Korean Youth Community Center (KYCC)

KYCC's mission is to serve the evolving needs of the Korean American population in the greater Los Angeles area and of the dynamic multiethnic community in Koreatown. Directed toward recently immigrated, economically disadvantaged youth and their families, KYCC's programs and services are designed to promote community socioeconomic empowerment, encourage positive identity among the youth, enhance intergenerational relationships between Korean Americans, and develop constructive interethnic community relations. Founded in 1975 as an outreach project of the Asian American Drug Abuse Program and formerly known as the Korean Youth Center (KYC), KYCC was incorporated as an independent, nonprofit agency in 1982 and accepted by United Way of Greater Los Angeles as its first Korean agency one year later. In 1998, the High School Group in KYCC's Korean American Youth Leadership Program initiated a Korean American history project intended to educate the members of the group and other youth about their rich history and heritage. They have chosen to present their findings in the form of an academic planner. This planner is a compilation of photographs and oral histories of pioneering Korean American immigrants. KYCC's headquarters are located on the ground floor of a multi-use building that was designed by Hak Sik Son and completed in 1994; on the upper floors are nineteen units of affordable housing. Site visits can be scheduled by calling KYCC.