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Monterey gets new Korean American community hub

April 17, 2015
Monterey's Korean American community leaders pose in front of a newly acquired building that will serve as a hub of the Korean community.

Monterey’s Korean American community leaders pose in front of a newly acquired building that will serve as a hub of the Korean community.

The Korean American Community Organization of Monterey County in California has secured its first building in its 41-year history, set to serve as a hub of the city’s Korean American community.

The two-story, 5,400-square-feet space was purchased for $657,000.

Organization President Lee Eung-chan thanked community members Wednesday and said acquiring the building would not have been possible without the help of past organization presidents and local Korean Americans.

A Korean language school, supported in part by the South Korean government through the help of the San Francisco Korean Consulate General, will move into the building.

A history exhibit will be installed in the first-floor lobby, Lee said, for the benefit of second-generation Korean Americans.

Other Korean organizations set to use the space as their new homes include the senior association and the Korean American Grocers Association, Lee said.

“When I receievd the key for the first time, I had a lump in my throat,” said Korean language school director Moon Soon-chan. “After 41 years of hard work, this is thrilling.”