Candidate Bio: Sukhee Kang
Patch.com (Aliso Viejo, Calif.)

Sukhee Kang, Irvine’s mayor, is taking on John Campbell and John Webb to become the U.S. congressman representing California’s 45th district.

NAME: Sukhee Kang

AGE: 59

RACE: 45th U.S. Congressional District

TITLE: Mayor of Irvine

FAMILY: Wife, Joanne; son Alan; daughter, Angie

EDUCATION: BA, Korea University; Honorary Doctoral degree in Business Administration from Dongseo Univ. in Korea

Man accused of extorting Annandale businesses
Washington Examiner

A man has been charged with extorting Northern Virginia business owners over the past three years, forcing them to pay money and threatening to call authorities about illegal-immigrant employees, according to court records.

Je Hyung Yoo, 29, was charged in federal court in Alexandria with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by threats or violence. From summer 2009 to March 2012, he and others extorted money from Annandale-area businesses, according to a criminal complaint.

Extortion victims told investigators that they had been physically beaten and intimidated into paying Yoo and others thousands of dollars during that time.

American General in South Korea to Be Replaced After Spy Report
New York Times

The Pentagon announced the replacement of the commander of United States Special Forces in South Korea after a media report quoted him as saying that American and South Korean troops have been parachuting into North Korea on spy missions, a statement denied by Washington and the government in Seoul.

Brig. Gen. Neil H. Tolley’s departure as commanding general of the Special Operations Command Korea, a job he held since October 2010, had been planned for some time as part of “routine” rotations of jobs and had “nothing to do with” the media report, said a spokesman of the American military in Seoul, speaking Tuesday on customary condition of anonymity.

The actual change of command is still months away.

North Korea’s Threat Gets Coordinates Wrong
Wall Street Journal

The vitriol North Korea’s state media has directed at South Korea since Kim Jong Il’s death a few months ago defies adjectives. It’s just beyond hysterical.

And yet, the authoritarian regime in Pyongyang can reliably count on many news organizations in South Korea and elsewhere to amplify its preening, chest-beating, foot-stomping threats.

Korean family still working toward citizenship
CBC News (Canada)

Sung-Joo was diagnosed with autism and epilepsy at age five. His father, Tae-Shik Maeng, and his mother, Hee-Eun Jang, moved the family to Canada with the hope of getting help to treat their son’s illnesses.

The family’s oldest son John said even though a year has passed, community support is still behind the family.

49 Minutes With Danny Bowien
New York Magazine

At the back of the restaurant, Bowien pours sparkling water into plastic cups and tells me about Oklahoma, where his adoptive parents live (Bowien is Korean). “I never even had Korean food until I was 19 and moved to San Francisco,” he says. Within hours of deplaning, Bowien was eating at the first Korean restaurant he could find. In a few days he packed on a half-dozen pounds and shortly afterward signed up for culinary school. “I got really focused,” he says, “I read all my books and everything.And then I discovered what partying was.”

Korean American Film Festival New York 2012 Preview
Twitch Film

The 6th Annual Korean American Film Festival (KAFFNY) screens June 5-10 at Anthology Film Archives. This year’s edition is probably the festival’s most eclectic one yet, encompassing many modes and styles of filmmaking, film production, and even exhibition, ranging from documentaries (on the 1992 L.A. riots, pro-wrestling evangelism, and street artists), multi-national fiction features that cross borders of geography and language, and music and social-activist films. Below are reviews of some of this year’s selections.

Look East Korean film fest: ‘Poetry,’ ‘The Host’ in 3-D top lineup
Los Angeles Times

Ten films from South Korea, including 2010′s acclaimed “Poetry” and 2009′s Park Chan-wook vampire drama “Thirst,” will screen as part of the inaugural Look East: Korean Film Festival, which will take place at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre June 23-24, organizers announced Monday.

South Korean Son hopes to rise and shine in London
Reuters via Deccan Herald

The London Olympics represent the culmination of 12 years of dedication for Son Yeonjae, a South Korean rhythmic gymnast looking to win the country’s first medal in the discipline.

Christie defends Supreme Court nominee Philip Kwon
State House Bureau (N.J.)

Governor Christie has been adamant that Philip Kwon was an independent — not a Republican or Democratic nominee to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

But during a news conference Thursday Christie seemed to acknowledge that Kwon, of Closter, was a Republican — something Democrats have argued all along.

Kwon was a registered Republican before moving to New Jersey several years ago and that coupled with his mother’s legal troubles was among the reasons the Democrats rejected him in March. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday rejected Christie’s other nominee, Chatham Mayor Bruce Harris, a registered Republican, saying the private attorney lacked courtroom and judicial experience.

N. Korea says it targets S. Korean media for possible attack
Yonhap News

North Korea said Monday its military has entered map coordinates of some conservative South Korean media offices as it threatened to strike their headquarters for their alleged insult to North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un.

The General Staff of the Korean People’s Army said the country’s troops have been targeting the Seoul headquarters of the Chosun Ilbo at coordinates of 37 degrees 56 minutes 83 seconds North latitude and 126 degrees 97 minutes 65 seconds East longitude. It also revealed the coordinates of the JoongAng Ilbo and Dong-a Ilbo newspapers, as well as the KBS, MBC and SBS television stations and CBS radio.

