We are delighted to share with you excerpts from the overall winners in the high school division and college division. KAC’s inaugural Dosan Legacy essay contest required attendance at a half-day program over the summer and a written essay. The winners of the essay contest were announced in October at an awards luncheon. We selected first-, second- and third- place winners for grades 9 through 12, and overall winners in both the high school and college divisions. The students received cash prizes for their winning essays, ranging from $100 to $500.

 

Overall high school winner: Evonne Yi

 

… Acts of courage can be described as dramatically as saving lives or as simply as being brave enough to be morally upright, having the maturity to view not only your needs but those of the people around you, allowing yourself to continue to be hopeful even in negative situations, making the decision to be tenacious in your struggle for justice and staying committed to the greater good. Dosan Ahn Chang Ho embodied these values, by endeavoring to fulfill a dream for the entire populace of Korea as well as for Korean Americans.

 

… Dosan replied, “No, I cannot. When I eat, I eat for Korean independence. When I sleep, I sleep for Korean independence. This will not change as long as I live. As all Korean people want their independence, Korean independence will become a reality; as world opinion favors Korean independence, it will become reality.”

 

… Be good American citizens but never forget your heritage. … I have been able to recognize that fighting for what you believe in; fighting for dreams that appear impossible, believing in yourself and in your potential to bring goodness to others in the world around you is the type of courage that is needed to do “the right thing” every day …

 

Overall college winner: Elizabeth Jun

 

… Courage did not necessarily mean that one had to be a defiant voice in the midst of tyranny; rather, courage at its most basic level was the quality that a person displays by doing right even if it is dangerous, difficult or in my case, inconvenient.

 

In his time and place, Ahn Chang Ho stood and spoke as a voice of courage. In addition to relating this jury duty lesson to the courage that Ahn Chang Ho so valiantly demonstrated, the small postcard also provided another link to the Korean nationalist. One of the values that he instilled in his children was the importance of being a good American citizen while maintaining the Korean heritage.

 

Korean Americans often complain of their lack of power in American civic society. Often cited with this grievance is that they are perceived to be “perpetually foreign.” In America, jury duty is one of the most basic ways in which citizens are empowered to influence the verdicts of the otherwise undemocratic judicial system. By attempting to evade jury duty by ignoring their summons or by feigning the inability to understand English, Korean Americans deny themselves of one of the simplest vehicles to gain recognition and political access in America.