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LA Korean woman starts scholarship foundation

June 10, 2015

Rim Soon (Korea Times)

A woman and her two sons have set up a scholarship program, Rim Family Foundation, for Korean American students.

Rim Soon, 83, said her family started the foundation with $1 million in private funds.

Operations have been given to FIAT, a Korean Catholic foundation that handed out $15,000 last year and plans to give $25,000 to another group of students this year.

Students enrolled in schools 12th grade to graduate school with a grade point average above 3.0 may apply.

Rim, who lost her husband 24 years ago, said he first moved to America to work as a consul secretary in the 1970s.

“His salary then was very small,” she said. “I set up the foundation with that memory.”

While her original idea was to make a scholarship available to children of consul employees, she said she realized more students needed help.

After graduating from law school at Ehwa Womans University and studying abroad in Japan, Rim immigrated to the U.S. in 1982 and worked as a real estate agent.

Although FIAT is mainly targeting Korean Catholic students, Rim’s thinking is a bit diferent.

“Because this is a foundation I created with the wish that young people can throw themselves into their studies without having to worry about money, I hope assistance goes to all young Koreans regardless of religion,” Rim said.

For more information, call FIAT Foundation at 714-702-9830.