Minju Park Productions 

Hello!


Minju Park is a Korean-American multimedia journalist specializing in radio and podcast production based in Chicago. 

Previously, she was a producer for LAist Studios.  Her work includes “Inheriting,” “LA Made: The Barbie Tapes,” “California Love: K-Pop Dreaming,” “The Big Disaster: The Big Burn” and the weekly series “Imperfect Paradise” for LAist Studios. She’s also worked on projects for Marketplace, PRX, WBEZ Chicago, NBC Los Angeles and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

She’s interested in thinking critically about how forms of pop culture, including movies, TV shows, music and literature, represent and influence the values of a larger community. Minju’s approach to content production is driven by the goal to translate that curiosity into her work.

Minju was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in the Chicago area. She’s also lived in Nashville, Tennessee and Long Island, New York. She’s an alum of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.


PODCAST PRODUCTION

“Inheriting”


Produced by Minju Park and James Chow
Senior produced by Anjuli Sastry-Krbechek

















This show explores historical events that have affected Asian American and Pacific Islander families, and how the effects of those events ripple through generations. In doing so, the show seeks to break apart the AAPI monolith and tell a fuller story of these communities. Hosted by NPR’s Emily Kwong, produced by LAist Studios and distributed by NPR. 



Winner — Best Society & Culture Podcast for The Ambies 2025: Awards for Excellence in Audio

Winner — Best Podcast Feature Reporting for 2025 Golden Mike Awards: RTNA of Southern California

Silver Award — Best History Podcast for Signal Awards 2024

The 20 Best Podcasts of 2024 for The Atlantic
--

“Imperfect Paradise”



“Nury & The Secret Tapes”

Produced by Minju ParkSenior produced by Emily Guerin


“The Gen Z Water Dealmaker”

Produced by Minju Park
Senior produced by Emily Guerin

This weekly podcast follows California news stories with universal signifcance. Each episode is driven by character-focused narratives that underscore California’s reputation as a home for new opportunities, while also exploring the deeper systemic problems that are often overlooked. Hosted by LAist’s Antonia Cereijido.



Winner for “Nury & The Secret Tapes” — Radio | Large Market Podcast for Region 2 Edward R. Murrow Awards

First place for “Nury & The Secret Tapes” — Audio Storytelling for Best of the West
  For “Nury & The Secret Tapes” — The 25 Best Podcasts of 2023 for The Atlantic

--

“LA Made: The Barbie Tapes”


Produced by Minju Park
This show features never-before-heard archival tapes of interviews with Barbie’s creators and tracks the making of a doll into a cultural icon. Hosted by M.G. Lord, author of “Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll.”



Best History Podcasts of 2023 for Spotify

--

“California Love: K-Pop Dreaming”


Produced by Minju Park and James Chow
Senior produced by Fiona Ng
This show follows the history and rise of K-Pop music in the U.S. through the perspective of the Korean diaspora in Los Angeles. Part pop culture analysis and musical history, blended with host Vivian Yoon’s coming-of-age memoir as a second generation immigrant coming to terms with her identity.


Winner — Topical Reporting: Race, Ethnicity, Gender and Identity for The Online Journalism Awards

Winner for Episode 3: “Trot” — Podcast Episode of the Year for AdWeek

Third Place — Audio Storytelling for Best of the West

Best Podcasts of 2023 for Spotify

--

“The Big Disaster: The Big Burn”


Produced by Minju Park
Senior produced by Natalie Chudnovsky and Anjuli Sastry-Krbechek
This show is a wildfire survival guide in a new age of extreme megafires. It’s a deep dive into a blend of personal stories, scientific research and historical analysis on how we got into a wildfire problem, why fires keep getting worse and what we can do to survive as the world around us burns. Hosted by LAist science reporter Jacob Margolis.



Winner — Best Radio Podcast Feature Reporting for 2023 Golden Mike Awards: RTNA of Southern California

Finalist — Best Production and Sound Design for The Ambies 2023: Awards for Excellence in Audio

Finalist — Top Sustainability & Environment Podcasts for The Webby Awards

FREELANCE PODCAST PRODUCTION





“1,800 Days: The Story of Early Childhood in the U.S.”

Produced by Minju Park
Senior produced by Andrew Gill

















This show is a collaboration with Erikson Institute, a premier graduate school in childhood development in Chicago. It chronicles the last 60 years in the field of early childhood in America, which created a patchwork system of programs and policies. These shortcomings have been highlighted by the pandemic. Hosted by WBEZ’s Natalie Moore.


--

“Library for the People”


Produced by Minju Park and Shane McKeon
Senior produced by Andrew Gill
This show is a collaboration with Chicago Public Library in celebration of the the library system’s 150-year anniversary. The series chronicles the history of the library through the words of librarians, patrons and authors, exploring the story of an institution heralded as a leader in free speech and public access to information. Hosted by WBEZ’s Alison Cuddy.

 PODCAST PRODUCTION ON CONTRACT




“Make Me Smart”



“Million Bazillion”



“Financially Inclined”


PRODUCTION WORK FOR BROADCAST



“Inside the movement to teach kids about money”



This segment is a an hour-long broadcast special covering the recent national push for financial literacy requirements in K-12 schools, which aired on dozens of radio stations across the U.S. This segment features on-the-ground reporting with teachers, students and financial literacy experts on the rollout of these requirements into schools. 


PRODUCING 2-WAY INTERVIEWS
&
WRITING WEBPOSTS
Let’s connect!       ︎   ︎