ÅNGEL 004: A Korean Kentuckian to the World
Morgan Whittinghill, AKA ÅNGEL 004
This story begins in Los Angeles at Paramount Recording Studios. “It’s not quite right,” I explain to my co-writers. “It needs more authenticity to it. I want people to hear this opening line and feel like they’re actually in the car with me, traveling from Kentucky to Los Angeles.” I’ve been awaiting this moment for a few weeks now, the day that we finally started working on a new album - and genre - that honors my experience as a Korean American from Kentucky: K-BELLE, a blend of my Korean and Southern Belle identities. I feel honored to be working within the studios that the biggest artists have also worked in. Yet here we are, working in the same studios, on the same gear, just a Kentucky girl with a dream of finding her most authentic self through music.
When I first began the journey of creating K-BELLE, I envisioned a combination of country/gospel-like storytelling and melodic vocals, paired with the energetic and global K-Pop sound and structure. Think big, anthemic, and open choruses with intimate verses. I’m still on my way to sculpting the sound of K-BELLE, but so far the genre includes steel and electric guitars, an organ, harder 808s and club/drums patterns that feel underground and pop-adjacent. One staple that will always remain throughout the genre is the storytelling and the authentic nature that country music holds. I love how you always feel like you know the artist in country music (like, you know that guy is actually driving a big red truck and drinking a beer, lol).
Over the past few years I’ve gotten more curious about my Korean heritage. I always knew that somehow I would get introduced and reunited with my heritage when the time was right. A fun fact about my name, ÅNGEL 004, is that I was in Louisville when the name found me. I had chosen it as my artist/DJ name when I started making music again during the COVID-19 pandemic, but almost changed it many times because I had no story behind it and it felt like it was chosen from thin air with no purpose. Then one day I met a girl from Korea, and she she informed me that the word for “angel” in Hangul is 천사 (cheon-sa) and the word for “1004” is 천사 (cheonsa); it’s the same pronunciation for both words. It was at that moment I knew I was on the right path and I had to keep moving forward to find this other part of myself through my music and art.
A bit about my background: my biological father is Korean, and he was left as an infant on the steps of the mayor’s office in a city outside of Seoul, Korea called Wonju-si. I recently found out that we are from the Northern Hemisphere from 23&Me data. I am not in contact with any of my Korean family, except one distant cousin I met from 23&Me. My father was adopted by an American family in Kansas and later moved to Kentucky, where he met my American mother, Allison; they had me at 18. My mother passed suddenly at the age of 22 in her sleep, and I was thereafter adopted by my mother’s parents (my grandparents), who raised me in a loving home in Goshen, Kentucky.
Growing up, I lived in the same Goshen house that my grandfather and adopted father, Samuel Whittinghill, built for our intergenerational family until I was 27. I wrote my first two albums in that house, under the artist name Morgan Brooks (my legal first and middle name). My grandfather who raised me was my biggest advocate for my music career and took me around to the country jamborees around Kentucky, Nashville and Indiana. I wrote songs on the guitar, piano or any instrument I could get my hands on and had two albums by the time I was 17. My grandfather was my biggest supporter and always pushed me to follow my dreams. He came from rural Kentucky (a small town called Kyrock) and later moved to Louisville and got into the drywall business. He was a hard worker who built his own business and provided for his family. His story is one of those American Dreams you hear about; he grew up very poor, learned a craft, built a business, and was able to comfortably provide for his family.
During the last few years of its legacy, the home my grandfather built became a creative communal space called ALLSHOUSE, a place where myself and a few other creatives lived, worked, created, and everything in between. I wouldn’t be the same creative spirit I am today without that community and that special, sacred land. I remember how vividly growing up with those open spaces gave me a sense of freedom to feel and be imaginative. I spent most of my childhood playing in the woods, pretending I was a horse on my bike and watching my grandfather tend to the land.
When my grandfather passed away a few years ago, I officially left Kentucky for the first time in my life. I condensed a house full of belongings into 3 suitcases and hit the road in my trusty Hyundai on a 9 month nomadic journey across the USA and Mexico. Grief has a funny way of making you brave, and I was on a journey to find myself without the reflection of everything I knew.
I spent my time driving all over the West Coast, down to Mexico, and back across the US until I landed in NYC - the place where I currently reside. During this time on the road, I released an EP called LOOK ÅT ME with Kahlil Belliard, which depicted my experiences of finding myself on my journey. It was released with a series of “voicemails” that invited listeners to see my intimate moments while on the road.
That journey of leaving home was a few years ago, and now that I’m back in Los Angeles for a few weeks kicking off the K-BELLE project, I am reminded of how tied to Kentucky I am. My first label deal was with sonaBLAST! Records of Louisville (I SEE YOU EP created with T Pharo); I recently built and performed from a float in the Kentucky Derby Pegasus Parade (with Infinity Productions); I performed at the Korean Cultural Festival in Louisville (hosted by Hwang Martial Arts); the list goes on and on. It seems like with each milestone I hit, Kentucky keeps popping back up to show me her magic.
I wasn’t informed about the legacy of Kentucky and its contemporary legends until I worked for Kentucky to the World (KTW) and saw so many amazing Kentuckians with fantastic stories. I attribute my glowing perspective of Kentucky to Shelly Zegert (founder) and the KTW team, who showed me how to leave a legacy that our state can be proud of. After my departure from the team last year, I realized that I am no longer working for Kentucky to the World, I am Kentucky to the World.
As a Kentucky Korean, I get the same reactions everywhere. “YOu’RE FrOm KeNtUcKy?!” “WhErE’s YoUr AccEnt?!” I give these people grace and try to guide the conversation to a loving state of, “Well, I hope you go to visit, we’ve got so much to offer and usually those who have traveled there can see that.” I make sure they know they’re always welcome around me, a Kentuckian. That’s just how I was raised.
Poster for ÅNGEL 004’s May 2026 Korean Tour.
I recently connected with Seunghawn and Bo of Audio Radio Studio, filmmakers in Korea who had an interest in my story as a Kentucky Korean reconnecting with their Korean heritage. Thus, in May I’ve been in Korea for a month-long trip, tour and documentary filming about my experience as a Korean-American visiting Korea for the first time. During this trip, I’ll play 10 shows, visit the city where my biological father was adopted from, create with local Korean artists and submerge myself in a culture I’ve never known. I’m really excited about this life changing trip and even more excited that it will be documented and have a life outside of my own memories and experiences.
Overall traveling the world made me appreciate Kentucky in a strong way. I find myself yearning to return home to see my family, friends and community; I usually get the “Kentucky-itch” to come back every 2-3 months. My desire is to live there again someday, once I’ve finished exploring the rest of the world.
