Korean American Youth Foundation

On April 3, the WAFL Program held a screening of Shusenjo: The Main Battleground for the Comfort Women Issue (2019). Following the screening, the students were joined by Director Miki Dezaki for a Q&A on the documentary and the film-making process. Shusenjo is a documentary about the comfort women (girls and women from Japanese-occupied territories who were mobilized into a system of sexual slavery during the Asia-Pacific War), and how this issue is discussed in contemporary ...geopolitics. The film not only interviews right-wing historical revisionists who deny the coercive nature of this wartime system, but also elevates the voices of the scholars, historians, and activists who continue to advocate for the reparations and justice of the survivor-victims. Above all else, the students were encouraged to watch the film and think about the comfort women issue from a human-rights perspective rather than a nationalist one. The film was also made available to the WAFL parents and KAYF board members (with English and Korean subtitles.) During the Q&A, the students asked Mr. Dezaki questions ranging from his experience interviewing historical denialists, revelations he had on his film-making journey, and his insight on the future of this historical issue. Read the student testimonies here: https://www.kayf.org/wafl2020-2021

This Saturday, the WAFL Program will have Part 1 of the Public Speaking Workshops with New York Speech Coaching. The session will cover strategies to deal with public speaking anxiety and exercises for the students to practice their public speaking skills.

This Saturday (December 19) KAYF will be holding a Mental Health Workshop with Womankind NYC. To say that 2020 has been a tumultuous year would be an understatement, and the pandemic and everything around it has taken a toll on most people. What's important now more than ever is self-care and taking care of not only our physical health, but our mental health too. As such, the topics for our students this week are emotional intelligence and healthy coping skills.

This week on December 12, KAYF will hold part two of the Finance Seminar with Cents-Ability. With the purpose of teaching our WAFL students the importance of financial literacy, the workshop will cover (1) college cents, (2) investments, and (3) stock market.

On March 6 and 20, KAYF held its annual WAFL Speech Competition. Representing 12 states from across the US, 70 students presented their speeches on topics that are important to them. The students competed for monetary prizes of $1,000, $500, $300, $150, $100, and a $100 Amazon gift card. Congratulations to our winners: (1) Angeline Yu (Vista Ridge High School, Texas) - On Navigating Mental Health as a Korean American... (2) Ella Mohanram (The Hotchkiss School, Connecticut) - On Social Media Censorship (3) Danielle Yoon (Independence High School, Texas) - On Growing Up and the Importance of Being True to Yourself (4) Ellen Ko (Amity Regional High School, Connecticut)- On Positive Asian American Representation in Literature and Media (5) Debby Lee (Bayside High School, New York) - On Being Single (and Why It’s a Good Thing) (6) Joon Kwon (Northview High School, Georgia) - On Listening to the Mind and Having Empathy from the Heart Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i3NGF-Y02g&ab_channel=KAYF

This week on November 28, KAYF will hold part one of the Finance Seminar with Cents-Ability. The purpose of these seminars is to cultivate financial literacy in our students, and to provide them with educational tools to manage their finances as they prepare for life after high school. The topics for part one are goal setting, budgeting, saving and banking, and credit. Part two will take place on December 12.

THIS SATURDAY! The WAFL Program is having part 2 of the Public Speaking Workshop with New York Speech Coaching The topics for this week are debate strategies, and how to better develop and present one's argument.

Korean Diaspora and Jeronimo | November 14 On November 14, KAYF hosted a film screening of Jeronimo: The Untold Tales of Koreans in Cuba (2019, dir. Joseph Juhn). To kick off the meeting, the WAFL students were introduced to the concept of diaspora, or the displacement of a racial/ethnic group from their homeland due to circumstances like colonization, war, and labor migration. The students then shared with their peers how they experience their Korean identities. ... After watching the film, the students were joined by the director of Jeronimo, Joseph Juhn, for a Q&A. After sharing his experiences and how he understands his own identity, Joseph Juhn answered questions from the students ranging from the film-making process to advice on grappling with dual identities. One student asked, Do you have any advice for us Korean American teens who are also struggling with our identities? I say continue to struggle, Joseph Juhn said in response. Continue to wrestle with it. Don’t give up. Only by struggling and wrestling do you end up transcending the very boundaries that confine you. Ultimately, your goal is not to stay Korean or American, or to stay Korean American; it is a philosophical and existential journey for you. Ultimately, you will walk out as human, an enlightened human who can embrace anyone of any background, but it only begins as you struggle with your own Korean American identity. Student Testimonies: Joon: In that fusion [of identities], it creates a different dynamic, and that's like with us and the music they were playing in the film. That Cuban version of Arirang is not going to be Cuban music, it's not going to be like Korean music, but it is still music and still cultural. Watching that made me feel like I am also that way [...] it's about that balance of being right in the middle. Like a venn diagram. Rachel: The film emphasized the need for a really strong and good community to be surrounded with, and to have people who love you and care for you and have the same ideals for you in order to keep pursuing that identity you strive for. Rudy: The movie gave me hope -- that a lost identity isn’t lost forever. Jaeseo: The film made me feel more prideful in my Korean roots. Seeing how the Cuban community came together, seeing them learn Korean and work so hard put me in my feels! [...] I feel like all kids [of the diaspora] share that conflicting emotion on how you should define yourself and your identity. The fact that they were so willing and interested in pursuing their Korean heritage motivates me to do the same.

The Korean Diaspora and Jeronimo: The Untold Tales of Koreans In Cuba We are excited to share that, on Saturday, November 14 at 6PM EST, our WAFL students will be joined by documentary filmmaker Joseph Juhn for a film screening of his groundbreaking film, Jeronimo: The Untold Tales of Koreans in Cuba. The film screening will be followed by a student Q&A with the director and a discussion about his film, the diaspora, and how the students experience their Korean identities.

This week on Saturday, October 24 at 6PM EST, we’ll be having our college prep seminar with Ed Kim of C2 Education. Mr. Kim is going to talk to you about writing your college essays, the admissions process, and how to best present yourself on your college applications. Outline of Mr. Kim’s presentation on Saturday: College Admissions from Start to Finish College Essay Writing... Student Q&A See more

KAYF is pleased to announce the first official WAFL meeting of the 2020-2021 school year! For the first time, KAYF opened the WAFL program to Korean American high school students nationwide, and we are excited to welcome 53 new students to the program. Representing twelve states across the US, the incoming class will bring a greater opportunity for WAFL students to connect with peers of more diverse backgrounds and upbringings. www.kayf.org... Follow us on Instagram @kayfnyc See more