Tag: business

Sam Hyun
Sam Hyun was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, where he spent most of his life before moving to D.C. Sharing his family story, he tells us of how the immigrant’s psyche can be worn down and damaged in the pursuit of the American Dream, an experience he both witnessed and encountered through his relationship with his father. Raised by his mother, Sam recalls how she had to endure grueling hours of multiple jobs to care for her family while his father, who traveled often on business trips, was largely absent from his life. He shares with us a memory of the exact moment his father left the family for good: an argument over his mother purchasing the laundromat she had worked at for years, a decision which would improve the family’s financial prospects but one which exposed the pride and insecurities of a father who had failed to live up his myth of an American life. Today, as Co-Founder of @1587sneakers and the Director of Government Relations at @taaforg, Sam works to change both the narrative of how we as Asian Americans present ourselves, as well as the harmful narratives to which we subscribe.

Jung Ja Lee
Jung Ja Lee, who sometimes goes by “JJ,” was born in Seoul in 1945, growing up with three older sisters, an older brother, and a younger brother. When the Korean War broke out, she remembers how her uncle unexpectedly arrived at her home with his own family, warning them that it was time for them to head south. Their family sought refuge at Pyeongtaek City, located in the south of Gyeonggi Province, a journey that took 9 days of walking by foot on country roads to avoid running into soldiers. Upon returning to their home in Seoul, Mrs. Lee found that while her home was intact, their furniture had been stripped of its drawers, presumably by individuals who were unable to flee Seoul but needed fires to burn. Later in life, she operated a Baskin Robbins in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, and she continues to call Canada her home. When asked by her daughter, Vivian Lee, if she has a message she’d like to tell her grandchildren, Mrs. Lee says that she wishes to spend more time with them… and that she is a confidential bearer of their secrets!

Kyung Wan Kim
Kyung Wan Kim was born in 1940 in Yeondeungpo-gu, Seoul, during the Japanese occupation of Korea. When she was 2 years old, her father was offered a job in Hwanghae Province, which today is a part of North Korea. The family lived in Hwanghae Province until 1945, when Korea was liberated, after which the family moved back South to a rural part of Gyeonggi Province. She recalls how, around the age of 16, people began expressing interest in marrying her, and that because food was so scarce, her parents tried to wed her to a stranger; eventually, she ran away to her uncle who resided in Seoul. Her uncle enrolled her in school, but because of a shortage of funds Kyung Wan had to find a way to make money, which she did by offering tutoring services. She graduated with a license in typewriting, and soon began working for the National Assembly Secretariat, where she stayed until the 5.16 coup of 1961. In 1967, she married her husband who had just quit his job; with no source of income, Kyung Wan made and sold banchan for 2 years, after which she took up tutoring again. Soon thereafter, her sister—who had moved abroad to Chicago—invited Kyung Wan and her husband to come to the US, and in time the couple moved to New Jersey, where Kyung Wan became a licensed therapeutic massager, opening up her first clinic in Flushing with her husband as her assistant, and then a second one in New Jersey. Even in retirement, people still visit her at her home for her massages, sometimes bringing small gifts and fruit. Though her life has been marked by many ups and downs, she reminds us to remember that whatever happens—good and bad—will all pass one day; it’s better to find your footing in the present, and just follow the flow.

Mee Jung
Mee Jung (who also goes by Mia) is a dancer who was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. She lived with her mother and brother throughout her childhood, and recalls being doted on by her whole family; for this reason, she thinks she was a “happy girl, and a happy person.” She recalls, too, wanting to always be on stage; she loved to sing, dance, and act, so much so that even her teachers and friends called her “worldstar.” She studied both acting and dance, and decided to move to America in 2005 to pursue her dreams of becoming a dancer. Arriving in New York, she continued to study dance at a ballet school for 6 years, where she would audition for placements into dance companies. Encouraged by her partner at the time to begin her own company, she founded i KADA Contemporary Dance company in 2011, through which she later created KoDaFe, standing for Korean Dance Festival, in New York. When the pandemic hit, the dance company and festival temporarily suspended their activities while Mee Jung visited her mother in Korea; tragically, her mother passed at the end of the year, and shortly thereafter her brother as well. After an emotionally grueling court trial, she adopted her niece (who had been raised by Mee Jung’s mother), and moved to New Jersey to take care of her new family. Although the past few years have been challenging, Mee Jung says that she’s excited for her future, a truth she wants others—as well as herself—to know.

