Mr. Jamora comes to Flushing every afternoon. "This man really looks like a reliable and authoritative leader," Mr. Jamora said, pointing to a poster for one of the candidates.

Mr. Jarbin, a Jamaican, who often visits Flushing, asked some Koreans who were there what was happening. He said that he is always very curious, and he became interested when he saw the large banners and posters in Korean. After he was told about the upcoming elections for the Korean Association of New York, Mr. Jarbin then spent some time learning about the leader's duties and obligations, as well as what the Association does. Like Mr. Jamora, Mr. Jarbin was quite impressed by one of the candidates.

The election for the New York Korean Association cut across racial and ethnic barriers generating excitement, interest, and participation from many people.

Before a debate that took place the past week, three of the candidates were out in full force making public appearances, while journalists followed closely, snapping pictures. Even Chinese reporters got into the spirit of the campaign, presenting stories on the election and the candidates. One Chinese reporter from NTD-TV said, "I cover community issues here, and must say this election has been getting widespread coverage in every area of the Korean community."

In fact, television news reports about the election were broadcast to Asian stations and communities throughout the country.  The debate was also covered by a reporter from the <i>New York Times</i>, who posed questions to each of the candidates, such as the importance of the elections to New York's Korean society, and how much money was spent on the campaigns.

The election took place on March 30, with Mr. Yong-hwa Ha becoming the 31st leader of the Korean Association of Greater New York.