Culture Mosaic Club
(Multicultural)
In July 2024, my friend Stephen and I co-founded the Culture Mosaic Club (CMC), and we have since been leading it together as co-presidents. Motivated by a shared passion for multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion, we brought together a small team of students who were equally eager to celebrate and explore the richness of global cultures.
Our first major initiative was Korean Culture Day in December 2024, which marked the beginning of a year-long journey filled with cultural learning, planning, and community engagement. In February 2025, we were invited by our local library to host a Korean "Seollal" program, where I led cultural education and traditional craft activities for families and children. In May 2025, during AAPI Heritage Month, I took part in organizing a city-sponsored event in Cupertino with 23 cultural booths and 12 live performances, where our team operated the Pacific Islander booth and helped coordinate the event as a whole. Beyond organizing events, I’ve also led internal study sessions and seminars within the club, using blog posts to reflect on what I’ve learned and share it with others.
These efforts have given me the opportunity to meet and interact with over 1,000 members of our community—young children, parents, city staff, librarians, and performers—and help them engage with diverse cultures in a meaningful, hands-on way.
Junior
Peaceful Unification
Advisory Council
(Jr. PUAC)
The Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC) is a constitutional organization established by the Republic of Korea under Article 92 of its Constitution. With the President of South Korea serving as its chairperson, PUAC operates over 250 regional chapters in approximately 130 countries worldwide and engages more than 20,000 advisors. It exists to provide policy recommendations on the peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula, and under its umbrella, youth members participate through the Junior PUAC program. In the San Francisco area, Korean American students like myself have taken part in meaningful volunteer work and public diplomacy efforts to raise awareness of Korean unification.
I joined the Junior PUAC San Francisco Chapter in April 2024 and have served as vice president since September. Born and raised in Korea until eighth grade, I grew up with an awareness of North Korea as our neighbor. But unlike my parents’ generation, who experienced division more viscerally and emotionally, I approached the issue with a different perspective. I understood that simply sharing an ethnic identity did not explain why unification was necessary, and I believed it was our generation’s responsibility to examine the issue critically and with long-term vision.
Through my involvement in PUAC, I’ve come to learn and internalize the challenges of unification—not only intellectually but through hands-on experiences. From participating in the Overseas Youth Unification Golden Bell quiz competition to organizing Korean book donations at the Monterey Library, from mentoring next-generation Korean American youth to honoring veterans at the Korean War Commemoration Ceremony and luncheon, I’ve had countless opportunities to engage with history, diplomacy, and community. I also took part in the Unification Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge and helped plan and run the Unification Culture Festival, where we introduced Korean culture while also encouraging conversations about current issues such as military tensions on the peninsula and human rights violations in North Korea.
Among these, the veterans luncheon left a deep impression. Meeting Korean War veterans in person, expressing our gratitude, and serving them meals was both humbling and moving. Seeing how modestly some of them live today—more than 70 years after the war—was sobering. While the only thing I could offer beyond the prepared boxed meals was my own lunch, that small act reminded me of the importance of human connection. It also made me reflect on the structural differences between Korean and American approaches to supporting veterans, and the need for policy change.
At first, public diplomacy felt like an abstract and intimidating concept to a high school student like me. But when we walked across the Golden Gate Bridge carrying signs, and strangers asked us what we were doing and why—it became clear. Even small actions can spark real conversations. Through these events, I saw how sharing our story—of a divided Korea, of the ongoing desire for unification, of the struggles still faced by people in the North—can create empathy across borders, one person at a time.
These experiences have also led me to think more critically about the role of our generation. Recently, I analyzed the results of a PUAC youth survey on Korean unification awareness and used that data to prepare a presentation on how today’s teens view the issue and what role we should play. I believe this conversation—starting from us and shared with both adult PUAC members and other Junior PUAC chapters—can be the beginning of more constructive, intergenerational dialogue.
For me, being a part of Junior PUAC is not only about celebrating Korean identity—it is also about embracing the responsibility to carry forward the unresolved question of peace on the Korean Peninsula. That, too, is part of the heritage I am proud to inherit.
