Events

2025

September 27: KOWIN Chicago General Meeting

On September 27, KOWIN Chicago’s 13th Officer’s kicked off the first general meeting and introduced the new officers for the two-year term. In celebration of Chuseok, songpyeon rice cakes were shared and enjoyed.

SunAe Ma, President
Jane Lee, 1^st Vice President
Jinhwa Suh, 2^nd Vice President
Jennifer Kil, General Affairs Secretary
Hojeung Kim Hahn, Treasurer

August 27-29: KOWIN Korea Conference in Changwon, South Korea

The 2025 KOWIN Korea Conference was held in Changwon, South Korea, bringing together domestic and international female leaders. Our 1st VP Hyeryun Lee Park and 11th KOWIN US Eastern Region Focal Point Jane H. Park attended the conference. Our 1st VP Hyeryun Lee Park also served as a distinguished speaker at the event, delivering a compelling and insightful message that inspired the audience.

July 26: KOWIN Chicago General Meeting and Members’ Networking Dinner

On July 26, KOWIN Chicago’s 12th Officers led their final general meeting, marking the end of a dedicated two-year term. During the meeting, the election for the new leadership took place. Congratulations to Sunae Ma, elected as the new President, and her running mate Jane H. Lee as the new 1st Vice-President!

We extend our deepest gratitude to the outgoing officers for their outstanding leadership and service:

Irene Sohn, President
Hyeryun Lee Park, 1st Vice-President
Sojung Lee Hong, 2nd Vice-President / Treasurer
Ji-Hye Kim, General Affairs Secretary

And special thanks to Jane H. Park, who has served as the 11th KOWIN US Eastern Region Focal Point for the past two years. Thank you so much for your amazing leadership!

May 7: 2025 World Language Korean Festival

KOWIN Chicago was proud to once again partner with the Chicago Korean Education Center to support the Annual World Language Korean Festival, held on May 7, 2025, at the Korean Cultural Center. During the event, KOWIN Chicago members assisted in serving delicious Korean food to nearly 300 K–12 students currently enrolled in Korean language classes at their schools. Each year, we take great pride in contributing to this meaningful celebration of the Korean language and culture.

March 29: March General Meeting

January 25: January General Meeting

2024

December 5: KOWIN Chicago Holiday Party

What a wonderful time we had on December 5th, celebrating the close of 2024 with love and laughter among our KOWIN sisters. Thank you all for your active participation, dedicated service, and steadfast commitment to KOWIN Chicago throughout this year!

October 5: The 12th KOWIN US Eastern Region Leadership Conference in Chicago

It was a truly inspiring day filled with impactful stories from trailblazing Korean women leaders making waves in their fields.

We had a fantastic time connecting, exchanging ideas, and celebrating what it means to be an innovative leader. We look forward to seeing you at future KOWIN Chicago events as we continue to empower and uplift each other.

Special thanks to our keynote speaker, Dr. Karan Kim, Dean of Penn State College of Medicine, and our incredible panelists—Lori Kim (Microsoft), Gracia Lee (Lotte Chemicals Korea), Myong Ho Lucy Nam (Inova Laboratories), Eun Ju Ryu (Dong-A America), Juhyun Baek (BioBlossom), Holly Kim (Lake County Treasurer, and Grace Hong Duffin (Comcast)—for sharing their wisdom and insights.

We’re also grateful to our sister chapters, KOWIN Washington DC and KOWIN New York, for their generous support and partnership in making this event even more memorable. Happy 20th Anniversary to the KOWIN US Eastern Chapter!

View Program Booklet, Watch news coverage on WIN-TV Chicago and Korea Times-Chicago

Day Conference

2024 Chicago HOPE Scholarship Award Ceremony

Evening Celebration of the 20th Anniversary of KOWIN US Eastern Region

Sunday Out of Town Guests Chicago Tour

August 29-31: KOWIN Chicago Members Recognized for Outstanding Service at KOWIN Korea Conference in Incheon
We are thrilled to share that two of our esteemed members, along with Dr. Nam from the Washington D.C. Chapter, were honored for their exceptional service and dedication at the KOWIN conference held earlier this month in Incheon, Korea. Irene, our President, and Hyeryun Lee Park, our First VP, were recognized by the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and Family for their tireless contributions to KOWIN.

A total of six members from our Chicago chapter attended this inspiring event, where the hard work and commitment of these leaders to empowering Korean women were rightfully celebrated. Congratulations to Irene and Hyeryun on this well-deserved recognition!

May 10: 2024 World Language Korean Festival. Each year KOWIN Chicago members have volunteered to be part of the World Language Korean Festival hosted by the Chicago Korean Education Center, Korean LanguageTeacher Association (North Central Chapter), and the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago. This year members of KOWIN’s newest committee, the K-Cultural Ambassador Committee, joined the event to serve Korean food to over 300 students from elementary and junior high schools all over the Midwest.

