[KKOOM] Scholarships for Aged Out Korean Youth

In May 2023, KKOOM hosted its very first event in the United States out of our 15-year existence. It was the Dream Big Gala to bring more awareness about our mission and to start building community in Atlanta as there is a big Korean population in Atlanta, Georgia. The gala featured Korean food, performances, speeches from KKOOM’s Co-founder, donors, volunteers, and the highlight was hearing the stories from two boys who grew up at KKOOM-supported children’s homes. 

TaeHyeon was one of the young adults asked to speak at the gala. He was raised at a KKOOM-supported children’s home since he was 13-months-old. During his speech, he mentioned that he didn’t know he was an orphan until he was 13-14 years old. “One day, my friend ask me, “aren’t you an orphan? I was so shocked to hear this news. Then I was very depressed and lost confidence. But my mother told me this: ‘You are my son, I love you more than anyone else. And the world is unfair, but Jesus is always fair.’ And I gained confidence in this remark and was no longer afraid that I was an orphan.” 

We asked TaeHyeon to share his experiences speaking at the gala and his time in Atlanta. Below are his direct responses.

Did you enjoy the Dream Big Gala? What was your favorite part(s) about the event?  

• Absolutely yes it was perfect to me. Actually, I had never experienced something like this before that time. To be honest, I really liked and loved everything about [the] Dream Big Gala.

Were you nervous about speaking? Why? 

• I like to share my experiences with people. Actually I wasn't nervous before I went on stage. However , it was my first time speaking in front of many people in English, that’s why i was so nervous when I went up, but I have no regrets because I told to people what i wanted to say.

Did public speaking at the gala boost your confidence? 

• It gave me a lot of motivation, everything was appreciated, and I want to give to many children the opportunity they need when I achieve my dream and become a better person.

You shared a lot about your faith in your testimony. Why is your faith so important to you? 

• If there was no God in my life, I couldn't imagine how I would be living now. He showed me everything, told me and provided for me. I become a better person by believing in God and I think I became a witness to people.

What did you enjoy the most about your trip to Atlanta? 

• To be honest, I had the best time at Dream Big Gala. It was so nice to meet many people there, share my experiences, and learn about US cultures.

Did you enjoy Savannah? What was your favorite thing you ate or did in Savannah? 

• Savannah is the place I wanted to go even before I went to Atlanta. Grace drove for Nahyeon and me, so I was able to come back comfortably and happily. It was so nice like a vacation spot and I remember eating seafood deliciously.

How was it visiting the largest aquarium in the United States and one of the largest ones in the world? 

• This was also an experience I had never done before. The private tour and the aquarium was bigger than my house and was so impressive. When I was there, I was so happy and grateful to be here.

Did your trip to Atlanta motivate you to study English harder? 

• I thought  I wasn't good enough there yet. But I’m not disappointed. I got motivated and am working harder now. I am studying English hard and preparing for the TOEFL test.

What are some other places you want to visit in the United States? 

• Actually, the palace I want to go to the most is California. Because I had a dream that I wanted to live in the United States when I traveled there. I want to meet the person who invited me there, and I want to tell him about my experiences.

TaeHyeon arrived in the United States in February 2023 to start an English Language Program in New York. The gala was his first time speaking to a sold-out audience in English. While he was nervous, he did an incredible job and we are so proud of him. He has overcome a lot of stigma and barriers to become successful today, and it inspires us how confident he is in sharing his own story to impact other vulnerable children. TaeHyeon’s words of encouragement to young children living in Korea’s social welfare system is this - “you are not alone.” 

KKOOM is celebrating its 16th anniversary in September 2023 and it's stories like TaeHyeon's that show the direct impact of your generosity. TaeHyeon was not a KKOOM College Scholar but he was an Oak Tree Project Scholar through our partner organization. TaeHyeon has directly benefited from KKOOM holiday and enrichment activities since he arrived at a KKOOM-supported children's home at 13-months-old. Your giving makes a difference in the lives of the toddlers, children, and young adults we support. Thank you for helping young adults like TaeHyeon to believe "you are good enough," so they can believe in the power of sharing their stories. 

KKOOM’s College Scholar, Jaehyuck, just completed his Associate’s Degree in Security Management. We have previously shared in our blog posts that his dream is to become an actor. He is making those dreams a reality by moving to Seoul to pursue his acting career full-time. Jaehyuck asked KKOOM in February if we could cover his moving costs to relocate. He specifically asked for approximately $300 to help fund a moving company to take care of his relocation. 

