Loveletter to K-town: https://archive.org/details/iml-423-project-2-final-cut

Los Angeles’ very own Koreatown has been a place of many fond memories throughout my time at USC. Its restaurants have always provided me with a taste of home, the cafes and libraries a place to study, the many plazas a place to connect with friends, amongst so many other places and experiences that played a key role in developing who I am as a person. There really is something about hearing casual conversations in Korean when passing by people in a restaurant that gives rise to an indescribable feeling of security, contentment, and wholeness. In a moment of reflection on having a bustling and vibrant community of my own culture in such close proximity, this project can best be described as a love letter to Koreatown. Through an exploration of Koreatown’s beginnings and lived experiences in the past and present, this project ultimately aims to showcase what it means to be a person of Korean heritage living in and near the community and its value to the greater LA community. 

References 

Calisphere. (1950). Korean Presbyterian Church Sunday school [Photograph]. Calisphere. https://calisphere.org/item/17a3bf38f8456404b4a33f039f03a6db/ 

Daniels, Paula. (1996). Susan Ahn Cuddy Oral Histories [Video file]. InternetArchive. https://archive.org/details/calavc_00006 

Hung Sa Dahn. LA Conservancy. (2024, March 5). 

https://www.laconservancy.org/learn/historic-places/hung-sa-dahn/ 

KB국민은행. (2021, May 12). Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Remembered beyond Generations and National Boundaries [Video file]. YouTube. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GC71jfDn-E 

Korean Heritage Library. Korean Presbyterian Church [Photograph]. SeoulofLA. https://seoulofla.com/2012/08/16/korean-presbyterian-church/

K-Town’92. (n.d.). https://ktown92.com/ 

Pew Research Center. (2021, April 29). Top 10 U.S. metropolitan areas by Korean population, 2019. Pew Research Center. 

https://www.pewresearch.org/chart/top-10-u-s-metropolitan-areas-by-korean-population 2019/ 

Sanchez, J., Auer, M., Terriquez, V., & Kim, M. Y. (2012). (rep.). Koreatown: A Contested Community at a Crossroards. Retrieved from 

https://dornsife.usc.edu/eri/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2023/03/2012_Koreatown_Conte sted_Community_Crossroads_web.pdf. 

Spotlight on activist Dosan Ahn Chang Ho. Spotlight On Activist Dosan Ahn Chang Ho. (n.d.). https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/spotlight-activist-ahn-chang-ho Tanis, James (2014). Korean Presbyterian Church [Photograph]. InternetArchive. https://archive.org/details/ca180jtanis/mode/2up