Annandale-based Korean American advocacy organization rebrands itself

Hamkae Center staff at the open house. [Korea Times]

The Virginia branch of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) has rebranded itself as the Hamkae Center.

The organization celebrated its new name and expanded mission at an open house Nov. 18 at its new headquarters, at 6715 Little River Turnpike, Annandale.

The Hamkae Center advocates on behalf of and provides services to Asian Americans. It is still part of the NAKASEC network. 

“Hamkae” means “together” in Korean, which reflects its mission of uniting various Asian American communities for social, racial, and economic justice. 

The Hamkae Center focuses on community organizing, immigrants’ rights, language justice, and health access, said Policy Coordinator Zowee Aquino. It helps immigrants apply for naturalization, DACA renewal, and Medicaid and health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. 

One of the Hamkae Center’s current priorities is eliminating language barriers to unemployment compensation by ensuring application forms and brochures are translated into multiple languages.

Among its major accomplishments this year was securing the repeal of the “40 quarters” rule in Virginia, Aquino said. That rule required legal immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for five years to provide a 10-year work history (40 quarters) to be eligible for Medicaid. 

The Hamkae Center’s outreach efforts include analyzing voting trends among Asian Americans; get-out-the-vote campaigns; and producing voter information guides in Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese, said Civic Engagement Manager Jasmine Leu. 

Along with its new name, the organization has a new logo, featuring a raised fist clenching a drum stick in front of a Korean drum. 

The logo pays homage to the organization’s history, identity, and power. The fist represents unity and solidarity. The drum recognizes the organization’s roots in the Korean American community and how it uses drumming at rallies and marches to bring people together.