History
History
On October 23, 1974, the Korean Medical Association of America (KMAA) was established by a small group of physicians who completed their medical training in Korea and resided in New York City, Washington D.C. and Chicago. The organization’s name was changed in 1993 to the Korean American Medical Association (KAMA) to reflect the growing number of members now completing their medical education and training in the U.S.. Over the next 50 years, the aspirations, support and dedication of each new generation of members has shaped KAMA into what it is today. Officially recognized as a scientifically and politically active organization, KAMA was the only medical association representing U.S. physicians of and supportive of Korean heritage to hold a voting seat in the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates in 2006 and remains in the AMA’s Specialty and Service Society (SSS) as the only association representing Korean American physicians able to introduce and vote on resolutions which become policies supported by the AMA.
KAMA’s legacy of community, collaboration and advancing the medical mission was established through the commitment of now three generations of physicians of Korean heritage who have achieved success and prominence both nationally and globally. Among them, Dr. Chai Chang Choi, KAMA’s first president, was an extraordinary visionary and pioneer initially bringing Korean physicians together in the U.S. He brought together the alumni associations from eight Korean medical schools and physicians in the New York tri-state region to join what was then known as the KMAA and led the organization to host its first general assembly on Feb. 15, 1975 in Washington, D.C. There, KMAA was declared as a non-profit organization whose bylaws were ratified by its inaugural executive committee including President Chai Chang Choi; Vice Presidents Kwang-soo Lee, Kyung-jin Ahn and Young-il Hahn; Secretary General Hyo-keun Lee; and Scientific Committee Chair Bong-hak Hyun.
Later that year on October 10,1975, the first 3-day annual conference was held jointly with the Korean Medical Association (KMA) in Seoul, Korea attended by over 150 Korean physicians and families from the U.S.. In 1978, Dr. Richard E. Palmer, past AMA president (1976-1977) gave the keynote speech to over 450 KAMA members and their families. The 5th annual conference was moved to the U.S. and was held in New York City where Dr. Robert Good of the Sloan Kettering Institute gave the keynote speech titled “New Initiative in Cancer Research” to over 430 physicians, including 150 from Korea.
From the mid to late 1980s, the annual conferences were held without the participation of the KMA. At the 1984 conference in Puerto Rico, scientific programs were added for the first time to provide a more academic focus. The first central office was established in 1987. In 1998, KMAA officially changed their name to KAMA, relocating the central office to New York City.
In 2006 KAMA made history as the first Korean-American association to hold a seat in the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD). To date, KAMA remains the only Korean American organization to maintain a voting seat on the AMA’s Specialty and Service Society (SSS), the largest caucus within the HOD. With attendance of KAMA’s representatives at the biannual HOD convention, KAMA continues to play a pivotal role in introducing and setting national policy that affects the care of the community and the rights of its physicians.
KAMA is dedicated to the mission to support, mentor and recognize successful Korean American women physicians. To date, there have been five women who have served as KAMA president. In 1990, Dr. In Sook Yu-Song was the first woman to be elected as President. The inaugural Women in Medicine symposium took place at the 2016 KAMA convention in Washington, DC.. Under Dr. Mary E. Choi, past KAMA president from 2020-2021, the first all-women executive committee was established followed by the election of the first two women, Dr. Michelle K. Kim and Dr. Jennifer I. Lee, into the Board of Directors. In the footsteps of the AMA, KAMA once again broke tradition by electing three consecutive women presidents from 2020 through 2023.
2024 marks KAMA’s 50th anniversary with a celebratory return to Seoul, Korea for its annual convention. Please join and support KAMA’s growing community as we work to continue to change history. Add your voice as members of KAMA and the AMA to keep the pivotal issues affecting the health and wellbeing of the Korean American community and physicians at the forefront of the national agenda. JOIN TODAY and shape KAMA for the next generations.