NYT Features “Ask A Korean!”

Author: Michelle
Posted: July 28th, 2010
Filed Under: BLOG

He’s witty, he’s informative — and now he’s been featured by the New York Times. “The Korean,” the anonymous blogger behind the popular website Ask A Korean!, gives us a glimpse of who he is: a 29-year-old associate at a major Manhattan law firm who relishes his role as a “cultural interpreter.” Through astonishingly thorough blog posts, he gives insight into Korea and Koreans, answering questions like “Why do Koreans hate Japanese?” “Do Koreans eat dogs?“and “How do I pick a Korean among Asians just by looking at them?” Read, laugh and walk away educated.

New K-pop Girl Group Features Three Biracial Members

An all-girl Korean pop act set to make its debut later this month will be the first K-pop group to be comprised mostly of biracial Korean Americans. The quintet known as Chocolat has three Korean American members who are half-Caucasian with an average age of 18, although one member is as young as 14 years old. The girls have been training “extensively” for the past two-plus years, according to K-pop website allkpop. We’ve seen plenty of girl groups debut with attention-grabbing concepts, but this is the first girl group ever that’s specifically comprised of bi-racial members. The group will release its first single on Aug. 17 and make its TV debut on Mnet the following day, according to allkpop. Check out the teaser video for their debut single “Syndrome” after the jump: …

N. Korean torpedo likely sunk S. Korean ship

A U.S. military official has said that a North Korean torpedo attack likely caused the South Korean warship to go down last month. South Korean military officials support this conclusion. North Korea has denied responsibility. Forty of the 104 crew members have been confirmed dead, and six more are also believed dead, though they are still listed as missing.

South Korean women can’t even see the “Glass Ceiling”

According to the Washington Post, women in South Korea make 38 percent less than their male counterparts, making it the …

Awkward Korean Restaurant Moments

As a Korean American adoptee who didn’t eat a bite of Korean food until after I turned 18, I’ve had more than my share of these special moments. Whether it’s dropping everything I try to pick up with my chopsticks, tripping and falling down on the way out (okay, maybe I’m just clumsy), or suffering from the general confusion of not knowing how to eat anything or what’s going to happen next, I’ve pretty much covered everything required for an awkward dining performance. Yes, this is very sad. But they say talking helps. So I’m putting this out there for all to read. I don’t know if this is common among adoptees, but I feel like I need support to go into a Korean restaurant with “real” Koreans in it. Perhaps this speaks to the amount of isolation and, well, cultural and racial shame I experienced growing up in an extremely white environment. As much as I now love the foods of the motherland, it can be hard to enjoy them on such an anxious stomach. A few tales from the crypt: …

February Issue: Honoring a Korean American Pioneer

Walking Among Kings Dosan Ahn Chang Ho, the beloved Korean independence fighter and early Korean American community leader, is inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame in Atlanta, Ga. by Lola Pak On Jan. 6, a crowd of about 500 gathered inside the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Ga., where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., virtually launched the modern-day civil rights movement. Men in suits and women donning dramatic, oversized hats mingled with the likes of hunky celebrities Tyrese and Emmitt Smith. As people filed into the pews, the digital cameras popped out not only to take paparazzi shots of some of the celebrities on hand, but also to snap the several pairs of shoes displayed in glass boxes in front of the pulpit from which Dr. King once preached about love, freedom and equality. It was in his spirit, those in attendance were celebrating the induction of nine individuals into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame. Organized by the Trumpet Awards Foundation, eight or nine civil rights figures each year are awarded a place along the sidewalk adjacent to the church, part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic site, where their footsteps are set into concrete. The 2-by-2, marble-inlaid plaques are to recognize the efforts of those who “sacrificed and struggled to make equality a reality for all,” according to the foundation. It has historically recognized African Americans figures, with poet Maya Angelou, civil rights icon Rosa Parks and the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall among past honorees. This year’s list, the ninth, was no different—except, that is, for one name: Dosan Ahn Chang Ho. Last month, the late Korean independence hero, and one of the earliest Korean immigrants to the United States, became the first Asian inducted, posthumously, into the Walk of Fame. “When Ahn Chang Ho was first presented to me, I didn’t know anything about him,” admitted Xernona Clayton, president of the Trumpet Awards Foundation. “As I got more information, I was so impressed with his background and how similar his focus and mission were to Martin Luther King,” added Clayton, a former journalist and contemporary of Dr. King. “We consider him the MLK of Korea.” …

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Tuesday's Links: North Korea (again), K-Pop, Author Krys Lee, Man charged with slapping loud kid in theater http://t.co/DhC62HjN

The Ten Most Fashionable Asian-Americans In NYC http://t.co/oTE8EJCN

Just a reminder, the SMTOWN live streaming K-pop concert is going on ... right now! http://t.co/JywXQ91F

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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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