The Brief

Republicans are favored to take control of the Senate chamber next year thanks to a 2024 election map that has Democrats defending seven seats in conservative or swing states and on offense just two in the safe Republican states of Texas and Florida.

Democrats narrowly control the Senate 51-49 today, but West Virginia is all but certain to flip Republican after the impending retirement of Sen. Joe Manchin, who registered as an independent in May.

Here are the races to watch:

Arizona

Left: Republican candidate for US Senate Kari Lake speaks at a campaign rally for former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at Findlay Toyota Arena in Prescott Valley, Ariz. on Oct. 13. Right: US Representative Ruben Gallego, candidate for Senate, speaks during a Get-Out-The-Vote campaign rally in Tucson, Ariz., Oct.18.

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Caitlin O'Hara/AFP via Getty Images; Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images

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Democratic Congressman Ruben Gallego has consistently polled ahead of Republican Kari Lake in the closing weeks of the election. Gallego has performed particularly well among Latino voters who have a large, and growing, influence in the state.

“I think we are seeing a coming of age for politics in Arizona,” said Stephen Nuño-Perez, politics professor at Northern Arizona University, who says Latinos increasingly are expanding their political impact in the state each election year.

Samara Klar, a politics professor at the University of Arizona say they will be watching the Latino vote closely on election night with predictions that Latino voters could make up as much as 25% of the state’s voting demographic.

“It rightfully gets a huge amount of attention because Latinos are a growing portion of our electorate,” Klar said.

Nevada

Left: Republican Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Lee's Family Forum, Oct. 31, 2024, in Henderson, Nev. Right: US Sen. Jacky Rosen speaks ahead of US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris during a rally in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Oct. 31, 2024.

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Evan Vucci/AP; David Becker/AFP via Getty Images

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Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen appeared poised to win the race early this election cycle, but Republicans saw an opening at the end of the race that inspired a last-minute run by the GOP in the Silver State.

In the final two weeks, the Senate Leadership Fund directed more than $6 million to the state in a “Hail Mary” effort to boost Republican challenger Sam Brown. They hoped the last-minute spending spree could fuel an upset by Brown, an Army combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient injured in Afghanistan.

“So they stormed in with millions in late advertising,” Kenneth Miller, politics professor at the University of Las Vegas, said ahead of Election Day. But “whether or not that makes a difference is a different story.”

Miller says he’s pessimistic the new spend will “move the needle” but wasn’t ruling out a Brown win.

Republicans were re-energized by Brown’s chances after new polling and early voting returns signaled stronger support than expected.

“Her fortunes are simply going to be tied to party ID,” said Miller, who added that Democrats are repeating their 2022 playbook in Nevada this year, focusing on issues such as abortion. However, economic issues and immigration played high for voters frustrated by housing shortages and cost of living increases.

Michigan

Left: Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Macomb Community College Nov. 1, 2024, in Warren, Mich. Right: U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, the Democratic candidate for the open Michigan U.S. Senate seat, debates with former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers the Republican candidate vying for the seat, Oct. 14, 2024, in Southfield, Mich.

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Paul Sancya/AP; Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press via AP

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The race was consistently tied through the final weeks of the election as Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Elissa Slotkin campaigned to replace Sen. Debbie Stabenow who is retiring.

Rogers, 61, is a former FBI special agent who served in the House for 14 years and chaired the House Intelligence Committee. He retired from the House in 2014, and worked as a CNN national security analyst and a radio host and criticized former President Trump frequently. But Rogers backed Trump’s presidential campaign once he launched his Senate bid and publicly touted the former president’s endorsement in his race. He defeated former Michigan Rep. Justin Amash in the GOP primary.

Slotkin, 48, was elected to the House in 2018 and was among a group of female candidates that cycle with national security backgrounds. She worked as CIA analyst during the Iraq war, and emphasized during this year’s campaign that she worked under both GOP and Democratic administrations.

Slotkin focused on differences with Rogers over issues like reproductive rights and support for electric vehicles — a big issue for a state that is home to the Big 3 auto manufacturers. Rogers also faced questions about whether he lived in the state because he moved to Florida after he retired from Congress and had not moved into a new home he was building in Michigan.