It is the first time the North has released coordinates of intended targets in South Korea.

SuChin Pak Gives Birth to Baby Boy
Us Weekly

While chatting with The Hunger Games star Josh Hutcherson and Elizabeth Banks during the 2012 MTV Movie Awards on Sunday, MTV News correspondent Sway announced the exciting news.

“Also, we want to say congratulations to SuChin Pak who just had a baby boy,” he said. “Congratulations!”

This is the first child for Pak, 35, who joined MTV News as a correspondent in May 2001. She is now the new on-air correspondent for Daily Candy.

Montgomery School’s chief stepping down to serve schools in need
Times of Trenton (N.J.)

The question has contributed to Earl Kim’s decision to leave his six-year post this summer as superintendent of schools in the affluent community. Trying to represent the interests of the district while remaining true to his conscience had become a struggle, especially with added pressure exerted against him by others.

Lit Motors’ C-1: A 2-wheel car? Or untippable motorcycle?
Los Angeles Times

Is it a motorcycle? A car? Neither. It’s an entirely new form of personal transportation, presuming it gets off the ground.

The all-electric vehicle is fully enclosed and uses a steering wheel and floor pedals like a car. But it weighs just 800 pounds and balances on two wheels even when stopped, making it more efficient than hauling around a 2-ton four-wheeler and safer than an accident-prone bike.

“Most people don’t drive motorcycles because they’re dangerous,” said Lit Motors founder and C-1 creator Daniel Kim, 32.

Margaret Cho Reveals How Much Money ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Rejects Make On ‘The View’
Huffington Post

She may not have taken home the “Dancing With The Stars” trophy, but Margaret Cho isn’t complaining.

While on ABC’s “The View” (weekdays on ABC) on Friday, Cho admitted that the dance competition show left her with $200,000.

Margaret Cho lets her pansexual flag fly — with details
Los Angeles Times

Margaret Cho is doing the rounds, and when this comic actress does the rounds, the result is likely to be just a little more Cho than you wanted to know.

And while the “Dancing With the Stars” alum and”Drop Dead Diva”actress kept it relatively tame on “The View” last Friday, hitting “safe” topics such as race and money, she let her pansexual flag fly Monday with Wendy Williams.

“I’m really attracted to all different types of people,” Cho explained to Williams. “So I don’t like to say that I’m gay or I’m straight — I’m just slutty.”

The Case of the Argentine Waiter and the Korean Supper Club
New York Times

It turns out that Mun Kim, 44, had thrown over a career as a banker in Los Angeles and New York to do what he really loves: cook. He mentioned the Korean short ribs his mother would make when he was growing up in an immigrant family in Honolulu, and also how he’d studied at the Sushi Chef Institute before working for the chef Makoto Okuwa, a regular on “Iron Chef,” at Sashi in Manhattan Beach, Calif. Having fallen hard for Buenos Aires during vacations there, Kim, according to the site, decided to make it his home and introduce his own version of Asian-California cuisine to a city “dominated by a mix of parrilla (red meat) and pastas.”

Salt Lake Bees: Hank Conger delivers walk-off win for Bees
Deseret News

Hank Conger continued his hitting streak Friday night, finishing the night 1-for-5 with a walk-off single that scored Doug Deeds for the 6-5 victory. Conger has now hit safely in all 15 games he has played in this season.

when yomyomf launches a youtube channel, all hell breaks loose
angry asian man

This is madness! Here’s the freshly launched, crazy epic, mayhem-filled promo video for the YOMYOMF YouTube Network from director Justin Lin, giving you an insane little taste of what to expect from this new video venture: IT HAS BEGUN: BANANAPOCALYPSE.

Just a few months after retiring to the pantheon of all-time Pittsburgh Steelers greats, Hines Ward is taking his affable personality into the studio.

NBC Sports announced that the man twice named “NFL’s Dirtiest Player”– which the the former Georgia Bulldog considers a compliment — will be joining the “Football Night in America” team as an analyst on Sunday nights.

Continue Reading »

US special forces head admits North Korea comments ‘could have been clearer’
The Telegraph (U.K.)

The head of the United States’ special forces in South Korea has admitted that comments he made suggesting his units had infiltrated North Korea “should have been clearer.”

S. Korean police arrest two suspected spies for N. Korea
Yonhap News

South Korean police said Thursday they have arrested two men suspected of spying for a North Korean intelligence agency.

The two men, aged 56 and 74 and both involved in business with North Korea, were arrested in early May on charges of collecting military intelligence after being instructed by a man believed to be a North Korean agent in Dandong, a Chinese city along the North Korean border, in July last year, police said in a statement.

The 74-year-old received equipment capable of disturbing global positioning system (GPS) signals and other intelligence on high-tech military equipment from the 56-year-old.

Nashville speller is out of Scripps bee
The Tennessean

For Grace Park of Nashville, the push to be named top speller in the country ended Wednesday.

