LAist returns to KCON in LA! How To 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

Special Feature: Mount Rushmore, Part 1

Jun 25th, 2023 28m 40s

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

Special Feature: A Southeast L.A. Rom-Com

Jun 24th, 2023 29m 34s

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 ser

K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #4: K-Beauty

Jun 9th, 2023 35m 7s

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

Shoes Off: Atsuko Okatsuka Wants Everyone To Feel Sexy

May 4th, 2023 43m 36s

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 a

K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #3: Origins of K-Pop

Apr 27th, 2023 42m 44s

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

K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #2: The Making of Red Velvet's "Psycho"

Apr 20th, 2023 27m 45s

"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

K-Pop Dreaming - Bonus #1: Danny Im

Apr 13th, 2023 26m 18s

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

K-Pop Dreaming - Koreatown

Apr 6th, 2023 29m 40s

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 hi

K-Pop Dreaming - KCON

Mar 30th, 2023 33m 1s

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-

K-Pop Dreaming - Roots of Rap

Mar 23rd, 2023 51m 34s

The LA Uprising exploded racial and economic injustices simmering under the surface of Los Angeles into the open. Vivian looks at the events leading up to the Uprising, and the efforts following the protests to promote racial harmony in Los Ang

K-Pop Dreaming - Solid

Mar 16th, 2023 38m 3s

The underground hip-hop scene in Los Angeles was thriving in the late 1980s. And there, soaking in the vibe, was a Korean American college student by the name of Jae Chong. He was also making music on the side, but didn’t think much was going t

K-Pop Dreaming - Moon Night

Mar 9th, 2023 44m 10s

In this episode, we head to an American military neighborhood in Seoul in the late 1980s. Tucked in an alleyway was a little grimy club that blasted American hip-hop, the place was for African American GIs to cut loose, but it pulled in an unex

K-Pop Dreaming - Trot

Mar 2nd, 2023 38m 49s

Vivian begins her exploration of K-Pop's history with a genre of Korean music called trot that emerged during the Japanese colonization of Korea. Trot holds up a mirror to Korea’s history and gives rise to an enigmatic quality that, some say, i

K-Pop Dreaming - Mixtape

Feb 23rd, 2023 47m 7s

Vivian puts together a mixed CD with some of her favorite K-Pop songs from the 90’s and 2000’s. Each song is connected to a different moment in her life and they all happen to be some of K-pop’s greatest hits. And together, these songs tell the

K-Pop Dreaming - Secret Fan

Feb 23rd, 2023 17m 55s

Growing up in Koreatown during the 90s and 2000s, host Vivian Yoon was an emo-listening teenager who embraced American pop culture. At least that’s what it seemed from the outside. But at home, by herself, what she listened to was K-Pop. How Vi

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Introducing California Love: K-Pop Dreaming, from LAist Studios

Feb 2nd, 2023 4m 44s

K-pop disrupted pop culture in South Korea in the early 1990s and quickly the new and electrifying sound found fans across the world.One of those fans was a kid growing up thousands of miles away in Koreatown, Los Angeles.In K-Pop Dreaming, the

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