Search the Media Repository
Discover the curated images, videos, and primary sources featured throughout Foundations and Futures
History is more than just text on a page; it is the photographs, voices, and artifacts of the people who lived it. The images and recordings featured across Foundations and Futures are part of a meticulously curated media repository. Whether you are building a lesson plan or investigating an artifact, you can use this database to trace the provenance of our media: discover who created an asset, the historical context behind it, and how it can be used to bring Asian American and Pacific Islander experiences into your classroom.
Multimedia
Chapters
-
Image
Dae Jang Geum
The Korean historical drama Dae Jang Geum was broadcast to more than 150 countries. It is credited with heightening the spread of Korean culture abroad.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 5
-
Image
March for Racial Solidarity
Protesters at a rally on May 2, 1992 march for racial solidarity between Korean and Black Americans in Los Angeles.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Image
Korean American Journalist At Work
K. Connie Kang (left) was a pioneering Korean American journalist, and the first Los Angeles Times reporter of Korean descent.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Image
Barricaded Koreatown Store
Many Black and Brown Angelenos also saw Koreans as part of the problem. Some vented their anger and frustration on Korean-owned stores. In this image, Korean store owners barricade their store to protect their livelihoods.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Image
Korean Storekeeper at Court
Soon Ja Du, the Korean storekeeper whose shooting of Latasha Harlins ignited protests and heightened racial tension between Korean storekeepers and Black communities in Los Angeles.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Image
Joyce Karlin
Judge Joyce Karlin, who controversially sentenced Korean storekeeper Soon Ja Du to probation after her conviction for the voluntary manslaughter of Latasha Harlins, sparked widespread anger in Black communities.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Image
Latasha Harlins
Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old Black girl whose tragic shooting by a Korean American storekeeper in 1991 became a catalyst for racial tension and protests in Los Angeles. She has been memorialized in films, murals, literature, and more.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Video
Do The Right Thing Clip
Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing (1989) portrays tensions between Korean business owners and Black locals. Shouting “You, me, same!” to Black rioters, the Korean deli owner attempted to point out the similarities of minority groups in the US.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Image
President Lyndon B. Johnson Signs 1965 Immigration Act
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1965 Immigration, or Hart-Celler, Act at Ellis Island, New York. This law dramatically increased Korean immigration between 1970s and 1980s, altering the dominant class and educational background of the population.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 4
-
Video
Lindsey Peifer’s Adoption Story
Lindsey Peifer reflects on reunion with her biological father and the significance of visiting the chestnut trees he planted in Korea.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Video
Julie Sinn’s Adoption Story
Julie Sinn raises questions about the “what ifs” associated with adoption.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Video
Suzanne Johnson’s Adoption Story
Suzanne Johnson recounts how her identities as a Korean and adopted person were affected by her adoptive family.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Audio
Three Dreams of Korea: Notes on Adoption
An audio version of “Three Dreams of Korea: Notes on Adoption,” by Lee Herrick, California Poet Laureate (2022-2023).
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Image
The Adoptee Consciousness Model
Developed by Susan F. Branco, JaeRan Kim, Grace Newton, Stephanie Kripa Cooper-Lewter, and Paula O’Loughlin, the Adoptee Consciousness Model reflects the touchstones in an adoptee’s journey. It contrasts a linear model of “adoption is the best option” to questioning adoption processes.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Image
Transnational Adoptions From Korea
This graph features the number of transnational adoptions from Korea from its origins in 1953 through 2004. Korean transnational adoption is still ongoing into 2025. Data from Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Video
Geographies of Kinship Trailer
Geographies of Kinship documents four adult adoptees as they return to their country of birth and recover lost personal histories. They question policies and become advocates for birth family and adoptee rights, support for single mothers, and historical reckoning.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Video
Universal Newsreel: Harry Holt Brings Korean War Orphans to Seattle
On December 2, 1957, Universal Newsreel released footage of Harry Holt bringing eighty Korean orphans to Seattle, Washington.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Image
American Family with Adopted Korean Son
More than two hundred thousand Korean children have been adopted into other countries since the end of the Korean War in 1953, with roughly two-thirds of these children arriving in the United States.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 3
-
Image
Ui Chin & Robert Smith Family Wedding Portrait
Korean brides became an anchor for a burgeoning Korean American population. After the 1965 Immigration Act introduced family reunification, Korean American women sponsored their families to migrate to the US.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 2
-
Image
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula. It serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea as a result of the division at the 38th parallel after Japan’s surrender in WWII.
Featured in:
Korean Americans, Module 2
