By Eun Byoul Oh
As the KCCNYC Monthly Team, we try to bring you the highlights of our activities in the community and to memorialize them and our history through recording them. We believe that the newsletter is not only the history of KCCNYC, but a comprehensive record of Korean culture and history. We also share the stories of our newsletter on our Instagram.

By Sharon Stern
The Imjin War of 1592-1598 ended in December of 1598.  This month we look at how important the war was to the modern histories of Korea, Japan and China.

By Casey Eckersley & Sharon Stern
We mark the end of our first year of the Dosan Hakdang Book Club!  Read more about what we got up to in this Year End Recap.

By Hannah Elliott
It was another interesting year for the K-pop world. KPOP DEMON HUNTERS’ Golden took over the airwaves, the Hot 100, (and our hearts???), and we also got some REALLY good tracks from rookie groups. Enjoy KCCNYC’s Best of 2025 K-playlist curated by Hannah Elliott. Every ‘Best Of’ list is always subjective — so tell us, “What was your favorite song of the year?”

By Jon Oaks
As the year winds down, the holiday season brings its familiar mix of comfort, reflection, and complexity. This month also marks the end of a year filled with important adoptee accomplishments, gatherings, and milestones.

By Josh Kim
With December being the end of persimmon drying season, our myth this month is “The Tiger and the Dried Persimmon,” a story of a terrifying tiger who discovers something even scarier than himself. 

By Sharon Stern
New dramas in December and a full look back at all the (K)drama of 2025!

By Eun Byoul Oh
I am writing this editor’s note upon hearing of the new mayor in NYC. I moved to New York when I was nine years old, and moved back to Korea briefly in my teen years before finally settling in New York when I was in high school. I feel like New York is my home and I believe  New York will forever be my home 🗽

By Jon Oaks
At the core of everything I do, including teaching, writing, traveling, and volunteering, is a desire to create connection. As an adoptee, I have learned that belonging does not have to come from one place or one story. It can be something you build piece by piece through curiosity and shared experience. NAAM is a reminder of that truth, that each of our stories matters, and that understanding who we are often begins with the courage to explore what connects us.

By Marci Defrancesco
I was adopted from Seoul, South Korea, in May 1984, when I was just four and a half months old. My new family was from a city in upstate NY, Troy. That’s where my life as Marci DeFranceso begins. A Korean girl with an Italian name. My story has always been a blend of cultures: the mystery of where I came from and the love and craziness of where I grew up.

By Rylee Kennedy
Like many adoptees, I knew I was adopted from a very young age. When the infamous “where do babies come from?” came out my mouth, my parents were quick to inform me that my story had a few extra chapters tacked onto the end. In addition to coming out of my mother’s “stomach”, I also got to take a long plane ride across the whole world, after my birth mother (who loved me very much, of course) decided I needed to live with other parents who wanted a child.  My brother, as well as two of my cousins, are also adopted, so understanding this was easy…

By Jon Oaks
National Adoptee Awareness Month offers an opportunity for adoptees to claim space, share narratives, and connect with peers who understand the layered experience of adoption. For many adoptees, especially those of transracial, transnational, or culturally divergent adoption experiences, NAAM is a reminder that they are seen not just as someone’s “success story,” but as whole people with complex histories, feelings, and identities.

By Sharon Stern
On November 29, 1987, Korean Air Flight 858 exploded in mid-air over the Andaman Sea, off the coastline of Myanmar, killing 115 people.  But the details leave us with questions and mysteries.

By Casey Eckersley
For our October meeting, the Dosan Hakdang Book Club met to discuss Park Seolyeon’s A Magical Girl Retires, translated by Anton Hur. For a book on the shorter side, it certainly brought a large discussion!

By Wolf Robert Stratmann
We thank Wolf Robert Stratmann for putting an incredibly thoughtful and history-teaching playlist, as well as informative music notes, for us this month!