Young Hee Shon
Young Hee Shon was born in 1953 in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, to parents who ran a successful business in the hospitality industry. At the time, workers who missed the last intercity bus out of the city would have nowhere to spend the night, so her parents operated a motel where late-night workers could spend the night. They also ran a restaurant directly next to their hotel called “Seong Buk Dong Gukbap,” which still exists today. Mrs. Shon immigrated to the United States with her husband and children when they were presented with the opportunity to obtain a green card. Upon hearing from her sister that L.A.’s Koreatown was a good place to find a job, the family chose to move to Los Angeles, where Mrs. Shon’s first job was in making banchan at the Korean market. From there, she switched jobs to work in the kitchen of the Palace Hotel, but after experiencing certain emotional hardships, found a job at the Rotex Hotel instead. After working there for a while, she began experiencing physical discomfort in her arms and shoulders, and so found work at a long-distance phone calling company, which she enjoyed. Yet the job she enjoyed most was in opening her own restaurant, which she named after the one her parents ran back in Korea: Seongbukdong. A beloved part of K-Town, she prepares each dish with love and care, knowing that the success of her restaurant isn’t dependent on advertisement space in newspapers, but in the reputation which is built in the mouths of her customers.

Cathy Yi
Cathy Yi was born in 1950 in Gyeonggi Province, Korea, just outside of Seoul. At a young age, she moved with her family to Seoul, where she received her primary and secondary education; after graduating from high school, she moved to the United States to live with some of her relatives who had already immigrated to the country. She had heard stories of discriminatory attitudes towards minorities while living in Korea and was disheartened to experience such attitudes for herself in places as unassuming as the local grocery market, but was nevertheless resolved to make a better life for herself in spite of the racism she encountered. When she was 27 years old, she married and moved to New York where she and her husband lived for five years before moving to New Jersey to be closer to her business, which was located in Philadelphia. In 1986, she moved to Los Angeles where she and her family got by comfortable while working in wholesale, though a change in fortune would later cause her to close the business. Today, from retirement, Cathy appreciates how she was able to acclimate to an American way of life early on, recognizing that although there exists cultural differences between the Korea she remembers and the America she’d immigrate to, the choices we make as individuals are not predetermined by the society we live in.

Justine Yoon
Justine Yoon was born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents. She grew up to the north of Koreatown in Los Feliz, and describes her childhood as having been lively and active: from a young age, her parents put her and her older siblings through a variety of local leagues, sports, and extracurriculars, in part so that they might grow up immersed within American culture. Her parents were active within the Korean community as well: her father operated a private practice in Koreatown, and after his retirement ventured into the restaurant business with her mother which they’ve continued to this day. Justine would often work in her parents’ restaurants, whether it was by peeling and cleaning vegetables or going out into the markets to secure the best deals on wholesale ingredients. Today, she has taken a smaller role at her parents’ restaurants to pursue her own passions, something which exemplifies a larger internal struggle that children of immigrants must personally and uniquely reckon with: how we might actualize our own dreams—which our parents worked tirelessly for—while also honoring the sacrifices that went into creating opportunities for the next generation.

Laura Park
Laura Park is a hanbok business owner based in Los Angeles. She was born in 1964 to a family that operated a textile store in Gwangjang Market in Seoul and recounted a comfortable childhood containing memories of time spent at her parent’s store. She explains how the store had been in operation since before she was born: her mother had begun working in the market when she was 18, and by the time Laura came around, she was running a textile business that had become woven into the fabric of Gwangjang. Laura initially expressed an interest in languages and so worked as a translator for diplomatic correspondences between Korea and Japan ahead of the 1988 Olympics, but realized that her true passions lay in business; with the money earned from working as a translator, she moved to Los Angeles, where her uncle lived. Following in the footsteps of her parents, she opened a hanbok store which she called “Lee Hwa Korean Traditional Dress;” before long, she was selling wedding dresses as well, and so renamed the store to “Lee Hwa Wedding and Korean Traditional Dress.” As more and more non-Koreans became familiar with what a hanbok was, she renamed her store to “Lee Hwa Wedding and Hanbok,” a final DBA change that reflected shifting attitudes toward Korean culture in the United States. Today, most of her customers are non-Korean—compared to her clientele being 90% Korean when she first began her business—and her store caters to three styles of hanbok: traditional attire, modernized, and streetwear.

