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.

Collection:

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.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020

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.

Collection:

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.

Collection:

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.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020

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.

Collection:

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.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020

Hannah Kim is a senior at CalState LA majoring in Computer Information Systems. She is also a Graphic Design Intern at KYCC, where she has worked since November 2019. She has lived in Koreatown for the past decade. In March, Hannah’s entire family was infected by COVID-19, and her grandmother and father passed away. Her mother is in the hospital awaiting a lung transplant, while she and her brother have both recovered. (They were largely asymptomatic.) In June 2020, Hannah started her own sticker business; you can see and buy her work here. Her instagram is @hancandrawtoo. A GoFundMe was created for her family here.

Collection:

—

Jong is a 75-year-old senior who is currently living in the Menlo Family Apartments with her husband in Koreatown. She was born in Masan, South Korea and studied Theology at a small college in Seoul, South Korea. Jong and her husband worked as a pastor in Korea, and then immigrated to America after receiving a pastoral invitation. Now, she is retired and spends most of her time at home. In her free time, she loves to go on hikes at Griffith Park, walk around the neighborhood, read the Bible, and meet with her church friends.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020

On Hee H. is a 49-year-old mother of a UCLA college-graduate son and a daughter who is a high school senior. She is the co-owner and hairstylist at Tiji Hair Salon, which is located in Koreatown. She immigrated to the United States with her family from Ulsan, South Korea, and has been living in Koreatown for the past decade. Her hair salon was closed for the past two to three months due to the pandemic. She was able to reopen for three weeks, but in July 2020, had to close her salon again due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020

Pastor Joe is the Senior Pastor at Holy Gospel Church and the Academic Chief Officer at New Life School. Joe immigrated to Koreatown in 1989, and having lived in Koreatown for over 30 years, Joe has both seen it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Koreatown is not only his home, but he received his spiritual calling within this community to pursue ministry and his passions of education, mentorship, and leadership. He is an outreach officer, connecting KYCC with local churches through the Korean Integrated Service Management program.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020

Sara Suk is a 42-year-old mother of two daughters, a high school freshman, and a high school senior. In 2002, she immigrated to Honolulu, Hawaii from South Korea with her husband to continue her studies in Brigham Young University. After living in Hawaii for several years, she moved to Los Angeles, first settling in Burbank and then moving to Koreatown. Despite being a single mother, she decided to further pursue her passion in the clothing industry, and currently, she is working as a pattern maker in Downtown.

Collection:

KSP COVID 2020