The K-Town Atlas is a collection of maps that document the history and culture of Los Angeles’s Koreatown, Macarthur Park, and Pico-Union neighborhoods.
Celebrating legacy businesses on Koreatown's Western Avenue
-
![]()
Kwak's Furniture
"If the street becomes more active, I’d like to keep my work going. Even if it’s not me, I hope others can maintain it and keep things going. If Western Avenue, is known as the place where Mr. Kwak’s small Korean-owned museum exists, I would be at peace."
-
![]()
Happy Bookstore
"Despite the prevalence of smartphones, we believe in the importance of keeping books close. Books help deepen our thoughts and perspectives, which is essential for preparing for the future. It’s crucial to remember that books are a vital means of communication."
-
![]()
New World Camping
"First of all, for adults, it usually comes down to two hobbies: golf or fishing. The thing about golf is that you have a drink afterward and go home. But after fishing, you’ve got the fish."
-
![]()
Harbin Deer Antlers Trading Company
"Traditional Chinese Medicine is still not widely recognized in American society. However, due to its natural, plant-based ingredients, interest in it is gradually growing. It doesn’t contain chemical compounds, it is not harmful to the body"
-
![]()
Opera Music Academy
"Unlike the cello or piano, the voice is an instrument we always carry with us. We can enjoy singing by taking care of our bodies and avoiding harmful habits. Singing is like exercise; it engages the lungs and improves respiratory health."
-
![]()
Goltong Chicken
"I’m really not a chef. But I thought—Why not create a chicken dish that’s unique like a movie? And you know what? When you put in all your heart, use the best ingredients, and give it your all, people quickly notice. That’s how success comes."
K-Town Stories
-
![]()
Luz Hernández
“Sometimes some workers only wanted to do one job; they weren’t scheduled for work again. I had to learn a lot of new things so I wouldn’t be sent home.”
-
![]()
Judy Han & Jennifer Chun
“Whenever her mom visited, I was her roommate. We rearranged rooms and pretended like we were roommates. I don’t think anybody actually believed us.”
-
![]()
Vida-Marie Adams
“You have the right to feel real feminine one day, and not so feminine the next day, somewhere in between—fluid. However you feel like expressing yourself or how you feel about yourself, that's true in that moment. “
-
![]()
Jamie Issuh
“It was actually impossible to grapple with my queerness and ‘Koreanness’ at the same time because I had never seen them coexist in the same room and accept each other.”
-
![]()
Petra Hernández
“I wanted to run out when they yelled at me or mistreated me. But one bears these things because they need to work, earn money, and pay rent — for survival, one has to grit their teeth and bear the mistreatment that comes their way.”
-
![]()
Lori Song
“Part of my transgender journey is an act of defiance, just by me being so different from the so-called norm. That's one small way I can make a difference in a person's life or [in a] group of people — just to be unafraid of being different.”
-
![]()
Lana Yu
“My son, who I love, is a very healthy and very good boy. Why should I be ashamed of him, just for being gay?”
-
![]()
Jennifer Wong
“I love that I can create tons of space where there is an acknowledgment and celebration of the multicultural nature that has become Koreatown.”
The Traditional Healing Arts In Koreatown
In 2024-2025, KSP will explore the traditional healing arts in our Koreatown community. We are interested in learning from the diversity of healing practices and modalities from our largely Latine and API community, like acupuncturists, herbalists, shamans, botanicas, curanderas, and kabarajis. KSP will interview, gather and archive oral history narratives about the traditional healing arts from our primarily limited-income, immigrant community, where the majority of countries of origin (Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Korea, Bangladesh and Mongolia) have strong cultural roots in these modalities. Many residents of our community understand or practice these cultural traditions, rituals and methods, but these voices are rarely explored, documented and archived. We will invite traditional healing artists to lead workshops and demonstrations in their areas of expertise and are excited to learn from and with our Koreatown community.
Su historia es un regalo. Share Your Story.
당신의 이야기는 선물입니다.
Sign up for an interview or to submit writing or art.
Journal
Podcast
This program is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www.calhum.org.
Koreatown Storytelling Program is proud to present Legacies of Western Avenue (LOWA), a multimedia project that highlights the history of this iconic K-Town street, with insights from six Korean American store owners who shared about the history and changing landscape of Western Ave.
Last Saturday, April 5, KSP hosted an Oral History 101 training at the Felipe de Neve branch of the Los Angeles Public Library! KSP Audio Producer Tony Morales and KSP Youth Participant Timothy Lee were joined by youth students to discuss the purpose and importance of oral history, as well as to learn how to conduct their own oral history interviews.