2017 was an extraordinary year for KAS. Here’s a look back at some of our highlights from last year.
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.
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.
In this trailer of K-Town Stories: Flushing, the directors Peter Lee and Julian Kim talk about the importance of preserving the stories of our community.
Newly immigrated from Korea and unable to read or speak English, a mother wanders around the streets of Flushing with her young son in order to find someone who can explain his homework.
In partnership with Swallowtail Studios, founded by Julian Kim and Peter Lee, KoreanAmericanStory.org will produce a series of films which depict the lives of Korean Americans in Koreatowns around the country.
Homework is one out of three short films in the K-Town Stories: Flushing trilogy.
Born in New Jersey, Deborah Kim grew up in Staten Island but frequently visited Korea since she was a child—forming a multicultural identity that made her feel like an outsider in both societies. At a young age, she began experimenting with spoken word poetry after discovering Def Poetry Jam on YouTube. Now currently training to become a professional dancer, Deborah will be moving to Korea in 2016 to teach English while studying ballet and breaking but hopes to continue using spoken word and dance as a way to tell stories that reflect on relationships, social boundaries, and identity.
Jannie Chung explains why she shares her story with others—sentiments that capture the essence of our organization.
The Mental Health Channel presents this short documentary film on 26 year-old Grace Kim’s battle with depression & suicidal thoughts and the unique project she undertook in her journey to overcome her mental illness.
This video premiered at the 5 Year Anniversary Gala where KoreanAmericanStory.org’s Trailblazer Awards were given to Sandra Oh, Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park and Thomas Park Clement. This is a good introductory video about KoreanAmericanStory.org.
This is the story of Thomas Park Clement, an abandoned bi-racial Korean War orphan, who was adopted by a white American family in 1958. He overcame many obstacles to become a successful entrepreneur and a humanitarian.
In this film Dan reflects on his journey as an activist as well as a gay man seeking acceptance from his mother and father who are conservative Christians. His father is a Southern Baptist minister in California. Dan talks openly about the challenges of being a full time activist, the emotional and mental toll which has resulted in him being hospitalized for mental health treatment, and the Christian values that enabled him to get through the difficult times even as he felt abandoned and ostracized by the Christian community in which he grew up.
KoreanAmericanStory.org participated in the #MillionsMarchNYC on December 13th, 2014 at Washington Square Park. We took the opportunity to seek out other Asian Americans who were at the demonstration and asked them why they were there. #BlackLivesMatter
“The Choi Family” is a fictionalized account of the family, whose last name is “Cho”, and the events surrounding them after the Virginia Tech massacre.
Democracy Prep is a charter school based in Harlem which is attended mostly by African American and Hispanic students. One unique aspect of Democracy Prep High School is that all students are required to take classes in Korean language and culture. In this video, we explore the perspectives of the school’s founder, Seth Andrew, its teachers and students.
A short documentary following Korean American individuals, whose lives present factors that create generational differences, and a possible way to bridge the gap.
This is a video I made about my mom for my two quappa (quarter Korean) kids. It sums up that special relationship between a Korean grandma and her grandkids. The central figure is Grandmother…and yes, I know I spelled Halmoni wrong but that is just how we roll with it in our family. Harmonie fits our multiracial family better since it is close to “harmony” which is a combination of things that are pleasant together – that’s us!
KoreanAmericanStory.org recorded stories of Korean Americans at the KoKo Living Magazine’s “Night at the Rooftop” event on October, 21, 2011.
In this video piece, Kimberly So Jin Kim of KoreanAmericanStory.org provides a glimpse of the Corona Senior Center, a service that is run by the Korean Community Services of New York (KCSNY.org) to meet the staff members, volunteers and the elderly Korean-Americans who utilize their services.
Ameriie is a popular Grammy nominated singer who is half Korean and half black, and this music video is a companion piece to the Profile of Ameriie written by Julie Young.
“Ever since I discovered that I was adopted (at the age of 18), I’ve always wanted to write a song that captured my experience and gratitude toward my biological mother.
This 2 part video is a speech that was given by the Senator Paull Shin of Washington State at the Korean American Community Foundation’s (KACF) 5th Annual Gala in October, 2010.
A documentary following the lives of two hip-hop Korean American artists, Sarah “Skim” Kim and Jonathan “Dumbfoundead” Park. There are some good performances by these artists about 10 minutes into the video. This documentary was produced and directed by Reed Nakamura.
This moving documentary follows the life of Chris Hwang, a Korean-American pastor known affectionately by the homeless he serves as “Chicken Man”. Produced and directed by Mi Jung Youm and Jason Shutt.
This film is based on a true story written by Dennis Lee and directed by Caryn Waechter. It is a tragic story of a Korean-American family in the 1970’s.
Korean-American Mosaic: Portraits of a Vibrant Community captures 100 years of Korean-American immigration history.
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.
Ameriie is a popular Grammy nominated singer who is half Korean and half black, and this music video is a companion piece to the Profile of Ameriie written by Julie Young.
Never in a million years did Marja Vongerichten think she would become the unofficial ambassador of Korean food to the United States. Her story is well known at this point. Born to a Korean mother and an African-American serviceman father, at the age of three she was adopted by an African-American couple, Colonel James Allen and Margo McKay.
This is a video I made about my mom for my two quappa (quarter Korean) kids. It sums up that special relationship between a Korean grandma and her grandkids. The central figure is Grandmother…and yes, I know I spelled Halmoni wrong but that is just how we roll with it in our family. Harmonie fits our multiracial family better since it is close to “harmony” which is a combination of things that are pleasant together – that’s us!
“You know how sometimes you meet someone and it just clicks,” Kleisley said. “That’s how it was when I first met Mark.” That 1951 chance meeting near a stream in Korea blossomed into a 60-plus-year friendship for the Marine from Rochester, N.Y., and the former homeless kid from North Korea.
Probably each one of us said it at some point when we were small children. Some of us said it almost every night. Some begged and pleaded. We laughed and giggled and screamed when our pleadings were granted.
When asked how it makes her feel to be known as the “Original Dreamer” she responded, “I’m not sure it matters… some undocumented immigrants today are saying that they think the Dreamer rhetoric is something that throws our parents under the bus because it’s exclusive to a certain number of immigrants. We have to fight this one thing at a time and eventually we will fight for comprehensive immigration reform because that’s what this country really needs.”
Sulja Lee was born in Japan in 1942 during WWII and her family moved back to Korea after Korean independence from Japan in 1945.
In Part 2, Matt talks about the beauty of starting a new chapter with his family and the joys becoming a father to his own biological sons.
L. Song Richardson was born in El Paso, Texas to a Korean American mother and African American father who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. Richardson grew up with strong influences of Korean culture from her mother who always stressed the importance of education which would later contribute to Richardson’s passion for teaching and research. In this Legacy Project, Richardson reflects back on the challenges of growing up mixed race and how her parents fell in love. L. Song Richardson is the current Dean and Chancellor’s Professor of Law at the University of California, Irvine School of Law with joint appointments in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and in the Department of Asian American Studies.