorporated as Korea-US Washington Forum (KUWF), as a US Federal income-tax exempt non-profit incorporation under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), \u201corganized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2020 we welcomed the Korea Economic Institute of America as our first institutional member.<\/p>\n Each of our regular meetings has had a specific theme, and the issues that we have covered recently include history, politics, society, economy, art, science, philanthropy, business, Korean studies, US-Korea relations, North-South Korean relations, Nationalism vs. Globalism. Each one has provided a wonderful opportunity to learn not only from the invited speakers but from our members from different walks of life. Many of the featured speakers have been our own members.<\/p>\n I would like to mention two recent major initiatives: (1) the KUWF Prize; (2) a charitable donation. Given the nature of our membership, we cannot organize specific external activities to enhance good Korea-US relations on a grand scale like some other individuals or institutions with more means. Therefore, there has been a proposal to establish the KUWF prize, which will recognize and support those leaders who do make efforts that are close to our core mission. There has been a specific proposal for the first award, which was presented to the Board of Directors. The proposal was approved by the simple majority of the vote by the Board members, but two members expressed strong objection, mainly for procedural reasons. As the President, I have decided to table the matter, as our bylaws do not make any mention of the Prize and we don\u2019t have any committee overseeing the process. This will be an item on the agenda to be revisited by our next President and other members.<\/p>\n The second new matter is a small charity effort to participate in the food program to help feed America\u2019s hungry. The year 2020 was a catastrophic one for the entire world, but especially in the United States. In this very rich country, it is shocking to learn that 12.7 % of the population is \u201cexperiencing food scarcity\u201d (NY Times, p. B5, Dec. 18, 2020). For a US population of 330 million, this means 42 million hungry people–an order of magnitude comparable with S-Korea\u2019s total population.<\/p>\nKUWF President Young-Key Kim-Renaud’s Remarks\/ \uae40\uc601\uae30 KUWF \ud68c\uc7a5 \uc774\uc784\uc0ac<\/h3>\n