By Eun Byoul Oh

January 13th is Korean American Day. Happy Korean American Day to every Korean American in the U.S. and abroad. In this volume of KCCNYC Monthly, we celebrate Korean American identity and culture with our students.

By Hannah Elliott

Featuring artists like Karen O, Yaeji, and Japanese Breakfast, alongside K-pop talents such as Eric Nam and SEVENTEEN’s Joshua and Vernon, this collection showcases a blend of personal stories and genre-spanning sounds. From indie to electronic to pop, these artists bring depth and cultural richness to their music, offering a snapshot of the Korean American experience through their artistry.

By Nikki Shin
Driving to Flushing to eat at my favorite Korean BBQ restaurant - that’s my first memory of what it meant for me growing up Korean-American.  They would hand me a menu that I wouldn’t bother to open because my grandpa would order everything for us anyway.  Looking back, food has always been the main connector of my identity with being Korean-American.  

By Michelle Wilson
“I’m half Korean,” I’d reply, correcting my classmates when they asked about my heritage. I grew up in a small town in Georgia, and most people would just ask outright if I was Chinese. Once, while my brother and I were out shopping with my dad, someone actually congratulated him for adopting us. Without my mom there to complete the picture, we didn’t exactly look like him—he had light brown hair and blue eyes—but still, I thought it was a bold assumption…

By Emily Kidder
Growing up as a half Korean, half white, American in Korea and Japan during the 80s and 90s, and now living in the U.S., has been quite a journey. It's been a mix of navigating different identities and cultures, which has shaped my understanding of belonging.

By Calvin Reeh
In a poem titled “Dosan Ahn Chang Ho of Tender Age”, Calvin Reeh shares his reflections on being Korean-American.

By Joshua Kim

My grandfather escaped North Korea in 1948, sneaking across the 38th parallel to the South. He arrived in Seattle, WA in 1964 with $100 in his pocket. My grandfather’s story is just one of countless incredible tales of the diaspora. I’m finishing the second draft of a play inspired by it and I’d like to share a monologue. In it, the character HL reflects on his life with God in front of heaven’s gates.

By Sharon Stern

This is another month with a good variety of new K-dramas.  The plots may seem familiar, but the actors and details are all new.  Some fresh ideas include a female CEO, the setting of the International Space Station and a powerful Joseon queen.

By Jon Oaks

This year, the Omma Poom Park will open in Paju, South Korea - For Korean-American adoptees, Korean-American Day and the creation of Omma Poom Park underscore the importance of acknowledging heritage and identity.

By Eun Byoul Oh & Sharon Stern

This year, Seollal (설날), Lunar New Year, falls on January 29^th.  Seollal is one of the biggest national holidays in Korea. Let’s learn about the traditions of Seollal and if you’re in NY – The Lincoln Center is holding an event on Feb 1st celebrating the diasporic culture of Korea and China.

By Eun Byoul Oh

On January 8, 1932, Korean Patriotic Organization’s (한인애국단)’s member, Lee Bong Chang, threw a grenade at Japanese Emperor Hirohito, the emperor of Japan at the time. The incident is referred to as 이봉창 의거, the Patriotic Deed of Lee Bong Chang. The assassination attempt failed and Lee was promptly arrested, and was executed. Koreans remember the incident as one of the major attempts of the independence leaders to achieve liberty for Korea.

To celebrate Korean-American Day this month, we wanted to focus the newsletter on Korean-American history and stories. We are deeply honored to share the following pieces from the KCCNYC community reflecting on Korean-American Identity and what it means in 2025.

By Eun Byoul Oh

“We should write something fun and delightful for December, since it is a holiday season after all.” This is what I said to Sharon, our copy editor, as we were celebrating our November release. 

Well, then on December 3rd, I got a text from Sharon in the morning.  “WTF just happened in South Korea???!?  Martial Law??”

I was conducting a placement test for a new student when I got the text, and it was yet another peaceful morning until then. I turned on the TV to watch the armed forces cracking the windows of the National Assembly to barge into the building.

I was just in utter shock, and my family next to me, watching the scene, were flabbergasted. The images of military dictatorship in the history books were reenacted right in front of our eyes.

By Hannah Elliott

As the year draws to a close, this playlist captures some of 2024's most defining K-pop tracks. It’s by no means exhaustive—there’s always something that slips through the cracks—but it’s a vibrant snapshot of an unforgettable year.

By Sharon Stern

The list of K-dramas that drop this month is a little shorter than the last couple of months, giving us time to get caught up.  I’m sure Netflix wants to leave room for Squid Game 2 to shine as much as possible.

After the list of new dramas, I present a list of dramas with memorable holiday moments.