UC Berkeley GOP student bake sale is mean-spirited [COLUMN]
San Francisco Chronicle
A Republican student group at U.C. Berkeley recently hosted a “race-based bake sale” on campus to protest pending California legislation which would factor in race and gender into college admissions. Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson weighs in:
Their point that government and justice should be color blind and that no individual – or group – should receive a leg-up in any public competition is a legitimate issue. But they didn’t go about making their point in an effective way.
If enrollment was based solely on scholastic merit – and did not include financial concerns – it would soon be white students clamoring for affirmative action alongside other “disadvantaged” groups. Consider this: Asian freshman students at UC Berkeley in 2010 made up 46 percent of the student body, while white freshman students constituted 32 percent. And those figures come after a 9 percent drop in enrollment among Asian students.
The ensuing controversy prompted by the bake sale has pretty much assured the group of special notice at Sproul Plaza, where student groups, political extremists and religious zealots set up shop to expound on their world views daily.
Epik High’s Tablo Signs Exclusive Contract with YG
soompi.com
Daniel Lee a.k.a. Tablo looks to be getting his life back together following a harrowing cyber-bulling experience.
Epik High’s rapper extraordinaire Tablo has grasped hands with YG’s Yang Hyun Suk.
YG Entertainment has announced on Sept. 27, “Tablo has signed an exclusive 4-year contract with YG Entertainment and will be dropping his first official solo album on Nov. 1.”
Through this event, Tablo will break out from his 2-year hiatus that occurred when an academic controversy sparked around him. This contract has been known to be a solo contract that doesn’t involve Epik High.
Police Seek New Leads in Unsolved Murder
Patch.com (Fairfax City, Va.)
One year ago this October, a prominent local businessman found murdered in his Fairfax Station home, dead of trauma to the upper body. Over the past year, detectives have searched for new leads, but to date the murder of Yong Suk Yun is still unsolved.
Yun owned the Dr. Wash Carwash on Route 50 in Chantilly, and another in Georgia. He was well-known in the Korean-American community was also a member of the Korean-American Association of Virginia.
North Koreans abroad said to face poison-needle attacks
Los Angeles Times
Three times in recent weeks, activists opposing the regime of North Korea’s Kim Jong Il have been targeted for assassination by well-trained agents wielding poisoned needles, fellow activists allege.
A 46-year-old South Korean pastor living in Dandong, a Chinese city near the North Korean border, was found unconscious in the street — his face and fingers badly discolored — and died.
The following afternoon in the Chinese city of Yanji, a South Korean involved with missionary work was standing at a traffic light when he felt a pinprick in his lower back. As he collapsed to the sidewalk, he heard a man muttering behind him in Chinese, “Sorry, sorry.” He survived the apparent attack.
Initially, the stories about North Korean assassins wielding poison needles sounded improbable, but the activists gained some support for their charges this month when South Korean intelligence announced that it had foiled an attack in Seoul in which the intended weapon was a poisoned needle. The target in that case was Park Sung-hak, an activist who had launched balloons into North Korea carrying anti-regime leaflets.
Stars come to support Brian Joo in “RENT”
allkpop
Actress Yunjin Kim of Lost fame and others came out to support Korean American singer Brian Joo, who is starring in the Korean version of Rent.
A mother’s lesson: Country living inspires the wife to learn mother’s traditional kimchee
Chicago Tribune
Chef Christine Lee makes a trip back to the mother land to discover the joys of country living.
Former top [South Korean] presidential aide arrested
Yonhap
State prosecutors arrested a former senior presidential secretary on Wednesday after a Seoul court approved an arrest warrant, dealing a blow to the Lee Myung-bak administration, which has been struggling to fight against corruption in its final years.
Kim Du-woo, who served as Lee’s senior secretary for public affairs, is accused of taking bribes from an indicted lobbyist for a Busan-based savings bank on the verge of bankruptcy.
Seoul’s 5 best barbecue joints
CNNGo
In Seoul, it can be a daunting task to choose from the staggering number of gogi-jip (literally, “meat houses”) that sit on almost every street.
Whether it’s a casual after-work dinner with colleagues, an unusual sogeting or after-clubbing munchies at 3 a.m., these five best barbecue places in Seoul are where sophisticated foodies go to grill some quality beef, Korean-style.
Shanghai Subway Accident Injures Hundreds
New York Times
Hundreds of people were injured Tuesday when a subway train slammed into the rear of another train in a sprawling transit line that had opened just last year in Shanghai. The accident cast new scrutiny on the safety record of China’s rapidly modernizing mass transit rail systems.
by Y. Peter Kang
When Brian Joo hit the stage at the Highlands Hollywood nightclub last Friday, a surge ripped through the typically blasé L.A. crowd. Fans — mostly female — abandoned their just-lit cigarettes on the veranda and pushed through the doors and towards the stage.
The R&B singer, who made his name in Korea, did not disappoint when he began his brief four-song set with Neh Yujah, or My Girl, from his 2009 album Manifold.
After the song, Brian introduced himself to the crowd as Brian Joo of Fly to the Sky.
