Artist David Choe on the cover of KoreAm in 2006.
On the cusp of Facebook’s long-awaited initial public offering, Korean American artist David Choe’s decision years ago to take stock options of the then nascent social media website is going to make him an instant millionaire. Choe’s shares in Facebook are estimated to be worth close to $200 million.
According to news reports by the New York Times, Facebook commissioned Choe to paint murals in their first headquarters in Palo Alto in 2005. The company’s original president, Sean Parker, gave Choe two options: take thousands of dollars in cash for his paintings or take company stock equivalent in value.
Despite believing that the concept of Facebook was “ridiculous and pointless” at the time, Choe wisely chose the latter. With over 845 million users, Facebook has become the most widely used social media websites in the world. Choe now has Facebook page of his own, suggesting that he no longer thinks the site is “ridiculous” or “pointless.”
Ever since the news broke, Choe has been making headlines and his friends have not kept quiet about his good fortune. According to the Washington Post, they have posted on his Facebook page, congratulating him, asking him for money, and giving him advice:
“Hey I think you owe me $”
“Hey, Dave, can I borrow $200M? I need to make a wager…”
“No limits. The world is your canvas. congrats man! also, bacon.”
“My Advice David, Hang up the Phone, turn off the Computer, find a nice spot on a beach in Bora Bora, and forget to tell people where you are for awhile.”
Though his future seems bright, Choe, now 35, has had a rough past. Growing up in Los Angeles, he spent time in jail in Japan and claims to have participated in looting during the 1992 L.A. riots. According to an interview Choe had with Ion Magazine in 2010, his difficult past is what inspires his work today.
Everything that happened in my life affects my art. I’m left-handed so all my drawing from my childhood ended up getting smudged with my palm while drawing, so I could never develop a clean style, and that’s why my art style is very dirty.
The Facebook headquarters is not the only place where one can view Choe’s “dirty” street style art. A portrait of Barack Obama can be seen hanging in the White House.
Below is a video of Mark Zuckerberg contributing to Choe’s mural at the Facebook headquarters.
Here are some videos we’re watching this week at KoreAm.
Michelle Phan Takes a Try at Acting
Michelle Phan, a makeup artist who reached YouTube fame for her easy-to-follow online makeup tutorials, made a video that actually isn’t a tutorial. “Underneath Your Love” is a short film written by and starring Phan, whose character reads a letter that asks for her personal advice. The videos turns into a Cinderella story between the main character and her modern-day Prince Charming.
Sh-t Asian Dads Say
Since the creation of the first Sh-t Girls Say video, Sh-t _____ Says videos have become a viral hit with different versions popping up all over the Internet. One of the latest additions to make it onto YouTube is Sh-t Asian Dads Say, which contain more than a few phrases you can hear in an Asian household.
Sh-t Korean Girls Say
YouTube user expatkerri and her bearded friend Raines put this amusing video together highlighting the quirky things Korean girls do and say. But to be more accurate, the video probably should have been called “Sh-t Whiny Korean Girls Say To Their Expat Boyfriends.”
Chloe Waves Goodbye
Two years ago, little Chloe Ahn and her parents were shopping at Copley Place in Boston when the then 2-year-old stopped near an escalator to wave at people. She excitedly waves and says goodbye to the mall’s patrons as they descend an escalator. The video, posted in 2009, became a YouTube hit when it suddenly reached over 1 million views.
“Car DISCUSSION” with Sung Kang
Sung Kang, who plays Han in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise had to censor the videos of his show “Car Talk” after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from NPR, which also has a show called “Car Talk.” Kang’s newly titled “Car Discussion” pokes fun at Asian stereotypes as well as shows a different side of the actor.
Zuckerberg vs. David Choe
Artist David Choe, who was recruited by Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook to paint and add character to the social media giant’s new headquarters, invited Zuckerberg to add his own touch to decorating the walls. The result was a less than comparable stick figure that Choe incorporated into a more detailed drawing, which left Zuckerberg astonished.
Far East Movement – Jello ft. Rye Rye
Far East Movement returns with a music video for their new song, “Jello, which features Baltimore rapper Rye Rye. In the video, FM brings a bit of the dirty bass sound and party scene to a less than dry, listless party.
