groundings - the choa podcast

Jayci Lee on writing romance novels, the role of purity culture within Korean diasporas, and joy without shame

Featured on choa magazine Volume 4: Sex [https://www.choamagazine.com/sex-jayci.html]. Jayci Lee writes poignant, sexy, and laugh-out-loud romance featuring Korean American main characters. She shares her journey from a career as a litigator to becoming a romance author, the role of faith in shaping perceptions of sex and romance within Korean diasporic communities, and the importance of embracing pleasure. Originally published on January 2025. Interview by Harriet Kim. Audio Edited by Frances Kim.

groundings ep 10: 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.  ---- groundings, a storytelling project from choa magazine, takes a deep dive into the inner lives of women in the Korean diaspora. Support us at choamagazine.com/support [http://choamagazine.com/support] Hosted by Ki-Sang Yi Music by Haedeun Kim Follow us on Instagram @choamagazine [https://www.instagram.com/choamagazine/] or visit our website choamagazine.com [https://www.choamagazine.com/]

groundings ep 9: 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. ---- groundings, a storytelling project from choa magazine, takes a deep dive into the inner lives of women in the Korean diaspora. Hosted by Ki-Sang Yi Music by Haedeun Kim Follow us on Instagram @choamagazine [https://www.instagram.com/choamagazine/] or visit our website choamagazine.com [https://www.choamagazine.com/]

groundings ep 8: 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 [https://www.instagram.com/kimchi.juice/] and @koreanarchives [https://www.instagram.com/koreanarchives/]. In this wide-spanning conversation with Ki-Sang and Harriet, 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. ---- You can find Julia’s original artwork on Instagram @kimchi.juice⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/kimchi.juice/] and her archival work @koreanarchives [https://www.instagram.com/koreanarchives/]. Specific artworks mentioned in the episode include: * ‘Halmeoni [https://www.instagram.com/p/B14T2TUhWp-/?hl=en&img_index=1]’, Julia’s first portrait of a Korean woman * Julia’s Phillips100 [https://www.phillipscollection.org/our-logo-reimagined#:~:text=October,Chon] Logo Reimagined * ‘Crane Dancers [https://www.culturehousedc.org/avant-garden-crane-dancers]’ mural for the Korean Cultural Center in Washington D.C. Organizations, artists, and community members from the episode include: * The Korean American Artist Collective (@kaacollective [https://www.instagram.com/kaacollective]), their 한 (Han) exhibition [https://www.kaacollective.com/han-exhibition.html] and their 정 (Jeong) project [https://jeongportfolio.com/] * Korean American Story (@koreanamericanstory [instagram.com/koreanamericanstory/]) and their Legacy Project [https://koreanamericanstory.org/legacy-project/about/] * Kelly Towles (@kellytowles [https://www.instagram.com/kellytowles/]), the curator of DC Walls [https://dcwallsfestival.com/], an annual festival that occurs in October, and Peter Chang (@peterfranklinchang [https://www.instagram.com/peterfranklinchang/]), the co-founder of the former No Kings Collective [https://www.nokingscollective.com/], the mentors that got Julia hooked on mural painting * Maria Qamar (@hatecopy [https://www.instagram.com/hatecopy/]), Pakistani-Canadian Artist  * Sandra Sohee Chi Kim, an IDEA fellow at Stony Brook University and the founder of Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab (@aajil_org [https://www.instagram.com/aajil_org]) * Ann Kim (@annbkool [https://www.instagram.com/annbkool/]), owner of Pizzeria Lola (@pizzerialola [https://www.instagram.com/pizzerialola/]) in Minneapolis, MN ---- groundings, a storytelling project from choa magazine, takes a deep dive into the inner lives of women in the Korean diaspora. Hosted by Ki-Sang Yi Music by Haedeun Kim Follow us on Instagram @choamagazine [https://www.instagram.com/choamagazine/] or visit our website choamagazine.com [https://www.choamagazine.com/]

groundings ep 7: choa's Harriet Kim on creating art as a form of showing up in the world

We are re-introducing Harriet, the co-founder of choa magazine, in this week’s grounding. 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.  For Ki-Sang and Mirae’s own episodes, check out episodes 3 and 5 of groundings 🌱  ---- You can find earlier interviews with Harriet and Mirae on our website at choamagazine.com [https://www.choamagazine.com/press.html]. Send us comments, questions, and feedback @choamagazine [https://www.instagram.com/choamagazine/] on Instagram or via email at podcast@choamagazine.com [podcast@choamagazine.com]. ---- groundings, a storytelling project from choa magazine, takes a deep dive into the inner lives of women in the Korean diaspora. Hosted by Ki-Sang Yi Music by Haedeun Kim Follow us on Instagram @choamagazine [https://www.instagram.com/choamagazine/] or visit our website choamagazine.com [https://www.choamagazine.com/]