Christina Mijung Lee, Long Beach, Calif.
“The concept of this piece focuses on the inherent need to seek out and connect to one’s heritage. The young Korean American girl (who also may or may not be multiracial) ‘reaches out’ toward butterflies and flowers of traditional Korean symbolism, which signifies a longing to connect with Korean history and culture. The realistic rendering of the girl is juxtaposed against the flat painting style of her surroundings to reinforce the conceptual divide of time and space. The dreamy/idealistic scene alludes to the way we romanticize the culture from which we are disconnected.”

Josephine Park, Los Angeles, Calif.
“I attempted to create a cover that requires more than a quick glance. The longer you stare, the more recognizable the characters and their stories become. Korean Americans have so many shared life stories that are unique to each generation. I think it’s impossible to fully envision the third generation without considering the previous ones.”

Nathan Nowack, Redondo Beach, Calif.
“When I thought of third generation, my friends kids immediately came into mind. This third generation is still Korean on the outside but at the same time American. How could I portray that in a single photograph with a single person. Hmmm, what about creative makeup? Now not only were they still Korean on the outside, they had the patriotism of America painted all over their face. With iPods and next generation computers engraved in their everyday lives, these kids are truly third generation Korean Americans.”
Now it’s time for you to vote. Choose the cover that best conveys the theme of our issue: The Third Generation of Korean Americans.

Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, February 12. You can vote once per day. Tell your friends and spread the word! Your votes will determine the cover of an upcoming issue of KoreAm!

And the grand prize winner of KoreAm’s Drama Fo’ Yo Mama Contest is …

GOCHU!

If you still haven’t yet seen the video (where have you been hiding?), here it is:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaU-8BmXtpM[/youtube]

Congrats to director Andrew Oh and the entire “Gochu” cast and crew! And thank you to our sponsors, Verizon Wireless and Asiana Airlines.

It’s voting time! Thanks so much to all of you who submitted videos. We were blown away by your talent and humor. We laughed, we cried (OK, we mostly just laughed) — and now we’re so excited to share these clips with the world.

Please vote for your three favorite videos by this Monday, Nov. 16 at 11:59 p.m. PST. You can vote once every 24 hours. The three finalists — two who receive the highest number of votes and one Editors’ Pick — will be announced later that week. We know it’s not a whole lot of time so you gotta get moving. VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! And spread the word!

[poll id="2"]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX0vp2l_YzU[/youtube]

“Phones before Flowers – 꽃보다 핸”
Writer and director: Roy Choi
DP & Editor: Si Joon Lee
Cast: Paul “PK” Kim, Janet Choi, Roy Choi
Production Assistants: Christine Kim, Rina Lee

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeXYe2OH_7w[/youtube]

“Stairway to Autumn Sonata – Episode 1″
Director & Editor: Ngoc Le
Cast : Peter Lee, Ngoc Le, John Kim, Jacqueline Lum, Alex Lee

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fapt25YScE[/youtube]

“Stairway to Autumn Sonata – Episode 2″
Director & Editor: Ngoc Le
Cast : Peter Lee, Ngoc Le, John Kim, Jacqueline Lum, Alex Lee

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF0diqM4A9M[/youtube]

“Kim Sam Soon Parody”
Director: Esther Yoo
Editor: Soo Hyun Lee
Cast: Esna Yoon, Paul Ahn

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaU-8BmXtpM[/youtube]

“GOCHU (고추) Trailer”
Director: Andrew Oh
Writer: Shane Yoon
Producers: Annie Kim, Andrew Oh
Associate Producer: Eugene Choi
Cast: Jun Kim, Shane Yoon, Mina Yoo, David Lee Kane, Ben Chang, John Park, David Rhee, Eugene Choi, Juliana Park
Fight Coordinator: Ben Chang
Set Photographer: John Park (www.johnparkphoto.com)
Special thanks to: Eddie Kim, Soobin Kang, Sunny Hong

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14Ejvus6q0M[/youtube]

“Soulmate”
Director: Esther Yoo
Editor: Soo Hyun Lee
Cast: Soo Hyun Lee, Vivian Lee
“C’mon Through” performed by: Lasse Lindh

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvhllXr-MZk[/youtube]

“Omma Dearest 1 – Omma Raci$t?”
Director: Chil Kong
Writer: Charles Kim
Cast: Charles Kim, Jully Lee, Dom Magwili

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8GUTOumv64[/youtube]

“Omma Dearest 2 – Harvard?”
Director: Chil Kong
Writer: Charles Kim
Cast: Charles Kim, Lanny Joon

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EG4js1cxtM0[/youtube]

“Omma Dearest 3 – Harvard? Part 2″
Director: Chil Kong
Writer: Charles Kim
Cast: Charles Kim, Lanny Joon, Rick Steadman, Ryun Yu, Erin Quill, Jennifer Holloway, Elpidio Ebuen, Bobby Choy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqyb3Yp2nZU[/youtube]

