A student organization is working to create a support network for Korean and Korean American students who said they have historically felt underrepresented on GW’s campus.
Leaders of the GW Korean American Student Society — who launched programming this fall after establishing the group in April — said they wanted to revive a group for students who are Korean, Korean American and students interested in Korean culture after a former Korean student organization discontinued its operations during the pandemic. Executive board members of KASS, which now has about 40 members on GW Engage, said they hope the group will cultivate community among Korean and Korean American students at a predominantly white GW.
Mia Perlman, a senior and the president of KASS, said after growing up in a primarily white neighborhood of Austin, Texas, she wanted to find a community of people she could relate to when coming to college, like people who grew up cooking and eating the same foods as her. She said she was “disappointed” when she arrived at GW and realized the student organization for Korean American students, the Korean Culture Organization, shuttered during the pandemic.
“I didn’t have a very strong Korean or Korean American community outside my family,” Perlman said. “I knew no matter where I went to college, I wanted to find that there at my university.”
She said the group has already held a cooking night in Thurston Hall last month, where current and interested members made tteokbokki, a traditional Korean spicy rice cake. She said members also hosted a movie night at Thurston earlier in the semester where roughly 20 attendees gathered to watch Spirited Away, a film from Japanese animation firm Studio Ghibli.
Perlman said KASS is planning a trip to the Chuseok Family Festival at the National Museum of Asian Art on Oct. 7. Perlman said Chuseok, sometimes dubbed Korean Thanksgiving, is a harvest holiday in which family and friends express gratitude for their past and future. She said KASS invited all GW students to join them for the festival.
“I just hope that we can continue to build a strong community where people can connect with other students on campus,” Perlman said.
Jeongahn Lucia Hwang, a senior and the vice president of KASS, said she was born in South Korea and lived there until she was 12 before moving to the United States. She said she struggled to form a connection between her Korean and American backgrounds, which motivated her to make friendships with others who had similar experiences.
“This internal struggle led me to seek my community in college, and it fueled a strong desire to create a safe and inclusive space where individuals with similar experiences and interests could find belonging and connection,” Hwang said in a message.
Hwang said KASS held an interest meeting Aug. 28, where members anticipated 10 to 15 interested students to arrive but were surprised when about 30 people showed up.
“This turnout shows the strong desire among students to connect and engage with a community that aligns with their cultural background and values,” Hwang said in a message.
Havin Baik, a junior and the public relations director of KASS, said she felt like there was a space for Korean international students when she came to campus her first year but was disappointed there was no designated group for Korean American students and those interested in Korean American culture.
“Though I felt as though there were many of us, there was no sort of unified group,” she said.
Baik said KASS is open to not only Korean American students but anyone who is interested in learning more about Korean food, music and traditions. She said she hopes the group will forge an appreciation for a small part of the larger Asian and Asian American community on campus and provide a support network for students navigating college.
“I really hope that it can serve as a space to come together and be excited, not just about Korean American culture, events, food, whatever, but also just excited to go through our college experience knowing that there are people in our corner who will be able to support us,” Baik said.
Sarah Cho, a junior and KASS’s secretary, said the group is meant to represent all identities, including people who were born in the U.S. with parents from Korea, were born in Korea but moved to the U.S. when they were young and those who were born and raised in Korea.
“I want everyone to be comfortable whether it be they’re speaking English, they’re speaking Korean,” Cho said. “We’re not exclusive to a single language or experience.“
Anna McIntyre, a senior and the treasurer for KASS, said she felt like Korean American students were underrepresented at GW before the recent rise of Korean pop culture in the U.S., like the growing popularity of K-dramas and K-pop music, which she said has sparked more interest in Korean culture among students. She said she hopes the increased attention will motivate even more people to join the group.
“I hope it continues on and it continues to grow, and it continues to be a safe place for Korean Americans and people who are interested to explore their identity, their culture or learn more about this culture in a respectful and safe environment,” McIntyre said.
Daniel Choi, a senior and a member of KASS, said he feels there is a “disconnect” between the Korean international students and Korean American students on campus, which led him to join an executive board to help try to start a Korean American student association two years ago without success. He said he is happy he was able to find the community he was looking for two years ago through KASS’ formation.
“I just wanted to have a place where I could find people who are like me, who share my same identity,” Choi said.