The race at the top of the ticket looms large — as part of the so-called “blue wall” Michigan was closely contested by both Vice President Harris and Trump.

Montana

Left: Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump at Montana State University on August 9, in Bozeman, Montana. Right: Senator Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, speaks with members of the media while arriving in the Senate Subway during a vote at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 7.<br>

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Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images; Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Montana has long been considered one of the best opportunities for Republicans to make gains in the Senate. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is facing Republican Tim Sheehy in a state that has grown increasingly conservative in recent years.

Tester was elected in 2006 and since then hasn’t won reelection by more than four percentage points. He’s the lone statewide-elected Democrat.

He’s held onto his seat in part thanks to his strong personal brand, a third-generation Montana farmer who proudly proclaims himself as the “Senate’s only working farmer.” He’s touted his bipartisan track record, his efforts for farmers and veterans, and tried to maintain distance between himself and national-level Democrats.

But this cycle tested whether personal brand can motivate enough voters to split their tickets.

Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, was handpicked to run by the state’s junior senator, Steve Daines, who’s leading GOP efforts to regain a Senate majority.

Sheehy moved to Montana in 2014, where he founded Bridger Aerospace, an aerial firefighting and aerospace services company.

The challenger received the endorsement of Trump and is running on a platform that’s similar to Trump himself in 2016; a political outsider stressing issues of the border and the economy.

Ohio

Left: Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Bernie Moreno speaks to attendees during a campaign event on Nov. 1, in at Spartan Northwood Warehouse in Northwood, Ohio. Right: Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, speaks during a campaign rally at the Communications Workers of America Local 4370 in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, on Oct. 26.

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Emily Elconin/Getty Images; Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

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The race for the Ohio Senate seat was essentially a dead heat ahead of the election and widely considered to be one of the tightest of toss-ups races in the country. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is facing Republican Bernie Moreno in this critical state.

Both parties poured hundreds of millions of dollars into the state that was considered the nexus of the battle for control of the Senate.

Brown has been in the Senate for nearly 18 years, flipping a seat in 2006. He went on to win parts of the state that former President Barack Obama failed to carry in 2012.

But Brown has never before been on the ballot alongside former President Donald Trump, who handily won Ohio twice.

Moreno, a former car dealership owner, tried throughout the campaign to tie Brown to national Democrat figures, including Harris. Moreno, whose family immigrated from Colombia to Florida when he was a young child, spoke frequently on the trail about immigration issues. In one ad, Trump, who endorsed Moreno, appears on video talking about how Moreno will “secure our border” and that Brown is a “radical left politician.”

Ohio has grown increasingly Republican in recent years and Brown's campaign hinged on convincing hundreds of thousands of Trump voters to split their ticket and send Brown back to Washington. To do that, Brown worked on building up margins in cities and suburbs that lean Democratic while also showcasing his work with Republicans.

Brown and Democrat allies pointed to Moreno’s stance on abortion, including a comment about why abortion would be an issue for women over the age of 50. Ohioans voted last year to enshrine abortion rights into their state constitution.

Wisconsin

Left: Eric Hovde, US Republican Senate candidate for Wisconsin, speaks during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on July 16. Right: U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 22, in Chicago, Illinois.

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Sen. Tammy Baldwin, the incumbent Democrat, is facing Republican Eric Hovde in one of the most evenly politically divided states in the country.

Republicans made concerted efforts to recruit wealthy candidates in key races this year and Hovde is one example: a venture capitalist who invested $20 million of his own money into the race. But also like other Senate Republican candidates, he was attacked as a carpetbagger for living in recent years in his Orange County, Calif., residence.

Baldwin, the first openly gay person elected to the Senate in 2012, keeps a low profile in Washington but was comfortably reelected back home in 2018.

However, she has never faced a candidate as well-funded as Hovde in her prior campaigns. Like many Democrats, Baldwin focused on abortion rights and tried to paint Hovde as part of an extremist GOP minority on the issue. Hovde previously described himself as “100% pro-life” in past political campaigns, but in this one campaigned on his support for exceptions in the case of rape, incest or if the life of the mother was at stake.

