Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts honor veterans
Los Angeles Daily News

[Pfc. Samuel Sungjune Lee], a Korean-American soldier who died less than two weeks before his 20th birthday while serving in the Army during the Iraq War, was unknown to the members of Boy Scout Troop 777, based out of Koreatown.

But his service and death carried special significance to the group, which had made it tradition to seek out all Korean-American soldiers buried at the cemetery to pay tribute. So far, they had found five.

Slain Qns. woman blew boyfriend’s life savings gambling: landlady
New York Post

A Queens man who allegedly stabbed his girlfriend to death was furious with her for gambling away his life savings and leaving him thousands of dollars in debt, his landlady said yesterday.

Feuk Youn Yoon, 56, and Yunhee Shin, 57, were fighting in his basement apartment on 214th Street in Bayside just before he allegedly killed her, police said.

Firefighters responding to calls reporting a small blaze in the home found Shin on the bed with two knife wounds to the neck and Yoon in a closet trying to hang himself.

30 North Korean officials involved in South talks die ‘in traffic accidents’
The Telegraph (U.K.)

Thirty officials of the North Korean regime who were involved in talks with South Korea have been executed or died in “staged traffic accidents,” according to a human rights report.

Theater artists find depth in search for families
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Sun Mee Chomet and Katie Hae Leo, both adoptees, talk about their search for their relatives in Korea.

S. Korean student graduates Harvard as ‘highest ranking undergraduate’
Yonhap News

A South Korean student has graduated from Harvard University as a “highest ranking undergraduate,” the first time a Korean student has won the honor.

Economics major Jin Kwon-young, 20, and one other graduate were assessed equal best of 1,552 students who graduated from the prestigious university in a ceremony on Thursday.

The Harvard Business Student Who Landed a Spot on the Home Shopping Network & Created Her Own Skincare Line
Bostinno

By age 25, Grace Choi had already invented four medical devices. By age 26, her first consumer retail invention in jewelry was picked up by the Home Shopping Network, following a televised nationwide search by TV personality Kelly Ripa. And now, as a Harvard MBA, she’s debuting her all-in-one cosmetic skincare line: Grace Choi Porcelian Skin BB Cream.

Asian-American Week: Korean-American Pop Star’s Popularity Extends To New York
NY1

He’s a singer, dancer and rapper but his fans say that still doesn’t begin to describe Jay Park’s talent.

The 25-year-old Korean-American phenom has millions of fans across Asia. But if you want proof of his popularity in New York, look no further than a line for his recent concert in Midtown that wound around the corner and stretched for several blocks 8 hours before the show.

“I guess I’m a really dedicated Jay Park fan,” said one fan who waited for over 24 hours for tickets. “I don’t want to take the chance that anyone else got those front-row seats. I’m making sure I’m here first.”

A Rapper Ravaged By An Online Firestorm
NPR

Wired‘s Josh Davis speaks with NPR about his recent follow-up article on the Tablo online witch hunt. Stupid Koreans.

Earlier this month, 12 people who posted false accusations online were put on trial in Korea for criminal defamation against Tablo. They could face jail time.

Meanwhile, Tablo has recorded a new album about his ordeal, named Fever’s End. It’s put him right back at the top of the charts, but after such an experience, he’s still not ready to perform publicly again.

SDSU’s Kang has big personality to match game
San Diego Union-Tribune

Soon, [Alex] Kang will turn pro after his final season at SDSU, but this week he is a critical player in the Aztecs’ hopes to win their first NCAA championship in men’s golf. The national tournament begins Tuesday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. The top eight teams after three rounds of stroke play will advance to single-elimination match play. The champion will be decided on Sunday.

Conger misses callup opportunity with injury
MLB.com

The messages began rolling in for Hank Conger on May 11, the day Angels catcher Chris Iannetta underwent right wrist surgery and John Hester was called up to take his place on the roster.

“People were like, ‘Where you at? Why aren’t they calling you up?’” Conger recalled.

And that’s when the Angels’ prospect catcher would have to explain that he’s on the Minor League disabled list, rehabbing a right elbow injury that dates back to the second series of the Triple-A season and has had him on the shelf for more than a month.

B.J. Penn doesn’t think Frankie Edgar deserves UFC Title rematch with Ben Henderson
MMA Torch

Appearing on Thursday’s MMA Uncensored Live on Spike TV, former UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn discusses why he doesn’t think Frankie Edgar deserved a rematch against Benson Henderson.

Visions of the Hermit Kingdom
Wall Street Journal

Chances are, you aren’t going to North Korea any time soon. But armchair travelers can take a virtual tour with “Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang,” edited by Philipp Meuser (DOM Publishers, $49.95).

It’s a two-volume set, the first of which contains photographs and descriptions from the North Korean government’s Pyongyang Foreign Languages Publishing House. The contract required Mr. Meuser to run the images with the official captions, without critical commentary. So volume two provides more photos, history and context, with essays on topics like urban planning, mass gymnastics and propaganda posters.

North Korea’s Kim Poised to Rattle Region With Nuclear Blast
Bloomberg via San Francisco Chronicle

Political pressure, a high-stakes bargaining strategy and technical challenges may push North Korea’s new leader to order the country’s third nuclear test any time now.

