Children's Day outdoor event in Roseville
2022-05-07 11:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago)
Children and their families are invited to a Korean Children’s Day event, sponsored by Korean Adoptees’ Ministry Center (KAM Center) to be held Saturday, May 7, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will include snacks, Korean food, games and activities, goody bags, books and prizes. Lee’s Taekwondo students will do a demonstration of Korean martial arts.
The event will be held at Central Park in Roseville at the Foundation Picnic Shelter. (Street address: 2495 Victoria St. N., Roseville, MN 55113).
Children’s Day is a traditional holiday every May in Korea. Advance registration is online at the link: $20 per family; $10 per person. Onsite registration at the event is $30 per family or $10 per person in cash or check only. Email for event information, or to volunteer: kamcmg22@gmail.com

Architect Grace Kim to speak at Twin Cities Cohousing Network event
2022-05-11 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
A special live engagement via Zoom with architect Grace Kim, principal of Schemata Workshop in Seattle will be held Wednesday, May 11, 7 p.m. CDT.
Kim specializes in design of cohousing communities and other types of multi-family buildings, which require a human-centric approach. Kim co-founded Capitol Hill Urban Cohousing, a mixed-use project where she lives and where her business is also located.
Kim is a leader in the cohousing movement nationally, and will also be speaking at the Cohousing Association of the U.S. general conference to be held August 26 through 28 in Madison, Wisconsin.
The local event is the first in a series of Meet the Professional speakers to be presented by the Twin Cities Cohousing Network.
The free session is of interest to the general public as well as professionals in the field. The event is limited to 100 registrants.

HANA Center Health Fair offers low cost screenings
2022-05-21 12:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | 5140 North California Avenue, Chicago, IL, 5140 North California Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60625, United States
Free health screenings will be available by appointment at the HANA Center’s 43rd Annual Korean American Health Fair, Saturday, May 21, noon to 5 p.m.
The health fair will take place at the Swedish Hospital Galter Medical Pavilion, located at 5140 N. California Ave., Chicago).
The last HANA Center health fair took place in 2019; at that event, 125 people received critical healthcare.
The Health Fair connects community members with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to provide health screenings and preventative care at low cost, regardless of insurance coverage or immigration status. The Health Fair will offer tests such as mammogram, EKG, urinalysis, pap smear, and others.
Appointments are required. Call the HANA Center at 773-583-5501 to make an appointment. Hospital parking is available free of charge. For more information, contact Rachel Cha at 773-583-5501 or rcha@hanacenter.org.

Author Marie Lee to read at Stillwater event
2022-06-15 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
Novelist Marie Myung-Ok Lee will read from her recently-launched book The Evening Hero at the Zephyr Theater, Stillwater, on Wednesday, June 15.
The event is sponsored by the Stillwater bookstore Valley Bookseller and one of a series of author events called Literature Lovers’ Night Out.
Lee’s novel tells the story of a Minnesota doctor who loses his job when his rural hospital closes, forcing his early retirement and wreaking havoc on his patients’ lives. Finding his way again after a consuming medical career in which he found purpose involves making peace with his traumatic past as a survivor of a childhood lived during wartime.
In addition to Lee, three other authors will read: Dana Bahr (The Houseboat); Joshua Moehling (And There He Kept Her); and Kathleen West (Home or Away).
The event starts at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30) and runs until 8:30. A $15 admission includes a $5 coupon to use at the event. Zephyr Theater is located at 601 Main Street, Stillwater. The event is limited to 100 and reservations are required (see link).

Campaign kick-off event for Susie Strom, Korean American candidate for Minnesota House
2022-06-23 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Sucker Lake Regional Park, 4500 Rice Street, Vadnais Heights, MN, 55127, United States
Susie Strom, candidate for Minnesota House District 36A, will have an outdoor campaign kick-off event on Thursday, June 23, 5:30 p.m. at Sucker Lake Regional Park, 4500 Rice Street, Vadnais Heights.
Strom, a Korean adoptee from the Twin Cities, is celebrating her Korean heritage with some Korean drumming and dancing performances, and Korean games at this family-friendly event. Asian-inspired food from the “Got Rice” food truck will be available for purchase.
The candidate is running in a district that includes Centerville, Circle Pines, Lino Lakes, North Oaks, and parts of White Bear Township, and has received the endorsement of the Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) party.
To donate to the campaign, learn more about Strom’s candidacy, please see the website at: stromformn.com. Tickets for the event are at the link.