Grace Lyo
Grace Lyo was born in 1946 in Gyeonggi Province, Korea. While attending elementary school, she moved in with relatives in Seoul, and after completing high school found work first as a government employee of the Treasury Department, then in the actuarial industry where she met her childrens’ father. In 1981, Grace immigrated to Baltimore with her family, which by then included young children. Opening up a store nearby, Grace and her husband worked to sustain their new lives in the U.S. Grace, who had always wanted to pursue higher education, enrolled in the local community college; her husband, who was against the idea, demanded she quit school. The couple separated and sold the store, which allowed Grace to open a new business, starting anew. Soon after, she opened a second store, and then another: at one point, she was running three businesses alone, one of which she gave to her brother when he too immigrated to the area. In 2015, during the Baltimore Protests, one of her stores suffered an arson attack which led to its permanent closure. Despite this setback, Grace talks about all the love that local residents have given her and her businesses throughout the years she’s lived in Baltimore, and how she herself harbors nothing but gratitude and a desire to give back to her community and its youth.

Paul Kim
Paul Kim was born in Seoul and immigrated to the United States in 1996. His family settled in St. Paul, Minnesota, fulfilling his father’s dream of moving to America. When Paul entered middle school, the family moved from St. Paul to the surrounding suburbs, which Paul recounts as having much better schools than the city, albeit being much less diverse than the city itself. Education was of utmost importance in the Kim family, and Paul chased what he believed was, at the time, the natural pipeline that was getting good grades, getting into college, and landing a high-paying job. Paul graduated from university convinced he wanted to become a businessman, so he moved to Chicago to work as a trader. After two years in Chicago, he relocated to Portland, where he worked as the only Asian worker at his workplace, to trade grain with Asia. While in Oregon, he received an offer from a different firm in Chicago, but it wasn’t until after he moved back to the Midwest that he learned his offer had been reneged. He eventually found work again as a trader but was compelled through his faith to find a higher calling in philanthropy. In partnership with a church in South Korea, Paul leveraged the skills he’d gained in industry to buy grain and ship it to North Korea, over time expanding the type and scale of the humanitarian efforts he found himself involved in.

Jason Cho
Jason Cho was born and raised in Houston, Texas, in the Aleaf area. His father owned a Taekwondo School business and was the first to do so in the 70s in their respective area. All his life he trained in Taekwondo at the Dojang which helped him develop strong qualities that show in his leadership. Jason’s introduction to the hospitality industry is owed to his sister and his love for food. While visiting his sister in New York, he tried Korean Fried Chicken for the first time and decided to bring it into Houston after realizing that he would be the first one to do so. It was an all-in situation for Jason and he persevered through his journey through the lessons he learned with Taekwondo. Discipline, structure, leading by example, and being a man of action are only some of what he learned. Jason now aspires to be a representation of Korean concepts in Houston through his restaurant Dak & Bop and carry on his father’s dream of buying land and building a community by creating a Koreatown in his city in the future.

Kaein Oh
Kaein Oh was born in Korea in 1954 and immigrated to Chicago in September 1985, joining her extended family who had already been here earlier. Originally an Estee Lauder staff member in Korea, she could have chosen to be transferred to another job in the US. Despite this, she decided to follow a sudden urge to open a Korean restaurant, going against the opposition from her sisters. Owning a restaurant was not easy, as she was met with constant work and rough times. But a newfound faith in Christianity and a strong trust in her employees helped her persevere; the work never overwhelmed or scared her. Her 24/7 work days turned into 20 years in the blink of an eye and her once 9-item long menu at the very first opening grew to 85 when they closed down. After closing her restaurant, she started a catering business which she believes is her calling: “making food honestly and in turn making her proud of what she makes.” Her son now follows in her footsteps and also has a food business of his own, in which Oh helps make kimchi. Meeting God and peace led her to feel constant happiness, which her sons could see radiating from her.