American Idol Contestant Heejun Han
Filled with nerves and excitement, 22-year-old Heejun Han from Flushing, N.Y., entertained host Ryan Seacrest and the American Idol judges with his quirky personality. As he complimented the famous judges, they also returned compliments on his impressive voice. Jennifer Lopez even commented that, “Oh my God, he was adorable.”
“The Wonder Girls” Movie Trailer
The Wonder Girls and TeenNick have been working together to unleash a new movie about the girl group as they go on their first American tour. The movie is set to be released in February of this year and also features School Gyrls, a group under Nick Cannon’s record label. A sneak peek of the film shows Jin Young Park (JYP), the founder and main producer for JYP Entertainment, in a cameo role as he gives the girls a pep talk aboard a chartered flight to New York.
If you have more videos you’d like us to see, email linda@iamkoream.com.
Here are some videos we’re watching this week at KoreAm.
Girls’ Generation’s Surprise
Girls’ Generation sent hearts of many South Korean soldiers aflutter as they made a surprise visit to a military base. The crowd of horny men soon became delirious, jumping up and down crazily as they sang along to the songs, eventually drowning out the Girls themselves.
Kids Getting Sprayed with Water
It’s not always expensive toys that bring children joy and amusement. Sometimes, it’s a cardboard box or even, in the case of this video, a spray bottle full of water. These two kids giggle and laugh endlessly because of the spray bottle, to the point of turning bright red.
David Choe Tags Facebook
David Choe, a muralist, painter and graffiti artist, was invited by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to the new headquarters of the social networking website. There, Choe tagged the pure white walls with different images, just as he had done in 2006, on the walls of the original Facebook headquarters.
Building Constructed in 15 Days
In 360 hours, a Chinese sustainable building company, Broad Group, did what many thought to be the impossible and the unsafe: they built a 30-story hotel prototype. The research in the video explains all the safety tests done for the building as well as how the building is much more efficient in saving and utilizing energy.
Lost in Tokyo
With two days to himself in Tokyo, Japan, photographer Mark Bramley took nearly 10,000 photographs and video footage of the bustling city. His time-lapsed video shows everyday life in Japan.
Kids React to K-pop
Eleven kids, aged 7 to 13, react to seeing Super Junior, Girls’ Generation and 2NE1 for the first time. The kids react and comment on the popularity of K-pop as well as style choices and the mass appeal K-pop may have.
Bonus Footage:
Spica – Doggedly music video with Lee Hyroi
Spica, a new girl group, features Lee Hyroi in their music video for “Doggedly.” Hyroi, who hasn’t made a music video appearance in a while, is from the same company as Spica.
Shrieking Reporter
A reporter demonstrates a different way of traveling down flights. The building she’s in offers a staircase as well as a slide and as she slides down, her hilarious and unique screams echo in the staircase.
Draft Punk Word Project
A class of seventh grade students participate in an exercise put to Daft Punk’s “Harder Better Faster Stronger.” The students follow the lyrics and raise the appropriate card to follow the song. Nothing like having a Western hipster as your English teacher.
Drummer Kid Boots and Rallies
After an intense drum solo, a drummer gets sick but stays professional the entire time, declining help from a teacher, who rushes to his aid. This kid is sick!
Beatboxing Flutist
This flutist takes her music to a whole different level. As she plays her piece, the young musician stars to beatbox, creating a unique sound.
Morbid Wedding
Chadil Duffy, a young man from Thailand, had plans of marrying Sarinya when she unexpectedly passed away. Duffy, so in love with his girlfriend of 10 years, continued on with the wedding and married her corpse. Yikes.
The Wonder Girls are Back!
The Wonder Girls return with a song demonstrating how far their English skills have come. “The DJ is Mine” features another group, School Gryls, and shows the two girl groups battling it out for the love of the club’s DJ.
Samsung’s Smart Window
Samsung has developed a remarkable device that puts LCD in the last place you’d think to put it: in a window. Their new Smart Window transparent LCD doesn’t use back light units like traditional LCD screens. Instead, it relies on ambient light to let you see what you’re doing and without the back unit lights, you can see through the display and even when there is no ambient light, the Smart Window has a special transparent back unit light to illuminate it.
Korean High School, the Documentary
Kelley Katzenmeyer graduated high school, left her home and began taking high school classes in South Korea. In Korea, she intended to look at the education system but later found students’ concerns with test scores as well as beauty.
If you have more videos, email them to linda@iamkoream.com.