Registration open for KAAN conference, June 24-26, Denver
2022-06-24 - 2022-06-26
Registration is open for the 2022 in-person conference of the Korean American Adoptee Network (KAAN) to be held June 24 to 26, in Denver, Colorado. The deadline for reduced registration is June 1.
KAAN is a conference about all aspects of adoption from Korea, and includes adult adoptees and their families, adoptee children and their siblings and parents, birth parents, adoption professionals and anyone who has been affected by adoption.
The annual conference includes keynote speakers, films, presentations, performances, exhibits, support forums. The conference features programs for youth 8 to 17, and an adult adoptees-only track.
For more information, including conference registration costs, and hotel information, see the website at the link.

LA Benefit concert will support WomenCrossDMZ
2022-08-06 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The Los Angeles Korean American Musicians’ Association (LAKMA) will hold a benefit concert for WomenCrossDMZ entitled Peace Concert: Unified in Friendship and Harmony, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.
The concert, to be held August 6, will feature performances by the LAKMA Symphony Orchestra and Chorale. The evening will also include a sceening of clips from the film documentary Crossings, by Deann Borshay Liem (who also produced/directed Geographies of Kinship and Memories of Forgotten War). Crossings chronicles the 2015 crossing by an international group of women activists from North Korea to South Korea, in an action to bring attention to the need for peace and reconciliation between North and South Korea.
WomenCrossDMZ is an organization that supports a global women’s mobilization for peace on the Korean peninsula, including a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War. More information on Women Cross DMZ is available at: www.womencrossdmz.org.
For more information on the concert contact https://thelakma.org/.

2022 Chicago Drum Festival set
2022-08-13 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Chicago) | Roosevelt University, 430 South Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60605, United States
The Korean Performing Arts Institute of Chicago (KPAC) will hold its 2022 Chicago Drum Festival, a concert featuring diverse world-drumming teams based in the Chicago area.
The concert will feature Ayodele Drum and Dance, Tsukasa Taiko, Chicago Samba, and the KPAC, representing African, Japanese, Brazilian, and Korean traditions, respectively.
Tickets are through Eventbrite and can found at the link.
KPAC is the leading Korean cultural arts group in metropolitan Chicago, reaching an audience of 25,000 annually. Formerly known as Global Pungmul Institute, KPAC provides authentic Korean music education to Chicago area students, hosts guest artists, and provides Korean percussion and traditional music performances for Chicago audiences. The festival will be held at Ganz Hall, Roosevelt University, located at 430 South Michigan Ave., Chicago. More information about KPAC offerings is at: www.soribeat.org.

Theater Mu to hold birthday bash
2022-08-21 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | 2325 Endicott Street, St. Paul, Minnesota, 2325 Endicott Street, St. Paul, MN, 55114, United States
Theater Mu, established in 1992, is celebrating its 30-year anniversary with a 1990s-themed birthday bash August 21 at Urban Growler Brewery in St. Paul.
The fundraising event will include family-friendly activities including carnival games, a restaurant raffle, and a food truck. There will be a short program to reflect on past accomplishments, envisioning for the future, and kicking off the 2022-2023 season.
The event will be held Sunday, August 21, 1 to 5 p.m., with an outdoor fun fair and prizes at the Urban Growler Brewing, 2325 Endicott St., St. Paul. Tickets are $60 (or less with Theater Mu’s “pay as you are” pricing policy). Tickets include two drink vouchers, one entrée voucher for the food truck, and a five-game punch card for the fun fair. See the website for more information: https://www.theatermu.org/mus-30th-birthday-bash