Kyung Bin Bae
Kyung Bin Bae was born in Seoul in 1953, at the heels of the Korean War. In childhood, he recalls growing up without financial worry, though his family’s fortunes would soon run out as he began to prepare for his college entrance exams. While in university, Kyung Bin studied journalism and, following the advice of his professor, decided to pursue graduate studies after college. After graduate school, he completed his mandatory military service and made the move to Michigan State University to continue studying journalism, which was where he met his wife.
Over his first summer in America, he bought a used car and drove to New York City to find work and start building savings before returning to school; it was in the Big Apple that he’d begin his career in the clothing industry. Returning back to Michigan, he got married and had a change of heart with his journalistic aspirations, choosing to instead move to NYC after his wife’s graduation to continue work in the clothing business. Throughout the decades, he worked in a variety of operational roles for a variety of companies, sporting a variety of work cultures, but is currently enjoying retirement, which has finally afforded him the time to spend more time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Mike Kim
Mike Kim was born in Korea but grew up in the United States. After struggling to find a job during the 2008 recession, his cousin invited him to live in Korea for a year. Initially intending it to be a temporary move, Mike eventually sold all of his belongings and has now been living in Korea for the past 14 years.
Since moving to Korea, Mike has constantly taken visiting friends to good restaurants, which ignited his passion for exploring and trying new Korean cuisine. Today, he has founded a food tour business that provides tourists with a delicious Korean food experience. Through food, he wants to share the beauty of Korean culture with as many people as possible.

The Last Day
In the beginning of 2021, Mr. Baik and his family made the decision to close down their drop store in Midtown, NYC. March 26, 2021 was the last day. It’s been a year since we followed Mr. Baik, videotaped by his daughter, Deborah, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the second and final part of their story.

Resilience Runs in the Family | Perilla Diaries | Ep. 5
For our final episode of Perilla Diaries, we asked Thomas and Andrew where they got the resilience to carry on throughout all these pandemic challenges. Without hesitation, they pointed to the strongest people they know – their mothers. We asked the two restaurateurs to phone them for a short interview about their respective journeys starting new jobs and lives in America.

Jeannie Wang
Jeannie Wang was born in Busan, growing up in the middle of the Korean War during which she recalls sharing food and resources with refugees fleeing from the combat up North. Ms. Wang’s dreams of becoming an international ambassador eventually led her to America, where she worked at a wig shop while still studying in school. Due to financial difficulties, she had to quit her ambassador dreams, but soon found another path in tutoring and education through her children. Putting all her energy into her children’s future inspired her to start a Kumon tutoring business with her husband, where they worked together for over 20 years. Ms. Wang shares with her daughter her gratefulness in that her children were able to adjust and live well in America despite the cultural differences and difficulties they went through.

James Jin-Han Wang
James Jin-Han Wang was born in 1940 in what is now the capital of North Korea, Pyeongyang. Mr. Wang recalls the long and difficult journey of fleeing on foot to the South with his family when he was just ten years old. When the Han River Bridge was bombed down in an attempt to prevent North Korean soldiers from further invading the South, Mr. Wang’s father was separated from the rest of the family. His pregnant mother was left alone with three young children, of which one died shortly after contracting polio, and her newborn son died shortly after birth due to starvation. After graduating from Seoul National University, Mr. Wang worked in Korea for a few years before coming to America with big dreams of a new life for himself. Now having owned various different businesses and retiring, his biggest wish is for his daughters and granddaughter to simply be happy.

Taneka Jennings
Taneka Hye Wol Jennings, born in Cheongju, South Korea, was adopted at 3 months old into a white American family in New Jersey. Growing up, she sometimes felt alone navigating her life as a Korean adoptee and not having a community to identify with. Taneka speaks about her journey to find community and belonging to where she is today, being deeply involved in Asian American and adoptee human rights work. Taneka is currently the Deputy Director at HANA Center in Chicago, IL and is also involved in KAtCH: Korean Adoptees of Chicago.

