TEEN SUMMIT 2025

🌟Teen Summit Fall: Navigating Challenges through Arts

The Teen Summit is an annual leadership and creative development program presented by Korean Center, Inc. (KCI) in partnership with the Asian Art Museum. It brings together teens from across the Bay Area to connect with peers, discover creative pathways, and gain inspiration from mentors, artists, and community leaders. Through hands-on workshops and honest conversations, participants explore identity, resilience, and the power of art to express who they are.

🔍 No prep needed. Just show up and enjoy!

📅 Program Details

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025

Time: 12PM-5PM (Door opens at 11:45AM)

Location: Asian Art Museum (Samsung Hall), San Francisco

Eligible Participants: teens in grades 8–12 and young adults up to age 19

Admission Fee: $50

Group Rate: $35 per teen (for 5+ registrants)

*Please note that the fee is non-refundable.

🎯 What to Expect

🎤 Opening Performance by K-pop Artist GIA

🥬 Kimchi-Making + Lunch with chef JiYoung Park

🎨 Self-Sculpture Workshop with artist Jun Yang

🌟 Rising Student Creator Spotlights: Live Demos & Stories featuring:

    • Bora Wee — Theatre

    • Cate Wang — Singer-Songwriter

    • Athena — Film & Photography

🖼️ Lunch included + full-day Asian Art Museum access

🎤 Opening Performance by GIA

GIA (지아) is an American singer and lyricist under MUMW Entertainment, known for her multilingual talent and dynamic storytelling through music. She made her solo debut in 2024 with the collaboration single “Stick With It” with global creator team HOOD GIRLS, followed by her 2025 release “I’ve Just Learned to Love.”

Born to a Korean-American father and Chinese-Indonesian mother, Gia is fluent in Indonesian, English, Mandarin, and Korean. With a background in musical theatre and ballet — including training at the San Francisco Ballet — she brings a powerful blend of vocals, movement, and stage presence to her performances. After moving to Seoul in 2020 to pursue a K-Pop career, she continues to craft music that reflects her multicultural identity and global perspective.

Gia will open the Teen Summit 2025 with a special performance to kick off an inspiring day of creativity and connection.

Meet Our Speakers

🥬 Kimchi-Making + Lunch with Chef JiYoung Park

Led by Chef JiYoung Park, founder of Park’s Kitchen, this hands-on session introduces the art of kimchi-making — blending tradition, creativity, and flavor. Teens will prepare their own kimchi while learning about the cultural roots and global influence of Korean cuisine.

About the Instructor:

Chef JiYoung Park is an internationally renowned culinary storyteller who connects people to Korean culture through food. Since 2007, she has taught authentic Korean cooking around the world — from Tokyo, Seoul, and Berlin to Miami and San Francisco. Born in Seoul, South Korea, she brings a sophisticated and progressive approach to traditional Korean dishes, blending culture, history, and community in every class. She is passionate about helping people experience the flavors and stories of her heritage.

Now based in Noe Valley, San Francisco, Chef JiYoung offers hands-on cooking classes that celebrate the depth and creativity of Korean cuisine — and inspires students to see food as a bridge between cultures.

She will also partner with KCI again for a Kimchi Workshop with KQED on  December 4, continuing to share Korean food and culture with the broader Bay Area community.

🎨 Soft Sculpture Workshop with Artist Jun Yang

At the Teen Summit, artist Jun Yang leads a hands-on soft sculpture workshop inviting teens to explore self-expression and care through art. Participants will paint portraits or meaningful symbols onto fabric, then glue or fill their creations to bring them to life as tactile artworks. Emphasizing process over perfection, the workshop offers a calming space to connect, reflect, and express love.

About the Instructor:

Jun Yang is a Korean multidisciplinary artist based in San Francisco. Jun’s practice spans painting, murals, textile, and ceramic sculpture, inviting audiences into tactile, interactive experiences that activate sensory memory and emotional connection.

Rooted in themes of identity, healing, and belonging, Jun’s work draws from lived experience as a queer immigrant navigating displacement and the search for safe space. Jun explores personal and collective memory through softness, color, and material form.

Jun has curated exhibitions centering AAPI, queer, and women artists at venues including Ruth’s Table and Maitri Compassionate Care, where Jun served on the board. Jun’s work connects personal expression with social impact, fostering inclusive spaces for empathy, healing, and shared cultural experience.

Jun earned recognition as the 2024 SECA nominee by SFMOMA, selected nominee as the Fleishhacker foundation Eureka Fellowship and a selected artist for the Pro Arte’s Apapacho AIR in CDMX, Kala Art Institute AIR 2025 and the Tofte Lake Artist Residency Program 2025. Jun’s first museum solo exhibition was at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, and their work also featured at the De Young Museum, Kunsthaus Graz in Austria, MOCA Taipei, Kuandu Biennale, and the Consulate General of Korea. Jun’s art has been highlighted by KQED Arts and the Gay Asian Pacific Islander Alliance, among others.

🌟Rising Creator Spotlights: Live Demos & Stories

Bora Wee 

A junior in high school and an Interdisciplinary Creative specializing in Media Management and Experience Design. She’s been working primarily in Theatre professionally since 2023, expanding recently to fields like Graphic Design, Videography/Film, Gallery Work, and Event Production. Bora is dedicated to creating homes for art while continuously learning and collaborating through peers – always bringing an emphasis on uplifting AAPI artists in the Bay Area, having worked with names like the Asian Art Museum, Dream State, Stanford AATP, and JUNYARTS.

Cate Wang

A student at UC Irvine and a singer-songwriter/producer whose music blends everyday sounds (일상) and personal stories into witty, heartfelt lyrics. Cate made her official debut at the 2025 Chuseok Festival and continues to share her authentic voice through original tracks available on Spotify.

Athena Cho

A senior at The Nueva School. She has loved taking photos and making short films since she was a kid and started to pursue it more seriously as a sophomore in high school after attending a film camp in New York. Through film and photography, she loves capturing the small moments and emotions that connect people. Outside of art, she loves to play ice hockey, and has been playing for over 10 years. Her short film “Pills” was also recently selected to be shown at the Raleigh Film & Art Festival in North Carolina for 2025. 

Program Schedule:

Time Activities
12:00PM Opening Performance by GIA & Social Mingle
12:30PM Make Your Own Kimchi for Lunch
2:00PM Rising Student Creators Spotlight
3:00PM Hands-on Soft-sculpture Workshop
4:30PM Closing and Enjoy the Museum!
5:00PM Museum Closing

*Subject to Change*