Pennsylvania

Left: Dave McCormick, US Republican Senate candidate for Pennsylvania, speaks during a campaign event with former US President Donald Trump, not pictured, in Wilkes-Barre Township, Penn., US, on Aug. 17. Right: Sen. Bob Casey speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, in Chicago, Ill.

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Heather Khalifa/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Paul Sancya/AP

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Sen. Bob Casey, the incumbent Democrat, is running against Republican David McCormick in one of the more negative and personal Senate races of the cycle.

Pennsylvania — seen as a must win state for both presidential candidates — has seen staggering sums of political advertising flood its airwaves: more than $1 billion has been spent leading up to the election.

Ads included Casey attacking former hedge fund executive McCormick as an out-of-touch carpetbagger for maintaining a residence in Connecticut in addition to his Pennsylvania home.

McCormick is a returning candidate. He lost the 2022 GOP Senate primary to celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, who went on to lose that November. This time, McCormick had no primary challenge and the quick support of Senate Republicans’ campaign operation and Trump’s early endorsement in the race.

McCormick didn't face a primary challenge and enjoyed quick support from the Senate Republicans' campaign operation as well as Trump's early endorsement.

Casey’s ties to the state run much deeper: he’s the son of former senator and governor Bob Casey Sr., and he himself has successfully won statewide elections six times prior to 2024. While Casey enjoyed early leads in polling for much of the year, the race rapidly tightened in the closing weeks of the race and quickly aligned with the presidential race with a statistical tie and an outcome unlikely to differentiate from the top of the ticket.
Copyright 2024 NPR

The city of Long Beach plans to dip into its emergency reserves to balance its books this year as lagging tax revenue and rising expenses worsen its financial position ahead of the budget’s close on Sept. 30.

The city says it will pull $27 million from a total of four reserve accounts, exhausting its operating reserves and taking out $16.5 million from its $50.1 million emergency reserve — money set aside specifically for natural disasters and unforeseen crises.

The city last tapped that reserve during fiscal years 2020 and 2021, as officials awaited COVID-19 federal relief money while stay-at-home orders shuttered businesses and forced the city into furloughs.

While not in the midst of a natural disaster, city administrators say Long Beach’s financial picture demands the use of these funds. “I don’t think it’s a secret that we have been hit pretty hard by the economic conditions that are out there,” City Manager Tom Modica said in an interview Wednesday.

City revenues are projected to come in about $21 million below expectations this year, while expenses are set to run $20.8 million over. The city’s utility tax alone is down nearly $14.7 million as residents use less electricity and gas. Airport revenue has stayed flat even as passenger traffic at Long Beach Airport fell 11%, its second straight yearly decline. And Measure LB, a tax on power plants that voters approved in 2024, has fallen well short of projections, prompting the city auditor to request documents and open a review, Modica said.

Interest earnings have also slipped as low rates and heavy infrastructure spending leave less cash to invest, said city Financial Management Director Kevin Riper.

The city’s Health Department, meanwhile, needs an $11 million bailout from the city’s general fund after losing about $18 million in federal grant funding — its second consecutive deficit as stagnant state money fails to keep pace with rising costs in its $254 million budget.

Adding to the strain: Labor agreements with city unions have layered on $38.3 million in new structural costs over three years, insurance costs are booming, and a hiring push that cut the police vacancy rate from 26% to 13% and lowered firefighter vacancies to 3.2% means the city is now paying salaries it had budgeted to save on through unfilled positions — a $10.6 million underestimate in the citywide activities budget.

City departments began cutting costs last fall in anticipation of the gap when Modica asked them to find 3% savings through hiring delays and paused capital projects. Most hit between 2% and 7%, though Economic Development and the Health Department both ran about 11% over budget.

The Police Department cut the most of any department — nearly $11 million — by trimming overtime, deferring its next recruit academy to the next fiscal year, freezing professional-staff hiring and scaling back non-critical purchases.

The city also found $16 million in savings by leasing or financing new vehicles instead of buying them outright, though Riper cautioned the move is effectively irreversible without the city eventually having to “double collect” to rebuild cash for future fleet purchases.