Ben Baller & Jeanne Yang
Los Angeles-based siblings Jeanne Yang and Ben Yang have both made their mark on the fashion world, but in very different ways. Jeanne Yang is a highly sought-after stylist known for her work with Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey Jr. and Christian Bale.

Korean Hot Sauce in Minneapolis
KC Kye is the founder of K-Mama Sauce, a Korean hot sauce company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. KC initially was preparing to go into ministry but pivoted into starting a business after a conversation with his mentor and pastor, Reverend Dr. Jin. Like many small businesses, KC and his team faced challenges and had to adapt to new rules and restrictions due to COVID-19. KC has found much love and support from his church and hopes that K-Mama Sauce will continue to grow to support the greater Minneapolis community.

Looted Korean American Immigrant Business
On May 31st, 2020, many stores in Chicago fell victim to looters and vandalism following the murder of George Floyd. Venus Fashion, a women’s fashion store, was one of them. Owner Dae O Yang has operated the store in the south Chicago area for over twenty years and had already made plans to re-open since the COVID-19 lockdown but in the blink of an eye, everything was taken away from him.

Chicago Riots and Community Efforts | Perilla Diaries | Ep. 4
Late May, Downtown Chicago took an unexpected hit from the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd. When things started to get violent near Perilla, Thomas and Andrew were left trying to figure out what to do next. With concerns for the safety of their staff in mind, they subsequently paused delivery services and boarded up the restaurant’s windows for protection.

Korean Meals for Frontline Workers
When New York City began to reach its peak of coronavirus cases in April, Sung Book Dong, a Korean restaurant in Little Neck, began delivering discounted meals to the hardest-hit hospitals in NYC as a way of honoring and supporting the healthcare workers for their service.

Facing Food Supply Shortages | Perilla Diaries | Ep. 3
With talk arising about the upcoming shortages in the food supply industries, Andrew and Thomas share how that would affect Perilla and their future. Still adapting to the challenges brought on by COVID-19, Andrew and Thomas give us an update about the changes they’ve made like becoming delivery drivers, creating an online shop, and adding pantry items to their menu.

Fighting Food Delivery Fees | Perilla Diaries | Ep. 2
It’s been about two weeks since our last video with Perilla. Since then, Thomas and Andrew have come up with a solution to streamline their services in order to support the business and the little staff they have left. But now they are faced with another obstacle – how can their business survive solely on delivery services?

Day in the Life of a NYC Dry Cleaners During COVID-19
Seung Ku Baik is a manager at a dry cleaner store still operating in Manhattan, New York. With his daughter Deborah videotaping, Mr. Baik leads us through his typical day at the cleaners during the coronavirus pandemic and shares with us how it has impacted him.

Effects of Covid-19 on Chicago Korean American Restaurant | Perilla Diaries | Ep. 1
Andrew Lim and Thomas Oh of Perilla | Korean American Fare in Chicago are just one of the few restaurant owners greatly impacted by the global shutdown. They lead us through how they’ve been battling throughout the current food industry crisis and lend their personal insight with us in this series. KoreanAmericanStory.org will continue following their story and update with regular content.

Daniel Chung
When Daniel Chung found himself surrounded by eight soldiers on the border of North Korea and China, he knew he had to figure his own way out somehow.

Jay Yoo
Jay Yoo came to Chicago, Illinois in 1977, leaving behind his grandparents and friends in Seoul, Korea.

John Hong
“I remember getting a phone call from my dad saying, ‘Min died.'”

Doug Kim
As a youngster growing up in the Mid-West he was frequently bullied by his peers for being Asian and was at a loss understanding how he was different

Nancy Choi
As the mother of a third-generation Korean American daughter, Nancy Choi has faced coming to terms with the different styles of parenting that have come from her own mother.

Covry
In this #NotYourAverage, Athina and Florence share with Julie Young how they started from just a simple idea to being met with overwhelming demand from their Kickstarter that launched them into establishing their own company.

Jinhee Ahn Kim
Fears of the unknown and uncertainty have never stopped Jinhee Ahn Kim from having her own adventure.

