Please tell me your name, age, and where you were born? 

My name is Yu Lana. I was born on March 14, 1952. I was born in Daegu. Yes, I immigrated to LA in 1976. I am the youngest of three siblings, one brother and two sisters in my family. My father died before I immigrated. I immigrated with my mother. 

What were your dreams, hopes, or a dream job as a child? 

When I was young, I was a great singer. So maybe it was my dream to become a singer. I was born during the war. During the Korean War, my parents all fled to Daegu. So I was born there and I came back to Seoul when I was 5 years old. At that time, weIl, didn't have much to eat and everything was very difficult. So I never told my parents what my dream was when I was young. Honestly, I never had a doll that I could only play with. But I liked singing and I was good at singing. So I would always come forward and respond with songs and brag about it. Maybe I wanted to be a a singer. 

What is your race?

I immigrated when I was 23 years old. So I always lived as a Korean. 

What did you major in? 

Yes, do you mean when I was in college? I didn't go to college. So I don't have a major, but I always sang. And then I did a lot of other things. I immigrated here when I was 23 and I got married here at 25. So I had a lot of experience. I worked at a bank, worked at the LA City Hall, and I also wanted to run a business, so I ran a women's clothing store. What else? I also ran a dry cleaners and also a wig shop. I did a lot of other things that many Korean immigrants liked to do. And what I did was retire after 23 years as a dealer at the Las Vegas casino. A lot, right? 

Can you tell us about being a Las Vegas casino dealer? 

Now the job’s all about money. So I met so many people. You meet dozens to nearly 100 people a day, every day. So this person is going to tip this person well and this person won't. I found out right away. I used to play games like 21, blackjack, roulette, etc. I worked at a casino called Silverton.

Can you tell us about the difficulties and the good things that came along with the job? 

I'll talk about the hard part first. The hard part is that the dealer job is a technical job. It's always the same task. You don’t develop anything new. So it's very boring. And all the cigarette smoke. I had a hard time because of this. You have to check into work all the time and cannot be late, even if it's just three minutes late. Because there are three shifts. So I absolutely cannot be late, so that other people can go home. That's why I couldn’t be late. Things like that are very… wow. You can't make mistakes in that job. After all, it’s deeply related to money. So those things were a little hard, and it was something I hated. The next good thing was that I met a lot of people. People from all over the world. It's really interesting and fun to meet a lot of people. Time flies by fast when you talk with them. 

How long have you been living in Koreatown? 

I immigrated to Koreatown and lived [here] for 17 years before moving to Las Vegas. I lived there and came back 5 years ago after retiring. 

Do you think Koreatown is a good place to live? 

Definitely a good place. There are great markets and also so many restaurants. Oh, it's so nice to eat in those. Korean markets are such an outstanding place to shop in. And on a bigger scale, the weather in LA and California. I didn't know when I lived here. I didn't know it was this good. But once I moved to another state and I came back, this place is like heaven. I love it. And after we retire, the benefits for us are much better than other states. So I'm very satisfied and happy. 

What are some important memories that you remember in Koreatown? 

In Koreatown, you get to have meaningful relationships among Korean people. I love that we can have our own culture. And because there are so many Korean people, I can meet so many good people. I think it's very exciting and a good thing. 

Where is your favorite place in Koreatown? 

Where? It's Pasadena, where I live. Wait, in Koreatown? My favorite place in Koreatown is the Galleria Market. I like to go to the food court and eat. I like going to the market and shopping. 

As you said, you came to America when you were very young, 23 years old, and you got married when you were 25. We want to go deeper into that. How was it when you first came? What did you learn and what was the hardest part?

The most difficult part was language. But I consider myself really lucky because both my sisters and my mother came with me. We immigrated together. So I didn't feel very lonely because I had a lot of family. I could always eat Korean food at home, and I went to church together with them. So, it was nice then. The good thing about America was that, back then, Korea was different from what it is now. It was hard to get a job and I didn't study any major like I said before. But there were so many opportunities in America. There were many things I could do. And I also liked that I was working and competing with other races as a Korean. Did that answer the question? 