The 14-year-old eighth-grader won’t advance to today’s semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee despite acing both words in Wednesday’s preliminary rounds. Grace sailed through “rogatory” — which means pertaining to asking or requesting — in the first preliminary round, which took place outside the nation’s capital in National Harbor, Md. In the second round, she correctly spelled “apartheid.”

Why Growing Up Asian American Is Better Today
8Asians

There is no better time to be a young API American than today… Trust me! Don’t believe me? Let’s go back in time… way way way way way back when I was your age. When Dinosaurs ruled the earth. Okay, I’m not THAT old but I’m old. Really old compared to you guys. I was born in 1977, which for those of you who aren’t good at math, means I’m 35 years old. I grew up in the 1980s and came of age in the 1990s. Ronald Reagan and George Bush (the first one) were the presidents and Michael Jackson was still the King of Pop. Back then the only Asian faces on television or in the movies was the socially awkward nerd, the martial arts master, the foreign villain, or the geisha.

Irving hosts a celebration of African and Korean American cultures
Dallas Morning News

The Greater Irving Chamber and Greater Dallas Korean American Chamber signed an agreement in March to cooperate in several areas. One of these areas is culture. On Sunday, Irving hosted “Resonance & Harmony,” a showcase of Korean and African American culture, at the Irving Convention Center.

Mother suing alleged DUI driver in fatal Christmas Eve crash
Chicago Sun-Times

The mother of a man struck and killed Christmas Eve in the Bucktown neighborhood filed a $1 million lawsuit Wednesday against the motorist who allegedly drove intoxicated and hit him.

Maria Lituma filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court against Wauconda resident Christine J. Ahn.

North Korea’s culinary empire: A little slice of Pyongyang away from home
The Economist

BUSINESS is thriving, explains the manager of a restaurant in a posh corner of Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital. But enough of small talk—she turns instead to extol the virtues of an immense landscape painting by the entrance. Mount Paek-tae (or Changbaishan for the Chinese: “eternally white mountain”) is shown in great, snowy glory, with a wide lake and forbidding cliffs. North Korea’s Great Leader, Kim Il Sung, she explains, fought the Japanese in these mountains for “15 years”. Nobody eating at “Pyongyang”, perhaps Asia’s strangest restaurant chain, could be in any doubt as to the national origin of this place. Young waitresses in pale blue, ankle-length dresses, with doll-like perfect skin, each sport a blue-and-red North Korean badge. Rather firmly, they clap and sing along to karaoke sessions as images of North Korea’s grandeur—tower blocks of the capital city; great arches and palaces; plunging waterfalls and more mountains—are relayed on a large screen. A yellow sign, in English, forbids photography.

Zhang Ziyi Sues Paper Over Sex Scandal
Chosun Ilbo

The actress Zhang Ziyi, who is accused of taking huge sums to have sex with disgraced top Chinese official Bo Xilai, is suing a Hong Kong news outlet that reported the rumor. Zhang’s management agency on Weibo, the Chinses version of Twitter, said it has sent an official notice through Hong Kong law firm Haldanes to the Apple Daily.

South Korean Democracy Campaigner Is Detained in China
New York Times

In a case that has tested relations between Beijing and Seoul, a prominent South Korean campaigner for democracy in North Korea has been under detention in China for more than two months and South Korean officials said Thursday that he was being denied access to consular services and a lawyer.

North Korea’s got talent: Animals made to skate in secretive state
The Sun (U.K.)

THIS is the sickest show on earth — a North Korean circus where rollerskating animals in gaudy costumes are forced to perform up to three times a day.

by Y. PETER KANG

A popular NYC outdoor marketplace spreads its wings to Los Angeles when the Hester Street Fair hits Hollywood this Saturday, June 2. Founded by former MTV News correspondent SuChin Pak, along with her brother Suhyun and friends Ron Castellano and Adam Zeller, the all-day event will be the first of four Hester events taking place this summer.

This Saturday’s theme is dubbed the “Bite Size Food & Craft Festival” and will feature indie designer labels from New York and L.A., as well as local food vendors offering snack-size foodstuffs. Oh yeah, a craft beer garden will also be available. Admission is free. SuChin took the time out from her current gig as chief correspondent for Daily Candy to chat with iamKoreAm.com.

How long has the LA version of Hester Street Fair been in the making?

Well, we’ve been looking at spaces in L.A. for almost two years and haven’t found the right place. Then we were introduced to the folks at DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners who are the kind of real estate developers that actually care about the community and neighborhood they build in.

They had this great space on Hollywood and Vine, which is the area of their next development site, and asked us if we wanted to use their lots to create a kind of community market that would celebrate all the creativity in the area. It was kind of a Willy Wonka golden ticket and with their sponsorship, we were able to get this up and running in a matter of weeks. Hollywood and Vine is the perfect, central location. I think a lot of people from the do-it-yourself, indie community from the East Side in Echo Park, Los Feliz, Eagle Rock, etc., will attend and I hope that we also reach a very mainstream crowd with the heavy tourist traffic of the neighborhood.  It’s a great way to reach a diverse audience for our indie vendors who are all growing and building their businesses.

What sort of obstacles have you encountered getting this thing going? Continue Reading »

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