Self-Care 101 for Transracial Adoptees to be held at Hana Center, Chicago
2022-10-15 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Chicago) | Hana Center, 4300 North California Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60618, United States
Author and educator Soojin Pate will facilitate an interactive workshop on self-care for transracial adoptees, Self-Care 101, at the Hana Center of Chicago, 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 15.
Registration is free, capacity is limited to 30, and this session is intended for transracial adoptees. It is presented in partnership with Hana Center by the Korean Adoptees of Chicago (KaTCH).
Pate, a consultant dedicated to centering the lives and experiences of historically marginalized peoples, teaches courses on race and ethnic studies in the Twin Cities area.
The workshop will provide a safe space in which transracial and transnational adoptees can discuss how the “isms” racism, sexism, colonialism they encounter in society can affect them as people of color, and how to combat the the harmful messages they receive from society, family, and even from themselves.
Korean Adoptees of Chicago offers regular public events which are promoted on its Facebook page.
Pate was named Educator of the Year and Ally of the Year by Macalester College. She is the author of From Orphan to Adoptee: U.S. Empire and Genealogies of Korean Adoption (University of Minnesota Press), co-host of the Antiracist Parenting Podcast, and host of the podcast Decolonize Yourself.

Crazy Broke Asians, a line-up of six bands, to play at the Cedar Cultural Center
2022-10-21 19:00 - 23:30 (America/Chicago) | Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, 55414, United States
Crazy Broke Asians is a line-up of six music groups combined into a one night of entertainment celebrating Asian excellence in the Twin Cities. Featured performers include headliner Kiss the Tiger, Diane, MAYDA, D’Lourdes, Vulgar Tongue and TEKK NIKK. The event will be Friday, October 21 at the Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis.
An introductory video made by Meghan Kreidler (lead vocalist of Kiss the Tiger) introduces the bands that are the line-up at this event. The Cedar Cultural Center is partnering with radio station 89.3 (The Current) and Theater Mu, an Asian American performing company in the Twin Cities. Tickets are $15 in advance; $20 on the day of the show.

Hanji class in Korean paper ornament craft to be held
2022-11-05 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Marine Mills Folk School, 550 Pine St., Marine-on-St. Croix, MN, 55047, United States
The Hanji Crew, a Twin Cities craft group, will offer a class on making hanji holiday ornaments in a class to be held Saturday, November 5, 1 to 4 p.m. at the Marine Mills Folk School, located in Marine-on-St. Croix.
No experience is necessary for the class, which teaches the Korean art of making traditional crafts from hanji, a durable traditional paper made of mulberry bark. The class is targeted to adults, but crafty teens and tweens (ages 10 and older) may also participate with a separate registration. Participants may make their own ornaments or use Hanji Crew’s stencils.
The Marine Mills Folk School is an experiential learning center in Minnesota’s St. Croix Valley, teaching classes in fiber arts, woodworking and other arts and crafts pursuits.
The Hanji Crew makes and sells its own paper crafts through sales in the Twin Cities area, and donates the proceeds to organizations benefitting Korean adoptees. The Crew are two mothers of Korean adoptees who established the group and developed their proficiency in hanji art.
The paper can be used to make a range of items, from tiny ornaments and to large boxes and handbags. For more information and photos of hanji crafts, see the webpage at www.thehanjicrew.com or the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/thehanjicrew/

Korean Culture Festival at MOA November 6
2022-11-06 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago)
Korean music, percussion and dance groups from the Twin Cities and Chicago will perform for a free Korean Culture Festival to be held at the Mall of America, Bloomington, on Sunday November 6 from 1 to 5 p.m.
The Korean American Association of Minnesota is sponsoring of the event, which will feature Twin Cities performing groups JangMi Arts, Shinparam Korean Traditional Drum Troupe, MKDC Kpop dance group, and a martial arts demonstration by Lee’s Champion Taekwondo Academy. Chicago performing groups include the Korean Performing Art Institute of Chicago, and the Korean Dance Company of Chicago. There will also be a fashion show by the Korean Student Association from the University of Minnesota.
The event will be held at the Huntington Rotunda event area within the Mall. The Korean American Association of Minnesota, a business, cultural and service organization of the Twin Cities Korean American community website is: www.mnkorea.org

