HONORING THOSE WHO FOUGHT DURING THE KOREAN WAR

HONORING THOSE WHO FOUGHT DURING THE KOREAN WAR

On January 24, 2025, the Korean Foundation of Puerto Rico honored those who fought in the Korean War. This memorial ceremony took place at the National Cemetery in Guaynabo in the presence of Sangpyo Suh, the Consul General of the Korean Consulate in Atlanta; BG Paul W. Dahlen; Juan Nieves; Yesul Lee; Yohan Yoav Shakes and KFPR President SuYon Yi. We extend our gratitude to veterans Victor La Barca Lago and Juan Barbosa who attended memorial ceremony.

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION 2024

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LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION 2024

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION 2023

LUNAR NEW YEAR CELEBRATION 2023

February 20, 2023

The Korean Foundation of Puerto Rico celebrates Lunar New Year’s Day (Seol or Seollal). In Korea there is a special festival dish called tteokguk or rice cake soup. Customs says that people can grow one year older after consuming a bowl of rice cake soup on that day. In addition, younger people make a deep traditional bow to their elders and wish them a happy new year, which is called sebae (New Year’s bow). Then, the elders typically reward this gesture by giving New Year’s gift money to their juniors.

CONTINUED RELIEF AFTER TROPICAL STORM FIONA

CONTINUED RELIEF AFTER TROPICAL STORM FIONA

February 2023

EMERGENCY RELIEF AFTER HURRICANE FIONA

EMERGENCY RELIEF AFTER HURRICANE FIONA

Hurricane Fiona relief efforts

We naturally had to get involved with the devastation caused by Fiona. We recently traveled south of the island to visit some families directly affected. While we all have seen images, seeing it in person takes another dimension. Houses have been flooded; some have no roofs; people have lost their belongings; and there was still no electricity a week after Fiona hit the island. These tragic conditions of course affect vulnerable people even more. We met a single mom with 3 children, two of them diabetic, who has lost her house and is being moved to a public housing facility but does not even have mattresses and blankets. We met another family whose grandmother died during the hurricane, the mother is single with 2 kids and does not have the resources for the funeral, and the uncle is a stage 3 cancer patient who needs an oxygen machine. We are a grassroots organization and believe in stepping in and helping highly vulnerable for people in dire situations who have not yet been helped by other relief efforts, and we will be contributing both funding, basic necessities, and equipment to a number of Puerto Ricans families in despair.

Supporting Ian to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games

Supporting Ian to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games

Supporting Ian to compete in the 2024 Paralympic Games

Ian is a wonderful 16-year-old Puerto Rican boy who was born with Cerebral Palsy which has left him with significant motor issues on the left side of his body. Despite his significant life challenges, Ian is an athlete and has embraced Prone paddleboarding and surfing. Here he is: https://youtu.be/2jDwzgnVwrQ. Challenging himself at competitive levels has helped him grow physically and mentally. His dream is to represent Puerto Rico at the upcoming Paralympic games which would most likely be surfing because Prone paddleboarding is not yet a Paralympic discipline. KFPR decided to support Ian with his preparation and to make his dream a reality because we believe in changing people’s lives one at a time and Ian is a role model that nothing is impossible if you believe.

Helping out with the Ukraine refugees’ crisis

Helping out with the Ukraine refugees’ crisis

Helping out with the Ukraine refugees’ crisis

The Ukraine war presented us with yet another incredibly tragic situation which we could not be indifferent even though it is far from Puerto Rico. We had the opportunity to learn about an amazing project to extract vulnerable Ukrainians from war zones to bring them to safety in Poland. This is led on the ground by two incredible men who served in the British Army and bring the knowhow and experience to organize what are effectively special operations. Here is more about Project Apollo: https://projectapollo.org.uk/. KFPR was able to help raise a significant amount of money at a charity event for this remarkable initiative.

Feeding homeless people during Covid Lockdowns May 2020

Feeding homeless people during Covid Lockdowns May 2020

Feeding the Homeless May 2020

During the Covid-19 lockdown, homeless people have been particularly affected because they lost access to their usual places for services. In May, KFPR teamed up with Mar Azul, a church organization, to prepare more than 200 meal boxes which we then distributed to homeless people on the streets of San Juan. KFPR not only bought the food but also made a financial contribution to future meals for the homeless. A special thanks to Dr. Jonathan Torres who is a member of Mar Azul and has supplemented the Church initiative which takes place twice a week by raising money from families and friends to feed the homeless by himself the other days of the week.

