Photo credit: Reuters
A Death Close to Home
The passing of Kim Jong-Il prompts a personal response from Korean Americans of northern heritage.
by Kai Ma
North Korea’s enigmatic second leader dies, and the first person I think of is my mother. I wasn’t the only one. As soon as the news broke onSunday that Kim Jong-il had passed, my phone started to buzz and bleep with text messages from my brother and friends, inquiring about my mother’s reaction.
Not that my 63-year-old Korean mother had any real tie to NoKo’s generalissimo. Other than her snarky suggestion that I should “go live with the ‘Dear Leader’” when I would misbehave as a teen, she rarely uttered his name. And for good reason. She emigrated from South Korea in 1975 and has lived in both Baltimore and Los Angeles since. But as someone who was born in Kaesong, a city in what is now North Korea, and who rode on theroof of a slow, southbound freight train with her fleeing parents during the Korean War, she is aware that different decisions—when to go, where to go, whom to take—could have sealed a drastically different fate for our family.
I’ve asked for this story dozens of times. My mother was 2 when my grandparents fled the north in 1950, so the story is often told as a hodgepodge of hazy vignettes narrated by my grandmother and then translated into English for me by my mother. The morning they left Kaesong, my grandmother swiftly packed bundles and awaited instructions from my grandfather, who was at the police station where he worked, on where to catch the train. My grandparents, with their two children— my mother and my then-7-yearold uncle—left Kaesong that day, not realizing that they would never see the relatives that stayed—including my grandmother’s mother—again. Continue Reading »
The Last Supper
By the time you read this letter, I will no longer be working at KoreAm. That’s right, this is my last issue as the magazine’s editor. It was a tough decision, as working for KoreAm was never just a job. These pages felt personal. It will likely remain one of the toughest jobs I ever loved.
Which is why I find it fitting that my last issue features Los Angeles Angels catcher Hank Conger, a Major League rookie that has been dubbed by Sports Illustrated as a “catcher on the rise.” And it’s not because I follow the Angels. Nor am I able to properly explain how to calculate a pitcher’s ERA. But nonetheless, I am a baseball fan. I come from a baseball family.
Along with my brother, I was born in Baltimore, and I never doubted my American identity. I didn’t speak Korean, and the only major link I felt to Korea was my mother, a North Korean native who by now, screams “USA!” during the Olympics and prefers a chicken sandwich over sundubu. Yet my upbringing was no Norman Rockwell painting. That is, until baseball came along.
Growing up, I adored the Oakland A’s; (pre-juiced) Mark McGwire, Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson—those were my boys. My brother, however, rooted for the San Francisco Giants—and still does, decades later. These were simply the teams we chose to favor, despite living in Los Angeles. And sure, we followed the then-outstanding Dodgers. (Remember that stunning upset in 1988?) As babies living in Baltimore, we wore Orioles onesies and orange-and-black team hoodies, clothing that to this day, my mother regrets tossing out. My mother was devoted to then-Oriole-cum-Dodger Eddie Murray, a first baseman who like her, migrated from Baltimore to Los Angeles during the 1980s. My father, who is no longer in our lives, used to play catch with my brother. Back then, baseball brought us together. In a way, baseball allowed us to become “American.”
Though this month’s cover story profiles Hank Conger, a rookie taking hold of a Major League roster spot for the Los Angeles Angels, to me, this is also a story about family. From the Conger patriarch’s unique immigration story, to how the family rallied together in support of Hank’s dream, this, too, is a story about becoming American: family vacations to Cooperstown, New York, the site of the baseball Hall of Fame, a father coaching youth baseball teams, a mother and brother fetching baseballs on a field. Sacrifices were made, said Hank’s father. “But we enjoyed it.”
That exact sentiment is how I feel about my three years working here. Filling these pages was an honor (and sometimes, a headache), but there is no doubt that I, along with the staff and contributors who have left their mark on KoreAm, enjoyed it.
Thank you for your support and dedication over these last few years. And thank you for trusting me to provide some of the stories that shape what is not just the Korean American experience, but simply, an American one. Signing off, here’s to a new season—and not just for baseball. You will be missed.
—Kai Ma, Editor-in-Chief
We asked hip-hop emcee Adam WarRock to share his five favorite albums of the moment. Known as the internet’s foremost comic book nerdcore rapper, WarRock also nabbed the grand prize at Kollaboration’s Atlanta competition last month. His debut album, The War For Infinity, is available at www.adamwarrock.com, along with a follow-up EP, This Man… This Emcee!, which drops this month in digital format.
by Kai Ma
photograph by Victoria Ruan
• • •
Here We Rest by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit (Lightning Rod Records, 2011)
Having grown up and lived in the South for most of my life, I no longer fight the fact that I love country music. When a guy like Jason Isbell comes along with a whiskey bottle and shotgun in his arms, it makes it easy to love. “Alabama Pines” is perfect driving music.
• • •
TSOL by Shad (Fontana North, 2010)
On his way to grad school, Shad somehow became the best rapper you’ve never heard of. “Yaa I Get It” is one of the best lyrical songs I’ve ever heard. Positive, spiritual hiphop that deserves attention.
