Soundwalk: Ktown 32th Street and Broadway

For this assignment, I walked around 32nd Street and Broadway on a short block known as Korea town. I've been here often for food and shopping but never have taken the chance to really take in the sounds of the street. So on this assignment I've noticed sounds and people I've never taken the chance to notice before. The sounds here are diverse and range from multilingual conversations to noisy trucks unloading the goods for the stores and restaurants. The Korean language is not that harsh when spoken loudly but can be quite lyrical when spoken in a normal conversational manner. For the Korean workers shouting in Korean, it sounded as if it were rather harsh almost like a clanging noise. Because the area is still a major part of midtown Manhattan, there is still an apparent English speaking population here with the regular fast food joints and banks, and other businesses. Their noises from speech and doors opening and closing, and fast honking cars seem to blend seamlessly into the environment of what is Ktown. There is a fusion of American, Korean and Asian culture that coexists in a charming unexpected way. Around lunch time, from 12-3 the restaurants are packed with hungry patrons of all ethnicities and cultures. When I revisited Food Gallery 32, one of my favorite restaurants here, is cafeteria styled store with many smaller restaurants inside it was like an Asian fusion cafeteria with Korean Pop music playing (which I enjoy immensely). The bouncy pop music gives off a youthful vibe and the sounds are of a smooth texture. I think this neighborhood is so unique because of its Asian fusion influences and its predominantly Korean culture that is apparent through all the restaurants, shopping stores, and karaoke bars. I’m glad to have learned more about this place by not using my eyes, but my ears which introduced me to a new world of sound and culture.

Defining a Space

DefiningSpace 1 from Natalia San Pablo on Vimeo.

My Artist Statement

I am not an artist, but more of an expressionist. I hope that this blog will help inform others of the present struggles that the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community face that are hidden from the world since their image is distorted through stereotypes. As an avid Asian American studies student, I am very much interested in the history and future of AAPI’s living in the United States because to understand our present situation and role in American society, it is important to study the past to not make the same mistakes again. I am hoping that this blog will be educational and informative on serious matters that concern AAPI’s but also be a beacon of hope for them as well. As a Filipino American I know firsthand the discrimination that many AAPI’s face having faced them myself. Ostracizing AAPIs with negative labels as chink, nerd, math lover, etc. can cause conflict in their identity because although they are born or became American while living here, some people still perpetuate the concept of AAPIs as “forever foreigners”, incapable of assimilation. I hope to delve into the ideas of AAPI identity and how intergenerational conflict, school, personal experience, trauma, and other factors impact one’s identity in order to prove that hegemonic structures force us to have an identity within this American society to keep us distinct and labeled so we do not unify as one people but rather keep to our differences and remain oppressed as minorities.

My influences for the type of media I want to present include Wayne Wang, the director of “Chan is Missing”, and also Deepa Mehta, the director of “Earth”. For me, these movies displayed the true realities or histories of AAPIs and Asians (Non-Americans) and that was an enriching experience instead of the American media that portrays Asians and AAPIs in a false light like “Flower Drum Song” or even hardcore action films like “Rush Hour” or “Kill Bill”. Mostly I want to keep tabs on the new series on ABC station called, “Fresh off the Boat”, to see their perspective and representation of whom Asian Americans are and how they are defined.