North Korea has been escalating its threats against South Korea and the U.S. in the past month as new leader Kim Jong Un celebrates the centennial of the birth of the country’s founder, his late grandfather Kim Il Sung.

Analysts: North Korea’s new missiles are fakes
AP via USA Today

Analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean missiles showcased recently at a lavish military parade say they were fakes, and not very convincing ones, casting further doubt on the country’s claims of military prowess.

Kim Jung-Ju’s Gaming Bonanza
Forbes

The biggest story of South Korea’s richest over the past year happened in Japan. In December Kim Jung-Ju listed his online gaming company, Nexon, in Tokyo in a $1.2 billion initial public offering that was Japan’s largest of the year. That placed a much higher value on the company than analysts had long assumed, and since the launch the stock has risen 17%. So Kim’s wealth has more than doubled in a year, from $2.06 billion to $4.3 billion. That makes him Korea’s third-richest person, up from No. 9, last year.

The Los Angeles Riots: Inspiration behind a culinary upheaval
Los Angeles Times

Award-winning food critic Jonathan Gold writes an interesting piece about the L.A. Riots.

But change in Los Angeles is often easier to track by looking at its restaurants rather than its boardrooms, and from the business end of a pair of chopsticks, extreme diversity didn’t look so bad.

Social and mental stigmas affecting Asian-American students
Spartan Daily (San Jose State Univ.)

For students of Asian-American descent, the duality of being part of two conflicting cultures can be a troubling experience because of family pressures and society.

Justin Ko, a junior child development major, expressed his parents’ disapproval of his pursuit into becoming an elementary school teacher.

“My parents don’t like the fact that I want to teach,” Ko said. “In the Korean culture, elementary school teaching is viewed to be a ‘feminine’ job and my parents want me to do a more ‘masculine’ career.”

Chan Young Kim Of Fairfax, Va. Arrested For Beating Another Man With Golf Club In Korean BBQ Parking Lot
WUSA9.com

A man has been arrested for hitting another man with a golf club in a Fairfax parking lot on Tuesday afternoon.

Forty-seventy-year-old Chan Young Kim is accused of getting in a fight with a man at 4060 Jermantown Road. Kim reportedly punched, knocked to the ground and then kicked the other man before taking a golf club out of his car and hitting the victim when a witness tried to intervene in the fight.

Korean Pop Idol Enrages Japanese Internet by Eating Instant Noodles From the Pot
Rocket News 24

While the internet in general is known for being a bottomless cauldron of hate, nothing quite gets Japanese netizens seething like South Korea. Case in point: the Japanese net is raging over a video of a young South Korean woman eating instant noodles because she has bad table manners.

List of Korean Emoticons and How to Use Them
Seoulistic

Korean emoticons have meanings far and wide. And knowing these Korean emoticons will let you know if your Korean friends are happy, surprised, or just trying to be cute! Reciprocate your feelings using this list of Korean emoticons.

Seoul Sausage Company Opening in Little Osaka
GrubStreet

In good news for anyone who feels over saturated by Austrian and German wieners, Seoul Sausage Company is bringing its killer Korean meats to a retail location. Planting itself down in West L.A.’s increasingly diverse Little Osaka neighborhood, the company plans to open on Mississippi Avenue before summer arrives, right off of Sawtelle in a space aside Coffee Tomo and Blockheads.

T.G.I. Friday’s Is Now Serving Korean Tacos, Too
Eater.com

Look out Roy Choi: T.G.I. Friday’s is now serving Korean tacos. And not just any Korean tacos: they’re steak tacos. And they’re served with Sriracha, so you know they’re super Asian-y or something. Also on the tacos: ginger-lime slaw, cucumbers, fresh cilantro, basil. And jasmine rice pilaf on the side, because why not?

Catching prospect Conger on DL with elbow injury
MLB.com

Angels catching prospect Hank Conger was recently placed on the seven-day Minor League disabled list with a right elbow injury.

“Just a light sprain in the elbow,” Conger said via text message on Wednesday night. “I’ll be good. Should be back in a couple of weeks. Nothing serious.”

Roy Choi – Flavor of Los Angeles
Vimeo

Roy Choi – Flavor of Los Angeles from The Avant/Garde Diaries on Vimeo.

‘The Mentalist’s’ Tim Kang making a mark in Hollywood
Nichibei

It might be hard these days to find someone who has never seen Tim Kang’s face. The Korean American actor has appeared on “Chappelle’s Show,” “The Office,” “Monk,” “Law & Order,” and in the 2008 “Rambo” film. He was in a pivotal, highly memorable episode of the “The Sopranos” and is perhaps best known for his primary cast role in “The Mentalist.”

Conger committed to improving for Halos
MLB.com

Whether that upcoming season has him playing for the Angels or the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees remains to be seen.

Just like last year — when he cracked the Opening Day roster, but was sent down 3 1/2 months into the season — Conger will have plenty to prove this Spring Training. And now that first-year general manager Jerry Dipoto has upgraded catcher with the addition of veteran Chris Iannetta, the club’s dilemma is essentially the same: Is it best to have the switch-hitting Conger serve as a backup and play sparingly at the big league level, or see consistent action behind the plate in Triple-A to continue to develop?

