May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, a time when we celebrate the diverse cultures, experiences and histories of this community.

News4’s Eun Yang and Aimee Cho hosted an NBC4 special celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander achievement and resilience in the D.C. area.

Hypefoodies

Eun introduced Hypefoodies, a duo highlighting lesser-known restaurants' unique cuisines since 2017. But Diana Nguyen and CK Keat don't want to be called "influencers" -- they're both shy, and children of refugees, working hard to make a difference in their Northern Virginia community.

"My mom escaped the Cambodian genocide," Keat said. "She came here in the 70s. She had a rough time, she had to escape gunfire and hide in the jungle. She escaped to Thailand, a refugee camp, and then came here. She kind of worked two jobs to survive."

He said he grew up in Section 8 housing, using food stamps.

"My dad is Vietnamese, my mom is Cambodian," said Nguyen. "They both actually escaped to Thailand and the Philippines and then came to America. My dad started off working at 7-11, my mom worked at a flag-making company, she was just a seamstress there."

That made the leap to full-time Hypefoodies difficult for both of them. But it was ultimately something they knew they had to try.

They pick their diverse locations and cuisines by finding small mom-and-pop restaurants that serve the food the duo is "craving."

"There's a big spectrum of cravings, I would say we just try to hit as many spots that we can in our area," said Nguyen.

It's earned them more than 80,000 followers on Instagram and 80,000 on TikTok.

"Keep an open mind," said Keat. "You don't need to just go to the top 50 restaurants. There's other places that have amazing food, you just don't know about it because they might be off the beaten path."

UMD K-Pop Cover Group

K-Pop music has exploded around the world in recent years, with Spotify saying the genre has streamed about 8 billion times every month. Some University of Maryland students are putting their own unique spin on the songs.

From the fancy footwork to the perfectly synchronized steps, many of the members of G-Girls and Wasabi Boys (GGWB) have been lifelong fans of the art form.

"Back when I was really young, there wasn't a lot of Asian representation in music, especially in America," said Audrey Pham, one of the group's dancers.

"As dancers, I think we really resonated with seeing people like us on stage, like seeing Asians really make a name for themselves in the music industry," said Mari Ortega, another dancer in the group.

Now, they have their own chance to shine on stage, performing on UMD's campus and all around the D.C. area.

"I treat dance and performance as in having a different personality," Ortega said. "We're putting on a character or a show. It's the happiness that comes with just making something for others that really keeps me in this field."

Watch For More

We also got a front-row seat to a new Arena Stage show putting the spotlight on inclusion, and heard from the owner of D.C.’s newest major league sports team.

Watch the AAPI Month Special in the video player above, Roku Live TV, Samsung TV Plus, Xumo Play, Peacock and more (here’s how).