Koreatown is a multicultural space located in one of the most diverse cities in the world. Do you think Koreatown is inclusive for the LGBTQIA+ community? If so, why do you feel that way? 

LGBTQ is a very welcoming word for me. My son came out about 15 years ago. And he is now 40 years old. So, you wonder what my reaction was, right? How did I react back then..? At first, I was surprised. I wondered why my son had such a hard time telling me? I thought it was very hard, the LGBTQ lives, hard because there was a lot of discrimination and unfairness. So I was very upset about why my son should have such a hard life. And did I raise him wrong? There were so, so many questions. Why? Why? What my son was saying was, “I thought my mother would already know.” I was shocked when I heard that because I thought my children and son were very close. And I thought I was a very cool mom. But to say that I didn't know him… I was very embarrassed that as a mom, I couldn't see him completely. Now, I'm a little teary. Yeah… So I was embarrassed and sorry…

There was a couple who always came when I worked at the casino. They were a gay couple. But they were really cool, tipped well, gentle, humble, and I loved them. They were young – they were my son's age around now. My son's name is Eli. I had some difficulties when Eli came out, of course, but I wondered. Wouldn't he be like that cool couple I met? That kind of opened me up a little. And the other thing is, no matter what the condition was, he was my son and I loved him. And I thought, You know, in the end, we're a family. There must be a reason why I became his mother. So it hasn't been that hard. Frankly, I thought what can I do for him from now on? How can I help him in a world where he can be fairly ignored? I thought… 

How did the rest of your family, people around you, react? 

When Eli first came out, I had a daughter who was five years older than Eli. Her name is Lana, Eli’s older sister. She had already learned that he was gay about five years ago. I was the last person Eli came out to. It must have been hard, coming out to me. My mother passed away at 90. So I was like, oh, thank God. After she passed away, I was like, I didn't have to tell her the tough news. I couldn't tell my friends or the church people for a long time, the main reason being that I couldn’t accept the fact first as a parent. But, soon I realized that I at least needed to tell my two older sisters. So, I did that. And now I have nine nephews. No, eight nephews. So, I started telling each and every one of them the news. Some nephews already knew about it, and others couldn’t accept it. After hearing the news, one of my sisters said, “nothing has changed because Eli is still my nephew.” The other sister brought up stories in the Bible and couldn’t accept it.

It wasn’t so hard, telling this news to non-Koreans. They were very open. But for Koreans… I couldn't easily open up to Koreans. I always had a conflict within myself on whether or not I should tell them or not. But one day, I realized that I was being very cowardly. Because my son, who I love, is a very healthy and [a] very good boy. Why should I be ashamed of him, just for being gay? I suddenly thought, I am so wrong. So I didn’t have a hard time after that. I told my friends at church that my son had come out. But now there were people who heard the news and just said nothing. Others said that it’s okay and patted me on the back, adding that every kid has the right to be happy. And there were people who said, "How did that happen?" The reactions were all different. But the truth is, it doesn't matter what they think. No matter what they think, all I care about are the thoughts of my son and those around us who love us. There's no reason for me to care about other people's thoughts. Since then, I started looking for people who were on the same page as me. People I could relate to and become friends with. 

When did you join PFLAG and how did you make up your mind about it? Can you tell us more about it? 

Honestly, when somebody told me about PFLAG, I asked what PFLAG was. Then, I heard it was called "Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays." So, it hasn't been long since I learned about them and started to work with other people at PFLAG. Some time ago, there was a documentary movie called "The Way to You" from Korea. When all my family members went to watch that movie, I met a lot of parents who are working at PFLAG, so I signed up with them and received a lot of information. So when I go to PFLAG and if we have a meeting, we can talk about everything – all our experiences. Honestly, I feel like sometimes, even my own family can't accept me/can't accept us. But, I feel like the people in PFLAG are a real family. They try their best to understand and accept me. So, I think about how comfortable my son would feel when he visits here. All things said, I feel very lucky to have met PFLAG.