Posted: December 8th, 2010
Filed Under: April 2010 , BLOG , Back Issues , FEATURED ARTICLE
As a little end-of-year celebration, we’re posting up an essay by editor in chief Kai Ma, which originally ran in our 20th Anniversary Issue (April 2010).
Here’s to 20 years (and hopefully more)!
In 1990, the year KoreAm debuted, anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, while holding his wife’s hand, was released from a South African prison after 27 years behind bars. Later that year, the two Germanys would reunify. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into space as U.S. legislators scrambled to prepare the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by President George H. W. Bush that summer. Then in October—remember?—his nationally televised speech threatening to force the removal of Iraqi soldiers from Kuwait.
Surely, these zeitgeist-changing events didn’t fill our first pages (we’re a Korean American rag, after all), but also, because KoreAm grew from a desire to cover stories that weren’t found in the mainstream press. But more than just a journalistic vehicle, this new monthly was designed and devised to shine a light on our community—one that, in 1990, felt amorphous and for some, absent.
Around this time, Asian American ethnic press was experiencing a renaissance of sorts—A Magazine, Giant Robot and Yolk became prominent forums in the 1990s; AsianWeek was already more than 10 years old. It was a hopeful time, during which publications such as ours were by no means financially thriving, but nonetheless, alive. It was also a traumatic time, particularly for Korean Americans in Los Angeles, when in 1992, Korean-run businesses were targeted for violence and destruction during what’s known as this nation’s first multiethnic riot. We quickly recognized that KoreAm could do more than print press releases and calendar events. It could be a powerful voice for our English-speaking generations.
So when, in 2007, our nation confronted another difficult chapter, the Virginia Tech massacre, we had a place and space to cover the events surrounding this tragedy on our own terms. This past decade, our covers also highlighted what was beginning to feel like an apex for all things Korean. The Pinkberry phenomenon against the backdrop of the North Korean nuclear crisis, the globalization of South Korean pop culture, and then of course, the people: Michelle Wie, Far East Movement, John Cho, David Chang, Michelle Rhee. And when a Korean-speaking couple crashed onto an island on ABC primetime, it was as if, as a friend once put it, “Koreans were everywhere.” Remaining on the pulse of the Korean diaspora isn’t as back-breaking as it must’ve been pre-internet, but the new challenge is knowing how to cover a Korean American community that has a million different parts.
Though bound by a sense of cultural and ethnic identity, readers don’t always agree with all of our stories, or turn to the same pages—not that they should be expected to. And that’s what KoreAm has always been about: the different ways in which we define ourselves, the balance of gains and losses, and the ways in which we protect our culture, just as much as we let it go.
It’s no secret that ethnic media (us included) is facing an uncertain future, despite the voracious, information-obsessed culture we now live in. But 20 years after its inception, KoreAm sits in your hands, a reality that even our founding publisher James Ryu never imagined. (Back in 1990, he was just banking on lasting one full year.) For this reason, we are celebrating what we believe is a milestone. Not just for KoreAm, but for a community that has transformed over the two decades of this magazine’s life. It all started as a nascent effort to help Korean Americans establish their identity. And today, as our pages can attest, that identity speaks for itself.
Click through to see a timeline of KoreAm’s last 19 anniversary issues: Continue Reading »
164 programs. 21 countries. Six venues. Don’t even try to hold back.
By Oliver Saria
The 26th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, produced by Visual Communications, runs April 29 to May 8.
In the Matter of Cha Jung Hee (United States, 2010)
60 min., documentary
Acclaimed documentarian Deann Borshay Liem returns to her native Korea to find her “double,” the mysterious girl whose identity she assumed when she was adopted by an American family in 1966. The provocative documentary explores the ethics of international adoption, the complexities of identity and the personal cost of living a lie.
Why it matters: Haitian “orphans” anyone?
May 3 at 7 p.m., Downtown Independent
Macho Like Me (United States, 2009)
80 min., documentary
Do men have it easier? Helie Lee, best-selling female author of Still Life With Rice, puts that notion to the test, living as a man for six-and-a-half months. The documentary chronicles her journey; she ultimately resurfaces as a woman with a changed view on men, privilege and relationships.
Why it matters: David Henry Hwang might have written about drag, but Lee’s got the cojones to do it.
May 5 at 9:15 p.m., Downtown Independent Continue Reading »
Acclaimed novelist Chang-rae Lee talks about his latest book, The Surrendered, and what makes it his most intimate yet
By Sung-Min Yi
Chang-rae Lee’s latest novel may surprise readers familiar with his work. Gone are the thoughtful but emotionally distant men who narrate the books in the first person. Gone are the subtly shaded musings on suburbia and the immigrant experience. For his fourth novel, The Surrendered, Lee has penned an epic that follows three survivors of the wars in East Asia over the course of 50 years.
It is perhaps ironic that Lee’s biggest book—469 pages—may be his most personal. June Han, one of the novel’s main characters, is dying of stomach cancer, the disease which took Lee’s mother’s life while he was in his 20s. And the book opens with a horrific accident inspired by Lee’s father’s experience (his younger brother’s leg was severed by the wheels of a train) as he fled Pyongyang during the Korean War. Continue Reading »
What are the chances of having four daughters and all of them becoming artists? Well, meet the Oh sisters.
By Jimmy Lee
Saelee Oh has all the trappings of a super-cool older sibling: solo art shows in Los Angeles and New York, with pieces selling for thousands of dollars; studios in both Northern and Southern California; hip and creative friends; and an arm tatted up with animal images.
But to her younger sisters Saewon, Saejean and Sarah, Saelee can be, well, parental, like when she catches Sarah drawing in front of the television. Says Saelee, “I’m like, ‘Sarah, are you working or are you watching TV? It’s kind of hard to do both at the same time.’ ”
What might seem like nagging (“She can be really bossy,” says Saejean with a smile), however, is Saelee, 28, sharing some hard-won knowledge from her art world experiences with her little sisters, who have artistic aspirations, too. Continue Reading »
Mini superheroes, a new take on math and a Korean American creator seriously obsessed with origami paper—they all add up to a successful new preschool program, Team Umizoomi
By Anna M. Park
Say the word “math,” and a common reaction is a glazing over of the eyes. For many in this country, it’s just not a fun topic—and it shows. In 2006, America ranked 23rd of the top 30 industrialized countries in the world in math achievement. (South Korea ranked second.)
Well, leave it to a pair of miniature superheroes to save the day: Nickelodeon’s newest preschool offering, Team Umizoomi, introduces math to children in a fun, educational package. And since its premiere in January, Umizoomi has soared to number one in all of preschool television programming. The only other Nickelodeon preschool shows to launch as number one in their first month were Dora the Explorer and Go, Diego, Go! It’s been so successful there are already plans to roll out the show internationally, including in South Korea.
And what’s not to like? A mini brother and sister team (they’re three inches tall!) and their pal robot Bot, scoot around Umi City and save the day using their math powers. Geo’s got a cool tool belt of shapes that can make anything. (Who knew two triangles and a circle could make a helicopter?) Bot’s got a belly screen that can show you anything. And little Milli? Using her “Pattern Power,” the only girl of the trio can change the pattern on her dress.
Wait. What do dress patterns have to do with 2+2=4? Continue Reading »
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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