Workshop on self-care for Korean adoptees
2022-11-12 08:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago) | Hilton Hotel, 3900 American Boulevard West, Bloomington, MN, 55437, United States
Adoptee Hub will hold an all-day Self-Care Workshop on Saturday, November 12, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., for Korean adoptees, age 18 and older.
The workshop will include Korean cultural elements, including a traditional tea ceremony and basic Korean language learning. It will also include discussion on understanding adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) a conversation on birth family searching, and a yoga session.
Participants are encouraged to come prepared to discuss, share experiences and challenges, be curious, and ready to build resilience and self-awareness. All discussion is confidential and will be conducted in a safe, nonjudgmental space.
Participants will receive a self-care package at the end of the day. Breakfast, lunch, and snacks are included. Adoptee Hub has made reservations at Hoban Uptown for a dinner (participants will pay separately for this).
Workshop will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Bloomington. Reservations for the workshop are limited to 30 participants; see the Adoptee Hub website for more information.

Korean adoptee visual artists call for submissions due November 20
2022-11-20
The Facebook group Korean Adoptees Diaspora Art and Culture (KADU) is calling for submissions for an exhibition entitled Motherland. Submissions are due November 20, and the curated exhibition will be held April 19 through May 2 at the Maru Art Center, in the Insadong neighborhood of Seoul.
Submissions are limited to two-dimensional artwork (photography, video, illustration, animation and painting) and must reflect the theme of “motherland.” Participating artists must be Korean adoptees or second-generation children of Korean adoptees. Artists will need to submit their works on digital files, and apply by email with a bio, CV and artist statement in English to photochanho@naver.com. For more information, see the Facebook site.

Free live webcast: Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema author talk
2023-01-17 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago)
Screenwriter and culture writer Karen Han, author of the monograph Bong Joon Ho: Dissident Cinema will be featured in a live webcast Tuesday, January 17, 6 p.m. EST (5 p.m. CST).
Han will discuss the work of the Academy Award-winning director Joon Ho Bong. Bong has been making films in Korea since the early ‘90s, but is best known in the U.S. for his films Snowpiercer (2013), Okja (2017), and most recently Parasite, which got the Academy Award in 2020 for best picture, best director and best original screenplay.
Han’s book is the first definitive critical and visual survey of Bong’s work. It is illustrated and designed by the film magazine Little White Lies, and surveys Bong’s body of work, including short films and music videos. It includes interviews with Bong’s key collaborators, his rise to fame in the West, and reveals the stories behind his films.
The Korea Society is presenting this webcast. Sign up to be sent the free viewing link.

JangMi Arts holds Seollal event with lunch and performance
2023-01-21 11:00 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | White Bear Lake High School South Campus, 3551 McKnight Rd. N., White Bear Lake, MN, 55110, United States
A celebration with dance and drum performances, taekwondo demonstrations, kids’ activities and games, holiday market, and a special new year lunch will be held by JangMi Arts on Saturday, January 21. The event will be at the White Bear Lake High School South Campus, in White Bear Lake.
The event is in honor of Lunar New Year (Seollal) and will include special new year games, such as yutnori, and a lunch of rice cake soup (dokkguk), which, in tradition, one must eat to grow a year older in the new year (beef and vegan broth available). The performance and activities are free; the lunch (11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) is $15, with proceeds benefitting the Korean performing arts programs of JangMi Arts.
The free performance by JangMi Arts students and students of Lee’s Champion Taekwondo will be held 1 to 2:30 p.m.; reservations for free tickets requested. Reservations available at the attached link. (Donations can be made on Venmo to: Korean Arts@JangmiArts)

Chicago Korean adoptees celebrate Lunar New Year (Seollal)
2023-01-21 16:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Hana Center, 4300 North California Avenue, Chicago, IL, 60618, United States
The Korean Adoptees of Chicago (KAtCH) will ring in the Year of the Rabbit at its Lunar New Year (Seollal) celebration 2023 to be held at the HANA Center in Chicago on Saturday, January 21.

