In LAist’s podcast California Love: K-Pop Dreaming, host Vivian Yoon tells the story of the origins of K-Pop.

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LAist/NPR

In LAist’s podcast California Love: K-Pop Dreaming, host Vivian Yoon tells the story of the origins of K-Pop.

LAist/NPR

For many people, parents tend to fulfill a very specific set of roles: caretaker, lunch-maker, disciplinarian, bedtime storyteller. Sure, we know theoretically that our parents are full humans with lives and interests and experiences outside of – you know – us. But as someone’s kid, it’s easy to imagine that their lives basically started when yours did.

So, when a parent tells you something – about an adventure they’ve had, a secret they’ve kept, a life they lived before you were even a glimmer in their eyes – it can come as a bit of a shock. And it can make them seem like more of a real person, somehow: more lived, more learned, maybe even a little wild?

And, is it just us, or do those moments tend to pop up when you least expect them to? That was certainly the case for reporter Vivian Yoon. She was researching a story about the history of K-pop, when she found out some very surprising information about how her parents met – and how their meeting was all tangled up in K-pop’s origin story.

So today on the show, we’re bringing you that episode from the show California Love, produced by LAist studios. It’s a tale of cultural exchange, American imperialism, underground smuggling, two young lovebirds from different worlds making eyes at each other across a crowded diner.

Oh, and music. There’s a little of that in there too.