LETTER FROM THE EDITOR - VOL. 22
KCCNYC Monthly - March 2026
By Eun Byoul Oh
KCCNYC 2026 갈라에 와 주셔서 감사합니다. 만나서 정말 반가웠습니다.
Thank you for coming to the KCCNYC 2026 Gala. It was such a pleasure to meet you!
On behalf of the KCCNYC Gala committee, I want to say thank you to everyone for coming to our Gala and having fun with us!
We had a lot of food, drinks, speeches, songs, K-pop dance, Jazz, a DJ party, a silent auction, and more!
On February 19, KCCNYC had its 2026 Gala and Lunar New Year celebration. We were more than excited to see our community members not only from NYC, but from across the U.S. We had students and community members who flew in from California, Georgia, Michigan and France, and we also had people come by train from Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The Gala was a great opportunity for us to meet and greet each other in person. When I started at KCCNYC about 11 years ago, KCCNYC was mostly focused on serving the New York City population, and our demographic was more concentrated on Korean-Americans.
The faces that we met at the Gala were far more diverse. As I mentioned in my Gala speech, our community expanded our outreach to include Korean-Americans, Korean Adoptees, families and spouses of Koreans and Korean Americans, and non-Korean students who are deeply invested in learning Korean culture and language. The Gala itself – including all the effort on the day of the event until the doors opened at 7PM – would not have been possible without the generous support from our community.
The Gala displayed artworks of young Korean Artists!
It was quite moving to see how many new friends came to the Gala to celebrate KCCNYC’s journey with us, and we hope to continue our growth together. The Gala was truly amazing and I was struck by how we all – from different states, with different upbringing, and from different cultures – bonded over Korean culture and enjoyed meeting each other. We were also thrilled to see all the beautiful artworks from young Korean artists at the Gala. We hope to continue to feature art and support the artist community in Korea and the U.S. For more details, please see our Gala recap article.
As we wrap up February and move into March, I think of how March always begins with the March First Movement commemoration for every Korean. As we covered it in the history of the month last year and continue our coverage this year, the March First Movement in 1919 was Korea’s first public mass demonstration against Japanese colonialism. Although the March First Movement was certainly not a victory that brought about Korea’s liberation, the March First Movement is a moment for Koreans to remember that their flourishing history and culture cannot be erased by violence. No matter how long it takes, as long as we resist, the act of resistance will be carried on by the next generation and the next generation and generations after until we achieve freedom from authoritarian governments.
The March First Movement is considered the root of Korea’s long history of protests against authoritarian regimes. Koreans celebrate the legacy and educate the next generations on the importance of resistance against threats to our constitution. This year, the history of the month will focus on the women who were the leading force of the March First Movement to also highlight International Women’s Day in March.
Korea’s independence would not have come without the bloodshed of our female independence leaders who are often forgotten or overshadowed by their male counterparts. We dedicate the history article to the forgotten voices of female independence leaders.
This March 2026 issue of KCCNYC is filled with K-drama, adoptee news, Korean literature corner, KCCNYC community news, and more!
In March, Dosan Hakdang Book Club, we will read the novel We Do Not Part by the Nobel Prize winning author Han Kang, in remembrance of the Jeju 4.3 Uprising. The RSVP form is still open. Please join us on March 29, 2026 at 2PM for our in-depth discussion on the masterpiece.
May is AAPI Month and is coming up fast, and KCCNYC is preparing to join many events with our AAPI friends. We are currently working to co-host a kimchi pickling event with the 14th Street Y (a separate link with discounted tickets for KCCNYC community will follow), and yes, we are going to go to the Yankee’s Korean Heritage game on May 2! I hope many of our community members can come to these events! Please refer to our KCCNYC community news section for our upcoming in-person events as part of our KCCNYC 방과후 series, and submit the Google forms to let us know your interest in the events.
Due to the upcoming events, KCCNYC spring semester will launch April 13, without a week break between the semesters. Please email us to schedule placement tests, if you have prior experience with Korean. Hope to see you in our classes! You can register here.
In 2026, we hope to broaden our network and outreach in the Korean and Korean-American community in NYC and beyond. We will stay as an inclusive community where everyone can bond over Korean culture. We are currently looking for more volunteer writers and designers for KCCNYC Monthly and our social media! Please email us with any inquiries.
Since now we are in the new year of red horse, 새해에도 잘 부탁드립니다 (please look after us for the new year).
With gratitude,
Eun Byoul Oh