Korean Food Posters made by the students themselves!

March 23: KOWIN March General Meeting. Afternoon Tea Time with the members.

January 27: KOWIN January Meeting. Welcoming new member, Ansuk Jeong.

2023

December 9: KOWIN Chicago 2023 Holiday Gathering – Musical “Carole: The Beautiful” & Networking Dinner

October 28: 2023 KOWIN Chicago Leadership Seminar & Beautiful Korea Concert and Dinner at Lakeview Center, Gilson Park, Wilmette

What an amazing time we had together at the Lakeview Center, Gillson Park! It was a day filled with inspiration, learning, and valuable insights. A heartfelt thank you to all our attendees, speakers, and event committee members for making this event an amazing experience!

Program Highlights:

Keynote Speaker: Georgia State Representative (House District 103), Soo Hong
Panel Speaker 1: Sojung Lee Hong, Professor of Music and director of the Master of Music in Community Music Program at Judson University
Panel Speaker 2: Ji Hye Kim, Executive Director at KAN-WIN
Team Bonding Time with Zumba Lesson
Nature Walk at the Gilson Park
Beautiful Korea Concert & Networking Dinner

View Program Booklet

September 30: KOWIN Chicago General Meeting and Chuseok Celebration

In celebration of Chuseok, KOWIN Chicago members came together to share songpyun during our September General Meeting. We also congratulated Jane Park, who was inaugurated as the new US Eastern Regional Director of KOWIN. Congratulations again!

September 6-8: KOWIN Korea Conference in Busan

150 overseas participants and 150 local participants in Korea came together for the KOWIN’s 22nd Conference. This year’s host city, Busan, welcomed the participants with so much enthusiasm and love. Four members (Irene Sohn, Hyeryun Lee Park, Eunyoung Hur, and Jane H. Park) represented KOWIN Chicago, and Jane H. Park was proudly inducted as one of the 16 Regional Directors, presenting 16 different regions around the world. Eastern Regional Director Jane H. Park will be overseeing KOWIN Chicago, DC, and New York Chapter for the next two years. Huges thanks to the Korean Ministry of Family and Gener Equality and the City of Busan for hosting an amazing conference! 시카고 오늘 기사보기 한국일보 기사보기

August 12: KOWIN Chicago General Meeting

June 3: 2nd Documentary Viewing of “Chicago Korean American Women’s Storytelling” at AMC Theatre

KOWIN Chicago Chapter released its 2nd video documentary project “Chicago Korean American Women Storytelling,” which was created to record the footsteps of 10 Korean women who have embarked upon a page of the early immigration history of Chicago. We were sp happy to bring it back on the big screen after a successful premiere event in June 2022. Tickets were sold out for both viewing events!

Special thanks to our event sponsor LG Electronics USA.

March 30: World Language Korean Festival at Frank W. Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy.

Over 300 students in Korean language program came together for a day to celebrate Korean culture and lanague. KOWIN Chicago was very happy and proud to volunteer for the event!

March 29: KOWIN Chicago General Meeting

2022

December 4: 2022 KOWIN Holiday Networking Party

November 4-6: The 11th KOWIN USA Eastern Regional Leadership Conference in DC

This year’s KOWIN USA Eastern Regional Conference was hosted by KOWIN DC. This year’s theme was L.E.A.D: Leverage your strength, Empower yourself, Aspire to challenge, and Develop your community. Five members from the KOWIN Chicago participated at the conference and Jane Park was invited as one of the panel speakers. What a wonderful time we had to connect with KOWIN New York and DC members!

September 10: KOWIN 2022 Chuseok Songpyun Drive

August 24-25: The 21st KOWIN Conference in Korea – “Congratulations to KOWIN Chicago Chapter for being selected as one of the recipients of the Organizational Excellence Award by the Korean Ministry of Korean Gender Equality and Family (여성가족부장관 유공표창 단체상)

August 5: 2022 Mentoring Circle Networking Night Out

July 23: KOWIN Southern Regional Conference in Dallas, TX

The Dallas Chapter of KOWIN (current president, Mi-ryung Kim) hosted the Southern Regional conference (current regional governor, Jungsoon Lee) on July 23, 2022 in Dallas, TX. The theme of the conference was “Healthy and Happy Future – How Leadership is Changing Post-COVID.” There were more than 60 attendees who joined from Dallas, Austin, Chicago, Atlanta, and Oklahoma City.