Despite those steps, they weren’t enough to close the gap without dipping into reserves for the second year running.

The city now heads into its next budget cycle with its reserves at their lowest level in years and little cushion to absorb another bad year. Modica is set to unveil a proposed fiscal year 2027 budget on July 30 that he says will require “very difficult changes” for both residents and city staff, though he has offered few specifics beyond warning that service reductions are coming.

“My goal with the Proposed Budget, which will include very difficult changes for both the community and our organization, will be to outline a path to fiscal sustainability and create a plan to replenish our reserves,” Modica wrote in an email to city staff this week.

The city has pledged to prioritize rebuilding the emergency reserve as part of that process — but with revenues still soft and costs still climbing, officials have offered no guarantee the city won’t be back in the same position next year.

Municipalities across the region, including Santa Ana, Fullerton, Anaheim, Orange and Riverside County, have faced similar pressures to draw on reserves, blaming culprits like soft sales and hotel tax revenues, rising pension and labor costs, and federal and state aid that has either flattened or rescinded.

The city of Los Angeles pulled $358 million from its general fund reserves last year, and San Diego has repeatedly drawn down its savings, a trend officials there expect to continue.

After Modica presents his budget and the mayor recommends his changes, the Long Beach City Council must discuss, adjust and approve it by the end of September.

A couple of years ago, as summer camps began to ban screens, a company called Camp Snap began to sell a screen-free camera that children could take along. The point-and-shoot had the vibes of a 1990s Kodak: just a viewfinder, a flash and no way to see the photos until the camera was hooked up to a computer.

What the company didn't see coming was the demand from adults.

"All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a lot of Gen Z, millennial demographic started buying them," says Camp Snap President Trevor George. "We realized very quickly that, OK, this is way beyond kids at summer camp."

Camp Snap made a screen-free camera for kids to take to summer camps, but adults are now nearly just as big an audience.

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Camp Snap

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Perhaps it was only a matter of time after the cool kids put on low-rise jeans like Britney Spears that photo trends would cycle around too. But they come also as a whiplash —against the era of the smartphone.

Digicams have flooded bars, music venues, festivals and family gatherings. Canon told NPR that sales of the PowerShot, its renowned point-and-shoot, jumped nearly sevenfold from 2022 to 2025. Camp Snap says its sales more than doubled in the past year.

Last year, Camp Snap launched a screen-free retro camcorder too, and it showed up in the hands of celebrities including Selena Gomez and Joe Jonas. One was spotted at Taylor Swift's wedding.

A fresh look in the sea of smartphone photos

Jaden Williams, 16, first picked up a point-and-shoot in his yearbook class. The photos "felt more genuine," he says. Soon enough, he was noticing digicams all over TikTok and among friends. Last month, he requested — and received — one for his birthday. He uses it alongside his phone.

Jaden Williams says these are some of his favorite photos that he has taken with his new digicam lately: a selfie and a sunny snap of his dog, Chase.

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Jaden Williams

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"If I'm about to take pictures of food or something, then I might use my phone," says Williams, from North Carolina. "But if I'm out with friends or at a party, I might use the camera for a more, like, warm vibe."

The turn-of-the-millennium digital photo is hard to mistake: a bit grainy, sometimes fuzzy, overexposed in the center with a blinding flash, often date-stamped in red or orange. A nostalgic haze gives photos the feel of an instant memory.

"The brightness and also the crispness of the photo — but having that blur and grain somehow added in as well — makes the photos look very flattering," says Katie Coyne, 24, from New York.

She'd bought a digital camera for a safari vacation but lately has lent it to her younger sister, Gwen Coyne, who lives in Philadelphia. They both find the vintage blur refreshing in the sea of hyper-sharp smartphone photos.

Katie and Gwen Coyne love the wistful, hazy aesthetic of digicam images. These show palm trees in the Dominican Republic, Gwen out with friends and a wine tasting in South Africa.

