For Immediate Release: May 15, 2003
Media Contact:
Gabrielle Jones (415) 557-4282
Everett Erlandson (415) 557-4596
San Francisco Public Library presents
"Min-Sok: Korean Heritage in San Francisco"
June 14-August 21, 2003
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF KOREAN-AMERICAN HISTORY
THROUGH PICTURES AND FILM
San Francisco - This year marks the centennial celebration of
Korean-Americans in the United States. The "Min-Sok: Korean Heritage in San Francisco," exhibit opens Saturday,
June 14, at the San Francisco Public Library's International Center, 100 Larkin Street at Grove, San Francisco.
"Min-Sok: Korean Heritage in San Francisco" gives audiences a first hand account of how Korean immigrants struggled
to maintain a rich culture as they settled in San Francisco. "Min-Sok" means "folk culture" and represents
Korean heritage and identity in the United States.
Photographs and documents from private collections - many never before exhibited -offer a window into a rarely seen part of bay
area history. Telegrams from 1945 reveal how many bay area Koreans rallied to support their countrymen who were becoming
victims of the North-South divide in Korea.
As a part of this exhibit honoring Korean-Americans, an exclusive public screening of "Arirang: The Korean American
Journey," will also take place on Sunday, June 22, 2003 at 2:00pm in the Koret Auditorium at the San Francisco
Main Library. Philip Cuddy, the grandson of Do-San Ahn Chang-Ho, a famous Korean patriot and hero highlighted in the film,
will lead a discussion on the immigration activities that surrounded the Korean American community in the bay area. "It
is an honor for me, a third generation Korean American, to have an opportunity to share stories and insight of the movement my
grandfather dedicated his life to. The exhibit, film, and discussion at the San Francisco Public Library enables us to
learn more about the history of a community that is well established in the bay area," said Cuddy.
Producer Tom Coffman has created a dramatic documentary that covers the background of political forces in Korea that drove
immigrants overseas, their arrival in Hawaii 100 years ago, and work by political leaders in exile to restore sovereignty.
A discussion and reception will immediately follow the screening.
"Min-Sok: Korean Heritage in San Francisco" and "Arirang: The Korean American Journey," are part of a
centennial celebration of Korean-Americans presented by the Intercultural Institute of California. The Intercultural Institute
of California is a non-profit organization in San Francisco dedicated to Korean cultural studies.
For more information regarding the exhibit, call (415) 441-1884, or at
www.iic.edu.
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