Susan Park of Asian Americans for Housing and Environmental Justice becomes K-Town Is OK Podcast’s first guest ever! Over fish sausages, tofu kimchi chips, and pan de trigo, Susan looks back with the team on her upbringing between Seoul and Los Angeles in the 1970s and describes what Christmas looks like for her and her family today! It’s a special 🎁 episode for Koreatown and communities all around out the world.

You can also read our interview with Susan here.

(0:14) Hello; Anyong
(0:51) Introducing Susan Park, Asian Americans for Housing and Environmental Justice
(5:35) Reminiscing about our first meeting with Susan, in the before-times
(5:46) Jimmy's pan for the team/Susan is a food connoisseur
(10:04) Helen introduces her snacks!
(12:26) Puff crackers in Seoul back in the day
(13:50) No, really. Susan is a food connoisseur who breaks it down
(17:12) For a long time in South Korea, certain foods were just for the well-off or privileged, including bananas
(19:05) Tofu Kimchi chips (which Jimmy loved)
(21:14) Snacks are usually a quick and affordable way to introduce folks to international food
(25:53) Susan's Christmas in South Korea over the years
(28:09) Is Korean society actually more irreligious?
(30:39) Susan's Christmas in 1974, in Seoul!
(34:37) And then...coming to America
(38:55) No Santa Claus for Susan and her family, thank you
(40:29) Susan was from a very privileged class in Korea during her childhood
(47:37) Was there ever a Christmas tree for Susan's kids, though?
(52:10) By the way, Kocktails with a K!
(53:30) Also, on the subject of rugged supposed individualism in America
(55:11) Speaking of which, a quick story about the other Helen Kim
(59:50) OK but seriously, what are your plans for the holiday break?
(1:02) High-end mushrooms from Korea, among other treats
(1:05) Always cooking extra for a hypothetical second family
(1:10:31) Asian-Americans for Housing and Environmental Justice in 2024!
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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos, Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at The Robinson S.P.A.C.E., Los Angeles

Jimmy and Helen reflect on a trailblazing year for K-Town Is OK together and changes they want to make for themselves not tomorrow or next year, but ASAP, including more positive reinforcement or positive self-talk! They also delve into their separate adventures (or misadventures?) with their new “friend” (or is it “foe”?): Chat-GPT.

(0:14) Hello, if that’s OK
(0:52) Living for and loving awkwardness
(1:26) Shout out to the Robinson S.P.A.C.E.
(1:49) Loving noona’s smiley-face sweater
(2:44) Providing people with the opportunity to turn their necks
(3:36) Items on Jimmy’s to-do list going forward
(5:46) Two opposite things for the body
(6:50) Items on Helen’s to-do list going forward
(8:19) Supplements and meal-prep
(9:54) The way we speak to ourselves
(14:15) Reclaiming our wellness from our productivity
(17:19) Being two older siblings who have internalized the older sibling complex
(19:56) Moving towards resolutions for ourselves today, not tomorrow
(20:41) Checking in on ourselves as well as our friends
(22:33) Older siblings unite!
(23:48) Family matters and ourselves
(26:58) Okay, checking in with Chat-GPT; proving Chat-GPT WRONG
(28:08) How many officials from California have run for the presidency and won?
(29:19) So Richard Nixon honeymooned in a funky Riverside hotel, actually
(30:27) I have a good Chat-GPT story too, you know
(33:21) Chat-GPT’s politically correct scripts on race and ethnicity
(35:25) Culture colliding today and the Cambrian explosion of yester-age
(37:54) Chat-GPT supporting (re)Location: The Lao/Korean Acculturation Project
(41:15) Okay, getting back to our to-do lists over these next few weeks
(43:01) The appendectomy is more common than you may suspect, actually
(44:46) Getting off auto-pilot because enough is enough (for me too)
(45:49) Seriously though, change starts today, tonight, right now
(48:57) Honestly though, let’s just warm up with some tamales
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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos, Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at The Robinson S.P.A.C.E., Los Angeles

Jimmy and Helen discuss lessons learned from appendicitis. They also talk about their holiday plans for 🦃 day. This episode also introduces timestamps for listeners to navigate through our chats more easily.

