Korean Federation SE 2023 Sports Festival Speech
The 2023 Korean American Sports Festival Is Yours to Enjoy!
Sunny K. Park, Founder,
Federation of Korean American Association of the Southeastern U. S.
Greetings to all the athletes participating in the 41st Southeast United States
Korean American Sports Festival! We created it for you and you to enjoy!
Through your participation, our community will be made stronger—the
essential ingredient for the future of all Korean Americans and the United
States of America.
In June 1981, 48 dedicated Korean American community leaders from 18
cities in the six US southeastern states gathered and discussed finding some
ideal solutions to building a united community for future Korean American
generations. Having an annual sports festival was one of a few plans, and
the event has now become a tradition after 40 years.
Moreover, we are proud to say that it has also become one of the most
popular and effective events for youth among the Korean American
community. We have made great progress in the last few decades in
bringing our people together.
As you can imagine, the efforts of hundreds of community volunteers are
required to organize and prepare such an event and the venue. A few
oversights may have occurred; while we strive to be perfect, we often can’t
be. As such, I would like to challenge each of you to take your own
ownership of the festival and help to improve our future events.
Please pay attention to newly established Great American Scholarship
program. $10,000 and $5,000 scholarships just for college bound Korean
American high school students from the Southeastern United States. It is
scheduled to take applications in November 2023.
I congratulate Mr. Andrew Hong, the chairman, the leadership of the
federation, the organizers, and volunteers for the successful sports festival.
I hope you all enjoy the day, renew old friendships, and make new ones.