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Katie Coyne

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"I feel like iPhone cameras look just so ... sometimes it looks a little too real," says Gwen. She recently brought the digicam on a trip, where she photographed palm trees against the sky and the ocean. "And I don't really know how to put it into words, but it gave such a vacation vibe."

The sisters think that for the vast majority of people on social media, the digicam is purely a trendy aesthetic. First came the 1970s-style Instagram filters, then the revival of Polaroid-style photos, now this.

But for many people, it's also a rebellion against their smartphones.

Part of the great disconnection

Christina Berkett, 34, has been carrying her point-and-shoot to avoid her phone.

"I think you get caught up in the digital world, where — OK, I'm pulling out my phone to take a photo and then I see a notification or I'm checking my email," says Berkett, from New Jersey.

Wedding photographer Christina Berkett is filming more ceremonies using an old-school camcorder, though she often holds it sideways for the smartphone-friendly vertical view.

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Christina Berkett

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And with a digital camera? "You put it in your bag, you don't think about it, and then at the end of the night, you go through all the photos and kind of relive that moment."

This makes the digicam trend a small part of a growing movement of people un-phoning or de-phoning their lives. Camp Snap's George sees it as an analog reboot after decades of internet-connected everything, from watches to washing machines. eBay told NPR that it's seeing a surge of searches for old-school tech like iPods, CDs and Walkmans.

Berkett, who's a wedding photographer, says couples are printing real-world photo albums. They still request iPhone video footage for social media content, but many also pay extra for her to film ceremonies or speeches with an old-school camcorder — like she's someone's aunt, just a guest.

"They want it to feel like it's a home video," Berkett says. "I don't think they want something that's grainy. I think they want something to feel real."

She does hold the camcorder differently from how her parents once did when they made home videos. The device sits on her palm flipped to its side, so that the video Berkett films is vertical rather than horizontal — because most people will still watch it on their smartphone.

Copyright 2026 NPR

For a few brief months earlier this year two Conlons graced the stages of L.A.’s two great arts and entertainment institutions: the LA Opera and the LA Galaxy.

“It's so funny to see that, as I come in you're leaving,” said Sebastian Conlon to his great-uncle James Conlon on a conference call set up by LAist last week.

Sebastian was drafted last year by the LA Galaxy from the University of Kentucky and moved to the LA area in January. Three months later, in April, his great-uncle James Conlon waved his baton for the last time as music director of the LA Opera, a post he’d held for 20 years.

“Since [Sebastian has] been here, we've tried to see each other, tried to have him come over to the house,” James Conlon said.

“I wanted to get to a game. He wanted to get to an opera. None of it ever happened because he's so busy and I've been so busy, as always,” he said.

And now the elder Conlon has put many of his belongings in storage and is moving to New York, although he intends to keep a connection to L.A.

The conversation had equal parts family reunion across generations and a heartfelt discussion that led both Conlons to find common ground in what may be seen as wildly disparate professions.

United in passion

Sebastian grew up hearing stories from his grandfather of James Conlon’s conducting in Italy, Germany, Chicago, and L.A.

“My grandfather is Uncle Jimmy's brother,” Sebastian said.

“Yes, my family calls me Jimmy," James acknowledged. "And they're not only allowed to, they're supposed to.”

“I actually hated being called Jimmy when I was a kid, but I couldn't do anything about it… when I finally grew to a certain age I became professionally known as James,” he said.

Sebastian grew up in the Washington D.C. area and rose through the ranks of college soccer, finally arriving in L.A. as a goalkeeper. He’s in his early 20s. His uncle James Conlon, who grew up in New York, is in his mid-70s.

As they chatted, they realized there were several things they had in common. They’d both been very focused on their current professions from an early age and were united through the passion for what they do. Both carry out their work in full public display.

“We're on a stage doing something that is connecting with other people. And you, Sebastian, are in a highly popular art form,” James said.

James Conlon talks before a performance of the LA Opera.

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Courtesy LA Opera

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Sebastian agreed with the description. “There's nothing that tops the feeling of being on a field, on a seven o’clock game, and you have 4,000 or 5,000 fans screaming your name and chanting," he said.

“I think that's one way to put us together: it's just that love for what we do and sharing that love to other people.”

