Hoonsik Woo

Despite Medi-Cal expansion to allow all immigrants, regardless of immigration status, to qualify for health care coverage, some undocumented Koreans are leery of signing up and those who do face long wait times.

Preparing for death is often seen as a foreign concept in the Korean community. Managing living conditions is emphasized over preparations for death. Somang Society, a senior led organization has come up with the campaign “Well Being, Well Aging, and Well Dying” to create a “beautiful life and a beautiful end.” Korean seniors are invited to discuss dementia diagnosis and coping, advance directives, and body donation pledges to be aware of their physical and mental health and to prepare for death in a way that brings emotional stability.

Low income seniors struggle with unaffordable rents in densely populated Koreatown, in Los Angeles. Amid the high concentration of residents, there is a severe shortage of low-income and senior apartments with long waiting lists for government-assisted public housing.

In 2022, Father’s Table Mission Church built the Victorville healing center, costing about $650,000 at the time, with the help of church members, supporters, and benefactors. The church uses the facility to help rehabilitate and rebuild the lives of the homeless.

Father Yohan Kim, 68, a priest at St. James Episcopal Church, rented a house in the mid-2010s and began living with 16 Korean-American homeless people. Since then, Father Kim has provided food and shelter to more than 150 people. His church members and devotees are supportive of his efforts, but he hasn’t received any funding from the government including the city of Los Angeles.

Disadvantaged by language barriers and immigration restrictions, unhoused Korean Americans are in the "blind spot" of resources and organizations. Korean American homeless shelters often do not receive government funding because they are not officially registered. As a result, they rely on donations from the Korean-American community and the support of a handful of volunteers.