The KA community we see today is relatively a young one which started to form after 1968. While most other Asian Pacific groups tend to stay together in a few big cities in the U.S., KAs show more adventurous spirit and are more willing to follow business opportunities any where in the country. It is not uncommon to find Kim's and Park's in the phone directory of a small town out of no where, and most of these big and small KA communities have various KA organizations.

The following are the most common types of KA organizations, and there are many other trade and professional associations and alumni associations (high school & college). Most big cities have KA service agencies that cater to the needs of immigrant population with limited English proficiency.

Any city with more than a few hundred KAs will have at least one Korean church, and there is an extensive network of Korean language radio and television stations providing Korean language programming for a few hours a week to 24 hours a day in and around most big cities.

Terms used:
first generation - post 1968 adult immigrants
1.5 generation - born in Korea, educated in the U.S.
second generation - born in the U.S.

Han-in-hoi: Every city has its own Korean American organization called, "han-in-hoi." "Han-in" means Korean people, and "hoi" means association or society. Often the president of this organization is considered the leader of the respective Korean American community, but the function and the effectiveness of the organization are varied from city to city. It is usually considered a first generation organization, and the leaders tend to be Korean speaking although the recruitment of 1.5 generation members indicates the transition which will necessarily take place in the next 10 years. In Los Angeles, it's called Korean Federation of Los Angeles. In New York City, it's called The Korean American Association of Greater New York.
Contact: The Federation of Korean American Associations, USA. 703/536-3148

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Sang-gong-hoi-ui-so: This is the Chamber of Commerce, and most cities have a Korean American Chamber. This is another major first generation organization, and the leaders tend to be Korean speaking.
Contact Korean Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles for more information: 213/480-1115

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Pyong-Tong: Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification of Korea. Only around a thousand people from around the U.S. are appointed to this Council by the government of Korea, thus, it is considered prestigious to be selected as a member. The members are mostly first generation Korean American men, and now they try to include more women and the younger generation.
Contact: 213/384-6919 or Korean Consulates.

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KAGRO: Korean American Grocers Association. The National KAGRO has 22,000 members, and it is considered the largest Korean American trade organization. Although the Korean Americans make up under one percent of the U.S. population, they make up 11% of retail grocery outlets in the U.S. It has local chapters in 22 cities in the U.S. and Canada.
National KAGRO:213/388-1891

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Korean American Coalition: KAC was started as the advocacy organization by 1.5 and 2nd generation Korean Americans in Los Angeles in 1983. Now KAC is in the process of establishing itself as a national organization with chapters in major U.S. cities including Washington, D.C., Honolulu and Sacramento. Members tend to be English speaking.
KAC HQ.: 213/365-5999
Website: www.kac83.org
E-mail: kacla1983@aol.com

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Han-kook-ilbo & Joong-ang-ilbo: The Korea Times and The Korea Central Daily are two major Korean language papers in the U.S. Both papers have a mother publication in Korea, and they publish local editions in major U.S. and Canadian cities such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Honolulu, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Denver, Dallas, Vancouver, and Toronto.
The Korea Times USA HQ.: 323/692-2000
The Korea Central Daily USA HQ.: 213/368-2500

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