Balancing Dreams and Sacrifices | Justine Yoon | Legacy Project Los Angeles

Justine Yoon was born in Los Angeles to immigrant parents. She grew up to the north of Koreatown in Los Feliz, and describes her childhood as having been lively and active: from a young age, her parents put her and her older siblings through a variety of local leagues, sports, and extracurriculars, in part so that they might grow up immersed within American culture. Her parents were active within the Korean community as well: her father operated a private practice in Koreatown, and after his retirement ventured into the restaurant business with her mother which they’ve continued to this day. Justine would often work in her parents’ restaurants, whether it was by peeling and cleaning vegetables or going out into the markets to secure the best deals on wholesale ingredients. Today, she has taken a smaller role at her parents’ restaurants to pursue her own passions, something which exemplifies a larger internal struggle that children of immigrants must personally and uniquely reckon with: how we might actualize our own dreams—which our parents worked tirelessly for—while also honoring the sacrifices that went into creating opportunities for the next generation.

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CREDITS
Interviewer: Ava McCollum, Nadia Cho, Julia Kim, and David Lee of Koreatown Storytelling Program for KYCC
Videographers: Minye Cho @chominye
Editor: Kimberly Young Sun @kimberlyyoungsun
Production Manager: Kimberly Young Sun
Motion Designer: Aj Valente https://ajyval.myportfolio.com
Music Composer: Jang Hyeong Yoon
Executive Producer: HJ Lee

KoreanAmericanStory.org is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to create and preserve the stories of the Korean American experience.