Keynote Speech
    National Asian American Heritage Month Celebration
    Environmental Protection Agency
    Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
    May 23, 2001

    Moo-Young Han
    Professor of Physics
    Duke University
    Editor-in-chief
    Society of Korean-American Scholars
    www.skas.org

New New World I: Demographics

    In the Census 2000, some 20 million Americans checked off a new ethnicity category called 'multiracial.' It is
    certainly fitting. Since the last census in 1900, we have witnessed a mushrooming population of multiracial
    Americans who cannot be classified into the traditional categories of (Non-Hispanic) white, black, Hispanic
    and Asians. Take Tiger Woods as an example, part black and part Thai.

    The introduction of the new category, multiracial, signals the beginning of a new phase in the evolution of
    America.  At first it was the 'new world' into which migrated Europeans. Two separate groups defined this
    new world - white and black - which remained largely so until the late 1900s.

    With the inflow of Hispanics and Asians, America entered a new phase in its demographic evolution. Now we
    have the emergence of a truly multiracial population - part white, part black, part Hispanic and part Asian.

    As the African-Americans have evolved into a new 'race' that is clearly distinct from the Africans, the new
    multiracial Americans will evolve into a brand new 'race' of its own, unlike any other group of people anywhere
    in the world, not only ethnically but also culturally and anthropologically.

    This is the beginning of what I call the New New World. It is not the 'old new world' of part Italian, part Irish
    and part Russian. It is the new new world of part Asian, part black, part Hispanic and part white. It is a
    synthesis of a new ethnic group that is so uniquely American in this land of the new new world.

    In this new new world, therefore, no one is an insider and no one is an outsider. We are all insiders. As we
    march into this new new world in the 21st century, we should be keenly aware of this new development that is
    taking place right under our nose. We are all Americans, period.  Soon even the distinction between white,
    black, Hispanic and Asians will begin to fade away as we, as insiders, all strive toward building up this
    all-inclusive new new world.

New New World II: Networking

    Another fundamental change that is taking place in the contemporary America, and in the world, is the profound
    cultural and social changes brought on by the age of the global Internet. No longer limited by geography or
    time zones, anyone in the world can instantly communicate with anyone else in any parts of the world, all across
    the 24 time zones.

    This enables people to form networks likes of which were never possible before the global internet. Like-minded
    individuals can form networks, across regional and national; boundaries, with other individuals and together they
    become a formidable social force that can literally change the world.

    This new phase of human evolution I would like to refer to as "the archipelago of networked individuals,
    informed, enlightened and empowered." Among others, this networking forces us to rethink how groups of
    individuals are to be formed.

    The conventional structure in which one forms an association, society, or corporation is still very much valid,
    with its bylaws, slate of officers, and so on. But the art and science of networking by the Net goes far beyond
    this. It connects people thousands of miles apart for common interests and purposes.

    One such example is the organization that I helped to found, the Society of Korean-American Scholars, SKAS.
    Among many of its activities that include seminars and regional get-togethers are two online weekly newsletters.
    One is called the Korean-American Science and Technology News, KASTN, and the other the Information
    Exchange for Korean-American Scholars, IEKAS. They are published weekly, every Wednesday and Friday
    respectively, and are distributed, free of charge, to some 17,000 individuals across six continents and seven
    seas, including to many non-Koreans.

    We have recently extended this activity to form the Overseas Korean Senior Professionals Network, OKSPN,
    comprised of senior (age 55 and up) professionals, both pre- and post-retirement. Many of the OKSPN activities
    are for members only and its membership, as the name suggests, is open to all overseas Koreans, not just in
    America. We have members in Canada as well as in China.