Early Friday morning, attendees gathered inside USC’s Korean Heritage Library, the starting point of the K-Trail event. Despite the immense heat outside, students buzzed with excitement as they set out to embark on this walking tour dedicated to Korean American heritage. The excursion served as an opportunity for individuals to visit and learn more about locations highlighting Korean culture, both on campus and in the surrounding community. 

Although the event was open to all, due to limited space, registration prioritized students studying in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. The K-Trail was organized by three professors from the Korean Language Program, with the goal of providing students an opportunity to go beyond their understanding of the language inside the classroom. Additionally, it was sponsored by the USC Korean Heritage Library and Korean Studies Institute, who shared this community objective.

“Especially for elementary-level Korean students and even intermediate-level students, it’s hard to understand in Korean,” said Eunju Na, one of the event organizers and a master lecturer in the EALC Department. “We want students to learn about language through culture and history, because language is a tool to learn about [other] cultures … [which is why] we decided to have this event.”

The tour, led by the Korean Heritage Library’s head librarian, first walked students through spots located on campus, beginning with the Amy King Dundon-Berchtold University Club. Students learned about how the restaurant once served as the East Asian Library before being moved to the smaller space inside Doheny Memorial Library, which it currently occupies. The event organizers purposely chose places that students may have walked past or seen previously, but never truly grasped their cultural significance.

Students then visited the Ahn Family House, where attendees learned about its historical significance as the former home of the family of Dosan Ahn Chang Ho, a prominent Korean independence activist and one of the earliest Korean immigrants to the United States. 

“I previously heard about the Korean house that’s on campus right next to the [School of Dramatic Arts] building, and I was really interested in it, but never knew a lot about its history,” said Rebecca Sumaquial, a freshman majoring in dramatic arts. “[My professor] told me we were going to go in depth about it … so I decided to sign up.”

The tour group then stopped to take photos at the Dr. Sammy Lee Dive Tower, named after Korean American USC alum and two-time Olympic gold medalist  Sammy Lee. Students were then directed half a mile west of campus to visit the Korean National Association Memorial Foundation, a museum dedicated to showcasing the historical presence of Koreans in the U.S. 

The students also got to see Hung Sa Dahn, a Los Angeles Conservatory Historic-Cultural Monument known for its role as the operational base of a Korean independence organization in the 1910s-30s. The tour also originally planned on visiting other spots such as the Korean United Methodist Church and Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery, but due to the heat, they were ultimately cut from the itinerary.

The event concluded with a traditional Korean lunch, which served as another opportunity for attendees to gain real-world insight into Korean culture. Guests were offered a variety of dishes such as kimchi, japchae, bulgogi and saeng sun jun to taste-test.

“[My favorite part was] definitely the food at the end. It was such good food and it was really nice talking to our teachers,” Sumaquial said. “They had tteokbokki, which I’ve never had before. I think I was always scared to try it, but I tried it that day and it was really, really good.”

Afterward, attendees were able to take home Polaroid pictures taken by volunteers throughout the day in addition to customizable sling bags with homemade patches.

“Professor Na, Professor Kim Bo Hyun and [I] prepared all the merchandise for the students,” said Seojin Park, a lecturer and one of the event organizers. “Students enjoy these kinds of events which include outdoor activity and food and a lot of gifts that we prepared, so if they can talk about their experiences to [other] students or their friends, it will be a good way to promote [the language program].”

With such a successful debut, the Korean Language Program hopes to continue hosting events like this, and plans on making K-Trail an annual event. 

“There [are] so many resources like this [event] we should use that are more fun so our students will be more engaged in Korean culture,” Na said. “[When] they are excited to learn about [this history], that [is] a really great thing.”