Ironically, both have felt soccer fans’ passion first-hand.

“I was conducting in Paris in the opera the night that France won the World Cup [in 1998],” James said. “I could remember the screaming from outside the theater was so loud that we knew that France had won. I mean, that's a night I'd never forget."

L.A. advice

The intensity of practice for the Galaxy, L.A.’s most successful Major League Soccer team, has not allowed Sebastian to see much of L.A. since he got here. When he asked his great-uncle for recommendations for places to eat, James suggested the city's Italian restaurants, which, he said, reminded him of his Italian grandmother.

Sebastian Conlon was drafted by the LA Galaxy in 2025.

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Courtesy Sebastian Conlon

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But he encouraged him to roam and experience all the city has to offer.

"The kind of energy that I found in L.A. is a similar energy to what I found in my native city, New York, but also cities I have lived in or spent time in, like Paris, London, Madrid and Rome," James said.

"I don't think you'll ever be bored here, Sebastian, never. I mean, 20 years, I wasn't bored for one minute. Loved it all," he said.

Both Conlons agreed to finally make an IRL meeting happen as the elder Conlon steps into the next stage in his professional classical music career, and the younger Conlon carries out his work on the MLS team.

Sebastian will now also have the responsibility of holding up the family name in L.A. as his great-uncle has done for two decades.

Gift-gifting is a sign of respect, admiration and gratitude. In Korean culture, traditional gift-wrapping — or bojagi — is just as important a gesture. One Korean American artist in Los Angeles is sharing the gift of this artform in free classes this month.

Bojagi is both the name of the technique and the name of the square piece of cloth used. The artform goes back centuries, popular across society from the royal courts to regular people, according to the Embroiderers’ Guild of America. And bojagi wasn’t just used for gifts, but for carrying goods, packing food or other household items.

“In Korea we didn’t have luggage-type of carriers when Westerners had it. So, people just used a big piece of fabric and wrapped up things when they go travel,” said Ellen Lee, an L.A. based bojagi artist.

Kitchenware wrapped in bojagi.

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Angela Kim

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Even as the artform evolves, its meaning has stayed the same.

“In Korea, people believe when you wrap something with bojagi, we really, truly believe we put our loving and caring heart in there too,” Lee said.

On Mondays this month, Lee is teaching free bojagi workshops at the Pio Pico Koreatown branch of Los Angeles Public Library. This series of workshops has just sold-out, but a waitlist is open, and plans are in the works for her to conduct these bring these workshops back to the library in the future.

The art of bojagi.

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Angela Kim

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Learning the craft

Lee moved to Los Angeles in 2000 from South Korea, and after college, returned to the country to learn the art of bojagi.

In 2019, she moved back to Southern California start her private workshops and online business, Nossi. Lee has also been using her skills to wrap gifts for businesses and Korean American celebrities.

Lee acknowledges that all cultures have their own gift-wrapping traditions and meanings. She said she is most appreciative of the art form’s tactile quality. “Wrapping up something precious with fabric can be just human natural love language,” she said.

A gift in and of itself

The technique is sustainable — not only could the cloth be reused, it’s a keepsake in and of itself. “When you give a gift, when you wrap the gift with bojagi, the whole thing can be a gift. You don’t waste anything,” Lee said. The wrapping can be used again for another gift, a keepsake or even a handkerchief.

In her workshops, Lee touches on some Korean history to Korean Americans and non-Korean participants, like the different techniques used by the royal court from centuries ago.

The hydrangea (suguk) knot in bojagi.

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Angela Kim

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LAist

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A bojagi sculpture made by Lew.

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Angela Kim

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LAist

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There isn’t just one bojagi way to wrap. It’s dozens of ways. The most popular ones are named after nature like the hydrangea (suguk) knot and lotus (yeonkkot) knot. Historically, the bojagi fabric was made of natural materials such as hemp or silk. Today, people also use synthetic fibers like polyester.

No matter what, it’s a tradition that has endured.

“In Korea, people believe when you wrap something with bojagi, we really, truly believe we put our loving and caring heart in there too,” Lee said.