(0:14) Intro
(1:16) November, Santa Ana Winds and kind of a lot for Jimmy
(2:16) November surprise: Jimmy got himself a jigsaw puzzle
(03:43) Was this too capitalistic of Jimmy?
(06:11) Helen’s slow but certain recovery from her appendectomy
(08:55) Lessons from watching each other go on overdrive
(10:11) Helen’s epiphany
(12:58) Dear Listener: You can make some changes too!
(16:00) Any plans for Jimmy on the 🦃 day break?
(19:10) Any plans for Helen on the 🦃 day break?
(22:41) OK, Jimmy and Helen both have to document this year’s gatherings
(25:46) In the spirit of the holiday, Jimmy and Helen are thankful for each other, and for all of the people of K-Town!
(27:52) Happy holiday break everyone, however you spend it; and we’d be thrilled for you to share our podcast with your friends and family!

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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos, Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded via Zoom, Los Angeles

Helen calls in from umma and appa’s bedroom in K-Town as she recovers from appendicitis. Jimmy and Helen then recap ”If Not You Then Who” (view on YouTube) and read questions from the event’s attendees. Jimmy invites each member of the panelist “Dream Team” to be a guest on the podcast soon and also teases more from K-Town Is OK on TikTok.

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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos, Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded via Zoom, Los Angeles

Helen waiting to get a CT scan

First, Jimmy officially notes our first-ever panel: “IF NOT YOU THEN WHO: K-Town Speaks Up One Year After the Leaked Recordings.” This event is taking place on November 2nd, 2023, or just 15 days away from this recording, and you can RSVP for free here. Next, Jimmy places the discussion of the leaked recordings from last year under further consideration, contending that a lot was said not just by the L.A. City Council Members in question, but also by “the media,“ and that the truth is somewhere in between, not just in the headlines. Last but not least, Jimmy recommends our latest interview with Godfrey Santos Plata of L.A. Forward, which includes mention of expanding L.A. City Council very soon, among other things. To keep up with us, please subscribe to our newsletter. To make a tax-deductible donation to Quien Es Tu Vecindario for supporting K-Town Is OK’s first ever panel, please do so here.

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Host: Jimmy Recinos
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at Koreatown Media Lab, Pio Pico Branch Library, Los Angeles

Fret not, Koreatowners. Though our podcast has been quiet lately, it's only because we’re cooking up the next great production from K-Town Is OK. Promise!

Meanwhile, please follow us on Facebook, Instagram or via our new newsletter.

Hasta luego!

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Host: Jimmy Recinos
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88

Jimmy's first podcast, J.T. the L.A. Storyteller, gets a mention from Apple Podcasts for Hispanic Heritage Month! The team feasts on 김밥 {gimbap}, 뻥튀기 {ppeong-twigi/rice puffs}, and banana milk from HK Market while chatting at length about Helen and her 엄마 {umma/mom} and 아빠’s {appa/dad’s} medical supply store in the Westlake/MacArthur Park area. Helen and Jimmy also talk about their latest interview with Kwasi Boyd-Boudin and tease the upcoming one-year anniversary of the racist recordings from L.A. elected officials that spawned K-Town Is OK. Oh, and Jimmy learns that the featured sound effects are not the same on every Rodecaster Pro, to Helen’s great delight.

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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos & Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at The Robinson S.P.A.C.E., Los Angeles

Recording from the L.A. Public Library’s Octavia Lab, Jimmy and Helen name some treats from 85° Bakery and discuss hurriquake weekend in Los Angeles. In a slightly unexpected turn of events, Jimmy also does a deep dive about the impact his mom’s newsstand on Santa Monica Blvd. had on him as a creator and mover-and-shaker.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean newsletter here.

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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos & Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at the Octavia Lab at the Central Library, Downtown Los Angeles

Jimmy and Helen enjoy some California Donuts and provide a controversial (?!) thought about the Abuelita. They also discuss the making of ktownisok.com, including the key role played by photography (courtesy of Avital Oehler), and name a couple of K-Town things that they would defend at all costs.

Subscribe to the newsletter for K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean here.

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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos & Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at The Robinson S.P.A.C.E., Los Angeles

In the first-ever episode, Jimmy and Helen tell you about themselves, the origins of K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean, and a brief history of Koreatown. They also shout out their early supporters and Cafe de Mama for the episode’s treats. Please be sure to follow the show and to sign up for the K-Town Is OK newsletter!

Note from Jimmy: We had slightly unstable microphones in this episode. Please bear with me as I begin to master a new studio setup, and here’s to better sound quality and more excellent content in the future!

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Resources:

• “Middleman minority.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation.

• Douglas, Karen Manges and Rogelio Saenz. (2007). “Middlemen Minorities,” William Darity (Editor in chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, The Gale Group.

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Hosts: Jimmy Recinos & Helen H. Kim
Production & editing: JIMBO TIMES
Original theme music: 2INFINITI88
Recorded at The Robinson S.P.A.C.E., Los Angeles