Committed to conducting research activities on issues related to the Korean community's cohabitation with other race/ethnic groups in the United States, to develop resources and programs to enhance the well-being and the human rights of the Korean Americans.
In march, 2005, the Board of Directors reviewed the community issues brought up by the steering committee, and set priorities of research and project development.
Because the tasks involved in each of the research topic are so complex and demanding huge amount of resources (personnel and money), the research committee have strategized to start with first two key issues that are most urgent and significant to the community.
1. Problems with Korean-owned small businesses: High competition with poor success rate; need of transition from mom-and-pop stores to larger scale operations.
2. Succession of community leadership and resources to the emerging generation.
HANSA (formerly KARDI) is envisioning its growth that will afford the resources for tackling other important issues, such as,
- The fitness of the Korean community organizations: their effectiveness of leadership, mission and goals, organizational structure, resources (human and monetary), internal and external process.
- Patterns of the Korean community’s coping behavior with criminal incidents where Koreans are involved as victims or as offenders. Especially the recent killing of two Koreans by the police triggered this interest.
- Disproportionate arrests of Koreans by the police for DUI and the probability of ethic profiling.
- Patterns in the success and failure of the Koreans’ real estate over investment, particularly from the investment in commercial properties.
- Patterns of dropouts, depressed college life (and suicidal implications), low performance, evasive addictions (gambling, narcotics, and drinking), and other failures.
- Manpower planning: Patterns of career choices, probability of landing on a job of one’s choice, satisfaction with career choice, and glass ceiling.
- Dating and mating data base for Korean American 2nd generation.
- State of Korean Americans without health insurance.
- Soundness of the strategy of the Korean Culture Center project.