KSP Spring/Summer 2020

COVID-19 Quarantine

Our intergenerational program launched four days after the City of Los Angeles announced the Safer-at-Home mandate. We documented the early days of the pandemic through the voices of youth and elders in our Koreatown community.

KSP S/S 2020 Youth Participants

Our intrepid inaugural cohort of eight youth from Koreatown high schools came together in the spring and summer of 2020 to learn interview techniques, journalism fundamentals, and oral history ethics and methodology. We interviewed our peers, community members, and elders to document the first few months of the lockdown, the Black Lives Matter protests, and how our residents were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

KSP Spring/Summer 2020 Elder Participants

Our first cohort of elders resides in KYCC’s affordable housing buildings. During the first weeks and months of the COVID-19 lockdown, we engaged with these residents through regular phone check-ins and hand-delivered hot meals and essentials. We also conducted in-depth interviews about their lives in the U.S., both before and during the pandemic.

“During COVID, we are experiencing a dark time with people experiencing racism. You know, it really scares me because I’m a first-generation immigrant, and I’m concerned about my kids in the future.”

— Sean N., KSP Elder