Korean Culture School of ASIA Families featured in The Korea Times

“Learning about Korea”

Korea Times article translated by Reynold Yu

ASIA Families, a non-profit organization that provides post adoption services, had a first day of the Spring semester of Korean Culture School on February 12th, 2022.  

The Korean Culture School was held in First Korean Presbyterian Church in Rockville, Maryland (Pastor Sangbok Lee), where nearly 160 participants including 60 adoptee children & teens, 73 parents and 30 volunteers along with the Culture School advisor, Chan Soo Kim attended the opening ceremony.

The founder and executive director, Grace H. Song, expressed “Even during the hardships of amid COVID-19 pandemic, I am happy to hold the Korean Culture School in person. I hope that this semester could help adoptees to enrich their connections to Korean culture and their motherland.” 

President Song awarded Keon Gray, one of the teen adoptees, with a Certificate of Gratitude, who donated $2,500 that he got gifted for his Bar Mitzvah (Jewish celebration of coming-of-age) to ASIA Families.

Pastor Sang Bok Lee kicked off the opening ceremony with a warm congratulatory remark, followed by traditional Korean drum performance by Selah Art group led by the director, Chung Hee Kim. The consul general, Bong Joo Kim from Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Washington, D.C., informed about DNA testing services for adoptees to find their biological families. The new Korean Culture School director, Ji Young (Julie) Choi was also introduced during the opening ceremony. 

In the first session for adoptive parents, led by Joon Hee Kim, the parents learned to craft jewelry boxes with Korean traditional paper, Hanji. 

Korean-American Women’s Association (President Silvia Patten) donated 150 Korean face masks and distributed to the families. 

The spring semester of the Korean Culture school is continually funded by the grant from Ministry of Education (South Korea).

Translated by Reynold Yu