North Korea announces prisoner amnesty
BBC News
North Korea says it will grant an amnesty for prisoners to mark the birthdays of two late leaders.
State news agency KCNA said that the amnesty would begin from 1 February, in honour of Kim Jong-il, who died last month, and his father Kim Il-sung.
Wary of notice and trying to fit in
Los Angeles Times
In the shadows of Koreatown, dozens of North Korean defectors work to blend in with the larger South Korean culture, fearful of what would happen to relatives they left behind if they are discovered.
Doo-Ri for Macy’s Impulse – Sneak Peek
Fashion Etc
It’s only a matter of days before Giambattista Valli’s party-ready pieces for Macy’s Impulse hits stores, and already, the retailer has a successor lined up.
Doo-Ri Chung, designer of the Doo.Ri label, will create a capsule collection for the department store, set to launch February 15, 2012.
Tripitaka Koreana, preserving the wisdom of a millennium
Monsters and Critics
Gaya Mountains, South Korea – Halfway up a South Korean mountain lies a temple nestled in a forest that is home to a national treasure.
The Tripitaka Koreana is the most complete collection of Buddhist texts, laws and treaties in South Korea and one of the largest in the world. It consists of more than 80,000 engraved wooden printing blocks produced in the 13th century.
It’s a new Dia for ‘The Voice’ star
77 Square (blog)
Dia Frampton, who finished as the runner-up on the inaugural season of “The Voice,” never pictured herself auditioning for a television singing competition — let alone making the finals.
A Rising Tide of South Korean Golfers
New York Times
On Wednesday nights before a tournament, K. J. Choi visits the Korean Baptist church closest to the course he is playing, a practice that dates to when he was the PGA Tour’s first and only full-time player from South Korea. In the familiar hymns, sung in his native tongue, Choi experiences a connection, a communion, that he struggled at first to forge on the tour, where the courses and the language were foreign to him.
The echoes of home that Choi had to search for a decade ago, he will be able to find this week on the practice green and driving range at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, the site of the year’s first full-field tour event. Choi’s prayer, finally, has been answered; the door he cracked open in 2000 is being knocked down in 2012 by 11 players of South Korean descent, led by a baby-faced 20-year-old, Seung-Yul Noh, who is poised to become golf’s next rising star.
50 beautiful places to visit in Korea
CNNGo
Some 25 million South Koreans — about half the population — travel abroad at least once a year, but it’s safe to assume that most haven’t seen all the beautiful sights within the country.
Seoul only takes up a mere 0.6 percent of South Korea’s territory: here are 50 stunning photographs from the other 99.4 percent of the country that are all worth a visit.
Here are the flowery spring landscapes, sandy beaches, rocky mountains and quietly stunning historic sites on your new Korean travel bucket list. And just in case you were wondering, they are in no particular order. Feel free to add some suggestions of your own in the comment box at the end of the article.
What a North Face jacket means in South Korea
CNNGo
Consider the North Face jacket.
Originally designed for wilderness travelers, mountain climbers and winter sports athletes, this American outdoor jacket is more akin to a sleeping bag than it is a fashion statement.
Sure, it’s had its share of headlines in its home country, having been the subject of rampant reselling, counterfeiting–even armed robbery.
Recently in Korea, however, the explosive popularity of the puffy down jacket has brought about a string of controversy, throwing a light on the specifics of bullying in Korean schools.
David Choe @ Facebook Headquarters, Menlo Park
Juxtapoz Magazine
Back in the mid-years of the last decade, David Choe was commissioned to paint the offices of a burgeoning social networking site in Palo Alto, California called Facebook. Fast-forward nearly seven years and one world conquering company and one leading international contemporary were back together again this weekend, as Choe painted the brand new offices of Facebook in Menlo Park, CA.
As you can see below, even Mark Zuckerberg, who asked David to come back (perhaps as a good luck charm) to give the offices a feeling of spontaneous creativity, was on-hand to give Dave a tour of the new space. We can only imagine they discussed how the years have been good to both of them. Look at how much has changed. . . .
Legislative Session Preview: Mark Keam
Patch.com (Vienna, VA)
When Del. Mark Keam (D-35th) began his first term in 2009, most people wished him luck and warned he wouldn’t get anything done: the Democrat drew No. 100 among the state’s house representatives, making him the most junior member of a body controlled by Republicans.
