Na Young Chung(Inglemoor High School, 12th grade)
Gift Giving Korean American Community
Identity.
It is something that we have all once struggled to discover in ourselves.
My
own identity was cultivated through the different communities that I have once
been a part of. When I moved to the United States from Korea at the age of 10,
I could not identify as either Korean or American.
Unfortunately, there was
nowhere I could be both. Then, at age 13, I moved to Seattle, where there is a
large Korean American community encourages participation and inclusion.
Individuals and groups join to serve the local and global community, and I
absolutely love being involved in such a community, for I have the opportunity
to serve and identify with a community that pursues the well-being of others.
However, the students within the community pursue a different idea. We
competitively strive for excellence, myself included. Because of this disparity
between the first and second generation, I did not know what kind of a
community our generation would build.
Thankfully, through the Gifts-to-Give
Benefit Concerts, I was able to witness the generosity of my generation as well
as discover my own vision for the future of the Korean American community.
Gifts-to-Give
began with a small idea of mine. I had the perfect picture: a student-led
benefit concert full of young musical talent to raise funds for those in need.
Shining in our beautiful dresses under the bright stage light, my friends and I
would perform with our own respective instruments.
The audience would be more
than glad to contribute funds to organizations that foster those in need.
Fortunately, my aspiration became reality. In June, 2013, the very first
Gifts-to-Give was presented, featuring award-winning Korean-American teen musicians
and volunteers.
That night, Gifts-to-Give raised $4,000 in profit, donating
each half to orphans in North Korea and the Homeless of Seattle. We
raised funds and awareness beyond the concert hall’s walls—our city, our
nation, and our international community.
After
the first concert in June, I produced the second Gifts-to-Give
concert in November, 2013 for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda and the patients
of Cornerstone Free Medical Clinic.
In August, 2014, I once again gathered
talented young musicians and compassionate students to share our gifts with
students with disabilities in Seattle.
Finally in 2015, I was able to work with
the most diverse group of passionate performers and volunteers to produce my
last Gifts-to-Give concert as a high school student.
Through our participation
and efforts we were able to give to neglected children and struggling families
in our local area. Throughout the four concerts, the passionate Korean-American
youth had gathered with other teens of this area to create events that give
boundlessly.
At
each concert, I feel the power of music as well as my own capabilities. Not only was I able to
be a leader in directing the concert, but I joined a valuable network through
the process of the organization.
Through recruiting performers and volunteers
for the concert, I met and interacted with Korean-American students in the
greater Seattle area who I would have never met if I did not produce
Gifts-to-Give.
As we progressed through each concert, past volunteers or
performers would bring in new participants. I also grew to become more
observant when meeting new people in the Korean-American communities, as I was
seeking for potential people to work together on the next Gifts-to-Give
concert. As a result, each concert produced a specific community.
These
communities were built upon relationships between students who simply had the
heart to help others or are talented in the performing arts. All of these
strong communities share the communal memory of giving to others.
They showed me
that with a driven leader, enthusiasm for participation, and willingness to
network, a benevolent, sympathetic, and active community can be created. This
is the Korean American community I now reside and will continue to grow in.
I am eager to seek
out different opportunities to work with my peers in this community, to seek
potentials and gifts. And when I do, I hope to share those gifts with the world
to cement our legacy as a gift-giving community.