Cailey Beck

Youth Participant

Cailey is a junior attending New Covenant Academy in Los Angeles. She has always loved to write and has an active part in her school’s yearbook committee. When she isn’t trying to finish one of her short stories or scripts, Cailey can be found at volleyball practice or fulfilling her duties as secretary of the student council. Other than publishing a full-length novel, Cailey’s ultimate goal in life is to own a house with lots of big windows and have friends over for dinner every night until the day she dies.

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Martin Carpio

Youth Participant

Martin is a sophomore at Larchmont Charter School in Los Angeles. He has lived in Koreatown for his entire life, yet he hopes to learn more about its culture through this project. He writes articles as a copy editor for the school’s student newsletter The Timberwolf Howl and enjoys transcribing. He is an avid fan of the arts, likes to sing and dance, and has recently begun crocheting. He was also a member of his school’s Cross Country and Track team during his freshman and sophomore year. He hopes to study math at a UC school.

MARTIN’s story →

Abigail Eun

Youth Participant

Abigail is a junior at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in Mid-City, Los Angeles. She has been a staff writer for her school paper for two years. She has lived in Koreatown for her entire life. She has a passion for baking, reading, and creative writing. She is fluent in English and Korean, and she’s been studying Spanish for four years. She is the Vice President of BRIDGE, a high school volunteer program at KYCC, and works at Sul & Beans, a dessert cafe in Koreatown. In the future, Abigail hopes to go into Communications or Political Science.

Abigail’s story →

Yushin Kim

Youth Participant

Yushin is a junior at New Covenant Academy in Los Angeles. He is an international student from South Korea. He attended the St. Gregory Nazianzen School in Los Angeles from the Second to Fourth Grade. Then, he went back to Korea and lived with his family for five years. A semester before his middle school graduation, he decided to come back to the United States on his own. He attended the Bloomington Christian School in Riverside, California and later enrolled at New Covenant Academy in Koreatown. He likes to play and watch soccer, and also plays the drums, piano, and violin. He hopes to attend UCLA, where he is interested in studying artificial intelligence.

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Sally Shapiro

Youth Participant

Sally is a sophomore at Larchmont Charter School in Los Angeles. She is currently the head of the first journalism club at her school and the editor of the yearbook. She has taken many classes involving photography and filmmaking. She is very politically active and partakes in various service activities. She tries to limit her impact on the environment by being a pescatarian and thrifting clothes to continue to fuel her love of fashion. Some of her favorite things include rain, sunsets, scented candles, and the beach. She hopes to find an intersection between political journalism and photography for her future career.

sally’s story →

Chaerin Sung

Youth Participant

Chaerin is a junior at New Covenant Academy in Koreatown. She was born in Ulsan, Korea, but came to Koreatown, Los Angeles when she was three years old. She has been living in Koreatown for 13 to 14 years, but she does not know the history and the background of Koreatown. She is very interested in photography because she loves taking pictures of her family members, friends, food, and herself. She is a starting setter on the school volleyball team and she loves dancing to K-Pop and Hip-Hop music. She has been on a dance team for four years and has won many competitions. In the future, she hopes to become a pediatric nurse.

chaerin’s story →

Crystal Yoon

Youth Participant

Crystal is a junior attending New Covenant Academy. She was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, but moved to Koreatown when she was very young. She has been part of the girls volleyball team since her sophomore year. She is also part of the Honor Council, which makes rules for the school and also helps to discipline younger children. She is interested in art and is looking forward to getting a certificate in origami, as well as in Korean folk painting. Through this experience, she wants to learn more about journalism and acquire skills that will help her in the future. This new experience will help her to achieve her dreams of being a teacher because she will learn how to effectively write and communicate with others.

Crystal’s story →

Mia Giambalvo

Youth Particpant

Mia is a high school sophomore at Larchmont Charter School. She’s been going to school in Koreatown for about four years. She has taken an active role in improving the community. She is very involved in her school’s Community Service committee and is a member of the Girls Build L.A. club, which works on different projects to help the neighborhood. She has been working as a waitress at the Solheim Lutheran Retirement Home in Eagle Rock during this COVID-19 pandemic. She volunteered there many times before officially getting a job. She hands out meals for the residents and helps out in the kitchen. It has proved to be a very meticulous and important job during the pandemic, as most of the residents are at-risk.

Mia’s story →

Hannah Haein Kim

Contributor

Hannah is a graphic designer living in Koreatown. She was born in Washington, raised in Colorado and moved to Los Angeles when she was in eighth grade. Currently, she is a senior studying Computer Information Systems at Cal State LA and hopes to get into UX design. She is also working on launching her art business selling stickers, calendars, prints, and much more! Making a graphic novel is another project she is working on. Hannah has been a graphic design intern at KYCC since September 2019. Her instagram is @hancandrawtoo.

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Hyeyoon (Alyssa) Choi

Program Coordinator

Hyeyoon Hyeyoon (Alyssa) Choi is sophomore at UCLA, double majoring in Communications and Political Science. She was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. At UCLA, Alyssa reports for the Daily Bruin. This summer, she will be an intern at CAUSE Leadership Academy, learning to become more involved in the APA community. In the future, Alyssa hopes to pursue a career in journalism or media law.