For a particular generation of Koreans, playing a harmonica is a reminder of their young people and their homes, and not playing it for decades, reminding them of what they left behind to pursue more.

This includes Donna Lee. Now that she is 80 years old, Lee can look back at her life growing up in Seoul, where she played the harmonica in music classes. She immigrated to the United States, which led to her arrival in Southern California. She found a place in Koreatown near downtown, where she still lives and worked at a local hospital for nearly 30 years before retiring.

Retirement made her bored and wanted more. This attracted her to the Koreatown Senior and Community Center in Los Angeles. The center offers Lee and many of her fellow citizens the opportunity to attend classes and enjoy the lives they work hard to create. Then, in 2023, Li joined the center’s harmonica class, where she and her classmates practiced the “Stars and Stripes” repeatedly.

"We have one or two hours of practice every week," Lee said. "We did it almost every week and played it a lot, and I can't count."

Because Los Angeles has the largest Korean community in the United States, the class was asked to perform at various events throughout the region. In January, the Los Angeles Kings contacted the KSCC and invited the harmonica class to perform in March as part of the team's Korean Heritage Night.

The response they received was so strong that they were invited to perform the national anthem ahead of the first Western Conference Series in the Kings' first round of the Western Conference Series on April 21. Hanburk - This is traditional Korean costume - performed the national anthem and immediately became a hit in a match won by the King.

Harmonicas heard about the world tour 🎶

📲https://t.co/gbubwqco9w#gokingsgo pic.twitter.com/eobozy8hki

-X -La Kings (@lakings) April 22, 2025

The performance was so popular that it allowed the group to be invited to the second game, which not only gave them more fans, but the Kings also won a 2-0 lead. since then? They became a feeling that not only attracted attention from the hockey world and Southern California, but even in South Korea. The group will return on April 29 for the national anthem of the fifth game.

"I never thought this would happen," Lee said.

In span Over two years, KSCC’s harmonica class went from playing the national anthem in the classroom to performing in front of 18,000 fans at Heritage Night.

That was already a lifelong experience. But are you going to receive an invitation to play the Stanley Cup playoffs? Not only once, but twice? And let everyone in the building sing with their own performances and get social media crazy, are fans asking them to return for each home game?

The encounter goes far beyond hockey, stepping into a deeper and more meaningful place for South Korea’s retired political journalist Kwan-Il Park, now the executive director of KSCC.

Parker said through Sandra Choi, “There aren’t many opportunities for the Korean community and mainstream community to be able to blend together in this way, and he worked as an interpreter and volunteered at the KSCC. “The key point is that harmonica is not an expensive instrument.” It's $15 or $20, which is a daily tool for everyone. ”

Parker said the fact that the class was able to perform the national anthem with a very common instrument made them feel immersed in the culture while also paying homage to what they have called home for years.

"We have always been considered outsiders, immigrants with cultural and language barriers," Parker said. "You come here and work directly for 30 or 40 years. This time, we were able to shoulder to shoulder as Korean Americans, not just immigrants, and perform in front of 20,000 people? I don't even know what the right word is for."

Parker said that Koreans first began to immigrate to the United States in 1903, and many came to cities along the Pacific. After the Korean War in the 1950s, there will be a second wave that leads to the current landscape, living in the United States with nearly 2 million Koreans

Although Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C. have considerable Korean communities, Los Angeles has the largest neighborhoods, with 17% of Korean people living in the United States, according to the Pew Research Center.

But what makes playing the national anthem so special on the harmonica? This is because of how instruments connect the lives they once knew with them to build their own and their lives for future generations.

KSCC Chairman Yong-sin Shin said a generation of children who grew up in South Korea was introduced to the second grade harmonica as part of the music class. While these kids have a chance to play for a few more years, many of them stop playing after immigrating to the United States

For the KSCC group, harmonica connects them to that era.

Choi said that for many older Koreans, playing harmonica is an opportunity for them to relax, which is often unaffordable for a group that has spent many years taking care of their family.

"Because my dad had one, we would find harmonica in my home," Choi said. "If he played it, it would somehow win my childhood soul as a Korean-American. Even though I'm not Korean, it stays in touch with the tone and songs and songs of all of us."

Shin said the KSCC was established to enable older Koreans to find communities while providing them with courses to achieve them in the next few years.

At first, KSCC offers five classes a week. Since then, the center has expanded its offering to 47 courses every Monday to Friday. Shin said the center attracts nearly 1,500 people a week.

These classes range from skills that can be used in daily life to topics as hobbies. For example, KSCC offers multiple courses for those interested in improving their oral and written English skills. They also offer beginner and intermediate courses for those who want to learn how to use their smartphones.

However, the crown jewelry of KSCC courses? Probably 11:10 AM for a 50-minute harmonica class.

Shin said the harmonica class started in 2021. The class starts practicing for weeks at a time, and then they are comfortable performing in public. Shin said the class will be on Mother's Day, Thanksgiving or SeollalThis is the Korean Lunar New Year in February. When the group was invited to perform at Los Angeles City Hall in 2023, the class’s profile began to grow.

"Our senior harmonica lesson was performed in front of 100 people and everyone loved it," Shin said. "So we continued to perform at the events at the Senior Center, and they got better and better, and we started getting more invitations to play the harmonica."

There's a little That park, Mingyin and Choi, even outside her role as an interpreter, all involved in the performance of the harmonica class and its popularity gained in such a short window.

No one saw this coming.

"I had a kid in high school and she even showed me the clip because it was so viral," Choi said. "She said, 'Isn't this us volunteers?'"

Part of the reason for surprise can be measured by social media. It wasn't easy to find the video of the group performing for the first time in the Kings, probably because it was a regular season game.

When the national anthem was broadcast nationwide in North America compared to the playoffs.

Of course, national anthem singers are no strangers. But when about a dozen Korean seniors perform – perform with harmonica? This unique thing will inevitably attract attention inside and outside the movement.

It was true, resulting in the group being invited to the second game, but this time instead of wearing traditional Korean costumes, they stood out in the Kings jerseys - at the same time, the crowd knew what to expect, and there was more expectations.

Their performances have led people to post comments on social media, including "It's cool to make a comeback, but you won't beat the Korean harmonica grandma who beat "the North Korean" in the House to ask if anyone is having fun in the Edmonton Korean community? We need to fight the fire here."

“We are not nervous,” Lee said of herself and her classmates. "This is my first time going to the arena because of the great performance. So many people were surprised and we just enjoyed the wonderful stage. It's a place with a lot of people. We thought the performance was good, we just did a lot of preparation and practice for the national anthem."

Lee said she had never seen the Kings game but was going to stay for the first game and become a fan immediately. She said some members of the class stayed and some went home.

But what about now?

"We are all La Kings fans now!" she said with a smile.

Lee and Park said they have heard from South Korea’s family and friends how their performance has made headlines. This is another detail no one sees, but it increases visibility into Korean culture.

The Kings spent Korean Heritage Night with the Lakers, Dodgers and Clippers. Rams and Chargers also facilitated the initiative during the Asian Islander and Pacific Islander (AAPI) month.

At a time when more Korean food, movies, music and TV have a place in the mainstream.

"We have K-Pop, K-Drama, K-Food, K-Beauty - now we have K-Seniors."