Inaugural Korean American Grassroots Conference in Alabama coming to Auburn April 27

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Auburn University’s Korea Corner has played a pivotal role in planning the first Korean American Grassroots Conference in Alabama. 

Korea Corner worked jointly with the Korean American Grassroots Conference in Washington, D.C., the Overseas Koreans Foundation and the Alabama Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs to bring the event to Auburn on April 27.

The Korean American Grassroots Conference, the largest nationwide network of Korean American voters, has hosted a national conference every summer since 2014 in Washington, D.C. The Alabama conference maintains a similar purpose: to promote civic engagement of the Korean American community through civic education and voter mobilization. 

The local conference is scheduled for 8 a.m.-4 p.m., in the Legacy Ballroom of The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center. It is free and open to the public. Young adults, college students and high school students are strongly encouraged to attend.

For more information, visit aub.ie/koreanamericangrassroots

Speakers include Alabama Secretary of State John H. Merrill; Georgia Rep. Sam Park; Nichelle W. Nix, director of the Alabama Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs; Auburn Mayor Ron Anders; Royrickers Cook, vice president for University Outreach and associate provost at Auburn; and Wonseok Song, executive director of the Korean American Grassroots Conference.

Programming for the day-long conference is designed to foster collaborative efforts between Korean Americans and elected officials in order to develop and implement civic education and voter registration programs, as well as to better coordinate the Korean American community’s advocacy efforts on the national level.

The Korea Corner at Auburn University operates within University Outreach through the Office of Professional and Continuing Education with support from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Atlanta. The corner provides educational resources and experiences designed to meet the changing needs of citizens in a global society and strengthen the connection of members of the Korean community to American culture and society. 

Auburn University is a nationally ranked land grant institution recognized for its commitment to world-class scholarship, interdisciplinary research with an elite, top-tier Carnegie R1 classification, life-changing outreach with Carnegie’s Community Engagement designation and an undergraduate education experience second to none. Auburn is home to more than 30,000 students, and its faculty and research partners collaborate to develop and deliver meaningful scholarship, science and technology-based advancements that meet pressing regional, national and global needs. Auburn’s commitment to active student engagement, professional success and public/private partnership drives a growing reputation for outreach and extension that delivers broad economic, health and societal impact.