Youth Participants
Spring/Summer 2020
We are a group of young journalists who are documenting our lives—and the stories and experiences of our elders—in Los Angeles’ Koreatown during the COVID-19 quarantine.
Cailey Beck
Youth Participant
Cailey is a junior attending New Covenant Academy in Los Angeles. She has always loved to write and has been an active member of 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.
Cailey’s story →
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 years. 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 has 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. After that, he returned to Korea and lived there 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 playing and watching soccer, and he also plays the drums, piano, and violin. He hopes to attend UCLA, where he is interested in studying artificial intelligence.
yushin’s story →
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 yearbook editor. She has taken many classes involving photography and filmmaking. Sally 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 the rain, sunsets, scented candles, and the beach. Sally 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 3 years old. She has been living in Koreatown for about 13 years, but she does not know its history or background. 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 loves dancing to K-pop and hip-hop. She has been on a dance team for four years and has won many competitions. In the future, Chaerin 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 as a young child. She has been part of the girls’ volleyball team since her sophomore year of high school. She is also part of the Honor Council, which makes school rules and helps discipline younger children. She is interested in art and looking forward to earning certificates in origami and 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 achieve her dream of becoming a teacher because she will learn how to effectively write and communicate with others.
Crystal’s story →
Mia Giambalvo
Youth Participant
Mia is a high school sophomore at Larchmont Charter School. She’s been going to school in Koreatown for about four years. 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 local neighborhoods. She has been working as a waitress at the Solheim Lutheran Retirement Home in Eagle Rock during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has proved to be a very meticulous and important job during the pandemic, as most 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 the 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 to launch her art business, selling stickers, calendars, prints, and more! Another project she is currently working on is making a graphic novel. Hannah has been a graphic design intern at KYCC since September 2019. Her Instagram is @hancandrawtoo.
hannah haein’s story →