| What is the KAJ?
Created in
1984, the Korean American Journal (KAJ) is an intercollegiate magazine
published biannually that reflects the voice of Korean American students across
the nation through opinions and news articles, artwork, photography, poetry and
fictional writing. Although the journal is published and coordinated by Yale
undergraduate students, the KAJ accepts submissions from undergraduate and
graduate students throughout the nation in order to create a more authentic and
comprehensive panorama of the diverse Korean American community. As an
intercollegiate journal, the KAJ is distributed to universities and
organizations nationally. Some topics previously covered include the 1987 riots
in Seoul, the tensions between Korean Americans (gyopos) and Koreans in Korea,
overseas adoption of Korean children, the L.A. Riots, the role of churches in
the Korean American community, North and South Korean relations, and many other
thought-provoking and at times, controversial topics.
The year 2004 marks the twentieth anniversary of the KAJ, and the Fall 2004
issue of the KAJ included the usual variety of opinion articles, poetry, photography,
artwork, and fiction writing in addition to new features such as a profile on a
notable Korean American student, a political brief on the human rights movement
in North Korea, a testimonial by a student who interviewed comfort women in
Seoul, South Korea, and an expose on the exploitation of Asians in the garment
industry. The Spring 2005 KAJ will
continue to reflect on the momentum the Korean American community has gained
over the past twenty years with the theme of “creating a scene.”
Our Mission Statement
The mission of the KAJ is to raise
awareness of Korean, Korean American, and Asian American issues, to
provoke meaningful thought, and to stimulate constructive dialogue. The
KAJ works to achieve these goals by presenting a diverse collection of
political articles, poetry, artwork, photography and fictional works,
and serves as a medium through which Korean Americans throughout the
nation can manifest themselves in various forms of expression. We hope
to expose the many facets of Korean America and foster the growth of
that exposure by bringing together many different opinions and
individual expressions and distributing the journal to other colleges
and universities around the nation. |