SUPPORTING THE VULNERABLE ELDERLY POPULATION

SUPPORTING THE VULNERABLE ELDERLY POPULATION

May 10, 2020

KFPR volunteers spent Mother’s Day to preparing 500 meals which were donated and distributed to 500 vulnerable elderly in 4 communities: Payita in Santurce, Buena Vista in Hato Rey, and Buen Consejo and Hill Brothers Sur in Rio Pedras.

KFPR , along with another donor, sponsored the cost of the food. A big thanks to Plato Restaurant who opened its doors and prepared the meals for this special event.

COLLEGE ENTRANCE WORKSHOP

COLLEGE ENTRANCE WORKSHOP

January 2020

We invited a leading college counselor from New York to come to the island to give a free workshop as well as “one-on-one” sessions with high school juniors; she saw more than 30 students and their families.

Puerto Rico Earthquake Relief February – Present

Puerto Rico Earthquake Relief February – Present

Puerto Rico Earthquake Relief

In the wake of the earthquakes early this year, KFPR stepped in to help a few families who faced particularly tragic circumstances having lost access to their home while having to take care of children with disabilities. A KFPR team of volunteers made several trips to visit these families, understand their situation, comfort them, and support them financially as well as providing them first necessity goods. A special thanks to Saint John's School who contributed items collected through a food drive.

Puerto Rico Earthquake Relief

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2022 The Tiger year Celebration

2022 The Tiger year Celebration

On Feb, 19, local KFPR members, Korean families and local celebrities came together to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Puerto Rico. Guests and their children were dressed to the Korean Traditional cloth (HanBok). The Korean Foundation of Puerto Rico Lunar New Year celebration featured performances by Korean drummers and Professional Viola. Everyone was enjoyed to having a good time with buffet-style Korean dinner, wine and Korean traditional activities. Over 100 attendants had to present a negative COVID-19 test in order to be granted entry into the celebration. it was wonderful, fun and safe celebration, thanks to host Mrs. Suyon Yi, president of KFPR and Alberto Baco, director of KFPR.

Essential Bags December 2020

Essential Bags December 2020

KFPR has organized to hand out over 200 bags containing essential necessities (rice, canned food, sweets, toilet paper, masks, and hand sanitizer) to Puerto Ricans who have fallen on very hard times. Special THANK to those who volunteered including Saint John’s School and TASIS school students.

Supporting Vulnerable Elderly People in San Juan May 2020

Supporting Vulnerable Elderly People in San Juan May 2020

Supporting vulnerable elderly people in San Juan (May 2020)

KFPR volunteers spent Mother’s Day to help prepare 500 meals which were donated and distributed to 500 poor elderly people in 4 different communities: Payita in Santurce, Buena Vista in Hato Rey, and Buen Consejo and Hill Brothers Sur in Rio Pedras. KFPR , along with another donor, also sponsored the cost of the food. A big thanks to Plato Restaurant who opened their doors for this special event and who cooked the meals.

Lunar New Year Celebration

Lunar New Year Celebration

Thank you all for attending the KFPR Lunar New Year Celebration/Korean Language and Culture School Open House! It was a tremendous success with over 100 attendees.

Korean Language and Culture School January 2020

Korean Language and Culture School January 2020

Korean School and Culture School January 2020

We launched a Korean Language and Culture School for children K-5th grade, which takes place every Saturday at Saint John’s School to expose the children to the Korean culture, teach them the language and introduce them to Taekwondo.

Learn more at https://kfpr.us/korean-school

College Consulting Work Shop January 2020

College Consulting Work Shop January 2020

College Workshop

We invited a leading college counselor from New York to come to the island to give a free workshop as well as “one-on-one” sessions with high school juniors; she saw more than 30 students and their families.

Free Dental Exams for the Local Community

Free Dental Exams for the Local Community

지역사회를 위한 무료 치과 검진입니다

On June 12, 2019, a team of dentists from the Atlanta Korean Association and Church, arrived in Puerto Rico to provide free dental exams to the local community of Puerto Ricans who don’t have insurance plans. They were part of a 30+ person team that spent a week in Lares providing free medical, dental and construction help to those in the area.

The event took place at the offices of Dr. Wanda Ortiz at the Popular Center in Hato Rey. Dr. Ortiz donated her facilities, staff and time to support the event and we thank her and her staff for being such generous hosts!

Check out her Facebook page.