About us
Borderless Community Outreach
Korean American Resource Center (KARC) is a non-profit organization founded in 2020 to empower and promote the welfare of Korean descendants and their relatives in Washington state. We advocate the civil rights of the Korean-American small business owners by encouraging, facilitating and supporting the economic growth and sustainability of our community through building bridges and providing resources for the Korean American small business owners.
Problems
Currently, many Korean American small business owners are having hardships operating their businesses due to:
- Language barrier (English)
- Cultural barrier – difference in political jurisdictional system
- Lack of technology and digital skillset – Not present in eCommerce
- Lack of business strategy/knowledge
- Lack of understanding on State/Federal government/policy
- Lack of understanding on American Business system
- Asian hatred
Our Goals
Bridge the gap between US Government & Korean community.
Facilitate culture exchange and embrace diversity for creativity among youths and entrepreneurs.
#StopAsianHate
Help build better local community through culture education and on-offline events.
What we do
Bighug-Korean American Resource Center (KARC) was founded in 2020 to empower and promote the welfare of Korean descendants and their relatives in Washington state. We encourage, facilitate, and support the economic growth and sustainability of our community by providing various resources and connections for Korean American small business owners.
Our community of trusted messengers and board members and dedicated network of community-based organizations has earned respect and confidence from the Korean community, and this is a significant aspect of our successful outreach efforts. We believe building resilience in both small businesses as well as nonprofits will make our community strong.
We help Korean small business owners learn about various state, local and financial resources available for their unique business conditions. We also operate a technical assistance call center for those not proficient in English or technology as most of the businesses we are assisting speak English as a second language and have a limited understanding of resources available for their economic resiliency. This has resulted in the largest up-to-date directory of Korean-American businesses, which helps us stay informed of needs in the community. Bighug-KARC also provides internship programs by partnering with Korean student organizations at the University of Washington and the Seattle Korean American Association.
How do we help small
Korean businesses?
Informing owners about grants available for their unique conditions.
Operating a call center in both English and Korean.
Manage the largest up-to-date directory of Korean-American small businesses in Washington.
Hosting digital transformation training webinars.
Sending out surveys and newsletters in regularly to understand their needs better.
Where We Serve
Most Korean small businesses are located in Pierce, Snohomish and King County, making the main areas we serve.
However our outreach covers all of Washington state and we have been promoting our services through radio and online advertisements, as well as in churches and schools.
As many businesses have been assisted statewide since the pandemic, we are confident that we have established trusted relationships with them.
Our Network
We have a strong network of:
- Korean IT professionals (approximately 100 potential entrepreneurs and startups that we can connect with).
- Student organizations including KSA (Korean Student Association), KSU (Korean Student Union) and KOJOBS.
- Around 50 non-profit organizations including churches and Korean schools.
Our Teams
Lori Wada
Eddie Cha
Nick Kim
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Our Organizations