The event will include food and celebratory activities around observance of Lunar New Year in Korea. There will be a special session for kids by Yaejin Shin, student mentor, who will lead children in learning Korean phrases and cultural activities, including how to use the Korean hand drum (sogo).

Korean Adoptee Ministries to hold new year (seollal) event
2023-01-28 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | Korean Presbyterian Church, 5840 Humboldt Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN, 55430, United States
Korean Adoptee Ministries will hold a 2023 Lunar New Year celebration on Saturday, January 28, 2023, 4:30 to 6:30 at Korean Presbyterian Church of Minnesota, 5840 Humboldt Avenue North, Minneapolis 55430
The event is the first after a pandemic break of three years. It will feature Korean food, Korean traditional games, and a sebae (bow to the elders). Pre-registration is required, and is limited to 20 families.
The Korean Adoptees Ministry (KAM) Center is a Christian non-profit organizations that provides support and services for, and dialogue with Korean adoptees and their families.

Author Heinz Insu Fenkl to speak about novel Skull Water at Korea Society online event
2023-02-07 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Chicago)
Heinz Insu Fenkl, author of the just-published novel Skull Water, will speak in a free live event sponsored by the Korea Society, to be held February 7, 5:30 p.m. CST (6:30 EST).
Fenkl’s novel is based in his life experiences as a half-German, half-Korean kid growing up in 1970s Korea, dealing with identity and displacement, and his Korean family, especially his Big Uncle, a geomancer and scholar whose life was uprooted by war. Through Big Uncle, Insu is drawn to the folktales, legends, Buddhist thought, and supernatural qualities of Korean culture. He views his life in South Korea through this lens, as the homeland rapidly transforms into a more modern and Westernized country.
Fenkl is the author of the novel Memories of My Ghost Brother, a PEN/Hemingway Award finalist and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. He is known internationally for his collection of Korean folktales and translations of classic Buddhist texts.
He is also a long-time regular contributor to Korean Quarterly of writings about Korean literature, and his own translations of North Korean serial comics (manhwa), including The Crystal Key.

Author David Mura to speak about new book
2023-02-08 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Minnesota Humanities Center, 987 Ivy Avenue East, St. Paul, MN, 55106, United States
Author David Mura will speak in a free book launch event of his new book The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself: Racial Myths and Our American Narratives on Wednesday, February 8, 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Minnesota Humanities Center in St. Paul.
The book, available after January 31 from the University of Minnesota Press, uncovers pernicious narratives white people have created to justify white supremacy and sustain racist oppression.
From the country’s founding through the summer of Black Lives Matter in 2020, Mura unmasks how white stories about race attempt to erase the brutality of the past and underpin systemic racism in the present. The author explains racial narratives to dissolve the myth of whiteness and acknowledge the experiences of Black Americans.
Following a reading, best-selling author Alexs Pate will join Mura for a discussion on race, history, and education. A book signing will follow the talk. The event is open to the public and will include a moderated discussion with the author.
The Minnesota Humanities Center will offer a limited number of complimentary copies to event attendees and the University of Minnesota Press will have additional copies for purchase. The event is co-sponsored by the two organizations, and is part of the Minnesota Humanities Center’s Minnesota Writers Series, which amplifies the works of Minnesota authors about the human experience.

Korean Adoptees of Chicago monthly dinner event set
2023-02-25 18:30 - 21:30 (America/Chicago) | Sun Wah BBQ, 5039 N Broadway, Chicago, IL, 60640, United States
Korean Adoptees of Chicago (KAtCH) will hold its February dinner at Sun Wah BBQ, 5039 N. Broadway, Chicago, February 25, 6:30 p.m. The event is for Korean adoptees and their friends and family. Registration is required; seating is limited. For more information or for last-minute reservations or cancellation, please email: kads@katchicago.com.
KAtCH exists to represent and serve Korean adoptees of the Chicago area, and to foster positive relationships in the larger AAPI community It provides monthly social events, and also cultural events, collaborations with other Korean American organizations, and opportunities for mentoring of younger transnational adoptees.

