The second half of “Arirang: The Korean American Journey,� a documentary film chronicling 100 years of the Korean-American experience, will debut in Los Angeles at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Korean American Education Foundation.
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program, the UCLA Center for Community Partnerships and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center will present this public program in honor of the Korean-American centennial of immigration to the United States. The event was made possible by the generosity of Farmers Insurance Group.
“The UCLA Center for Community Partnerships is proud to work with these distinguished organizations to commemorate the contributions of Korean Americans in the past 100 years,� said Franklin D. Gilliam Jr., associate vice chancellor for community partnerships at UCLA. “We are particularly pleased to build bridges between UCLA and Korean-American communities.�
The program will begin with a shortened screening of the first half of “Arirang,� which focuses on the first generation of Korean-American settlers who channeled their efforts toward the cause of homeland independence from Japan. Succeeding generations turned to the problems and possibilities of America.
The Los Angeles debut of the second half of “Arirang� will follow. Known as “Dream,� the film documents the physical and psychological distance between Seoul and Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey; the social and economic distance between shopkeeper and Harvard graduate; and the journey from the devastating Los Angeles civil unrest of 1992 to a heightened involvement in the American scene. “Dream� captures a community in transition from anonymity to national prominence.
“We are living in times that are changing faster than ever,� said Angela Oh, a prominent Korean-American leader and author from Los Angeles. “In such times, it is easy for people to forget that the decisions they make today will impact the lives of generations to come. The Tom Coffman film ‘Arirang’ weaves together the Korean and the American experiences in an intelligent, moving and inspiring way to remember who we are.�
A panel discussion with director Coffman, Dr. Eui Young Yu, director of the Korean American Coalition’s Census Information Center, and Terry Hong, project director of the Smithsonian Korean American Centennial Commemoration, will follow the screening. The event concludes with a short reception.
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program presents this public program to complement the “Dreams and Reality� exhibition of Korean-American contemporary artists currently on view at the Korean American Museum in Los Angeles. Farmers Insurance also sponsored this traveling exhibit.
For UCLA’s Asian American Studies Center, the screening is one of the first in a yearlong series of events commemorating the center’s 35th anniversary.
The event will bring together Southern California’s Asian-American, Korean-American and other communities. Several organizations and institutions have lent support to this public program, including the Korean American Coalition, the Korean Resource Center and a number of Asian-American studies programs throughout Southern California.
The event is free and open to the public. The Korean American Education Foundation is located at 680 Wilshire Place, Los Angeles. Free parking is available in the building’s underground structure.
For more information about the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program and the Korean American Centennial Commemoration, please visit www.apa.si.edu.
For information on the UCLA Asian American Studies Center’s 35th anniversary events, please go to www.sscnet.ucla.edu/aasc.
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