The history of KYCC began in 1975, when the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP) established an outreach project called the Korean Youth Center (KYC) to address the growing numbers of Korean American teens in Koreatown who were at risk of substance abuse or joining ethnic street gangs.

Opening our doors on February 14, 1975 at 932 South Crenshaw Boulevard, KYC had just one staff member, Project Director Rev. Paul Chun. Along with volunteers, Chun established culturally relevant after school programs for youth in the community and educational workshops for parents.

KYC receives an AB90 grant through the Los Angeles County Department of Community Development to begin counseling services in 1979. During this year, KYC’s staff grows to nine.

The City of Los Angeles officially designates Koreatown as a neighborhood. By the end of the decade, Koreatown was home to over 500 churches, 150 associations, 32 newspapers, and a 24-hour radio station. The Korean American population was the 4th largest Asian Pacific group in Southern California, and had grown 700% (from 8,500 to 60,618) between 1970 and 1980.

KYC moves its offices to 309 South Oxford Avenue (owned by the Wilshire Presbyterian Church). It was at this location that KYC grew to have its presence in Koreatown, as a community and drop-in center for young, recently immigrated Korean American youth.

In the 1980s, juvenile delinquency is a rising problem in the Korean American community as youth face assimilation problems including cultural and language barriers. From July 1983 to June 1984, KYC handled 52 cases involving 30 males and 22 females; 38% were arrested; 73% were between the ages 13 and 17; 13% were runaways; 11% involved theft; 9% were dealing with family conflicts; and 8% involved burglary, truancy, and drug abuse.

On July 1, 1983, KYC became an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit agency “to provide comprehensive youth services to the Korean community.” Following its independence, KYC financially struggled in a climate of drastic federal funding cuts, however still formed a Youth Advisory Board of 10 volunteers who continued to identify and assist with needs of young adults in the community.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, there was much-documented tension between African American residents of South Central Los Angeles and the Korean merchant class, who owned and operated many liquor stores in the neighborhood. In 1991, a Korean immigrant storekeeper, Soon Ja Du, shot and killed 15-year-old African American Latasha Harlins, after a violent fight over an incident at Du’s South Central liquor store. Du was eventually sentenced to probation, infuriating the African American community. 

On April 29, 1992 rioting, looting, burning and killing devastated Koreatown for 6 days. Within hours of the acquittal of four LAPD officers who brutally beat Rodney King, an unarmed black motorist, South Los Angeles residents took to the streets in outrage, anger and frustration. Tensions had been mounting in South L.A. leading up to the uprising, with residents suffering from years of injustices, neglect and oppression. Unemployment rates were at about 50 percent, and crime and violence was high. Civil unrest started in South Central Los Angeles and rioting continued across different parts of Los Angeles, with Koreatown suffering disproportionately. Korean Americans suffered high economic losses as 2,280 Korean American businesses were looted and burned with an estimation of $400 million in property damages. In the Korean American community, the Los Angeles civil unrest is remembered as Sa-i-gu, translated literally as 4-2-9, and references April 29 in Korean.

Following the devastation of Sa-i-gu, KYCC added its Neighborhood Economic Development program to provide counseling and assistance to small business owners. The program also helped liquor and convenience store owners convert their businesses to non-alcoholic enterprises.

On October 15, 1992, the KYC board of directors decided to add “Community” to our name, becoming Korean Youth and Community Center, to recognize the organization’s expanded direction and commitment to serving all ethnic groups in Koreatown.

In 1993, KYCC became one of the community-based organizations to lead the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Low Flush Toilet Exchange program. At the end of the 15-year program (2006)—the largest water conservation program to date—KYCC gave away over 1.2 million free low-flush toilets and showerheads.

Due to rapid program growth, KYCC Environmental Services needed more warehouse space from KYCC’s Ingraham Street office, and moved to a temporary site in Hollywood under the support of City Councilman Michael Woo. In 1993, the 1319 Pico Boulevard location was leased, and the Environmental Services Unit was officially formed. ES has expanded its graffiti removal, tree planting and water conservation programs and is still operating out of this Pico-Union location.

