Posted: January 23rd, 2012
Filed Under: BLOG , Back Issues , FEATURED ARTICLE , January 2012
Photo by Reuters/Kyodo
The Young, Unproven ‘Great Successor’
Thoughts on the third-generation (third-choice) ruler, Kim Jong Un
by Julie Ha
As of late December, the North Korean leadership appeared to be putting its best foot forward to show a nation in mourning over the passing of its “Dear Leader” of 17 years, but still moving confidently to ensure a rapid transfer of power. Within days of the announcement of Kim Jong-il’s death, the North’s official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, published a front-page editorial calling on the people to unite in support of Kim Jong-un, in keeping with his late father’s last wishes.
The newspaper referred to Kim Jong-un as the “successor to the revolutionary cause” and the “leader of the people.” He had been quickly elevated to the leadership post of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, and the military’s top brass swore their allegiance to him.
What exactly do we know about Kim Jong-un? Almost nothing, said Korea expert David C. Kang, director of USC’s Korean Studies Institute. “We know he’s younger than 30 years of age, but we don’t know his exact age. We know he went to school briefly in Switzerland while a child, but have almost no information beyond that. He is reputed to like sports, although this tells us very little about his personality or leadership abilities.”
We also know that he was third pick, as his older brothers, Kim Jongnam and Kim Jong-chul, were passed up for, respectively, an embarrassing attempt to visit Tokyo Disneyland under a false name, and alleged effeminacy. Continue Reading »
Return of the Tiger and the Queen
Two urban music pioneers return to the U.S. and discuss what it’s like to spread the hip-hop gospel in South Korea.
by Lorna Soonhee Umphrey
It was a match made in in hip-hop heaven.
In 2007, Tiger JK, founder of pioneering Korean hip-hop group Drunken Tiger, married Yoon Mirae (born Tasha Reid), a biracial former teenage member of late-1990s R&B group Uptown and now considered South Korea’s “Queen of Soul.” While comparisons could be drawn to Jay-Z and Beyonce, this couple, individually, has done far more to advance their respective genres in Korea than Jigga or Beyonce ever did in the States. Each gained international acclaim in Korea, breaking boundaries by tackling sensitive issues, such as the sex trade in Korea in the video for Drunken Tiger’s “I Want You” and racism in Korea in Yoon Mirae’s “Black Happiness.”
As the Korean music industry changed, both of these artists were able to maintain their own style and keep their fans, even after taking a few years off to create one of their best hits—their son, Jordan. KoreAm sat down with Tiger JK and Yoon Mirae before “The Jungle Concert in L.A.,” held at the historic Wiltern Theater in December, which was their first joint concert in America. Continue Reading »
The Days After
Korea expert David C. Kang talks with KoreAm about a post-Kim Jong-il world, prospects for reunification, and why Kim caricatures may be funny but counterproductive.
story by Julie Ha
What does a post-Kim Jong-il world look like so far?
All the indications are that they have planned for this for the last three years, since [Kim’s] stroke in 2008, so there doesn’t seem to be a sense of panic in North Korean leadership. As a result, I would expect more of the same in the short run. They chose Kim Jong-un because they expect him to be able to carry on the regime leadership, and there is going to be a senior set of leaders who are going to be guiding him in the next year. So I don’t expect a whole lot of change.
What’s the best thing the U.S. can do in relation to North Korea?
I think what everybody is going to do is spend at least a year cautiously waiting. They’re going to see what the regime does because, in a way, if you don’t know how [Kim Jong-un is] going to react, any policy is even more risky. The interesting thing is, literally a week before Kim Jong-il’s death, North Korea said it was going to freeze its uranium [enrichment] program [in exchange for food aid]. We’ll see if North Korea follows up on this, if they’d be willing to continue the discussion.
I just don’t expect a whole lot to happen. Both leaders in South Korea and the U.S. are going to go through presidential elections [in 2012]. All are going to be fairly cautious.
I’ve heard several Korean Americans express that, with the death of Kim Jong-il, there’s this sense that reunification is more likely to occur within our lifetimes. Is this overly optimistic? Continue Reading »
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 »
Posted: January 17th, 2012
Filed Under: BLOG , Back Issues , FEATURED ARTICLE , January 2012
Seattle native Jay Park managed to climb to the top of the K-pop scene as the charismatic leader of boy band 2PM. But when the young performer made some “anti-Korean” comments on his MySpace page and later allegedly confessed to some “severe personal mistake,” according to his record label, he found himself excised from the group and Korea. The singer was prepared to return to a life of obscurity, dancing with his old crew and taking a job at a tire shop in his hometown.
But then, when Park, for fun, posted a YouTube video cover of B.o.B.’s “Nothin’ On You,” which shows him singing in his bathroom and momentarily flashing his well-documented six-pack abs, the video collected more than a million views in just one hour. Eventually it would reach 5 million hits, and then, his phone was ringing off the hook.
Park insists, however, his is not an intentional comeback. “The only reason I went back [to Korea] was because my fans were like, ‘We want you back, we want you back,’” Park tells KoreAm’s Rebecca U. Cho in this month’s cover story. Call it whatever you want, but Park is coming at his fans—and hoping to attract new ones—with a movie he filmed with his dance crew and a new album to be released early this year. And, this time, as a now-solo artist, Park says he’s calling the shots.
To read this month’s cover story on Jay Park purchase a single issue copy for $6.50, shipping included! (U.S. addresses only.) For international shipping rates, please call 310-769-4913.
…And for a limited time only, you can get a SPECIAL K-POP PACKAGE OF 4 KOREAM ISSUES featuring 1) January 2012 with Jay Park, 2) August 2010 with 2PM, 3) May 2009 with Boa, and 4) a special collector’s issue with a printed autograph of Korean pop sensation Rain! All this for only $12.00, shipping included! (U.S. addresses only.) For international shipping rates, please call 310-769-4913.
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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