Korean Culture Connection : Appreciation: An immigrant community in Orange County fights back at hate crimes by honoring those who have befriended them. Non-Koreans find that everyone is richer for the effort.

When the Rev. Murray Finck learned four years ago that a Korean Presbyterian congregation needed a place to meet, he offered them the use of his church, St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Garden Grove.

Through the years, the Lutheran and Presbyterian congregations have occasionally had joint services “to celebrate things,” Finck said, with the proceedings conducted in both English and Korean, spoken and sung. “Our times of eating together are even more delightful, and they are very generous about hosting dinners and inviting us,” he added.

Finck’s efforts to reach out to the Korean community--and the efforts of 50 other Orange County non-Korean residents who have been good neighbors to Korean organizations or individuals--were honored Tuesday night at a dinner given by the Korean American Assn. of Orange County. About 200 people gathered for the event.

The appreciation awards and other civic programs are the organization’s way of fighting back at more than a dozen incidents of hate crimes and vandalism directed at Koreans in the last year, said association president Ho Young Chung. The Korean community wants to counter the hateful actions by showing Orange County’s “mainstream community” that the immigrants want to be involved, Chung said.

The crimes, Chung believes, have been a reaction to the intense growth of the Korean community in Orange County--from 20,000 10 years ago to 120,000 today. Most of these crimes have not been reported, he said, because the victims “don’t want to aggravate the situation.”

In response, the Korean community hopes to “build a positive image” with a three-pronged program, he said. The children in 150 Korean churches recently sent 2,000 Christmas cards to American soldiers deployed in Saudi Arabia. The Korean community also recently donated two truckloads of clothing and canned food to three charities that assist the homeless.

The third effort was Tuesday’s dinner to show appreciation for non-Korean residents who have befriended Korean groups or individuals.

“We want to express our gratitude to these people for their good works to the Korean community before our memory fades away,” Chung said.

The Rev. Finck said he was flattered by the award, but his entire congregation has benefited from the partnership with the Korean congregation, the Orange County Presbyterian Church. “I’ve seen our people and the Korean congregation meeting together and being together as if there were no barrier,” he said.

When Finck arrived at St. Olaf four years ago, he began looking for a Korean congregation because “I was aware of the growing population of Koreans in the community, and I knew it was something we had to address.” When the Korean congregation asked to use the church, the issue was put to a vote of St. Olaf’s congregation. No one protested, but “there were a few cautious people,” he said.

Since then, “we’ve said over and over again what a good decision it was for us,” he said.

Other honorees Tuesday included members of the “living room dialogue” program that the Korean American Assn. sponsored with the County Human Relations Commission. The program brought Korean and other Garden Grove residents together in monthly small discussion groups. The chief topic addressed was the Korean-language signs along Garden Grove Boulevard in “Koreatown.” As a result, the city adopted a voluntary program encouraging Korean merchants to include English in their signs. Today, nearly all the signs include English, Chung said.

“I think today the relationship is much better because we know there is a group we can talk to, to discuss problems, if any more arise,” said Jane Powell, one of the honored dialogue program members.

Garden Grove Unified School District trustee Dick Hain also was singled out Tuesday night for his many efforts on behalf of the Korean community.

Hain was the founding president of the Sister City Assn., which helped establish Anyang, Korea, 35 miles southwest of Seoul, as Garden Grove’s sister city four years ago. For the past two years, Anyang has sent exchange students to Garden Grove for several weeks, and Garden Grove has sent students to Anyang.

Hain also was a member of the living room dialogue program.

“We discussed cultural problems, community problems, school problems, how the Korean culture and the American culture can become one. And it was really outstanding as far as developing a closeness between the two cultures,” he said.

Further, as a board member of the Garden Grove Symphony, he has helped the orchestra play host to a Korean pianist, as well as a Korean conductor from Inchon, Korea. The Korean community showed up in large numbers for the concert featuring the Korean conductor, and soon after, the Garden Grove Symphony conductor was invited to conduct the Inchon orchestra, Hain said.

The meshing of the Korean and non-Korean cultures in Garden Grove has been gradual but gratifying, Hain said. Today, many people patronize Korean businesses, particularly restaurants and boutiques, where they would not have ventured a few years ago, he said.

“I think it’s a marvelous thing that’s happening in Garden Grove, and something other cities could realize, how two cultures can become friendly with one another,” Hain said.