By James Minki Kwon

Paul Sohn is a former employee at a Fortune 500 company who, upon realizing one day that his successful career had been nothing but a void without devotion to God, began a spiritual journey to overcome his ‘quarter-life crisis’; Carol Kim is an educator-turned-politician who finished 2014 San Diego City Council election, her very first race, as a runner-up; Clara Lee, who goes by AZRA, is a musician, life-coach and author whose book <Cupcake Theory> gained 5 of 5 on Barnes and Nobles review.

Colorful and stellar as such were the speakers from the first San Diego Korean American Youth Camp, held from August 4th to 5th at Hanbit Church (4717 Cardin St. San Diego). Featuring “All Star” line-up for the local Korean American community, the event was conceived and sponsored by San Diego Korean Association and Korean American Coalition (KAC) San Diego branch to give young Korean Americans “opportunities to learn their root and formulate their identity as Korean-descent”, says Jini Shim, the president of KAC San Diego. Ms. Shim was also tasked with running the event as MC, with aids from volunteers who are mostly young Korean Americans in their 20s. For such a nascent event without any backing from big businesses, dealing with more than thirty teenagers is by no means an easy task. Still, it seems that the camp managed itself pretty smoothly. “I liked all the inspirational stories and presentations at the camp,” says a participant, “Their experiences as Korean Americans made me rethink my identity and feel proud of it.”

The Korean American Association hopes to make this event an annual gathering of local youth. For more information, please visit http://koreanyouthcamp.weebly.com