When the LA riots/uprising/civil unrest exploded in 1992, images of destruction beamed across the globe with little context as to why these events had occurred. TV news focused on African Americans, Latinos, and Koreans as both victims and perpetrators of violence, and footage of the “first multicultural riots” locked each group within a stereotype.
As a Korean American, these images profoundly shaped my understanding of race in America and the need for people of color to tell our own stories. We hope K-TOWN‘92 offers a path to better understand Los Angeles before and after 1992. We intend to expand the archive of stories moving forward.
“[T]he project gives voice to the people who lived through the tumultuous uprising — beyond the iconic images of looters and vandals, shopkeepers on rooftops with guns, and mayhem in the streets from angry mobs destroying their own city.”
Jen Yamato, Los Angeles Times
“These are the stories that the media didn't know or didn't bother to tell.”
Angry Asian Man blog
“Really incredible and interesting documentary on Sa-I-Gu... viscerally direct.”
Jeff Yang, They Call Us Bruce podcast
“Ktown‘92 tells the stories that I’ve been waiting over 25 years to hear. Growing up in California, even as a child I knew that media portrayals of the L.A. rebellion didn’t reflect the lived experiences of real people. This film diligently unearths the voices that have slipped through the cracks, offering a most compelling and accurate recollection of this important historic moment.”
Adriel Luis, Curator, Smithsonian APA Center
- Project Director:
Grace Lee - Producers:
Eurie Chung
Grace Lee - Coordinating Producer:
Jin Yoo-Kim - Executive Producer:
Kathryn Lo - Executive Producer for CAAM:
Stephen Gong - Consulting Producers:
Andrea Meller
Mustafa Rony Zeno - Associate Producer:
Lya Lim - Cinematographers:
Jerry Henry
Ann Kaneko
Christian Bruno
Judy Phu - Sound Recordists:
Veronica Lopez
Chris Ward - Editors:
Eurie Chung
Aldo Velasco - Assistant Editors:
Emma Berliner
Sarah Garrahan
Eugene Yi - Legal:
Donaldson + Callif, LLP - Composer:
Vivek Maddala - Production Assistance:
Sandra Hamada - Interns:
Vanessa Kovacs
Teofanny Saragi - Identity & Website:
Folder Studio - Special Thanks:
Julia Meltzer, Francis Cullado, Abe Ferrer, POV Digital Lab, Jason Brush, Kamal Sinclair, Don Young, Chi-hui Yang, John Lightfoot, Cara Mertes, Kelly Weldon, Philip Rhie, Flash Cuts, Chris Hastings, Adnaan Wasey, Community Coalition. - Get In Touch:
Email, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
1992 Interviews courtesy Visual Communications Photographic and Moving Picture Archive.
This project was made possible with support from California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities and The Ford Foundation.
K-TOWN‘92 is a presentation of the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), with major funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
© 2017 LeeLee Films, Inc.