Eunice Shin
Eunice is a senior at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES). As the daughter of Korean immigrants, Koreatown became familiar to her as she grew up in Los Angeles. She is the founder of the Film Production Club and co-captain of LACES Speech and Debate. Eunice won a gold key for photography in the Scholastic Art and Writing competition in 2019. She has since become interested in telling elders’ stories after interviewing her grandmother in December 2020. She was shocked to hear about Korea’s history during the Korean War and Japanese imperialism, and it sparked an interest in journalism and storytelling. After participating in the LACES Micheaux Project, where she learned about entertainment journalism, Eunice hopes to utilize her skills to learn more about Koreatown’s history. She is interested in attending USC for film production.
Nurturing Connections with My Grandparents
Interview by Kimberly Espinosa
Could you please introduce yourself?
Hello, my name is Eunice Shin, and I’m currently in my senior year at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies. I’m a Korean American and the daughter of Korean immigrants.
What has been your experience working with or engaging with elders?
I used to be quite close to my grandmas. Unfortunately, my grandmother on my maternal side passed away. My experience with elders has mostly been communicating with my grandparents — talking, hanging out, and eating with them.
How do you plan to care for your parents or guardians?
Personally, I know that my mom has wanted to live in Korea for the longest time, so I think that when I’m older and she’s kind of “free” from taking care of me, she would like to live in Korea with her siblings and her family there. I don’t know how I feel about putting my parents in a nursing home because, usually, Korean people live with their parents, and their parents help take care of grandchildren and help out around the house. I think, in an ideal world, I would have my mom choose where she wants to be.
How did your parents take care of your grandparents?
On my dad’s side, my grandfather passed away. My grandmother lives with my dad’s older brother. She lives with my cousins, aunt, and uncle in one house. On my mom’s side, my grandfather lives in Korea. My mom calls her parents and checks in on them a lot, and her youngest sibling lives in Korea as well.