We are a non-profit 501c-3 organization founded in 1975 by a small group of Korean Immigrants. Our members consist of first and second-generation Korean Americans, including Korean adoptees, professionals, business owners, and international students.

We hold various KAARI activities and events to fulfill our mission. Examples include Memorial Day Commemoration, July 4 Bristol Independence Day Parade with the Korean War Veterans of Rhode Island, August 15 Korea Day/Independence Celebration, participation in the RI Heritage Festival, and Annual KAARI meeting/Year-end Party. There have been two recent notable achievements. In 2016, Governor Gina Raimondo resurrected the 1979 resolution declaring August 15 as 'Korea Day' in RI. This gubernatorial proclamation values KAARI's contribution to the rich diversity of RI, and a similar recommendation was adopted in 2017 and 2020. Most importantly, in 2017 we established the KAARI Culture Center in Cranston, a culmination of KAARI's long-standing desire to own its identity.
Korea Day Ceremony
KAARI Open House

Due to Korea's elevated economic and cultural stature globally, there's a tremendous public interest in learning Korean traditional arts, K-Pop, and K-dramas, etc. We recently have been awarded a three-year $30,000 grant (2019-2021) from Rhode Island Expansion Arts Program (RI-EAP) and a one-year $10,000 Intercultural grant (2019) from Rhode Island State Council on the Arts (RISCA). The RI-EAP funding will offer long-term and scaled planning of Korean cultural programs to all Rhode Islanders, including our KAARI members. The RISCA grant will be used as a seed money to team up with the Latino theater group 'Teatro ECAS' for intercultural collaboration.
RHODE ISLAND FOUNDATION GRANT
Intercultural Collaboration Seed Grant (ICSG) Received