K-Pop Dreaming
K-Pop Dreaming
California Love is a blend of memoir, pop culture analysis and oral history. The newest season, K-Pop Dreaming, is about the rise and history of K-pop in the United States, as told from the point-of-view of the Korean diaspora in Los Angeles. Host Vivian Yoon takes listeners on a journey from K-pop’s origins in Korean trot music and American presence in post-war South Korea to the 1992 LA Uprising…Social links:
Special Feature: 'How To LA' at KCON
LAist returns to KCON in LA! HowTo LA host Brian De Los Santos caught up with K-pop Dreaming host Vivian Yoon to tour this year's KCON LA. Guests: Peter Sohn, director of Pixar's Elemental; Vivian Yoon, host of LAist's K-pop Dreaming; & Steve Chung, CEO of CJ ENM America. Music in this episode c…
18:18
Special Feature: Mount Rushmore, Part 1
Erick is excited about a trip to Mt. Rushmore, but he’s upset when one of Luna’s exes crashes the party. This is part two of a nine-part serialized rom-com for your ears. The scenes and characters in this episode are inspired by Erick Galindo's life, but it's a fictional story. What's the wil…
28:40Explicit
Special Feature: A Southeast L.A. Rom-Com
Erick Galindo tells Megan Tan a fictional story about the wildest thing he did for love. It's inspired by his life. It all goes back to meeting Luna, a woman from Southeast Los Angeles. She could be the one. This is part one of a nine-part serialized rom-com for your ears. Have a WILD love story…
29:33Explicit
K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #4: K-Beauty
The popularity of Korean beauty products has spread globally, just like K-Pop.And we thought you might enjoy this conversation on the origins and rise of K-Beauty -- not only as an industry, but as a new beauty standard. The conversation was part of a live event tied to the launch of the new book…
35:07
Shoes Off: Atsuko Okatsuka Wants Everyone To Feel Sexy
This week, the K-Pop Dreaming team is bringing you a special episode from our friends at, “Shoes Off: A Sexy Asian Podcast” from the public radio station, WBEZ. It's a podcast that celebrates badass Asians who are making a mark on pop culture and entertainment. In this episode stand-up comic, Atsu…
43:35
K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #3: Origins of K-Pop
In a special live event in partnership between LAist Studios and GYOPO, Vivian delves into the origins of K-Pop with Michello Cho, a professor at University of Toronto, and Jheanelle Brown, a California Institute of the Arts faculty member. The conversation goes deep on the influence of hip hop on …
42:43
K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #2: The Making of Red Velvet's "Psycho"
"Psycho" was an instant K-Pop hit when it came out in 2019. The Red Velvet song debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s World Digital Song Sales chart, and the music video now has over 300 million views on Youtube. In this bonus episode, we look at the creation of "Psycho". Vivian speaks to two of the son…
27:44Explicit
K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #1: Danny Im
1TYM is one of the most iconic first-generation K-pop groups from the 90’s. The group is also one of Vivian’s all-time favorites. This special bonus episode features an extended interview with Danny Im, the lead vocalist of 1TYM. Danny talks to Vivian about meeting legendary K-pop producer YG in …
26:17
K-Pop Dreaming - Koreatown
K-Pop has put Koreatown on the map for a lot of people who might not have known about the neighborhood otherwise. Fans from around the country visit the area for concerts, special K-Pop events, and to find rare or one-of-a-kind merch. Vivian hits up some of these establishments in K-town to see wha…
29:39
K-Pop Dreaming - KCON
There’s no better place to experience K-Pop fandom in all of its passion and glory than KCON. In the span of a decade, the annual fan convention has grown to a nationwide event drawing hundreds of thousands of fans. And just like many things K-Pop-related in the US – the extravaganza started right …
33:01Explicit