Stories list

Abigail is a rising senior at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in Mid-City, Los Angeles. She has been a staff writer for her school paper for three years and is the Copy Editor and Page Editor for the paper. Abigail has lived in Koreatown for her entire life. She has a passion for baking, reading, and creative writing. She’s fluent in English and Korean and has studied Spanish at her school for four years. She’s the President of BRIDGE, a high school volunteering program at KYCC, and she also works at Sul & Beans, a dessert cafe in Koreatown. In the future, she hopes to go into Sociology or Political Science.

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KSP COVID 2020

Andrew is 25 years old and was previously in several homeless shelters until he found a permanent home at Menlo Family Housing. He was adopted in Germany by Italian parents and lived most of his life in Long Island. He left New York in 2015, and was briefly caught up in drug usage. He enjoys fishing but hasn’t been able to recently because of the coronavirus. He likes to spend time with his cat, Casper, in his apartment.

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KSP COVID 2020

Angela works at a Korean newspaper in Koreatown, where she oversees the website and other media. She has several years of media experience, having worked at MBC and other newspaper agencies. She is a resident at KYCC’s Menlo Family Apartments, where she lives with her four children.

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KSP COVID 2020

Blanca Rios has been living in South Los Angeles with her family for more than 20 years. She is originally from Puebla, Mexico, and is very proud to share a little of her homeland.

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Plant Medicine

Cailey Beck is a rising senior at New Covenant Academy and lives in Little Bangladesh, Koreatown. As an extremely introspective girl, she loves to read, study the world, and learn about global issues. She’s involved in a wide array of extracurriculars, such as being a writer/editor for New Covenant Academy’s newspaper, The Husky Herald; a secretary in the student council; a starter on New Covenant Academy’s Varsity Girls Volleyball Team; and a member of the yearbook committee. In her free time, Cailey enjoys writing for her blog, working on short stories or scripts, watching movies, and reading. She hopes to attend UC Berkeley and wants to major in Philosophy.

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KSP COVID 2020

Catherine is a mother of three and a sister to five other siblings. As the eldest sibling, a need to take care of her family came naturally to her. After living most of her life in the Philippines and working nearly a decade in Singapore, in early 2003, Catherine decided to move to the US to keep her family together. Her family later moved with her to Koreatown in late 2003.

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KSP COVID 2020

Chaerin Sung is a junior at New Covenant Academy in Koreatown. She was born in Ulsan, Korea, but came to Koreatown, Los Angeles when she was 3 years old. She has been living in Koreatown for 13 to 14 years, but she does not know the history and the background of Koreatown. She is very interested in photography because she loves taking pictures of her family members, friends, food, and herself. She is a starting setter on the school volleyball team and she loves dancing to K-Pop and Hip-Hop music. She has been on a dance team for four years and has won many competitions. In the future, she hopes to become a pediatric nurse.

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KSP COVID 2020

Crystal is a junior attending New Covenant Academy. She was born in Honolulu, Hawai'i, but moved to Koreatown when she was very young. She has been part of the girls volleyball team since her sophomore year. She is also part of the Honor Council, which makes rules for the school and also helps to discipline younger children. She is interested in art and is looking forward to getting a certificate in origami, as well as in Korean folk painting. Through this experience, she wants to learn more about journalism and acquire skills that will help her in the future. This new experience will help her to achieve her dreams of being a teacher because she will learn how to effectively write and communicate with others.

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KSP COVID 2020

Deisy Gutierrez, originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, grew up immersed in the ancestral medicine of her Zapotec community, learning from the women in her family.

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Spiritual Practice

Edith Rincon is an Intuitive Energy Practitioner with over 20+ years of teaching experience in the public school system. She now teaches alternative healing methods, mental well-being, and simple daily self-care rituals. Her training and certifications include Reiki Levels 1 and 2, Crystal Healing, Curanderismo, and Yoga.

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Energy Healing

Gilbert is an elderly resident at the Menlo Family Apartments, as well as a father to three children and grandfather to two grandchildren. Working as a teacher (for elementary, middle, and high school) in Korea during the 1970s, he has seen firsthand how the country has developed and advanced over the years. He came to America some 20 years ago at the bequest of his family members, and he now spends his days playing tennis, reading books, traveling, and spending time with his family.

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KSP COVID 2020

Gina Kim was born and raised in Koreatown. She is a recent high school graduate and was planning on going to Yale University in the fall to study English, but due to COVID-19, has been forced to take a gap year. Her passions include writing, photography, and film. Some of her work can be viewed in her online portfolio at mijin.org.

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KSP COVID 2020