I Am KoreAm: David Lee
Name: David Lee
Age: 21
Location: Washington, DC
Hobbies: Traveling to unorthodox places. In this photo, I was in Afghanistan working on a public health project. I was really craving a doughnut and my interpreter was kind enough to go all over Kabul to look for one.
What do you do?
I am a junior at Georgetown University majoring in government and health policy. I am very interested in international development and international relations specifically focusing on women/children and human rights.
Why do you travel?
Traveling is my therapy. In the past three years, I have been very lucky and blessed to travel to over 35 countries mainly through grants, conferences or projects.
What’s the best and worst part of being a student?
The best part of being a student is interacting with my peers who have similar interests and passions as I do.The worst part is that school seems to get in the way of things I really want to do. For example, I fantasize about working in Southeast Asia or Africa helping the marginalized and poor while I write 15 page papers in the university library. But soon enough, I know I will be able to pursue my passions, I just have to do develop my impulse control and wait for the right time.
What’s on your desk right now?
Four tangerines, a planner, my Sigg bottle, a framed picture of my five nieces and one nephew, bills and a school newspaper.
You’re originally from Los Angeles. How does living on the east coast compare to living on the west coast?
The dynamics of the areas are very different, especially when comparing DC to LA. LA has the great restaurants, entertainment venues and events, Disneyland, mom’s cooking and good weather. DC has amazing museums, political institutions such as the Capitol Building or White House, and has easy access to other main East Coast cities like NYC or Philadelphia. If there was a fusion city of the two, that would be my dream location, but I am happy to call both cities my home.
The dynamics of the areas are very different, especially when comparing DC to LA. LA has the great restaurants, entertainment venues and events, Disneyland, mom’s cooking and good weather. DC has amazing museums, political institutions such as the Capitol Building or White House, and has easy access to other main East Coast cities like NYC or Philadelphia. If there was a fusion city of the two, that would be my dream location, but I am happy to call both cities my home.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
My biggest pet peeve is passive aggressiveness. It’s a waste of time and it’s unhealthy. Don’t do it.
What’s on your iPod?
I literally listen to everything. From Mika to Jay Z and Beethoven to Lady Gaga and everything in between, my taste in music is very eclectic.How are you spending the holidays?
A family tradition we do every Christmas is the family sing-a-long at church, where each family sings a holiday song in front of the whole congregation. No matter how out of tune or pathetic we sound, our family always seems to place in the top three and wins a prize like soap or toothpaste. I say we win because my dad is the head pastor, but he likes to attribute our continued success on his rich baritone voice.
A family tradition we do every Christmas is the family sing-a-long at church, where each family sings a holiday song in front of the whole congregation. No matter how out of tune or pathetic we sound, our family always seems to place in the top three and wins a prize like soap or toothpaste. I say we win because my dad is the head pastor, but he likes to attribute our continued success on his rich baritone voice.
Tell us a joke, any joke!
Two snakes are talking.
One of them turns to the other and asks, “Are we venomous?”
The other replays, “Yes,why?…”
“I just bit my lip.”
What’s something few people know about you? Any hidden talents?
I am in an Oscar-winning movie! OK, OK, I was in the studio audience of the taping of An Inconvenient Truth. A hidden talent I have is my inexplicable ability to catch food that is thrown at me in my mouth with unerring accuracy. I never got my clothes dirty in cafeteria food fights.
I am in an Oscar-winning movie! OK, OK, I was in the studio audience of the taping of An Inconvenient Truth. A hidden talent I have is my inexplicable ability to catch food that is thrown at me in my mouth with unerring accuracy. I never got my clothes dirty in cafeteria food fights.
What has been your greatest life achievement thus far?
Starting Sanitation NOW (New Opportunities for Women), a nonprofit that focuses on empowering women through the use of sanitation and or public health means. The nonprofit has projects up and running in Afghanistan, Kenya, India and Bangladesh. Former First Lady Laura Bush took an interest in the organization because of its parallel interests with her women empowerment initiative. I was able to meet with Mrs. Bush multiple times to bounce around ideas on how to make the organization better and stronger.
I am KoreAm and proud because: I can break down barriers and misconceptions when I travel off the beaten path. When I tell people I am an American while traveling, most people are in disbelief. I love sharing the America I know while also sharing my rich heritage.
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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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David is the man! I keep asking myself, “WHERE WILL HE GO NEXT!!??”