We reached out to the KKOOM community via social media and through our newsletter to support this immediate need for Jaehyuck. We were completely blown away by the outpouring of love for him. Twenty-two people from four different countries donated $1,826 for this specific request. Due to the overwhelming response, we asked Jaehyuck to use half of the funds towards his acting career. We sent approximately $740 to Jaehyuck in late February and will send the remaining $1,086 in May for accountability as he pursues acting full-time. KKOOM is disbursing the funds to Jaehyuck at two different times so he can be fiscally responsible with it. 

Jaehyuck sent a thank you video to the donors who helped him with this need. You could tell he was holding back tears as he said, “Thank you for supporting me as an actor. I will do my very best!” Here is a YouTube video of Jaehyuck being featured in a commercial for the Busan Air Cruise. 

Before Jaehyuck needed help with his move to Seoul, you were one of the reasons Jaehyuck completed his Associate’s degree. Your generosity allowed him to afford school and to audition for different acting gigs, such as a web K-drama series and small casting opportunities as an extra in a music video. Thank you for believing in Jaehyuck to pursue his dreams. We appreciate your support uplifting young adults who grew up in Korea’s social welfare system. In our next report, we will share more about our new college scholars who have started college this month.

KKOOM started its 15th Anniversary celebration in September 2022. One of our longest lasting programs has been the college scholarships for young adults who have aged out of the social welfare system in South Korea. We are excited to share how many lives we have impacted through these semester scholarships in the future. This report gives an update on how scholars Minyeol and Jaehyuck are doing in their second years of graduate and undergraduate school.

Minyeol:

In 2017, we began supporting Minyeol as a KKOOM college scholar with his Associate’s, Bachelor’s and now his Master’s degree. And despite the challenges and limitations brought on by Covid-19 and spending the majority of his classes online, Minyeol is grateful to have been able to successfully wrap up his first year of graduate school studying Theology in 2021. 

He told KKOOM that his favorite course so far has been “Christology” which involved difficult terminology and vocabulary. It provided him with a much deeper understanding into his faith as he aspires to become a praise minister. He is thankful to now have in-person classes this year. 

In fall 2021, Minyeol was also matched with a church ministry and has since poured his heart into serving. He spent his summer break interacting with the young children of this church and even finds himself eagerly anticipating the weekend because he gets to spend precious time with the elementary school students from the ministry. 

During Chuseok, one of the largest holidays in South Korea in September, KKOOM’s Executive Director and Co-founder had a chance to catch up with Minyeol. Minyeol is always very grateful to KKOOM supporters for helping make his collegiate experience possible. His gratitude could be felt in every word he expressed to KKOOM’s leadership and how much encouragement the scholarship gives him on a daily basis. 

Jaehyuck:

In 2021, we announced Jaehyuck as one of KKOOM’s most recent college scholars! He grew up in a KKOOM-supported children’s home and started his 2-year college degree in spring 2021 at a university in the Gyeongsangbuk-do region. He is studying Security Management while also pursuing his dream of becoming an actor. 

We asked Jaehyuck to reflect on his first year in college. Jaehyuck shared with us that he was both fascinated and excited to get to study in college but found that adjusting to the new environment and people was a bit challenging. However, he soon got accustomed to school life, made close friendships with his peers, and even achieved an impressive ranking of 18th out of 40 students at his school. He says it was an extremely rewarding experience to have studied the hardest he has in his entire life to receive such high grades. His classes are a mix of in-person and online classes so, besides the days he has shoots for film projects he is involved in, he goes to school to take classes. His favorite class in the spring semester was “Security First Aid Response”. He found it fun and engaging to learn ways to make quick judgments that could save lives.

Jaehyuck spent his winter and summer break pursuing his dream of becoming an actor by studying with his acting teacher to improve his skills. He even told KKOOM that he was able to take part in amazing experiences including learning directly from experienced actors and auditioning for short films and dramas. Recently, Jaehyuck was even featured as a supporting actor in a music video for a band called Suri! 

Only provided with $4,000 in government aid, he was expected to navigate adulthood alone and encountered a lot of difficulties after leaving the children’s home at 18-years-old. Jaehyuck’s hard work and resilience has proven that despite these difficulties, your support or encouragement through KKOOM’s scholarship can help motivate him through the most challenging days. Thank you for supporting Jaehyuck’s future by investing in him now. 

Within the next year, we are excited to reconnect with former KKOOM scholars to hear how the scholarship directly impacted their lives and career goals. On behalf of the young adults we serve, we thank you for your steadfast support in brightening the lives of Minyeol and Jaehyuck. 

NaHyeon is a former KKOOM College Scholar and is now enrolled in the English Language Institution at the University of Utah to study English. His English studies are possible thanks to the Yana Ministry sponsoring him with a scholarship. 

