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Wonsook Kim
Wonsook Kim was born in 1953 in Busan, South Korea, just after the war’s end. Upon her first birthday, her family moved back to Seoul where they had lived prior to the Korean War; Wonsook recounts growing up in a large family—the 2nd of 8 children—with her many siblings, aunts, and two grandmothers. As the 2nd eldest daughter, she felt as though she was an outsider in many ways, always in the background, while worrying about what she could do be recognized as someone who brought delight and joy into different spaces. In hindsight, Wonsook states that it was perhaps due to this distance that she was able to grow as an artist. This distance grew when she came to the United States to pursue college and graduate school at Illinois State University, which today houses the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts as well as the Wonsook Kim School of Art. Upon graduation, her career took a turn upon winning the 1976 Elizabeth Stein Art Scholarship which allowed her to relocate to New York City, where she worked a variety of jobs to support herself as an artist. In 1977, a passing curator noticed her studio and offered for her work to be displayed at The Drawing Center in SoHo, and the rest is history; since then, she has displayed her artwork at 67 solo exhibitions and galleries. Wonsook stresses how blessed she feels to be able to do what she loves with the full support of her husband and children, and is determined to “pay back”—her words—all those who supported her throughout her long career.

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.

e
e, our 1st Place Winner, performs her piece “The Art of Bowing” at the first live Virtual ROAR Story Slam 2021. e is an attorney with a disability affecting her speech and mobility, but not her spirit. She opened Disability Law Collective, an affordable law practice providing legal advocacy for the everyday legal needs of people with disabilities and their families. She also started a non-profit housing cooperative for people with and without disabilities, called Able Community.
Letters to My Hometown

Hyung Chang Kim
Hyung Chang Kim recounts the memories of his father, the late Gi Suk Kim, who was born in 1926 in Namcheon-ri, Eunyul-gun, Hwanghae Province which today is located in North Korea. Gi Suk Kim had been a teacher when the Korean War broke out, but as an act of resistance against the mandatory rules carried out by the People’s Army, he joined the Guwolsan Guerilla Unit (part of the KLO), an American-led guerilla warfare unit whose soldiers took commands from American military officials. He, alongside some of his colleagues, had come under suspicion by the North Korean government for their anti-communist activities, and were captured and imprisoned; it was through the saving grace of his uncle, a high-ranking official in the North Korean government, that Gi Suk Kim narrowly avoided execution. After the end of the Korean War, his unit remained in operation in Jirisan, where he was told North Korean operatives were in hiding, to suppress the operations of remnant forces. He eventually settled in Uijeonbu, Gyeonggi Province, where he had Hyung Chang Kim, the eldest of three sons and two daughters. Hyung Chang Kim recalls his father’s acute longing for his hometown, often taking his son to accompany him on visits to the Hwanghae Province Central Residents’ Association, or the Northern Five Provinces Committee, while he reminisced with other Koreans whose hometowns were in the North of their childhoods. Though he had been healthy for his entire life, his father passed suddenly at the age of 60, having spent much of his later life longing for his home, and regretting that reunification couldn’t happen sooner. Hyung Chang Kim, who is now older than his father was when he passed, has inherited the deep sorrow caused by ideological divisions between the North and South. He wishes to meet his family in Hwanghae one day, greet them on behalf of his father who spoke of them often, and hopes that they remain healthy so that he might visit as soon as he can.

Jung Sook Han
Jung Sook Han was born on August 2nd, 1935, in Pyeonggang County, Kangwon Province, Korea. Her father was a schoolteacher who was regarded highly by his community, and she grew up with older siblings as well. She remembers fondly her oldest sister as well as her brother-in-law, for whom she’d act as a courier of sorts, delivering messages and love letters between the two. Growing up in the highlands of Pyeonggang in a township called Sepo, Jung Sook and her family would farm radishes and beans which grew abundantly in the alpine climates of the Taebaek Mountains. She recalls how her brother-in-law would often shake chestnuts—a Kangwon-do staple—out of their trees as she sat under them. When Jung Sook was ten years old, she and her family moved to Hongcheon county, a county in the southern part of Kangwon (sk: “Gangwon”) Province, while her sister stayed in Pyeonggang with her in-laws. Though she received word that her sister had had a child, she never met her niece or nephew; a couple of years later, she visited her hometown with a friend to find that her childhood home had been replaced by farmland, her sister and brother-in-law gone. She did manage to find her sister’s father-in-law, who told her that the young couple had been taken further north by North Korean soldiers. Although she has accepted that she may never see her sister or her brother-in-law again, she holds out hope that she may one day meet her sister’s child in a unified Korea. She wishes to tell them where they’re from, and that they should always love and protect their country so that it—and they—never be separated again.
This interview was filmed on July 31st, 2023 in Duluth, GA.

