Our summer intern, Flora White, was inspired by her lifelong love for libraries and created a short film about our very own Pio Pico Koreatown Library Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library!

Last Saturday, September 20, KSP held our first workshop of our new semester! We welcomed back our friends Joel Garcia and Miguelaxel Burrola from Meztli Projects, who led a workshop on screen printing at the KSP Treehouse. They guided us through the process of creating and printing our own designs, and we spent the next few hours printing on paper and clothing.

We are so proud to see the voices of our community uplifted and represented above the streets of Koreatown. You can visit our billboards at Western & Beverly and Olympic & Alvarado. Together, we honor the strength of those on their recovery journeys and the youth who helped bring their stories to life.

Throughout the month of August, we hosted a new workshop series called Dragonfly Workshops, which consisted of five arts workshops open to the community. We wrapped the series up with a zine-making workshop, where we created our own zines using the art we created throughout the month! Check out our digital version of our zine in this post!

Stay tuned for more KSP workshops on our events page.

In this article Sarah Barnavon interviews Alex Newman, a high school student in the Los Angeles area.  Alex lost her home to the Palisades fire, which burned over 23,000 acres of land, and many others lost their houses in the Eaton Canyon fire, which burned 14,100 acres across Altadena. These fires not only caused a serious tragedy in the Los Angeles community but also immense destruction throughout the city.  

On February 2, 2025, Eitan Kim Levy interviewed Rosa Nicely, a 16-year-old from Los Angeles, as part of the 2024-2025 Koreatown Storytelling Program. Their discussion focused on the catastrophic Eaton Canyon fire, which unexpectedly forced Rosa and her family to evacuate their home in Altadena.

This article by Alexander Paris-Callahan and Marisol Yee is part of a hyperlocal journalism project between Boyle Heights Beat and the Koreatown Storytelling Program. After the January Palisades and Eaton fires, many people sought community and guidance in religious spaces. Rabbi Steve Leder was one of many religious leaders who quickly offered support to congregants. 

Koreatown Storytelling Program is proud to present Legacies of Western Avenue (LOWA), a multimedia project that highlights the history of this iconic K-Town street, with insights from six Korean American store owners who shared about the history and changing landscape of Western Ave.

Last Saturday, April 5, KSP hosted an Oral History 101 training at the Felipe de Neve branch of the Los Angeles Public Library! KSP Audio Producer Tony Morales and KSP Youth Participant Timothy Lee were joined by youth students to discuss the purpose and importance of oral history, as well as to learn how to conduct their own oral history interviews.

This article by Lazar Johnson and Urja Parekh is part of a hyperlocal journalism project between Boyle Heights Beat and the Koreatown Storytelling Program. During the Eaton Fire, Koreatown educator Jeffrey Sapin was one of thousands of Altadena residents who lost their homes.

This article by Timothy Lee, with additional reporting from Isleen Lee, is part of a hyperlocal journalism project between Boyle Heights Beat and the Koreatown Storytelling Program. During the January Palisades and Eaton fires, hundreds of volunteers across Southern California flocked to support first responders and displaced people. Dr. Jorge Arvizu was one of the countless volunteers who rushed to help fire-struck Californians.

On Friday, March 7, Koreatown Storytelling Program wrapped up our 2024-2025 Traditional Healing Arts cohort with our annual Culmination party! It was an incredible night of celebrating our students and narrators who participated in this year’s oral history interviews.

On Tuesday, February 11, KSP had the opportunity to tour South Baylo University LA, a graduate school in Koreatown that offers full accreditation in acupuncture and East Asian Medicine. Dr. Jun Woo Kim gave our students an overview of traditional Eastern medicine theory, learning about the five elements, Qi, and Yin Yang.

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, KSP welcomed back our friends from Las Fotos Project for another portraiture workshop! LFP is an LA-based organization that works to mentor teenage girls and gender expansive youth through photography.

Earlier this month, KSP welcomed back our friend Cathy, who led another foodmaking workshop for us. Cathy has taught us how to cook many traditional Korean recipes in the past, including miyeokguk (seaweed soup) and kimchijeon (kimchi pancakes). This time around, she taught us how to make soondubu, or Korean soft tofu soup!

Happy Holidays from Koreatown Storytelling Program!

We celebrated the season, as well as our halfway mark in our Traditional Healing Arts cohort, with an end of year holiday party! Our students and friends of KSP gathered at the treehouse and shared some delicious Guatemalan tamales from Amalia’s Restaurant.

During the months of November and December, KSP held a two-part Flash Fiction Workshop led by Leah Wang. Leah is an English and Asian American Literature instructor at Marlborough School.

Last Saturday, KYCC held our first ever El Mercadito Mágico Traditional Healing Arts Festival. KYCC’s Prevention Education, Recovery Services, and Koreatown Storytelling Program staff and volunteers gathered with members of our Los Angeles community to learn diverse traditional healing practices. We welcomed local healing artists, who demonstrated different ways to take care of our bodies including acupuncture, plant-based medicine, and sound bath meditation.