Talk about supercool bragging rights. How many kids get to tell their classmates their dad is off chasing pirates on his warship?
It’s certainly one of the highlights of U.S. Navy Commander Steven Lee’s young son and daughter. In February, the 18-year veteran of the Navy took command of the USS Gonzalez, one of this nation’s armed-to-the-teeth warships. Though two other Korean Americans have commanded at sea, he is the first Korean American graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy to do so.
“It’s an amazing ship. It can do amazing things. I call it my toy,” said Lee, with a chuckle, speaking by phone while his $1.8 billion “toy” was in port at Norfolk, Va. The most recent deployment for him and his 280-member crew involved conducting counter-piracy and counter-terrorism operations in the Somali Basin and Indian Ocean.
“We can strike a target from the sea with our long-range missiles,” Lee said, noting that the ship plays a supporting role to U.S. Special Forces looking for terrorists on the ground. Continue Reading »
Rihanna is raising eyebrows for her music video, “We Found Love,” after a blogger accused the pop diva of stealing the work of grunge photographer Sandy Kim.
Kim, known for her sometimes graphic yet intriguing shots of everyday life, has generated a lot of buzz in the artistic photography world in recent years. FADER contributor Bryan Derballa uses side-by-side comparisons to point out the noticeable similarities between Kim’s images and scenes from Rihanna’s video.
Apparently this is not the first time Rihanna–or video director Melina Matsoukas–has been accused of ripping off other artists in her videos. According to blog ArtLyst:
[Rihanna's] music video for her hit single S&M sported imagery blatantly lifted from the work of famed photographer David LaChapelle. Accusations of plagiarism came from all sides, with one scene depicting Rihanna ‘walking’ a man on a leash and on all fours corresponding to LaChapelle 2002 image for Vogue, Aristocrats. Indeed, the similarities were so great that fans of the photographer were initially concluded that LaChapelle had in fact directed the video.
Clearly, Rihanna has been notorious for ripping off various artists and their work, but it begs the question of whether this actually matters. With the video approaching 100 million views on YouTube, fans still seem to idolize the pop goddess despite the fact that her videos have repeatedly been accused of plagiarism. Still, the similarities are hard to ignore.
Check out more side-by-side comparisons after the jump: Continue Reading »
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wages defector crackdown
Los Angeles Times
In North Korea, a new Kim may be in command but the same old human rights violations are still in play, including a renewed lethal crackdown on defectors, according to South Korean media reports.
Weeks after 20-something Kim Jong Un assumed power following his father Kim Jong Il’s sudden death by heart attack last month, border guards have begun shooting down would-be defectors who try to flee the impoverished nation, the reports said.
Three people who tried to flee the repressive regime were reportedly killed in recent days as they tried to cross the Yalu River along the Chinese border, part of a policy of tightened border controls that Pyongyang is enforcing after Kim Jong Il’s Dec. 17 death.
Reunification Could Be Trouble for Seoul
Time
A single, reunified Korea has long been a cherished dream of people on both sides of the world’s most heavily fortified border. South Korea even has a Cabinet-level ministry preparing for the day.
And while Kim Jong Il’s death last month has raised those hopes higher among some in Seoul, few are eager to talk about the cold reality: Sudden reunification could be traumatic for both countries.
Sometimes, It’s a Crime to Praise Pyongyang
The New York Times
On May 1, 2007, the police locked Kim Myung-soo into a jail cell so small he could spread his arms and touch the facing walls. On one of those walls, a television was showing trains in North and South Korea preparing to cross the border for the first time since the 1950-53 Korean War. It also noted that South Korea was donating 400,000 tons of rice to North Korea.
Mr. Kim was angry and confused by the reports of North-South conciliation. After all, he had been told his crime was “aiding the enemy,” by running a Web site that sold used books deemed pro-North Korean. These included a biography of Karl Marx and “Red Star over China,” an account of the birth of Chinese Communism by the American journalist Edgar Snow.
Is Park Ji-Min the Next Susan Boyle?
Wall Street Journal
On New Year’s Eve, Ashton Kutcher tweeted a link to a YouTube video of Park Ji-min, a 15-year-old Korean reality-show contestant who belts out a stirring rendition of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.”
Mr. Kutcher, who has more than 9 million followers on Twitter, wrote: “this is AMAZING!!!!” U.S. singer Eric Benet jumped into the conversation, writing “Korea has some surprising talent” in Hangul.
Ms. Park, who is already drawing comparisons to Susan Boyle, blew away the judges and drew envious looks from fellow contestants.
On the Line: Chris Kim of Rolling Sushi Van, Part Two
OC Weekly
Our sushi entrepreneur continues rolling out answers as we learn more about Chris Kim’s biggest influence, as well as how honey factors into a perfect dish. His no-nonsense interview begins in part one. If you’re curious about his recommended dishes, stick around tomorrow for some langostino.
Despite earlier claims, Pyeongchang says high speed link was never planned
The Washington Post
Confusion reigns in South Korea as to whether a promised high-speed rail link that helped Pyeongchang win the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics has been scrapped by the government or whether it was ever planned at all.
Hyundai Motor not planning separate premium brand
Hyundai Motor’s vice chairman said the South Korean automaker had no immediate plans to launch a separate premium brand in a bid to bolster its brand image, brushing off speculation that such a move was on the cards.
Ellen Kim- Hooligans in SF
In May 2010, controversy surrounding Korean rapper Daniel Lee, better known as Tablo, erupted when a group of Internet users accused the Epik High member of fabricating his Stanford diploma. The ringleader of the attacks was later traced back to a 57-year-old Korean American man living in Chicago who went by the handle “Whatbecomes.”
The cyber bully is now back and has a new target: the daughter of biracial singer Insooni, who he alleges did not receive acceptance from Stanford.
(See ‘The Persecution of Daniel Lee‘ from the September 2011 issue of KoreAm.) Continue Reading »
Now that 2011 has come to an end, we’ve gathered the top 10 most popular articles of the year on iamKoreAm.com. We’ve got ourselves a mishmash of inspirational stories, rants, Korean food breakthroughs, setbacks and Hollywood hotties, just to name a few. It’s always interesting to look back on how 2011 went in hopes for a great 2012.
Look back from #10 to #1 for a quick review of a busy year (after the jump). Continue Reading »
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Featured Event
One of the the biggest Asian cinema events to hit Southern California opens on May 10. The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, presented by Visual Communications, features the latest works by established and emerging filmmakers, along with seminars, panel discussions and symposiums on topics relevant to Asian Pacific cinema.
Opening Night features “Shanghai Calling,” directed by Daniel Hsia and starring Korean American Daniel Henney, who plays a Chinese American expat lawyer navigating his way through the mean streets of Shanghai (the picture above also indicates he is a raisin smuggler). But does he take off his shirt? Go watch the movie to find out! read more
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