Keum Ja Park
Keum Ja Park was born in Cheongpyeong, South Hamgyeong Province, to a family who made their living by farming. At a young age, her family was evicted from their home because what they owed in taxes was much more than what they could farm, and moved to Heungnam City. One day, soldiers approached Park’s home telling them to get evacuate the city; her mother initially said they couldn’t go until her father returned home from work. Upon realizing that he wouldn’t make it back by the time the final boat left, Park and her mother boarded a boat that was so packed that they had to find space in the top level of the ship. After a nauseating voyage, they arrived on Geoje Island, Gyeongsang Province, in the South. In 1995, Park and her mother made a visit to North Korea to see her father, flying first to Beijing to catch a layover into North Korea. They ran into delays while in Beijing, and so at the urging of their guide, a Korean Chinese woman whose sister had lived in the North, they bought food to bring into North Korea in case their families didn’t have enough to eat. When they finally landed in North Korea, reuniting with their family, Park was surprised by how effective the regime’s ideological indoctrination had been: despite reports that much of the country was starving, her family insisted that food was bountiful in the North. Her father had remarried, and so Park met her half-siblings for the first time as well. Although she had heard stories of reunions filled with tears, she herself did not cry, feeling strange in front of her father whom she had last seen when she was too young to remember. They would continue to stay in touch via short phone calls until her father passed.
This interview was filmed on July 19, 2023, in Pasadena, CA.
Legacy Project

Eugenia Kim
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.

Thomas Park Clement
Thomas Park Clement was born in Seoul in the middle of the Korean War. He tells us that the earliest memories he has are of the flashes and noises from explosions outside his crib area, and that the trauma of war would resurface in recurrent fever dreams for years afterward. When he was four and a half years old, his biological mother led him to a street where she instructed him to look down the road in one direction; this would be the final time he saw his biological family. Soon thereafter, a Methodist nurse found and brought him to an orphanage, where he endured constant bullying and belittlement alongside other mixed children. A year later, he was adopted into the Clement family to begin the next chapter of his life in America. Inspired by the cartoon “Clyde Crashcup,” he strived to become an inventor, and today has 77 patents to his name in medical technology, and has donated funds for members of the Korean American Adoptees’ community to receive DNA testing kits for free.

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!
NAYA

NAYA: Mudang Jenn
Part of an annually released mini-documentary series that paints vivid, visual stories of unique Korean Americans and their passions for their craft, NAYA (나야): Shaman Mudang dives into the journey of Jennifer Kim, a practitioner of musok from New York. As she processes her own childhood traumas and experiences, Mudang Jenn shares a story of the spiritual challenges which propelled her towards working on her relationships with family, as well as the active choice to meaningfully work towards healing within her communities. Cultivating tradition to respond to contemporary anxieties, she focuses her talents and calling to address the han latent throughout the Korean diaspora.

NAYA: Yon Yuh Zweibon
Welcome to the whimsical world of Beyond Costumes, owned and operated by Yon Yuh Zweibon for the past 20 years in Yonkers, NY. A Wharton MBA graduate and former accountant, how did this spunky woman end up owning one of the largest independent costume collections on the east coast? In this episode of NAYA, Yon takes us through infinite rows of costumes as she shares her story and the drive behind her passion for running this magical warehouse.

NAYA: David Kim
Meet classical violinist David Kim. A child prodigy since the age of six, David fiercely trained to be a world-class violinist under his mother’s intense supervision. In this first installment of NAYA, David graciously invites us to his home and the music hall where we explore his passion for music and the journey that led him to become the concertmaster of the Philadelphia Orchestra. NAYA (나야), produced by KoreanAmericanStory.org, is a mini-documentary series that paints vivid, visual stories of unique Korean American individuals and passion for their craft.
Six Feet Apart

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.

Day In the Life of a Parent During Covid-19
Julian Kim is an editor, producer, filmmaker, and father of Ian, his 20-month-old son. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many families have experienced a dramatic change within their household when it comes to parenting, especially for those with young children.
Not Your Average

Mikey Fresh
Mikey Fresh is the Senior Artist Relations Manager at Genius, a digital media company known for providing unique insight about the stories behind the most popular songs. From showing up awkwardly to a hip-hop magazine interview in a full suit and a fake resume, Mikey Fresh is now one of the top experts in the hip-hop industry. Mikey shares with Julie how he fell in love with hip-hop culture growing up as a young Korean American in New Jersey and how he’s found his way creating a unique career out of his nontraditional passion.

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.

Marcus Hahm
Marcus Hahm, also known as Avec Plaisir, is an award-winning sound designer, mixer, and music producer who’s worked with national brands and major labels doing commercial work, songwriting and music supervising.
Film & Original

KAS 2017 RECAP REEL
2017 was an extraordinary year for KAS. Here’s a look back at some of our highlights from last year.

Call Taxi
Jason gets in a Korean taxi to catch a 6:30 AM flight from JFK. To his surprise, his father is the driver. The father makes an unwelcomed pit stop at a 24-hour Korean supermarket to buy snacks for Jason. When the father and son get back in the car, the car fails to start. A conversation that should have happened years ago, occurs between the two men.

3 Generations Visit Korea
What would it be like for 3 generations to travel together in Korea? Walk through one family’s journey of discovering and revisiting where they come from, while passing through the natural landscapes of the countryside and modern city of Seoul.