The Ugly American
Inquirer News (Philippines)
A Korean-American who holds a top position at the US Embassy shouted invectives at a young Filipino woman whom he nearly bumped with his car last Friday.
Dean I. Chang, the American Embassy’s second secretary, cursed Princess Cordova, 22, after he got out of his Toyota Forerunner car with a Korean-looking woman, apparently his wife.
‘The Orphan Master’s Son’ an audacious, believable tale
Washington Post
A great novel can take implausible fact and turn it into entirely believable fiction. That’s the genius of “The Orphan Master’s Son.” Adam Johnson has taken the papier-mache creation that is North Korea and turned it into a real and riveting place that readers will find unforgettable.
12 to watch in 2012: Ins Choi
The Star (Toronto)
When the Soulpepper Theatre Company decides to present its first world premiere of a play by a Toronto author after 15 years, you know that writer has to be special. And Ins Choi certainly is.
Sh-t South Korean Girls Say
Asiance Magazine
Unless you’ve been living in an isolated nuclear shelter in preparation for the coming end of the world, you may have picked up on the viral video ‘Sh-t Girls Say.’ Now the video has spawned legions of copycats. From ‘Sh-t Black Girls Say,’ ‘Sh-t Gay Southern Guys Say,’ to ‘Sh-t Asian Girls Say,’ the movement is growing, and it’s fun to watch.
Being something of an Asian girl myself I’ve zoned in on the latter and loved the dead-on moments that play on AAPI stereotypes, but also know how to make you laugh. Having recently written a guide to life in Seoul for women, I bear some responsibility for a better understanding of an under-explored corner of the Sh-t People Say movement. So to make sense of what you hear on the streets of Seoul or your local Koreatown, here are just a few key phrases under the banner, ‘Sh-t South Korean Girls Say.’
Born or Raised In the U.S., Why Are Entrepreneurs Returning to Korea?
Inc.
Seoul is home to a burgeoning corps of young entrepreneurs, a shocking number of them born or educated in America. Why aren’t they starting companies here?
Two More Sought in Connection with Duluth Murder
Patch.com (Duluth, Ga.)
Two suspects are in jail and two others are being sought in the murder of Kwang Ko, who was found stabbed and bleeding Dec. 8 in the Aldi grocery store parking lot in Duluth and later died from his injuries.
Duluth Police Capt. Mark Hunter reported at a press conference Wednesday (Dec. 14) that arrest warrants have been obtained for Yeon-Tae Kang Hill, 20, and Dongsoo Park, 25, who are still at large.
Two suspects were arrested early Tuesday (Dec. 13) by Duluth Police investigators for their involvement in the Ko homicide case, the city’s first in 2011. Seung Won Lee, 24, and Dong Ho Shin, 30, both of Duluth, each have been charged with one count of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault. They are being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
The arrest warrants for Hill and Park list the same charges.
Ko, 32, a Duluth resident, was found stabbed and bleeding in the parking lot of the Aldi at 2618 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth about 7 a.m. last Thursday. He was discovered by a citizen using the ATM at the Bank of America who called police.
Hunter said that Ko had multiple knife puncture and slash wounds. Ko died either while being transported by EMS or after arriving at Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth, he said.
U.S., North Korea Hold Talks on Humanitarian Aid
New York Times
Officials from the United States and North Korea met in Beijing on Thursday to discuss the possible terms of resuming humanitarian aid shipments to the impoverished North.
The meeting followed a series of appeals from United Nations and private American relief agencies for urgent aid for the most vulnerable of North Korea’s population, especially its children and pregnant mothers, who they said suffered from life-threatening malnutrition.
Statue Deepens Dispute Over Wartime Sex Slavery
New York Times
The unsmiling teenage girl in traditional Korean dress sits in a chair, her feet bare, her hands on her lap, her eyes fixed on the Japanese Embassy across a narrow street in central Seoul. Within a day, the life-size bronze statue had become the focal point of a simmering diplomatic dispute as President Lee Myung-bak prepared to visit Tokyo this weekend.
The statue, named the “Peace Monument,” was financed with citizens’ donations and installed Wednesday, when five women in their 80s and 90s who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during World War II held their 1,000th weekly protest in front of the embassy, joined by their supporters.
Armed N.Korean Soldiers Defect
Chosun Ilbo
Eight armed North Korean soldiers defected last month across the Apnok (or Yalu) River separating North Korea and China, prompting security to be tightened around the Chinese border town of Dandong, the Daily NK reported Wednesday.
