KAPS News

Welcome to the July 2nd, 2008 edition of the KAPS Newsletter.

In this issue:
*KAPS Summer Speaker Series with KASE
*KAPS Angel Island Recap
*KAPS South Bay BBQ
*KAPS Member of the Month Feature
*Help plan BAKAs Wine Tasting 2008
*Korean "County Specialist" Needed Immediately
*Push for Korean-American Free Trade Agreement
*UC-Berkeley Cuts Korean Studies

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KAPS SUMMER SPEAKER SERIES WITH KASE

For those of you who've missed it, KAPS speaker series has returned!

Our featured speakers for the evening will be the founders of Opinmind, a leader in cutting-edge internet marketing (www.opinmind.com). You can learn more about James Kim, Charles Mi, and I-Heng Mei by visiting http://www.opinmind.com/about.html.

The event will be held at Merrill Lynch's Franklin Conference Room (600 California St, 7th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108) and will be a great opportunity to learn about succeeding in today's ever-changing world, so
make sure you make it out!

There is parking available in the building (entrance on Sacramento Street between Kearny and Grant). When you arrive, make sure you tell the security guard you are here for the KAPS event hosted by Joy Boatwright.

There will be light refreshments served and a chance to network with other KAPS members, as well as members of KASE.

If you have questions, please contact andrew@kaps.org
or you can reach him at (408) 203-6507 on the day of the event.

KAPS ANGEL ISLAND PICNIC RECAP

KAPS took a trip to Angel Island, where many of our ancestors first came to this country, for a day of hiking, BBQ-ing, games, and networking.

You can check out pictures at http://kaps.org/index.php?q=gallery&g2_itemId=1653 and make sure you make it out to our next BBQ!

KAPS SOUTH BAY BBQ - SAVE THE DATE!

Speaking of BBQs, KAPS offers those who missed out on Angel Island another chance to reconnect with fellow KAPS members in our South Bay BBQ.

The BBQ will be held on Saturday, July 26th at 4:00 pm in Santa Clara (exact address to be given to registrants a few days prior) and will consist of outdoor fun, networking activities, great food, and great company.

Be on the lookout for the Evite - coming soon!

KAPS MEMBER OF THE MONTH FEATURE

Each month, the KAPS website will feature a KAPS member for a short interview so that we can better get to know them. This month, we caught up with Hannah Whang.

To learn more about our featured member, please visit http://www.kaps.org/membership

If you're interested in being spotlighted for future member features, please contact jason@kaps.org.

HELP PLAN BAKAS WINE TASTING 2008

The annual BAKAs (Bay Area Korean-Americans) wine tasting event is scheduled for Friday, September 5th at Fort Mason. The wine tasting is always one of our most popular events, so make sure you mark down your calendars.

We are reaching out to KAPS members for help with planning the event and make it an even bigger success than past years.

Areas where we need help are Fundraising, Donations, Content, Logistics, and Marketing. Interested parties should contact Louis Hong at louhong@gmail.com

KOREAN "COUNTY SPECIALIST" NEEDED IMMEDIATELY

Aperian Global delivers a blend of consulting, training, and web tool services that aim to develop the capabilities of individuals, teams, and organizations to work effectively across cultures in order to create a sustainable global future. Aperian Global's services include organizational consulting, one-on-one coaching, teambuilding, and classroom training. We are searching for a Korea native who can assist us with a one-time training opportunity.

We are looking for a Korea "Country Specialist" (CS) to join our Lead Consultant on Thursday, July 3, 2008 for a cross-cultural training in Philadelphia, PA. A CS is ideally someone who is a native of the country, or someone who has experience in Korea and is accustomed to the
working conditions there. The CS typically joins the Lead Consultant for a full day, 8:00am - 4:00pm, to give a personal perspective on what it is like to live and work in Korea. The CS will not be required to prepare a presentation, and simply needs to assist the training program with personal perspectives and experiences. We typically offer monetary compensation of USD 200 for the day.

This particular program is for a high level executive of a financial firm, so we are hoping to find a great candidate to share their living and work experience in Korea; however, the focus of the program will be on business culture.

PUSH FOR KOREAN-AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

The business coalition of the Korean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry is launching an effort, targeted in the Bay Area, to push for a Korean-American Free Trade Agreement.

They are looking for Korean-Americans/prominent community leaders to write Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor that we will get placed in newspapers in the area. Also, they are looking for people who would be willing to speak with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi or Anna Eshoo this holiday weekend at a public event, with the intention of impressing upon them the importance of Korean-American Free Trade.

If you or anyone you know is interested in writing an Op-Ed or meeting with the Congresswoman this weekend, please contact Andrea Feaster (andrea@meridianhq.com) who can provide talking points or other help (for example: There are currently more than 140 Korean firms in California, providing jobs and business opportunities to Californians. In 2006, Korean investments in California totaled $4.7 billion.)

UC-BERKELEY CUTS KOREAN STUDIES

Due to state education budget cuts to the UC system and an uneven distribution of these cuts on the UC Berkeley campus, the Korean language program and the ability of students of all majors to study about Korea is imperiled.

The East Asian Languages & Cultures department has announced that 66% of last year's Korean classes will be canceled for the 2008-9 school year, and business, engineering, law, and other students not in the college
of Letters & Sciences won't be able to take Korean classes under current predictions. (see http://ealc.berkeley.edu/message.htm). The ramifications of this news in terms of Berkeley's responsibility to serve the communities that form its student body, and to live up to its reputation as a leading Pacific Rim school are obviously huge.

There's a major student-led outreach and fundraising effort underway, and KAPS strongly urges its members in taking up this cause. A great place to start is an ad-hoc student-led Committee to Save East Asian Languages & Korean Studies -please contact David Malinowski for more
information at daveski@berkeley.edu.

There's a lot of coverage out in the Bay Area media (both in Korean and English), and much information is also already online at http://savekoreanstudies.blogspot.com

INTERESTED IN GETTING MORE INVOLVED IN KAPS?

KAPS is always on the lookout for people interested in getting the most out of their KAPS experience. We are looking for volunteers to plan social events, coordinate community service events, serve as guest speakers, monitor the website, and improve the overall KAPS member experience. We are also looking for contributors to our newsletters, in the form of job postings, professional advice, and relevant news.

If you are interested in becoming an officer, contributing to newsletters, or assisting with an event, please contact Andrew Ko (andrew@kaps.org).

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The Korean American Professional Society (KAPS) is a nonprofit organization that is devoted to the professional and social development of Korean Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area. We provide a forum for networking, community service, and political involvement.

To learn more about KAPS, our members, and our events, or to join the KAPS community, please visit our website at www.kaps.org