HJ Lee
Get to know our very own Executive Director, HJ Lee, who co-founded KoreanAmericanStory.org with his wife Theresa Choh-Lee 9 years ago. HJ shares with Julie Young his intimate and personal experiences growing up that helped foster his vision for KoreanAmericanStory.org and ultimately led him to where he is today.

Hyun Joon Lee
Born in Seoul, Hyun Joon Lee grew up in Indonesia, went to Yonsei University, and ended up in the Bronx working as a medical resident.

Jae Lee
In this episode of #NotYourAverage, Julie Young chats with Jae Lee – a Korean American chef based in New York with 12 years of culinary experience under his belt. From working unpaid as a budding cook to becoming executive chef of NYC Rice & Gold, Lee is now promoting his new pop up restaurant Him 힘 which was inspired by his family’s immigrant journey from Korea.

Ta Bom: Los Angeles’ Women-Owned Korean Brazilian Food Truck
When Ilse Marques Kim, a former model from Brazil, was laid off from Korea Air’s cargo department at LAX, she struggled to find work for over a year.

Duk Sun Chang
Duk Sun Chang struggled all his life working as a gemcutter, a back-breaking occupation.

Profile of Karen Kim
This past July, Karen was elected President of KALAGNY. In her short time in the position, Karen has already brought a renewed energy and vision to the over 30 year old association.

Simon Kim
Paired with succulent visuals of prime steak, watch Julie Young and Simon Kim, restaurateur and owner of Cote, talk about the trials and triumphs of making it in the fine dining industry. “Never in a million years had I thought that I would get a Michelin star.”

Moul Kim
Moul Kim, owner of Keki Modern Cakes, which sells sensational jiggly cheesecake, talks about how traveling around Asia inspired him to open up his own dessert shop in Chinatown, NYC. Learn how his Korean grandparents helped him to come up with the name.

Chris Cho
Chris Cho, chef and owner of Seorabol Korean Restaurant, went from dropping out of high school to being featured in various media platforms for showcasing authentic Korean cuisine. Chris’ father has also worked as a chef and has over 40 years of experience; Chris credits his father as the one who empowers him to keep going.

Profile of Bomsinae Kim
Bomsinae Kim, the Executive Director of the Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC) could easily be described as outgoing. But according to Bomsinae, this was not always the case.

Raymond John
Julie Young sits down with Raymond John, CEO and co-founder of 12+, a non-profit organization that has a vision to “increase educational equity” by shifting school cultures and empowering students to achieve their goals of post-secondary education. Watch the video to learn how Raymond went from being a pre-med college student to becoming the CEO and co-founder of this awesome organization!

KRB Podcast: Angie Kim
In this month’s KoreanAmericanStory on KRB 87.7 FM, Angie Kim, Community Organizing Fellow at Minkwon Center for Community Action, talks about her experience as a DACA Dreamer and her involvement in advocacy for young immigrants.

Hyepin Im – SaIGu LA Riots
Hyepin Im, an MBA student in 1992, recalls how the media falsely portrayed Korean Americans as the main aggressors during the LA riots.

Richard Choi – SaIGu LA Riots
Richard Choi is the current vice chairman of Radio Korea, and was the vice president of Radio Korea in 1992.

John Lim – SaIGu LA Riots
John Lim, then president of the Korean American Bar Association, recalls his experience of SaIGu and how he was moved to mobilize a team of over 80 lawyers to provide pro bono legal services for Korean Americans in the aftermath of SaIGu.

KRB Podcast: Jimmy Lee
In this month’s KoreanAmericanStory on KRB 87.7 FM, Executive Director of Restore NYC, Jimmy Lee, talks about his personal journey of passion, faith and social change, starting from working on Wall Street, discovering a need to help women with AIDS in Africa, and coming back to the U.S. to start an NGO that brings shelter and aid to sex-trafficking victims in New York.

CKO: Profile of Caroline Kim Oh
Executive Coach and Consultant, Caroline Kim Oh is one of those people who radiates goodness. Like her bright smile, her presence and energy seem to light up a room

Hannah Bae
When you hear about an ice cream flavor that’s named “Sweet as Bae,” you might think that Hannah Bae, the ice cream maker and founder of Noona’s Ice Cream, is just as whimsical and fluffy. But this ice cream master is calm, grounded, and motivated by a deep sense of love and family.

