Korean American Story
KoreanAmericanStory is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in New York.[1] Its mission is to capture, create, preserve, and share the diverse narratives of the Korean American experience. Through multimedia storytelling, the organization aims to bridge intergenerational gaps, foster community dialogue, and provide a permanent archive of the Korean diaspora in the United States. Founded in 2010 by HJ Lee and Theresa Choh-Lee, the organization began as personal projects, filming their parents' oral histories so that their children might view them in the future. This evolved into a broader mission to document Korean immigrants whose stories—spanning Japanese colonialism, the Korean War, and the mass migration of the 1970s and 80s—were at risk of being lost.
Projects
Legacy Project
The Legacy Project is Korean American Story's cornerstone oral history initiative. With video interviews beginning in 2010, KAS has captured over 400 individual recordings of Korean Americans living across the United States, as well as many living in South Korea. Funded through philanthropic grants dispersed by organizations[2] such as the Reva and David Logan Foundation and the YS Kim Foundation, included within Korean American Story's video repositories are series of productions spanning every major American metropolitan region with substantial Korean communities.[3] KAS will often partner with local Korean organizations to procure community interviewees and, at times, interviewers: past partners have included Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCCLA), Korean American Family Service Center (KAFSC), and Korean American Special Education Center (KASEC). Alongside the production of regionally salient interviews, the Legacy Project also publishes thematic series which delve into aspects of Korean American identity and experiences that are less legible in popular media: these series include deep dives into the queer Korean American community, Korean Americans in "nontraditional" industries such as Hollywood and entertainment, and Korean American families of North Korean descent.[4]
In 2024, Korean American Story uploaded their Legacy Project repository to the University of Southern California's Korean American Digital Archive Library, a virtual collection hosted by the school's Korean Heritage Library, itself the largest academic collection of exclusively Korean Studies-related archives in the United States.[5]
ROAR Story Slam
ROAR is an annual national live storytelling competition. Finalists are selected from a global pool of submissions to perform a six-minute, unscripted personal story. Each year follows a specific theme, such as "Joy," "Forgiveness," or "Resilience," intended to showcase the range of the community's emotional and social history.[6] The event has been hosted in cities with large Korean American communities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Houston, and Chicago. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was hosted virtually.
K-Pod
Hosted by Catherine Hong and Juliana Sohn, this podcast explores the lives of Korean Americans in arts and culture. Notable guests have included singer Michelle Zauner of Japanese Breakfast, chef Edward Lee, Sesame Streetpuppeteer Kathleen Kim. Having run for five seasons beginning in 2019, the podcast is on indefinite hiatus as of 2024.[7]
NAYA (나야)
A mini-documentary series that profiles unique individuals, such as classical violinist David Kim, designer Yon Yuh Zweibon, and Shaman Mudang Jenn.
Not Your Average
A profile series highlighting Korean Americans who have pursued non-traditional career paths or niche professions, hosted by Julie Young. With an initial run lasting from 2016 to 2019, the video series interviewed artists such as Jaeki Cho, Dumbfoundead, and Far East Movement, entrepreneurs such as Raymond John, and actors such as Justin Chon and Awkwafina.
Six Feet Apart
A series launched in 2020 to document the specific challenges and stories of the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Film Production
The organization has also produced a number of independent film projects to bring Korean American narratives to a wider audience:
- Happy Cleaners (2019): A feature-length film produced by the organization that depicts the Choi family’s struggle to maintain a dry-cleaning business in Flushing, Queens. The film received critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of immigrant family dynamics.[8]
- K-Town Stories: Flushing: A trilogy of short films, including Homework and Call Taxi, focusing on life within iconic Korean enclaves.
References
- ↑ "Mission - KoreanAmericanStory.org". KoreanAmericanStory.org. Archived from the original on 2026-03-10. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
- ↑ "KoreanAmericanStory.org, Inc". The Reva and David Logan Foundation. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
- ↑ digitallibrary.usc.edu https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset-management/2A3BF1MGALZ_L?WS=SearchResults&Flat=FP&FR_=1&W=1280&H=1297. Retrieved 2026-04-13. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ MADEO (2023-08-28). "Families remain divided by the Korean War, more than 70 years later". American Friends Service Committee. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
- ↑ "Korean Heritage Library | USC Libraries". libraries.usc.edu. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
- ↑ "Korean American Story Roar Story Slam Archives". Korean American Story Roar Story Slam Archives. 4/13/2026. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "K-Pod". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2026-04-13.
- ↑ Liu, Jonathan (2021-02-12). "Peter S. Lee, Julian Kim, and Kat Kim on Directing & Producing 'Happy Cleaners' - From the Intercom". Retrieved 2026-04-13.
This article "Korean American Story" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Korean American Story. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
