Power of Place
Care for each other
A Korean hair salon in Dallas, a supermarket in Buffalo in a predominantly black neighborhood, and a Taiwanese immigrant church in Laguna Woods. These mass shootings in five days targeted BIPOC communities. Where can we exhale? Where can we feel safe? We are tired of grieving. We are so tired of being angry and afraid that our bodies are moving targets.
Friends, let's take care of each other. Gather with trusted people in-person or online to remind each other that we are not alone. Be especially attentive to those who live in areas where they are one of the few minoritized members of their community. Help each other to slow down and tend to our bodies. Go out to nature and be reminded that healing is possible. Remind each other to be nourished in body, mind and spirit to gain strength to speak truth and fight injustices. We need each other for the long journey towards wholeness and safety for all people.
Koreatown stories
One of the few places where the Korean diaspora do feel connected and safe is Koreatown. Read short reflections from a former community organizer, an educator, and a researcher on the importance of place and identity.
Hyun Kang
A resident of Koreatown and an avid cyclist, Doo Hyung Kang worked for Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance for many years. Currently, he works at a Korean restaurant company.
Clara Kong
Born in Korea, immigrated to South America (Argentina) at age ten, Clara Kong grew up in Brasil. She is a Korean with Brazilian soul, who lived in England and in France. She is fluent in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish although she never forgot Korean. These multi continental, cultural living made her to want to be a bridge and tool for the different communities to understand and to help the different diaspora communities to thrive in the new land and create a better place for everyone to live.
Jung Hyun Choi
Jung Hyun Choi is a senior research associate with the Housing Finance Policy Center at the Urban Institute. She studies urban inequality, focusing on housing, urban economics, real estate finance, and disadvantaged populations in the housing market. Before joining Urban, Choi was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Southern California Price Center for Social Innovation, where her research examined innovative housing and social policies to enhance quality of life for low-income households. Choi holds a PhD in public policy and management from the Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California.