KRB Podcast: Kyung Yoon
In this week’s KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7 FM, Kyung B. Yoon, Executive Director and co-founder of KACF, talks about how to advance as a Korean American community by a new definition of success.

KRB Podcast: Matthew Oh
In this week’s episode of KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7. FM, Matthew Oh, founder of FOREFRONT, talks about how he started the organization to develop sustainable communities in India with his background in water engineering and passion to help people.

KRB Podcast: Linda Lee
In this week’s KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7.FM, Linda Lee, Executive Director at Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCSNY), talks about the services provided by the organization, her own Korean American experience and how to bridge the gap between 1st and 2nd generation Korean American leaders.

KRB Podcast: Diana Yu
In this week’s KoreanAmericanStory with KRB 87.7 FM, Diana Yu, Staten Island native, talks about the concept of virtual law, and the importance of wills for the Korean American community.

Hooni Kim
Chef Hooni Kim (of restaurants Hanjan and Danji in NYC) talks with Julie Young on winning a Michelin star, striving to please customers first, leaving medical school to become a chef with the support of his wife, and more.

Charlotte & David Cho
Julie chats with Charlotte & David Cho, co-founders of the online K-beauty shop Soko Glam. The couple shares about their life prior to starting their successful business, their passion for bringing Korean beauty and skincare products to mainstream America, and Charlotte’s book The Little Book of Skin Care.

KRB Podcast: Joy Lieberthal Rho
In this week’s Korean American Story with KRB 87.7 FM, Joy Lieberthal Rho, adoptee, mother, and social worker, talks about discovering her multi-faceted identity, and how she was able to reunite with her birth mother along the way. Learn about her work with Camp Sejong, an organization where Korean American adoptee and American-born Korean youth learn about Korean culture and identity, as well as the mentoring program she’s involved in with Also-Known-As.

KRB Podcast: Katherine Kim Bradke
Korean American Story, in partnership with KRB 87.7 FM, invites Katherine Kim Bradke to talk about 325kamra.org, an organization dedicated to reuniting lost families through DNA. Born in Korea in 1957 and adopted to the U.S. at 3 years-old, Katherine talks about her experience growing up and discovering her unique identity as a Korean-American adoptee.

Steve Choi
Steve Choi grew up as that nerdy-looking Asian kid who was always overlooked or looked down upon in school—giving him a “chip on his shoulder” that motivated him to excel and prove people wrong.

Eddie Song of Korilla
Julie and Rekstizzy sit down with Eddie Song, founder of Korilla, New York’s first Korean BBQ truck. The proud owner shares on Korilla’s inception and his personal background & aspirations.

Esther Choi of Mokbar
Julie takes rapper Rekstizzy and her cousin August to Mokbar (먹바)—a hot spot for modern Korean cuisine located in New York’s Chelsea Market—where they meet chef and owner Esther Choi.

Jaeki Cho
In our first “Not Your Average” video, Julie Young interviews Jaeki Cho, a Korean American hip hop artist based in Flushing, NY. Jaeki was born in Korea, grew up in Nanjing, China, and immigrated to the US—first to Seattle, later to Elmhurst, New York. Jaeki discusses hip hop, rapping in Korean, and his documentary about Asian American rappers titled “Bad Rap”.

Lisa Quan
Lisa came to the US when she was 2 years old. Her mother left the family at age 5, then she was sent back to Korea at age 11, only to return to her father in Los Angeles at age 14.

Never Want to Forget
I never want to forget the look on my mom’s face when the cashier rang up the sneakers and we realized that they were not on sale. I never want to forget picking up a TV that was thrown out on the street in Williamsburg for my first apartment in NYC,

Create Your Own Path: Profile of Hyun Kim
To see Hyun Kim in person, one might think he seems to fit the part of the hip, well-styled and good-looking marketing industry insider. Follow him on Twitter and you see that he, appropriately so for his profession, has his finger on the pulse of all that is current.