Korean center opened for celebration
| • | Special report: 100 Years of Dreams, Accomplishments |
By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Korean Cultural Center of Hawai'i greeted its first guests yesterday in a ceremony to dedicate its home in a historic Spanish-style manor overlooking Nu'uanu, but future activities are on hold until the city signs off on plans for educational programs there.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
The ceremony was timed to coincide with Korean Centennial Week, though the facility still needs a permit to begin operations.
Inside the exhibition hall at the Korean Cultural Center, U.S. and South Korean flags provide a frame for Korean navy cadets attending ceremonies there yesterday.
The center, at the end of Rooke Avenue, is being run by a nonprofit group that acquired what once was called Canavarro Castle from the Korean National Association, an organization supporting the Korean-American community in Hawai'i.
The purchase, financed by Korean educator Woo Jun Hong, took place a year ago, and since that time its directors have been undergoing environmental review procedures needed for a city conditional-use permit. That permit is required before the center begins its proposed program of small-group tours to the exhibition on Korean independence displayed in the renovated, 85-year-old building, said environmental consultant Donald Clegg.
"This really has been incorrectly billed as the opening of the center," Clegg said. "They can't open; they don't have a permit. But I think we have a bit of a language problem."
Dignitaries from the South Korean government — including National Assembly speaker Kwan-Yong Park and Hawai'i Consul General Ji-Doo Lee — attended.
Lee reflected on the sacrifices of Hawai'i immigrants who contributed money toward the independence movement from their meager daily earnings of 69 cents, and congratulated Hong on his own financial contribution to the center: $1.5 million.
The dedication, which also featured the unveiling of a monument honoring Korean patriots, is the latest event arising from yesterday's celebration of the 100th anniversary of Korean immigration to the United States.
