By Lily Mitchell
Managing Editor
With the hopes of making her community more culturally aware and accepting, junior Kira Chung released the first two episodes of her new podcast, “Culture Shock,” on Spotify.
After living in both London and Hong Kong, Chung came to Manhattan Beach during her freshman year of high school. The culture shock Chung experienced inspired her to start her own podcast. She spent the summer of 2023 planning out all the logistics, deciding what topics she would focus on and where she would stream it. Chung launched her first episode of “Culture Shock” on Dec. 2, 2023.
“I lived in Hong Kong for 11 years, and before then I lived in London,” Chung said. “I am also half Chinese and half French, so my experience with different cultures showed me the lack of knowledge our school and community has when it comes to cultural backgrounds and ethnicities.”
When Chung initially moved to Manhattan Beach, the biggest culture shock for her was the American schooling system. Being on the IB program her whole life, it was definitely something she had to get used to. Typical American school events, such as prom, school dances, cheerleading performances, and football games, came as a total shock for Chung.
“I was a part of the British schooling system,” Chung said. “In middle school my friends and I would look at the Mira Costa website and point out all the differences between American and British culture. Being on the dance team at Costa has certainly helped me adapt to American culture quicker. Getting used to the different accents and the large food portions was another huge adjustment for me.”
Chung began “Culture Shock” to interview students in her local community about their cultural differences and how they affect their day to day lifestyle. Chung’s goal is to teach her peers, neighbors, and fellow community members about the importance of embracing diversity and various cultures.
“I want to help share other people’s experiences,” Chung said. “‘Culture Shock’ is a way for members of our community to learn about different cultures and hear what others have to say. As a result of my podcast, I hope that people will try to put in effort in organizing more cultural events to get people more involved and open minded,” Chung said.
As of December 2023, Chung has released two four-minute episodes on Spotify. The first episode is an interview with Redondo Union junior Hunter Taylor. It highlights his experience as a biracial American, half Filipino and half white. According to Chung, although Taylor faces many assumptions about his ethnicity, he does not let it get to him. Taylor emphasized how accepting his classmates are of one another’s cultural backgrounds.
“Talking with Hunter about his cultural background was really interesting because he is half Asian like me,” Chung said. “What was interesting was the generation differences between him and his grandparents. His grandparents moved here from the Philippines, so they had to adapt to the culture here in California and most importantly overcome the language barrier. It was really intriguing for me to listen to that because it is very personal to my grandparents as well.”
In Chung’s second episode, she asks sophomore Lila Mokharti about her Iranian background, as well as ways Costa can better educate their students on different cultures. According to Chung, the whole point of this podcast is for people to realize the wide range of cultural backgrounds students bring to our community.
“I didn’t know a lot about Iranian culture before talking to Lila,” Chung said. “I thought the whole familial aspect of her culture and the importance of food was very interesting. All of these cultural aspects are a huge part of who she is as a person, and it is so interesting to hear about her unique background.”
According to Chung, the toughest part about doing a podcast is finding people who are willing to partake in an interview. Additionally, she learned how to create a podcast account on Spotify and figured out how to publish the recordings on her own.
“I don’t use microphones or equipment, just my phone,” Chung said. “Starting the podcast was definitely a process I needed to be focused on. I learned by trying and failing and trying again until something worked.”
Chung created a separate instagram account, @cultureeshock, and attached the link to her spotify account in her bio. She is currently working on developing a website to have a bigger online presence in order to spread more awareness.
“I had to buy a couple things, about 100 dollars worth, to create the website I’m currently working on,” Chung said. “I will use my online platform to target the young generation who is soon going to be in charge. I want to influence others and encourage our community to be more culturally aware.”
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