On July 14, 2001 the Washington Post sponsored a Political and Media Seminar for the interns from the Washington DC Chapter of the Korean American Coalition (KAC) and it's New York City based affiliate, the Korean American League for Civic Action (KALCA). After coffee and muffins with KAC-DC President David S. Kim, the interns heard from a panel of Asian American political speakers.

Katie Hong from the White House Office of the Chief of Staff related her experience as a White House Fellow. She expressed concern for the growing economic and racial segregation in America and the under-representation of minority in government. Hong was deeply affected by the 1992 LA riots, and has been passionate about public service ever since. She discussed how more diversity in the public sector brings a greater variety of people to the table to enrich our government. She encouraged the interns to be persistent in all that they do, and realize that change in government only occurs when outside groups demand it.

Howard Moon, Deputy Floor Assistant for the Office of the House Democratic Whip Office, shared his experience working first hand on the house floor with Congressmen, and the impact representation from different ethnic groups makes in the public sector. Also personally affected by the LA riots, Moon spoke about his feelings of helplessness during the riots, and how this event impacted his life. Finally, he concluded by encouraging the interns to break the Asian cultural goals of becoming a doctor or a lawyer and pursue a career in the public sector.

Picture with David Broder! KAC interns, staff and board members a-like couldn't resist charging into David Broder's office and asking (demanding) a photo with him. Mr. Broder was very gracious, as the photo shows. Pictured above (left to right) : Julie Oh (KALCA), Songbae Lee, P.J. Kim (KALCA), David Broder, and Jenny Bach (KALCA).
David Broder is a nationally known and read political columnist for The Washington Post.

Roger Chaing, newly appointed to the Democratic National Committee, discussed the split Asian voting block and how the Asian community must organize to reap benefits from the political system. Chaing expressed the specific need for more Asian American females in the public sector. He also pointed out the priorities of recruiting and training, identifying important issues, and encouraging community involvement through activities like voter registration.

Cho brought up the recent Dry Clean Depot controversy as an example. While he needed to present both sides of the issue, the Korean community expected him to write the story as a defense of the Korean perspective.
He also brought up the fact that the media is generally not culturally considered a respectable field for the Asian males, which accounts for their lack of representation. Each of the panelists came from backgrounds that did not necessarily start out with an interest in journalism. Lee, who majored in history in government, expressed that anyone can enter the media field; the only thing necessary is an innate curiosity. Patty Kim further discussed the initial hardships entering media, but emphasized that the humble beginning of hard work does pay off.
Cha, as well as Ly, discussed the need for Asian representation in the field and the steps that they take to make sure the Asian community is not defined by common, often negative, mainstream stereotypes.

Each of the panelists expressed not only the hardships of working in the media, but also the fun they have doing their job. A question and answer series concluded the program. The seminar served to provide the interns with a view of two nontraditional careers, politics & media, and to encourage more Korean Americans to consider these fields.

Please e-mail the KAC-DC 2001 Internship Co-ordinator, Joon Kim (jik0123@earthlink.net) with thoughts or plans for other KAC-DC internship possibilities.