A storytelling project that takes a deep dive into the inner lives of women in the Korean diaspora. Listen to the conversations below.
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Producer Ki-Sang's reflections on the ordinariness of our lives as diasporic Korean women
Welcome to the final episode of groundings. In this episode, Ki-Sang looks back on the past season of groundings and offers her reflections on the process and importance of telling our own stories as Korean women in the diaspora. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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choa's Ashley An on coping with difference through conversations and reflections on faith
In a winding conversation that takes us through the past, present, and future, groundings introduces you to choa magazine’s newest member, Ashley An. This intimate conversation explores how our identity is shaped by our hyphenated and immigrant experiences, our conversations with our mothers, and our relationships with God. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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Artist Julia Chon on recognizing and archiving han (한) helped expand her communities
Through a conversation that flows through personal trauma, the amplification of Asian American perspectives, and intergenerational affirmation of identity, this episode explores Julia Chon, we get to know the person behind @kimchi.juice and @koreanarchives. Julia shares how her relationships with her family, strangers, and artist communities have shaped her career, her understanding of herself, and her understanding of what it means to be Korean. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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choa's Harriet Kim on creating art as a form of showing up in the world
You may have heard her talk about choa magazine before, but this is the first time Harriet shares a deeper, more personal story about who she is, who her family is, and how she moves through the world. In this episode, Ki-Sang and Mirae share an intimate conversation with Harriet about her family’s multi-decade and multi-generational history in so-called Toronto, her dream job as a kid, and her way of processing the world by helping others put out their own work and art. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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Nurse Hilary Hwu on how distance and food ground her relationships
An exploration into mixed-race Korean experiences, Harriet and Ki-Sang speak with Hilary Hwu, a Chinese-Korean neonatal intensive care nurse. With an upbringing that blurred the cultural lines of Korean, Chinese, Myanmarese, and Japanese influences, Hilary gives us a window into her transition into adulthood, as she moved across the continent to build a new community and career, while evolving her relationships with her parents and her own mental health. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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choa's Mirae Lee on how she's contributes to collective stories she doesn't share
You may have seen and enjoyed her writings, graphic designs, and monthly recommendations, but this episode explores the lesser known sides of Mirae. Mirae shares her experience as an immigrant and diaspora member in both Toronto and in Singapore, how her work with diasporic artists and storytellers have shaped her own sense of identity, and why K-pop will always feel more like home than Western entertainment. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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Author June Hur on shifting our diasporic roles from irrelevance to reimagined histories
June Hur is a Korean historical YA novelist whose novels that have been described as K-dramas in book form. She is the author of best-selling and award-winning books The Silence of Bones, The Forest of Stolen Girls, The Red Palace, and the upcoming A Crane Among Wolves. In this episode of groundings, June and Ki-Sang discuss the pains of being an introvert in an extroverted world, the role of history in rooting us a collective identity, and the beauty and challenges of being a diasporic creative. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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choa's Ki-Sang Yi on what it means that no one can pronounce her name
Welcome to our first deep dive into a choa member’s inner world. Ki-Sang’s been with choa magazine since 2021, but this is the first time she shares the story behind her name, her current pursuits, and her love-hate relationship with K-entertainment and K-beauty standards with our diasporic community. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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Sonyo Kimchi's Jacquie Lee on how to make authentic kimchi throughout the generations
A city planner in Toronto and the founder of Sonyo Kimchi. Jacquie started Sonyo Kimchi during the Covid-19 pandemic when she moved in with her grandparents to take care of them. In a conversation after a kimchi-making workshop in 2023, Harriet and Ki-Sang sit down with Jacquie to talk about her relationship with food prior to Sonyo Kimchi, the question of authenticity and intuition of food cultures, and the experiences we shared as children of diaspora visiting Korea. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
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The choa team on building a community around our Korean identities
In our first episode, we (re)introduce you to the team. Harriet, Mirae, and Ki-Sang reveal the origin story of choa magazine and discuss what being Korean means to them. Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Other Platforms |