Webinar on Korean peace open for registration
2023-03-01 14:00 - 15:30 (America/Chicago)
Laying Out a Roadmap for Peace in Korea in 2023 is the title of a free online webinar to be held at 2 p.m. (CST) Wednesday, March 1.
New Korea peace legislation will be re-introduced in Congress on that day by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA). The discussion at the event will center around the political context and geopolitical dynamics in Korea and the U.S., how the new Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act provides a roadmap toward peace, and opportunities for action.
Jae-Jung Suh, an expert in U.S.-Korea relations and international security, and professor of politics and international studies at the International Christian University (Tokyo, Japan) will speak, along with Christine Ahn, peace activist, executive director and co-founder of Women Cross DMZ. Colleen Moore, advocacy director for Women Cross DMZ will also speak.
Registration for the event is at the attached link.
For more about the Korean peace advocacy campaign of Women Cross DMZ, please see the website:www.womencrossdmz.org

Adoptee Hub to hold fifth year anniversary and fundraiser event
2023-04-15 16:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Roseville Center Ice Arena, 2661 Civic Center Drive, Roseville, MN, 55113, United States
Adoptee Hub will hold its fifth anniversary and fundraiser April 15, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Roseville Center Banquet Hall.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Korean adoptee Rebecca Kimmel of Washington (state), whose birth family search resulted in her discovery that her birth records had been falsified. Her story was reported in Korean media. In searching for the wrong birth father, she was able to help reunite one birth father with his twin birth daughters who had been adopted.
In addition to Rebecca Kimmel’s talk and discussion to follow, the event will include a Korean dinner, silent auction and door prizes.
An early bird registration ($45) is available now until March 30. Regular price tickets ($55) will be available April 1 through 14. Day of event tickets are $65.
Proceeds from the event will go toward Adoptee Hub’s adoption registry, which will bring Korean adoptees and their birth parents together through confidential matching.

Lotus Flower Lantern-Making for Buddha's Birthday
2023-05-06 13:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | 34 13th Avenue NE, 34 13th Avenue NE, Minneapolis, MN, 55413, United States
Jangmi Arts will hold a workshop on lotus flower lantern-making, a traditional lantern used for worship and for parades on Buddha’s birthday in Korea. The workshop will be held Saturday, May 6, in two sessions: 1 to 3 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m. The event will be held at 34 13th Ave. NE, Minneapolis.
Cost is $25 per person, which covers all materials, plus snacks and beverages.
Jangmi Arts is a Twin Cities organization offering Korean dance and drumming for all ages. There is a Facebook invite and pre-registration, and general information at the website: www.jangmiarts.com.

Ariana Kim and Chamber Music Society of Minnesota to perform Maksimal
2023-05-07 16:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Sundin Music Hall, 1531 Hewitt Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55104, United States
The Chamber Music Society of Minnesota (CMSM) violinist and artistic co-director Ariana Kim, along with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, will perform the Minnesota premiere of Maksimal for violin and piano at its next concert on May 7. A modern work by American composer David Tempkin, Maksimal was inspired by the music of Beethoven. Tempkin is known for crafting works filled with rich details and visceral beauty. The concert will be held at the Sundin Music Hall on the campus of Hamline University.
The program will also feature the E-flat Piano Quintet by Robert Schumann, with Kim on violin and Jocumbaviciute on piano, joined by Young-Nam Kim (violin), Sally Chisholm (viola), and Jane Cords O’Hara (cello).
Since its founding some 20 years ago, the CMSM has held superb chamber music events, featuring world-renowned guests and Minnesota’s finest artists. In addition to its subscription concerts, the CMSM presents master classes and workshops by distinguished guest artists. Its annual Northern Lights Chamber Music Institute, the educational arm of the CMSM, convenes at Camp Vermillion in Cook, Minnesota, each August.
Tickets for the May 7 are $25 ($20 senior and $15 student) and are available at the link above.