“Now I’m doing my own thing and I’m blessed to be where I am right now,” he said.
He then proceeded to bring three female fans on stage and serenaded them with his next song “It’s Over Now” from his new EP Unveiled.
But it wasn’t all swooning women, there were several enthusiastic male fans in attendance; this reporter witnessed a tall 30-something black man singing along word-for-word.
Some of those in the multicultural audience were even surprised Brian — who grew up in New Jersey — could speak English.
“We love Brian even more now because he speaks English,” said 24-year-old fan Anna Jin of Los Angeles.
Others were pleased Brian was championing the cause of Asian American musicians.
“I really like how the Asian Americans who went to Korea are now coming back to us to tie it all together, it helps Asian American visibility,” said Lailanie Gadia, 21, a Loyola Marymount student who recently moved to Los Angeles from Guam.
Gadia was among 50 fans who participated in a “meet-and-greet” session with Brian after the show.
Nearby, actors Aaron Yoo, Justin Chon and James Kyson Lee shared a VIP table.
Yoo told KoreAm that he came in support of his friend Brian. The two initially met in Busan, South Korea several years ago and quickly became close.
“I would go to the ends of the Earth for that guy,” Yoo said. “We are both New Jersey boys who met in Busan and became best friends.”
Check out the video of Brian’s hit song “My Girl” after the jump
Continue Reading »
For those of you in the Los Angeles area, we have a treat for you.
Brian Joo of Fly to the Sky fame will be performing in Hollywood THIS Friday. That means a night of awesome K-Pop music with Brian singing songs off his new album Unveiled.
DJ Yup, Seoul’s number one mashup deejay will be spinning and IAMMEDIC will also be playing. Should be fun!
We have ONE PAIR of VIP TICKETS and ONE PAIR of regular tickets to give away. VIP includes meet and greet with Brian himself and a photo opportunity!
To win, Continue Reading »
Remember our March cover boy? He’s just released a single, “Shine (On Your Heart),” from the soundtrack of the upcoming movie Propose, and it’s already got his loyal fans squealing.
Check it out below – is this the return of saccharine sweet K-pop…or did it never actually leave?
Posted: March 7th, 2011
Filed Under: BLOG , Back Issues , FEATURED ARTICLE , March 2011
For more than a decade, Korean American singer Brian Joo has held his grip on fame in South Korea – an impressive feat given the country’s cutthroat industry and ability to churn out scores of new acts yearly. Here, Brian, hailed for popularizing R&B in the mother country, speaks candidly about his unique 12-year career as an “idol,” being the recipient of death threats, and why dating requires going “somewhere dark.”
By Jaeki Cho
Photographs by Eric Sueyoshi
Hair/Makeup by Jane Suh (Kutting Room)
Styled by Chriselle Lim (www.chriselleinc.com)
• • •
EVER SINCE Brian Joo’s successful 1999 debut as one-half of the South Korean music duo Fly to the Sky, his popularity has remained in the upper ranks of the K-pop food chain. Now a household name, Brian, a 30-year-old Korean American singer born in Los Angeles, has continuously churned out new albums, including The Brian in 2006 and Manifold in 2009.
In the notorious scene known as South Korean entertainment, where factory-made “idols” are easily created yet disposable, maintaining such relevance is a praise worthy feat. Despite Fly to the Sky’s first two albums (Day by Day and The Promise) delivering bubblegum pop ballads, or fast-paced techno medleys—already standardized by the group’s distinguished label, SM Entertainment—the duo eventually set out to adopt a genre not yet familiar to the Korean public: R&B.
Though Fly to the Sky, which consists of Brian and South Korean native Hwanhee, was initially billed as a typical K-pop duo that could sing, rap and dance, it is hailed today as South Korea’s first R&B group. Although critics weren’t initially too pleased with the pair’s transition in sound, style or image, the group went on to release six successful albums and garner numerous awards along the way.
Of course, Brian’s journey wasn’t solely paved with flowers. In 2002, when two Korean girls were run over and killed by a U.S. Army armored truck on a public road, anti-American sentiment was at its peak. During this time, Brian was hosting a radio show and when a guest brought up the issue, Brian, then 21, replied, “While the American soldiers must be brought to justice, I do not want relations between Korea and the United States, my home country, to become strained.” His statement was misinterpreted by press as: “You can’t talk badly about the United States in front of me; I’m an American. Please only hate the American soldiers.” Naturally, the Korean public did not embrace these comments—and for months, Brian received profane, even life-threatening messages.
In this interview with KoreAm, Brian, who lives in Seoul, opens up about this critical period in his career, as well as shares the real story behind his relationship with Fly to the Sky partner Hwanhee—a friendship that has become strained due to misunderstandings piled up over time. In one of his most candid interviews (in English, at least), the New Jersey-reared artist also reflects on his past 12 years in South Korea, helping to demystify the South Korean entertainment industry and shatter pretty-boy idol stereotypes, while musing on what he plans to tackle next. Continue Reading »
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
LINKS
Featuring Recent Posts Wordpress Widget development by YD
