We are pleased to announce the publication of the latest RCKC book project, The Koreans Who Have Devoted Themselves to the Koreans' Welfare in the New York Korean Community (뉴욕 한인복지를 위해 공헌한 사람들). This Korean-language book, edited by RCKC's Young Oak Kim, was published by Bookorea Publishing Company In August 2021. This edited volume features autobiographical essays by ten individuals who either founded or are in leadership positions in major Korean social service and community organizations in the Greater New York area, including Kwang Suk Kim of Korean Community Services of New York (KCS), Kwanghee Kim of Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC), Ju-Bum Cha of MinKwon Center for Community Action, and many others. This is the fourth book published in Bookorea's and RCKC's North American Korean Community Book Series. RCKC's director, Professor Pyong Gap Min, is the book series editor. 

On Tuesday, August 24, 2021, there was a small book party to celebrate the publication of this volume at Kum Gang San Korean restaurant in Flushing, Queens. The attendees included seven of the ten chapter authors and staff members of RCKC.

On Friday, May 21, 2021, we hosted a virtual seminar on the preservation and maintenance of Bukchon Hanok Village, which is a 600 year-old Korean traditional village in Seoul located near Gyeongbok and Changdeok Palace and Jongmyo Royal Shrine. Since 2000, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has taken measures to actively preserve and maintain the village, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in South Korea. The Korean-language Zoom talk was given by Nam Jung Hyun, RCKC's Visiting Scholar for 2020-2021. 

Since 2016, Nam Jung Hyun has served as the Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Hanok Heritage Preservation Division. Prior to that, he was the Director of the Residential Improvement Division.

On Saturday, March 20, 2021, we hosted a virtual book talk for the recent publication of Korean "Comfort Women": Military Brothels, Brutality, and the Redress Movement by Pyong Gap Min, the director of our research center and Distinguished Professor of Sociology at Queens College and the Graduate Center of CUNY. This important monograph was published by Rutgers University Press, and it is available in paperback, hardcover, and E-Book.

This book is significant because it is the only English-language book that examines both the "comfort women" issue and the redress movement for the victims of Japanese military sexual slavery comprehensively. It examines not only their forced mobilization to and brutal experiences at Japanese military brothels, but also their post-war hardships in returning home and their suffering in Korea for a half century. It also covers the redress movement in Korea, Japan, and the United States in detail. This book is also important because it is related to several social science disciplines. 

This event was co-hosted by RCKC and Open Forum Korea and sponsored by The Research Foundation for Korean Community (RFKC), the Korean American Association of Greater New York (KAAGNY), and the National Unification Advisory Council, New York Chapter.

On Saturday, March 27, 2021, we hosted an online screening of the documentary film Jeronimo, directed by Joseph Juhn. This film recounts the story of Jeronimo Lim Kim, a Cuban-Korean who fought in the Cuban Revolution and crossed paths with Fidel Castro and Che Guevara before turning to his Korean roots and making great efforts to locate Cubans of Korean descent and create a supportive Korean-Cuban community. The 90-minute film was followed by a Q & A session with the director. The screening and Q & A was held through Zoom. We would like to thank the director Joseph Juhn and everyone who participated.