• • •
The Illustrated Guide To 9 To 5 by Brother Reade (Record Collection, 2005)
A Los Angeles duo that somehow slipped through the cracks of public consciousness, this short EP creates a sound that hovers somewhere between ambient electronica and the best of indie hiphop. The title track’s haunting beat swells with one of the best hooks I can remember.
• • •
Audition by P.O.S. (Rhymesayers, 2006)
The first time I heard Audition, I vowed to make music in a different way. It’s personal, dirty, angry and lovingly emotional in the best possible ways.
• • •
Act II: The Father of Death by The Protomen (Sound-Machine, 2009)
When people talk about the fallacy of good “nerd” music, I simply play them “Breaking Out” by The Protomen. Their albums create a fictional backstory to the video game Mega Man, and are still as heartbreaking and powerful even if you’ve never touched a controller in your life.
Most people love music. I’m near-deaf because of it. Garage rock, classic rock, ‘90s hip-hop, alternative, Brit-pop—I listened it all, went to the shows (often, alone), collected the albums and fell asleep to it blasting from my headphones. In college, I went punk—(the commercialized type, not the scary, authentic, anti-establishment type)—but nonetheless, I shaved my head, pierced my lip and found comfort in the armpit of American rock: the mosh pit.
After my hair grew out, I spent a summer in Korea and stumbled onto the neighborhood of Hongdae, an arty pocket of Seoul that I found refreshing given how I felt about the capital: homogeneous, mainstream and much too normal—with virtually every woman wearing the same pair of crystal-encrusted sandals.
Hongdae, in 2004, was already a hub for the young, indie and alternative set; students were prevalent due to the nearby Hongik University, and because this was an art school, they dressed differently and carried portfolios rather than schoolbooks. The cafés and clubs were plentiful, but what I enjoyed most was walking through Hongdae streets, catching glimpses of pink hair or a studded collar, and falling in love with Korea even more because of it.
Seven years later, I’m excited to see this burgeoning indie music subculture break out from the confines of Hongdae. It’s going international. In this month’s Music Issue, Oliver Saria introduces readers to the atmospheric shoegaze of Vidulgi OoyoO, the electro-punk noise of Idiotape, the psychedelic rock of Galaxy Express, and the post hardcore sonic assault of Apollo 18. These bands, some of whom will tour the States, and plug in at South by Southwest in Austin and April’s Coachella Festival in Indio, Calif., are using social media—as well as vocal cords and instruments—to prove to the world that there is “more to Korean music than bubblegum ballads,” as Saria writes.
Not that we’re hating on K-pop either. After all, our cover story features pop/R&B singer Brian Joo, who has never before spoken so candidly (in English, at least) about living as a Korean American musician in Seoul. In Jaeki Cho’s story, the New Jersey-reared singer –who helped popularize R&B in Korea—talks about teen “idol” contracts, American stereotypes and why South Koreans once sent him death threats en masse.
Yes, death threats. Which, I have to say, sounds pretty punk rock to me.
Happy New Year! The Year of the Rabbit starts now.
Couples now breeding like bunnies are doing so for good reason: People born after today, which marks the first day of the Year of the Rabbit, are considered the luckiest of all.
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2011 is deemed the “Year of the Rabbit.” The Chinese zodiac calendar follows a 12-year cycle, meaning if you were born in 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987 or 1999, you’re a rabbit, too. So what does that say about you?
Similar to the gregarious long-eared mammal, humans born during the doe-eyed year are popular and social. They are also celebrated for their creative genius, sophistication, talent, honesty, ambitious nature and friendliness. On the flipside, rabbits are criticized for being aloof and oversensitive.
For those unfamiliar with the Chinese zodiac, characteristics within the cycle are touched by the influences of fire, earth, metal, water and wood; those born this year are “metal rabbits.” Sure, that sounds more like a tin-can pet for Robocop, but what it really translates to is prosperity. Since metal is the element most closely associated with wealth, if 2011 rabbits remain industrious and diligent, they can eventually expect to cash in.
Now, back to the rabbits that have already been born: You have a lot to look forward to this year (11 favorable months; one unfavorable), according to Yahoo. The site’s advice: “Bring forth a bit of bravery. Bring out your inner animal.” Roar! I mean, nibble.
Last, some advice: Rabbits should make friends with Goats and Pigs. But avoid Roosters. After all, they’re just a bunch of cocks.
FOR ONLY $28!
Featured Event
It’s the new year, and Yim Jae Beum is coming to town! After a sold-out show in Los Angeles last October, he is coming back to hold two U.S. concerts for the 2012 Lunar New Year. Everyone already knows this man can sing! He’s got an impressive resume, debuting as a rock singer back in 1986, releasing Korean classics, such as “For You,” and most recently, joining and winning first place twice on the MBC show, “I am a Singer.”
Seattle and New Jersey, get ready! We are happy to announce that we will be giving away TWO (2) pairs of tickets! read more
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