Tag: writer

Eugenia Kim was born in 1952 in White Plains, New York, to parents who immigrated to the United States between World War II and the Korean War. Because her father had worked for the US military government in Korea, Eugenia’s family had certain privileges which allowed them to relocate to the United States during the interwar period. Eugenia was born while her father was working for the Voice of America, and soon afterwards the family moved to the DMV, where she spent most of her childhood in Tacoma Park. Both of her parents were deeply involved with the early Korean American community in Washington, D.C., her father a minister of the Methodist Church and her mother a local contact for fresh kimchi for Asian restaurants in the area. After college, Eugenia worked in hospitality, then in graphic design, before going back to school for an MFA in creative writing; today, she is the author of two published novels. Believing that creative expression is a powerful means of meditating on one’s identity, she encourages anyone who has ever struggled with the question “Who am I?” to turn to storytelling for an answer.

Alexander Chee (he/him) is a bestselling author, essayist, and Professor of English and Creative Writing at Dartmouth College. Born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, to a white American mother and Korean father, Chee’s journey is a tale woven with humor and wit. Describing his childhood self as a “financial crisis” due to being unplanned, he moved around the Pacific with his family’s fisheries business before settling in Maine, where he encountered racism from his peers.

It wasn’t until he moved to San Francisco in 1989 that he found a community. There, he not only met another gay Asian man for the first time, but also others who shared his mixed-race background. However, he was surprised to discover that even within this vibrant community, there were divisions; some gay bars excluded women, while others historically excluded Asian men.

Through his experiences, Chee emphasizes that political work extends beyond demonstrations and policy-making. It’s also about finding joy and connection in everyday moments like “going out dancing with friends, jumping on a stage for a favorite song, or just being goofy.” His journey underscores the importance of finding spaces where you belong, even within the complexities of identity and community.

K-Pod is back! To kick off Season 5, co-hosts Catherine Hong and Juliana Sohn present a special two-parter. First, they preview the upcoming season, which, as they explain, will look a bit different this time around. Instead of focusing on the lives of individual artists and creatives, they’ll be chatting with experts on a range of Korean American cultural topics. The first of these episodes will focus on language; other episodes in the works will center on Korean cultural traditions and celebrations, Korean American mental health and traditional Korean medicine. (Bet you didn’t know that Juliana’s dad made her and her sisters drink deer blood!) In part two of the episode, we take the time to get to know our co-hosts a little better.  Juliana and Catherine discuss being moms of halfie (sorry, “biracial”) children, Juliana’s family’s reaction to her divorce, Catherine’s dad’s touching 87th birthday and the importance of preparing legacy portraits. Bonus: check out the YouTube version to see Catherine’s dog sauntering around her living room.