Hyeryun Lee Park from the Chicago Chapter was the keynote speaker at the conference. Her keynote presentation titled “Post COVID – New Normal Trends in Women’s Leadership” received much positive feedback and inspired attendees to reevaluate their current leadership style to meet the demands of fast-changing societal needs. Two outstanding panel members from Dallas Chapter, Dr. Gloria Cha and Professor Kyung-eun Lee provided much needed tips on how to stay both physically and mentally healthy post-COVID.

After a delicious southern BBQ luncheon, an in-depth discussion took place among the KOWIN members, freely discussing ways to further improve Chapter activities to stay relevant and attract new membership. Jane H. Park from Chicago Chapter led the discussion session by sharing her experience as the immediate past president and featuring recent Chicago Chapter activities, including Mentoring Circle program, the Chicago Korean Women History video project, and KOWIN Chicago Showcase 2021.

July 10: Documentary Screening: “Korean American Women’s Storytelling” at AMC Niles

June 14: Global Meet Up between KOWIN Chicago and KOWIN Australia – Victoria

May 21: Mentoring Circle #4

March 19: Mentoring Circle #3

February 1: Happy Lunar New Year from KOWIN Chicago!

January 15: Mentoring Circle #2

2021

December 11: KOWIN Chicago Holiday Networking Event

November 20: Mentoring Circle #1

November 19: 2021-2023 Officers’ Visit to Consulate General’s Office

October 9: Mentoring Circle Kick-Off Meeting

Septebmer 27: KOWIN Showcase 2021 featured on the KOWINNER Newsletter Fall Issue

Septebmer 18: KOWIN Fun Committee’s Chuseok Sonpyeon Drive

September 15: Promoting Racial Equity: Understanding TEAACH ACT in Illnois

August 30-31: The 20th KOWIN Conference in Korea – “Congratulations to Jinwha Suh for receiving 여성가족부 장관상!”

August 7: KOWIN Chicago Showcase 2021

May 28: Virtual Baby Shower for Jennifer Kil

March – June: Small Group Dinner Gathering at President Jane’s Home

2020

November 20: KOWIN CKWF Annual Meeting

November 7: Chicago Hope 2020 Scholars Award Ceremony

October – November: Brunch with President Jane

September 27: Chuseok Songpyun Drive

September 26: “It’s A Verb, Not A Noun: Choose to Lead” Virtual Leadership Seminar with Professor Linda Ginzel from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

September 8: KOWIN Chicago Mask Donation to Hanul Family Alliance

August 28: KOWIN Beautity Talk with Besties

July 19: KOWIN Chicago Photo Essay Contest

February 22: KOWIN Movie Saturday

2019

December 4: KOWIN Holiday Party

November 22: Luncheon with Consulate General of the Republic of Korea.

October 25: Second Mentoring Campus Visit – Oakton Community College

October 11-12: KOWIN NY Chapter Eastern Regional Conference

October 5: KOWIN Retreat “Relax Refresh Recharge”

September 18: General Meeting followed by dinner at San Soo Gap San

August 30: Third KOWIN – Jeju Network

August 27-29: 19th KOWIN conference in Cheongju City

August 27: 제 19회 여성가족부 장관 표창장 수상자 – 박이혜련

August 21: Mundelein Library Korean Food Cooking Demonstration
August 10: Participated in Youth Leadership Conference hosted by the Korean Women’s Association of Chicago at the Korean Cultural Center

May 29: Sharing Korean culture at the Korean Cultural Center
May 26: Naomi’s wedding at the O’Hare Westin.

May 01: KOWINNER Convention in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
April 15: Interview process for the fourth Annual Chicago Korean Women’s Scholarship Awardees
March 26: First mentoring campus visit at Oakton Community College

March 16: Naomi’s Bridal Shower at Myong’s home.

March 14: 진선미 한국 여성 가족부 장관 주최 간담회 및 디너 at Giordano’s Magnificent Mile.

February 6: General Meeting

2018

June 9: 2018 KOWIN Networking and Mentoring Luncheon

March 11: Taste of Korea – We partnered up with the Chicago Children’s Museum to celebrate Korean culture through their Heart and Seoul: Growing Up in Korea exhibit. This exhibit allows children to experience different aspects of Korean culture, from paper crafting to learning about dol, the traditional celebration of the first birthday. KOWIN members conducted a cooking demonstration and assisted over 100 participants in rolling kimbap. All visitors had a chance to enjoy the deliciously prepared and popular Korean picnic food.

February 24: 35th Annual Lunar New Year Celebration – KOWIN members attended the Asian American Coalition of Chicago’s Annual Lunar New Year Celebration to support the Korean American Association of Chicago who hosted this year’s event. This year’s theme was “Be United, Stay Together” where Asian American groups from all over Chicagoland gathered together to proudly represent their culture and kick off the Lunar New Year.