The K.W. Lee Center for Leadership

02/15/2024

On this Valentine's Day, let's continue showing our love for Free Chol Soo Lee by sharing this incredible story, which, in many ways, was rooted in love -- love of truth, love of justice, love of humanity. Please do your part and spread the words about a special screening at UC Davis on Thursday, Feb. 29, at 4:30 pm. A reception and Q-and-A follows.
The talkback will feature an amazing panel of activists (like Ranko Yamada and Gail Whang), members of Chol Soo Lee's legal team, and today's activists/community leaders (including Do Kim, president of the The K.W. Lee Center for Leadership). Also, note the very special guest: K.W. Lee, the legendary journalist whose stories helped launch the movement to free Chol Soo Lee!
Please see the flyer below for a full list of participants, event details and RSVP info!

11/21/2023

Check out this episode written by Hanah Lee Cook, granddaughter of KW Lee!

Mickey Mouse is dipping his gloves into Korean culture with a new episode telling the story of a traditional first birthday party and doljabi ceremony.

In the "Mickey Mouse Funhouse" episode, Mickey and his friends attend the doljanchi, or first birthday of Ae-Che, a Korean tiger. The gang observes a cultural ceremony in which the toddler selects an object from a bunch of items laid out on a table to predict what she'll be when she grows up.

“The traditional items are generally an apple or some kind of fruit to represent health; coins represent good fortune; a paintbrush to represent an artist; and a pencil to represent being a writer or a scholar,” Hanah Lee Cook, who wrote the episode, told Disney's official fan club site D23.

“I did not grow up with too many representations of Korean culture,” Cook said. “So, it’s my own little way of ‘paying it forward’ to the next generation. It’s also an amazing opportunity for kids who are not Asian, or do not come from Korean culture, to learn about other traditions.”

Read more: nbcnews.app.link/6DohSEBgOEb

11/09/2023

We’re excited to share that we have two new versions of the Mental Health Thrival Kit! ✏️ Our journals have now been adapted for Korean-American youth and Filipino-American youth. Download the journals for free here: https://gallery.directingchange.org/resources/

A huge thank you to Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) Youth Leaders and Giovanni Ortega for your partnership to create the adaptation for Filipino-American youth. Thank you to Jonalyn San Diego for creating the cover art and coloring pages!

We also want to share immense gratitude to The K.W. Lee Center for Leadership and young people from the community for your partnership to create the adaptation for Korean-American youth. Thank you to Tracy Lee for creating the cover art and coloring pages!

Search to Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) The K.W. Lee Center for Leadership

08/27/2023

🧵❤️We were honored to have our quilt included in an exhibition about "Mothers of Koreatown" organized by student interns of the The K.W. Lee Center for Leadership!

03/21/2023

📣Calling all high school and college students 📢 Our signature summer Korean American Youth Leaders in Training (KAYLT) is now taking applications and will be IN-PERSON in LA's Koreatown!

Learn about the community and how to organize for change with a student-led organizing project, with sessions on the history of Koreatown, Saigu (1992 Civil Unrest), workers rights, coalition building, and more!

Program is June 12-August 4. HS students can earn community service hours and college students receive a $600 stipend!

Apply today:

Founded in 2003, The KW Center for Leadership is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing youth with the tools and opportunities necessary to become future leaders. Based in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles, the Center offers youth leadership training and educational programs that encourag...

11/29/2022

Our in-person annual dinner is officially sold out! Thank you for the outpouring of support and generosity for our work.

Can’t make it? Please consider supporting the Center as we continue providing youth with the tools and opportunities necessary to become future leaders!