Our staff move into the KYC Limited Partnership, a 19-unit low-income apartment building at 680 South Wilton Place, marking a shift in the organization’s priorities from gang prevention, family counseling, and athletic programs, towards housing development.

KYCC held its first Holiday Carnival, a staff-led event hosted as a way to give back to our clients. Over the years, our Holiday Carnival has grown to host over 2,000 children and their families, for a day to enjoy carnival games, music, gifts, and more.

In 1995, KYCC launched a pilot summer project that provided culturally sensitive leadership development for young Korean Americans, the Korean American Youth Leadership Program, headed by Do Kim. An iteration of this program—renamed the Korean American Youth Leaders in Training Program—is still in existence and run by the K.W. Lee Center for Leadership.

To raise awareness about problems related to tobacco, alcohol, and drug use among Korean American teenagers, KYCC established the Youth Drug Abuse Prevention Project (YDAPP) with 13 Korean American high school students.

KYCC purchased a 46-unit apartment building at 340 S. Reno Street to provide affordable housing in Koreatown. During a time of welfare reform, KYCC sought to accommodate the fixed incomes of immigrant seniors.

KYCC and four other Koreatown nonprofit agencies: Korean American Coalition; Korean Health, Education, Information Resource Center; Korean American Family Service Center; and the Korean American Museum—purchased a six-story building at 3727 West 6th Street. The goal of the interorganizational tenants of the building was to create a “one-stop community center” for Koreatown.

In 2004, KYCC changed its name to “Koreatown Youth and Community Center” reflecting its commitment to serve all the diverse children, youth and families in Koreatown. KYCC staff grows to 63.

After a $2 million capital campaign, KYCC’s Children’s Center Immanuel Presbyterian Church site moved to its current Crenshaw Boulevard location, supporting our multiethnic families by offering on-site parent education, case management, mental health, and health services in English, Korean, and Spanish.

KYCC’s VITA program started in 2006 with 10 volunteers from Hanmi Bank. That year, KYCC provided free tax preparation to 70 families. Since then, KYCC has grown to 120 volunteers from five different bank partners (BBCN, Commonwealth bank, Hanmi Bank, Pacific City Bank, and Wilshire State Bank) and managed five tax sites throughout Los Angeles. In 2012, KYCC VITA budget exceeded $110,000 to serve 2,283 families in bringing back $2.4 million in tax refunds and credits.

With support from Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Million Trees Los Angeles (MTLA) program and Trees for a Green LA, funded by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, KYCC has distributed and planted thousands of trees, increasing the green canopy in our community. Once mature, each shade tree will remove over 20 pounds of carbon monoxide from the air.

In 2011, KYCC with Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC) renovated five Section 8 apartments, adding 84 more units of low-income housing in Koreatown. In total, KYCC owns eight apartment buildings with 204 units of affordable housing. 

KYCC, along with the Little Tokyo Service Center Development Corporation, built a new high-quality building with 60 units of affordable housing at 1230 South Menlo Avenue. The building houses low-income families, transitional youth, and individuals with mental or developmental disorders, with KYCC providing on-site after-school programs, family literacy, computer and workforce training, and counseling and supportive services to support the ongoing health and wellness of its tenants. 

KYCC launched its Recovery Services program, the first state-certified outpatient substance use disorder clinic in Koreatown, providing culturally and linguistically competent outpatient treatment for people facing drug and alcohol problems.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, KYCC launched its Koreatown Storytelling Program, an intergenerational, multilingual and multiethnic oral history and digital media program that teaches ethnographic and storytelling techniques to high school students and elders to investigate cultural practices and racial, economic and health inequities in our community. 

KYCC began its Enhanced Care Management (ECM) program, which provides a whole-person-centered approach to healthcare, aiming to improve quality of care and reduce costs by supporting the high-needs members in our community. A new statewide Medi-Cal benefit, ECM services bring together a multidisciplinary team of professionals who work collaboratively to identify and address each individual’s physical, emotional, and social needs. 

KYCC joins a network of 19 FamilySource Centers across Los Angeles, to provide a myriad of braided social, educational, employment, and family support services designated to assist low-income families to become more self-sufficient through asset building, stabilizing housing, and increasing academic attainment for youth and adults.