ERI Conference: Sponsors

East Rock Institute, created over fifty years ago to cultivate cultural understanding between East and West, with special emphasis on the relationship among Korea, Korean Americans and the United States, is dedicated to continue the study of the world-wide Korean Diaspora through extensive research, seminars, conferences, teacher training, publications, database websites and curriculum development.
Over the years, ERI has sought to give teachers at the secondary and college levels the tool to teach Korean culture and history in their respective schools. Efforts have included sponsoring the Summer Institute of Korean Culture and East Asian History; teacher training in American public schools, including special programs in Fairfax country, Virginia and West Hartford, Connecticut public schools; the Korean History and Culture Curriculum Development Project and Teacher Training at the National Association for Korean Schools., the publication of curriculums on Korean culture and history for high school and college students, and development of related teaching website.
Now well-established internationally and recognized among academic –cultural institutions, ERI continue to uphold its motto: “To search, to learn and to serve.”

YKGA consists of about 200 Korean/Korean-American students and post-docs in graduate school of arts and sciences and 11 professional schools at Yale University. YKGA also includes about a dozen faculty members at Yale and some Yale alumni living nearby.
The Goal of YKGA is to promote the friendship among members and offer our members useful information to help achieving successful academic careers here at Yale. Furthermore, YKGA tries to broaden understanding of Korea and Korean culture in Yale and New Haven community.

The Korea Foundation is an independent organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (South Korea) and supported by public funding and private donations. It was established in 1991 with the aim of enhancing Korea’s image and reputation in the world through the promotion of various academic and cultural exchange programs.
The fundamental mission of the Foundation is to promote a better understanding of Korea in the international community and to foster global friendship by conducting various exchange activities between the Republic of Korea and foreign countries around the world.

The Korea Daily (Joongang Ilbo, in South Korea) has earned the trust of its readers through its accurate reporting and balanced editorials. JoongAng Ilbo is a quality paper dedicated to the principles of democracy, market economics, and the development of Korea.
Since its founding in 1965 JoongAng Ilbo has consistently pursued these ideals. The paper strives to reflect Korean readers’ opinions and they are committed to placing the utmost effort into each line of every article and each word in their editorials.
The American edition of JoongAng Ilbo is called "The Korea Daily" which was founded in Los Angeles in 1974 through a U.S. subsidiary. It is also issued in Canada and South America and is the beacon to immigrants by providing a variety of in-depth coverage of news, events, and information in Korean. The U.S. newspaper includes the U.S. Edition, Korea Edition, Sports, Daily Section, Classified Ads and 5 other sections, totaling over 100 pages per copy. There are also regional newspapers available in Philadelphia, Orange County, San Diego, and Rowland Heights. Furthermore, the website www.joongangusa.com provides news, lifestyle, immigration, and yellow page information to fulfill the needs of Korean communities throughout the country. Headquartered in Los Angeles, there are also branches in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Seattle, Hawaii, Dallas, Orange County, and San Diego in the U.S. Other international branches include Brazil, Argentina, Toronto, and Vancouver, all producing their own editions.

The Overseas Korean Foundation is a non-profit organization affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. (South Korea) Its establishment was agreed upon at the No. 1. Overseas Koreans Policy Committee' on May 3, 1996, followed by the announcement of the "Overseas Koreans Foundation Legislation" (Law No. 5313) passed on March 27, 1997. Then on October 30 of that year, the Foundation was inaugurated and put into official operation.
The Overseas Koreans Foundation is now home to some six million overseas Koreans. All its efforts have been focused on various cooperative programs, since these initiatives can be a great help to overseas Koreans and serve as a driving force for the Korean community. Charged with a strong sense of duty, members from the six different departments of the Foundation are cooperating with each other to open up the high synergy potential for all ongoing programs.

The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven was established in 1928 and is the largest philanthropic institution in Greater New Haven region of twenty towns and over 600,000 people. They are among the oldest and largest of more than 650 community foundations in the United States. Their seventy-five year record of grantmaking, financial stewardship and service to donors is at the heart of philanthropic efforts to improve the quality of life for residents in Greater New Haven area.

Since the Center for Information on Korean Culture (CIKC) was established in March 2003, it has been at the forefront of the Understanding Korea Project. To achieve the Project's goals, CIKC will carry out five major tasks: Correct errors about Korea in foreign textbooks; develop and distribute the Understanding Korea Series in foreign languages to promote Korea; carry out surveys about foreigners' perceptions of Korea; offer training in Korean culture to foreign teachers; and sponsor civic organizations and academies that engage in the CIKC Understanding Korea Project. On top of this, CIKC has been correcting inaccurate coverage of foreign nations in Korea's textbooks to ensure that Koreans' knowledge of foreign countries is based on fact.