Citing border guards in Dandong, the online news outlet said the soldiers crossed the border in Kuandian around Nov. 20, and that two of them were shot and killed while six escaped. Kuandian is around 100 km northeast of Dandong.
Exams in South Korea: The one-shot society
The Economist
ON NOVEMBER 10th South Korea went silent. Aircraft were grounded. Offices opened late. Commuters stayed off the roads. The police stood by to deal with emergencies among the students who were taking their university entrance exams that day.
Every year the country comes to a halt on the day of the exams, for it is the most important day in most South Koreans’ lives. The single set of multiple-choice tests that students take that day determines their future. Those who score well can enter one of Korea’s best universities, which has traditionally guaranteed them a job-for-life as a high-flying bureaucrat or desk warrior at a chaebol (conglomerate). Those who score poorly are doomed to attend a lesser university, or no university at all. They will then have to join a less prestigious firm and, since switching employers is frowned upon, may be stuck there for the rest of their lives. Ticking a few wrong boxes, then, may mean that they are permanently locked out of the upper tier of Korean society.
The 16 step guide for Korean samgyeopsal dining
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You may have already dined at Korean restaurants that specialize in samgyeopsal (pork belly) cooked tableside. There are quite a few establishments — stretching from Buford Highway to Duluth — offering the sizzling piggy that diners can order a la carte, or as an all-you-can-eat format.
This Korean pork belly smorgasbord can be confusing to the uninitiated, so allow me to relay a general guideline for your samgyeopsal adventure.
1. Pick a spot. Honey Pig, Iron Age, Sun and Moon Cafe, Star Daepo are some options in Duluth. Dongnae Bangnae off Oakcliff Road and Buford Highway is a closer option for intown residents. (Addresses and contact information provided at the end.)
Englewood Cliffs resident earns gold place in annual Calligraphy contest
Northern Valley Suburbanite (N.J.)
Learning calligraphy is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the favorite activities of a fifth-grader.
But for college student Andrew Cho, learning the art of fancy letter writing was something that made him grow as a person during his youth.
It comes as no surprise that he would later go on to win gold place in calligraphy during the annual Calligraphy and Asian Brush Painting Competition.
“It’s an honor,” said Cho, a student at Harvard University and Englewood Cliffs resident. “For that to be displayed for others to see and experience the beauty of this art, I think it’s great to show the benefits and the values of what this can have for the community.”
Korean-American entrepreneur discovers new possibilities for Korean cuisine in New York
Yonhap News
When popular online dining and drinking site Eater.com announced its search for the “Greatest Burger in America” in April, few expected the winning burger would be infused with a traditional Korean dish. The “bibimbap burger,” created by Korean-American entrepreneur Bobby Kwak, is a hamburger topped with ingredients from the popular Korean dish “bibimbap,” vegetables and meat mixed with steamed rice and hot pepper sauce.
The bibimbap burger was quietly nominated as a contender for the best burger in New York City, a surprise even to the owners of Social Eatz that served it. It won the honor soon after, and went on to win the title of “the Greatest Burger in America” via online voting, surpassing the best burgers from eight other cities.
75 guys we wish we were in 2011
Guyism.com
#68: David Choe (Artist, Podcast Host)
David Choe is the second craziest Korean alive (Kim Jong Il is number one, silly). This year, the artist whose paintings grace the Facebook offices dropped a series of podcasts called Koreans Gone Bad featuring candid conversations with other prominent artists and childhood friends. It’s largely unedited (often running past two hours) with topics ranging from self-improvement classes, tossing prostitute salad, and first experiences with psychedelic drugs. Aside from that, he also broke into Pablo Escobar’s vacation home.
Young Sun of ‘Work of Art’ on hugs, history and Prop 8
Windy City Times
Bravo Channel’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist has openly gay rising artist Young Sun from Illinois as part of the competition. For this second season the artists once again face challenges in groups and solo to win an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and $100,000.
The future looks bright for Sun and we brushed up on such topics as Prop 8 and hugging for 24 hours.
Windy City Times: Hello, Young. Tell me a bit about your background.
Young Sun: I am Korean. I was born in Evanston. I went to school in Chicago. I worked for a year abroad in London and in Germany. I worked as a teacher in Korea for a few months. I really got bit by the travel bug as a student.
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
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