Overview

Our work is centered on oral history interviews, with more than 3 dozen recorded since 2019 – many college students serving as the interviewers.

Our project began by recording interviews with students who had completed their mandatory military service while being a student at the University of Utah’s Asia Campus in Korea. Because this topic exists within a “don’t ask, don’t tell” dynamic on campus, these interviews focused on exploring the emotional experiences surrounding boot camp and service due to hazing, physical abuse, and sexual assault – all recorded in high numbers. Suicide is the leading cause of death for members of the South Korean military. These interviews were hosted by Charles Hong and produced by Alaina Choi, with audio editing completed by various staff attributed on each episode.

A large portion of our interviews have been devoted to the exploration of gender and sexuality in South Korea – a place where homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is legal. Since 2019, we have recorded more than two dozen interviews on gender and sexuality in Korea with drag performers, activists, and everyday Koreans. Many of these episodes were recorded as conversations within gender studies classes at the University of Utah’s Asia Campus.

Finally, a “catch-all” topic that encompasses another major theme in our interviews is the complex exploration of identity and social justice. These interviews cover a wide variety of topics, including fatphobia, mental health, race and belonging, disability, and more.

Interview Basics

Each interview is about 45 – 60 min. Interviewees will retain full rights to review the recording before its release, and we can always go back in and make any edits requested. The interviews are released via a podcast as well as on YouTube (no video, just the transcript). You can check out our first few episodes here on Spotify.

Language: We largely record interviews in English, however we use a Zoom extension to live translate interviews in Korean with a live translator. We welcome interviewees to bring anyone they wish to the interview.

Recording schedule: We schedule the interview around the interviewee’s preferred time and date. Just let us know a few date/time options a few days in advance.

Recording format: We largely record interviews via Zoom and occasionally in person. We use Zoom because it is the easiest, most accessible recording option available to everyone. When recording via Zoom, the software produces an audio recording of the session as well as a video recording of the session, but we immediately drop the video file. Because we only use the audio from the recording, interviewees can dress however they like, leave the video off, and/or change their name that appears on screen. 

Editing and approval: It takes at least a few weeks to edit the interviews and prepare them for release but when it is ready, we will email the interviewee a copy to to suggest any revisions before public release. At that point, we can remove clips, we can bleep out words, and we can re-record pseudonyms. We want to make sure that interviewees are as comfortable as possible with the release of the interview.

Promoting the interview: We will promote the interview by sharing brief clips as highlights from the interview on Instagram and Tik Tok, as well as a transcript of the recording on YouTube. Someone from our team will contact the interviewee to request any videos or photos interviewees would prefer us to use in these clips. If the interview is anonymous, we can use artwork or generic stock footage.

Topics and questions: We provide a preliminary list of questions upon request but in our effort to keep interviews conversational, we might also ask questions not included on the lists we provide. We WELCOME any boundaries interviewees have, including topics they do not wish to discuss. In addition, if there’s anything asked that interviewees don’t want to answer, interviewees are encouraged to say “pass” and we will delete the question from the recording. We also welcome interviewees to explain if a question is problematic (this is especially helpful when we record interviews with students asking the questions). We also welcome any topics that you prefer to discuss. We want to share YOUR story.