Is there still an emphasis on academics at art schools?

Yeah, one of the biggest misconceptions about going to an art school is the academics, but people here are such go-getters. They’re so smart. And they’re good at their art. There’s a huge emphasis on academics, but not as big an emphasis on things like technology or computer science. We definitely fall into that stereotype, but this year was our first time having an AP computer science class, and we never had that before. I think my school is slowly trying to get into the computer science area.

Why did you choose to study creative writing?

My sister was originally in creative writing. All of us have been writing since we were young, and we thought it was only fitting for us to go into writing. That’s basically why I chose writing. My favorite genre is flash fiction. They’re super short stories where you talk about a scene or you create a whole story in one page or less. It’s really cool because the short stories I like to write are a little bit more metaphoric. I don’t remember which author I was inspired by, who has a similar style. I also like writing screenplays. I recently got into that just from a class. Yeah, it’s hard coming up with stories that aren’t cheesy but aren’t too abstract either.

Can you tell me about your podcast?

I unfortunately haven’t uploaded [podcast content] in a while because of school, but I have episodes made. I just have to edit them and add graphics. It’s a really tedious process. For my next episode, I’ve just had to keep pushing it back because of school. It’s completely edited.

I just have to add graphics, captions, and words. It’s just a multi-step process, like fixing the colors. It’s a long, sometimes tedious, stressful, and irritating process, but I do enjoy it.

My brother tries to help me with the editing process as much as he can, but he doesn’t have the skills yet and hasn’t used the programs as long as I have. He tries his best, but I do think we have a somewhat equal relationship in creating the podcast. We both interview guests together. It’s really cool being able to work with my brother. Even though it can be frustrating sometimes, I think he’s a good partner. He’s really, really smart for his age and good at asking questions.

The podcast is called “The Silent Room Podcast.” We basically came up with that name because my brother wanted something super catchy, like a nice catchphrase. It’s “The Silent Room Podcast,” where no one is silent because we’re talking all the time. We have about four episodes out. It’s on all the major podcast streaming platforms.

We’ve done an episode about one of his favorite video games, Among Us. That was the first episode we did. And then we talked about our quarantine pets and an organization called Liberty in North Korea (LiNK). We were able to interview one of the directors there.

We were also able to interview Emanuel Hahn, who is a photojournalist. He’s [taken photos] for Time magazine, and he also got popular for his project of photographing Koreatown. We also interviewed an organization that used boxing to empower the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and raise money through boxing classes. Now, they’re working with a bunch of professional boxers to teach elderly self-defense, and they’re doing that for free.

It’s been rewarding, first of all, to get support from podcast guests and people in general, and our audience has been very supportive. Parents who are watching have reached out and been like, ‘Oh my gosh, we love your podcast so much because it’s PG and educational as well.’

How do you think you’ve been able to gain an audience? How did you raise your platform?

Honestly, I don’t know. We don’t have that many viewers. We’re not like a super popular podcast because we’re still starting, and we’re not as consistent as I envision it to be in the future. But I don’t know. I think it was just through mutuals, like my friends’ parents telling their younger siblings. It just spread through word of mouth.

It is a lot of work because we do audio podcasts as well as video podcasts. My brother and I, every time we shoot, it takes like 30 minutes to set up everything. We have to connect our mics to separate computers, make sure our mics are working, and do mic checks. Make sure the camera angles are good. Make sure everything technologically is set. It’s difficult, especially when we have guests, because we need to have like three computers in the room and one phone, and it’s like my brother and I managing all these devices. It’s frustrating because the camera shuts off after 20 minutes. There are so many variables that make this so difficult to do. The camera shuts off at 20 minutes, and Zoom meetings usually close at 40 minutes, so it’s like all this timing we have to keep right.

[The podcast] is definitely something I want to do, and I want to continue the video podcasts because I think that’s entertaining. People don’t really do video podcasts these days. They do audio ones because, like I said, that’s way simpler than doing video ones. I want to keep doing this in the future because, for my brother and me, it’s just something fun to do.

Every time someone meets us or my family, they’re always like, ‘I wish I were a fly on your wall so I could listen to your conversations because you guys are so funny. You talk about the weirdest and most interesting things.’ So that’s our thing. My brother and I wanted to do this. He thinks it’s so fun, and his friends also like it. Usually, I feel like people his age would make fun of him, but his friends think it’s cool. He also has a supportive community, which makes him want to keep going.

Is there anything else you want to add about Koreatown?

No, I just love Koreatown so much, and I wish I could live there, but I can’t because of the school I go to. I just love the city so much. I love the Korean culture there. I absolutely love all the small businesses. Most of the time, the owners are super nice. It’s not like Orange County; I don’t see as many small businesses as in Koreatown. Orange County has a lot of big corporate businesses or businesses that are definitely doing fine. I’m not going to say they’re super successful, but they’re doing fine.

Going to Koreatown, it’s just nice to be able to support small AAPI businesses. I think supporting AAPI businesses and anything AAPI is really important, especially right now with all the racism and the AAPI attacks. I’m sure all business owners, especially authentic, old businesses that have older owners, are thinking about whether they should keep their businesses open for their own safety, you know? I think that’s why I love going to Koreatown; I can support those businesses.