Crossings screening to be held in San Francisco
2023-05-13 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Great Star Theater, 633 Jackson St., San Francisco, MN, 94133, United States
The documentary film Crossings will have a San Francisco premiere at the film festival CAAMFest 2023 on May 13, 5:30 p.m. at The Great Star Theater, located in Chinatown.
Crossings, by award-winning documentary filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem, describes the journey of Women Cross DMZ, a group of international women peacemakers who crossed the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas in May 2015 as an act of defiant peacemaking. The film also details the goals of the international movement to formally end the Korean War that preceded and followed this event.
Liem’s films (including a documentary film on the history of Korean adoption Geographies of Kinship) cover many aspects of Korean history and the relationship between the two Koreas, and of Korean Americans with their country of origin.
The story of Women Cross DMZ is punctuated by newsreels and historic accounts of the treacherous roller-coaster ride of U.S.-North Korean relations over the last 70 years since the Korean War was ended with an armistice. The film describes how the women peacemakers, including renowned activists Christine Ahn and Gloria Steinem, tackle political hurdles, bureaucracy and widespread controversy to forge a path towards solidarity and peace.
Filmmaker Deann Borshay Liem and activist Christine Ahn are expected to attend for a post-screening Q and A. CAAMFest, sponsored by the Center for Asian American Media, is one of the nation’s largest and enduring showcases for Asian and Asian American films. Tickets are $15 ($13 senior) and available at the link.

History scholar to present on history of Gwangju Uprising on 43rd anniversary
2023-05-18 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
Korean history researcher Hayana Kim will speak in a free virtual event May 18 (7 p.m. CST) on the legacy of democracy in South Korea, and in honor of the 43rd anniversary of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising, a pivotal moment in South Korea’s struggle to reject a military dictatorship and re-establish democratic rule. The uprising resulted in hundreds of deaths of demonstrators after the military was sent into the city of Gwangju to violently put down the pro-democracy demonstrations.
The presentation, entitled Revolutionaries of the 5.18 Gwangju Uprising: Ordinary People’s Struggle for Democracy, is sponsored by the HANA Center of Chicago, and the NAKASEC Network. Kim’s presentation will be followed by a Q and A session, and a response by Korean American youth. The event will be held in English and Korean, with interpretation in both languages.
Please see the link for registration and more information.

Korean hanji papercraft class to be held
2023-05-20 13:00 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | Marine Mills Folk School, 550 Pine St., Marine-on-St. Croix, MN, 55047, United States
The Hanji Crew, two women skilled in the Korean design craft of mulberry paper, or hanji, will hold a two-day class at the Marine Mills Folk School, located in Marine on the St. Croix, on Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. on both days.
Participants will create a Korean-style decorated six-sided box. Hanji has been used for more than a thousand years to make decorative and practical products in two or three dimensions. The paper’s strength makes it ideal for paper-cutting, calligraphy and painting. The box will be finished at the end of the first day’s class, will dry overnight, and on the second day, participants will decorate and finish their boxes.
Adults and crafty teens and tweens can all make the box; no experience is required. Any participant younger than 15 will need to be supervised by an adult. Tuition is $50 and the materials fee is $15, for a total of $65.

Ung Lim Lee to exhibit landscape art in St. Paul
2023-06-09 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Xia Gallery and Cafe, 422 University Ave., St. Paul, MN, 55103, United States
Mountains and Trees, an exhibit of drawn and painted landscapes by Twin Cities artist Ung Lim Lee, will premiere at Xia Gallery in St. Paul with an opening reception to be held Friday, June 9, at 6 p.m.
Lee, age 90, was born in what is now North Korea. His art school education was interrupted when he had to travel to South Korea during the Korean War. After immigrating to the U.S. as a young adult, he had a long career as an advertising illustrator, but he always worked on his own drawing and painting.
After moving from New Jersey to Minnesota in 2017 to be with family, he spent the pandemic years developing his art, and has completed hundreds of works. Lee often uses unconventional materials and techniques such as permanent markers on dry-erase board, paint on frosted glass, or pen on sheets of rubber to portray his own style of detailed representational art. He often paints scenes from his homeland, and the Diamond Mountains (Kumgang-san) is a favorite motif.
Reservations for free tickets are encouraged (see link). Xia Gallery supports local Asian American and BIPOC artists and makers. More information is at the gallery’s website.