His dream is to stay in the United States at the end of his year-long program and open up his own restaurant. We are hoping to get him one step closer to his dreams by funding internship experiences across the nation working at different restaurants to diversify his culinary work. Thanks to a KKOOM donor, his first internship experience is funded with the travel and meal costs. He is currently in Atlanta, GA, and will start his internship this week. 

To better understand NaHyeon’s story, here is his bio that he shared recently with the Yana Ministry. 

“I first entered the welfare center when I was 4 years old. Although I don’t have any memories of or keep in touch with my birth mother, I was still able to mature into a person of sound body and mind through the care of the director and the center mothers. 

Growing up, I lacked patience and grit and found myself oftentimes giving up in the midst of many presented opportunities. I had no interest in studying and lost my chance to apply to my high school of choice due to low academic performance. At that moment, I thought of all the younger children at the center. I resolved to become better because they were looking up to me. 

Through rigorous studying, I was able to become valedictorian and I tried to live a life I was proud of as the President of the student body for all 3 years. One day in my junior year, I happened to attend a lecture by a well-known chef. It changed my life forever. I began to dream of becoming a chef that could cater to people’s hearts through food. 

I aspire to be a chef. Because I have received so much unconditional love and support, I hope to one-day give back to those that need it.” - NaHyeon 

From KKOOM College Scholar to Oak Tree Project Scholar (KKOOM’s partner organization) to now being a Yana Ministry Scholar, NaHyeon has worked incredibly hard to be studying English in the United States. It is a full circle moment to see your generosity through the college scholarship program has allowed NaHyeon to be on a journey to pursue his career goals. In the future, we will share more updates and share a blog post written by NaHyeon. We will also give you an update on how Minyeol and Jaehyuck are doing as they start their second year of graduate school and second year of college.  

We hope to continue making dreams a reality for the children and young adults we serve. Thank you for being a part of our story to make this possible for more aged-out adults like NaHyeon. 

With gratitude, 

-Grace Lee, Executive Director

One year ago, Minyeol was wrapping up the last semester of his undergraduate classes. Now, he is finishing up the first year of his graduate studies in Theology. There are still challenges having all virtual classes, but his optimism to push through is inspiring. We asked Minyeol to answer a few questions on how his fall semester of graduate school is going. Here are his answers translated in English:

1) What do you enjoy most about college?

• I have started my second semester of college during my first year of graduate school. Because it is still virtual classes, there are some challenges, but there is a subject that I like the most. This is a sermon course. In order to do ministry in the future, you need to prepare for sermons, and this course teaches you how to prepare for a sermon. I enjoy listening to it.

2) What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?

• There are still many limitations due to Covid-19. But I think the best thing to do is to worship at church on Sundays and to talk with people.

3) What is the most challenging thing about college?

• The most difficult part is having non face-to-face academic classes. For the virtual classes, there are many things that are needed in various situations, and it is difficult to talk about ministry without any in-person communication.

4) How does the scholarship money of 700,000 KRW help you pay for school or does it help you with living costs?

• I am very grateful to receive the 700,000 won semester scholarship through KKOOM. I am currently living with a lot of support and I am content in my life.

5) Do you have anything you would like to say to your KKOOM supporters?

• A heartfelt thank you to the KKOOM supporters. In the future, I will not forget this grace, study harder, and do my best to repay you in my life. I want to meet and say hello to each and every one of you, but I cannot do that. So I would like to say thank you, even though it’s a short gesture.

6) What are you most grateful for?

• Everything is by God’s grace. There are many things to be thankful for, but I thank God for giving me the opportunity to study so difficult, and I am most grateful to the KKOOM organization that gives me a precious scholarship in a difficult environment.

7) What helps you get through really tough days?

• Even hard days seems to have strength. There are many ways to overcome this, but the most intensive method is to meditate while listening to praise or take time to reflect on my heart through prayer. This is how I overcome the most difficult situations in my life.

8) What is your favorite season of the year and why?

• I love all seasons. One of my favorite seasons is winter. The reason is simple. Because there is Christmas when Jesus was born. 

Anytime we hear from Minyeol, he is most grateful for you. By investing in his graduate studies, you are keeping hope alive for this young man navigating the world through difficult circumstances, something that he acknowledged in this blog post.

Each of you may have experienced your own difficult days this year as well. Despite the unexpected we have navigated the past several months or the past two years, we extend a heartfelt thank you for taking the time to support, care, and give love to young adults like Minyeol.

Even through the hard days, you give strength to a young man on the other side of the world. Your generosity is reminding Minyeol to be grateful for everything he has. Through the holiday season, we hope you find joy through rest and are continuing to stay safe, healthy, and blessed. Thank you for being a blessing to our college scholars Minyeol and Jaehyuck. 

With gratitude, 

-Grace