“The Fight for Love (scene 7)”
Writer, director, editor: Girard Tecson

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgZfEpnuMf4[/youtube]

“Summer Sonata”
Director: Richard Choi
Producer: Hahn Cho
Editor: Dino DeLorenzo
Cast: Vivian Bang, Randall Park, Hahn Cho

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pt04EC4mRc[/youtube]

“Nocturne of the Stars part 1″
Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer: Ang Xie
Cast: Karen Pan, Czharcus Jones, Leon Horn, Sean Kao

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTDUOXBjM_0[/youtube]

“Nocturne of the Stars part 2″
Director, Producer, Writer, Cinematographer: Ang Xie
Cast: Karen Pan, Czharcus Jones, Leon Horn, Sean Kao

CONTEST DESCRIPTION
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0L5xMXcN-M[/youtube]
Lust. Envy. Deceit. Amnesia. It must be Korean drama time!

To celebrate the launch of iamKoreAm.com, Verizon Wireless and Asiana Airlines are sponsoring a video contest starring you! Your mission: To create your own K-drama scene.

We want it all—mobsters, catfights, mistaken identities, fatal illnesses, and of course, plenty of over-the-top sobbing. Let your imagination run wild.

So write a script, cast your friends, turn on the video camera and get moving! Clips must be no longer than three minutes and submitted by Nov. 8.

That week, we’ll post the top 10 videos for readers to vote on.

Submit your entry by uploading a video response to this vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0L5xMXcN-M

Three finalists (two that receive that the most votes and one that editors pick) will win two tickets to KoreAm’s exclusive celebrity-studded gala “Unforgettable” in Los Angeles (a $500 value), where their videos will be screened. Attendees will vote for their favorite scene via text messaging. The winner will take home one round-trip ticket to Korea from Asiana Airlines and a Verizon Wireless phone.

The rules and details:

• Scenes must be in English, or subtitled in English.
• You can remake a scene from an existing Korean drama, but try to avoid using the original audio. Dubbing in your own lines is part of the fun!
• Submissions must be original creations. The video must not have been previously submitted, distributed or aired.
• No profanity or sexually-explicit content.
• Videos will be judged on originality, humor and overall impressiveness.

Sponsored by:

Co-founders and co-artistic directors Chil Kong (left) and Philip W. Chung, photographed in Los Angeles.

By Ellis Song

It’s a bittersweet moment for the cast and crew of the Lodestone Theatre Ensemble as their final curtain call after 10 years of innovative and edgy theater nears. And their latest and last production, Grace Kim & The Spiders From Mars, set to open on November 14, hopes to capture the essence of one act ending and another beginning.

“I wanted this to be a gift for our supporters,” says Philip W. Chung, who wrote Grace Kim and is one of the founders of Lodestone. “I don’t want to give too much away, but I really wanted to bring in what I thought was best about Lodestone into this play and embody it with the spirit.”

Grace Kim was announced before Chung had the chance to even finish writing it, and he worried about whether he would be able to complete it in time. However, this was a story that he had wanted to do for 20 years.

“The skeleton of that story has always been with me,” says Chung. “It was inspired by old screwball comedies. As a kid, when you watch [these comedies], you say ‘Wow, that’s really good,’ but why can’t you do that with Asian people?”

As a maverick theater company, Lodestone is not only known for pushing the boundaries of Asian American storytelling, but will also be remembered for providing opportunities for young Asian American actors and actresses.

“I’ve gotten more confident with each challenging role that I’ve had,” says actress Elaine Kao. “It’s amazing that I’ve had these opportunities at Lodestone. I don’t think I would have had these opportunities to play these parts elsewhere.”

“I’ve seen an improvement in acting,” says Jeff Liu, of the changes he’s noticed in the Asian American theater scene since Lodestone opened. Liu, the director of Grace Kim who also directed the very first Lodestone production (Texas, 1999), is proud of the work they’ve produced but also realizes that it’s time for a different voice to contribute. “We’ve built something that’s recognized, but the funny thing is…we have become sort of an institution as well. So, maybe it’s time for someone else to say, ‘No, you don’t have it right; we’ll show you how it’s done.’”

Chil Kong, co-founder of Lodestone, is looking forward to life after the last bow. “I’m excited because I feel this is a new venture for all of us,” he says. “It’s not just about ending. It’s about beginning something else.”

Liu echoes those sentiments.

“A lot of people think that it’ll be a sad occasion, but I don’t know if I feel that,” he says. “I don’t feel these relationships that we’ve built and actually earned over 10 years will end after working together, staying up late, and doing this for no money simply because we love stories. We’re all going to carry this forward to whatever we do, and I’m really confident that some of us or many of us will work together on other things.”