What Republicans Say About The Koreas
Wall Street Journal

But the recent death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il has gotten some of the Republican challengers to U.S. President Barack Obama talking about the Koreas.

On Sunday, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, told an audience in Iowa that Kim’s death had created a “fragile and dangerous time” in the Koreas.

“I hope, with the ascension of Kim Jong Eun, that there’s some prospect for new openness,” Mr. Romney said.

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward reaches 1,000 career catches, 8th player to hit milestone
Washington Post

Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward has become the eighth player in NFL history with 1,000 career receptions.

Ward caught a shovel pass in the fourth quarter from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and although it lost three yards, it made him the first Pittsburgh receiver to reach the milestone. Ward and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice are the only players with 1,000 receptions and more than one Super Bowl win.

South Korea Predicts Changes in Peninsula
New York Times

SEOUL, South Korea — President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea vowed on Monday to “deal strongly with any provocations” from the North, predicting a “big change” on the divided Korean Peninsula following the death of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, and his untested young son’s rise to power.

Culture clash may lie behind the beating of a Korean American boy
L.A. Times

But authorities say that in at least one case, his “counseling” crossed a line. Kim is accused of beating the 15-year-old son of a fellow church member with an inch-wide metal pole until the boy’s legs were bruised and swollen. The misbehavior that prompted the alleged attack: The boy’s parents believed he had been smoking.

Some in the Korean immigrant community described the case as an extreme example of the culture clash between first-generation parents and their Americanized children, as well as changing views about corporal punishment in Korean culture.

Teen interviews Romney, Gingrich on Korea
Yonhap News

“I’d love to see the day when we had freedom throughout the entire world. It would be wonderful, if we had freedom and transparity in all parts of the world, including North Korea,” Romney told Jonathan Lee when asked about his view on the reunification of the two Koreas.

Lee, a 15-year-old from Mississippi, traveled to Iowa, where the Republican presidential aspirants are to kick off their formal race on Tuesday.

Dia Frampton reflects on big year, begins major tour
The Spectrum

The St. George native began the year working at a cupcake shop but by late December the singer-songwriter was a reality TV star and her first solo album was No. 1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers Chart, which features “new or developing” musical acts. Now she’s set to begin 2012 with 27 tour dates opening for country music megastar Blake Shelton.

Patriots Name Fan Of The Year
The Boston Channel

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A Boston man was named the 2011 New England Patriots Fan of the Year on Sunday afternoon.

David Kim, 48, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Saint Vincent Hospital in Worcester, was presented with the Joseph R. Mastrangelo Memorial Trophy during an on-field ceremony before the final regular season home game against the Buffalo Bills.

’30 Rock’: Tina Fey and Writers Plot Kim Jong Il’s Death
The Hollywood Reporter

US Weekly reports 30 Rock producer and Tina Fey’s fellow showrunner Robert Carlock says that the dictator’s Dec. 18 death will find its way into the upcoming season. And since the first half of the season was completed before the news, viewers will just have to wait awhile.

“Jack’s love life is pretty complicated and it just got more complicated because I think, technically, Avery is the First Lady of North Korea,” Carlock said.

K-Pop Videos Set New Record on YouTube
Soompi

According to the report JoongAng Ilbo acquired from YouTube, K-Pop music videos were seen 2.28 billion times from 235 countries during the period of January 1 to December 5. The most clicks came from Japan where K-Pop videos were seen more than 423 million times, followed by the U.S. with 240 million views. Thailand came in at third with 220 million view counts, with Taiwan and Vietnam at #4 and #5 with 180 million and 170 million views, respectively.

Older South Koreans flock to the smartphone and learn to wield it
L.A. Times

Everywhere she goes, whether it’s work or the corner market, Lee Kyung-ok is on the lookout to make new friends. When the magic happens, she whips out her smartphone to exchange digits.

She’s aggressive, hyper-confident in her navigation of her hipster device. She’s also 63.

Los Angeles Angels catcher Hank Conger was invited to take part in a series of exhibition games in Taiwan this November but declined in order to play in the Arizona Fall League, according to the Orange County Register.

For Hank Conger – one of the few Asian-Americans in the major leagues – it would have been a unique opportunity. But Conger has decided his long-range future with the Angels is more important. He will pack up and head to Arizona on Monday and play for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League. Games begin there Tuesday.

“The Fall League is absolutely more important for me,” Conger told the Orange County Register. “When the (MLB) Players Association first asked me, no doubt about it, I thought it would be a great experience. But talking to Tony (Reagins, Angels GM) and Sosh (Angels manager Mike Scioscia) about it – especially the way this season has panned out for me, it’s a lot more important that I go to the Fall League and work on my catching every day. The Taiwan thing would have been fun. But the way I understand it, it’s kind of a tournament where you only play a couple games.”

The Arizona Fall League features mostly minor league prospects on six teams; the season lasts about seven weeks. Conger hopes to improve from the lowly .209 batting average he put up this year with the Angels.

“I’m actually pretty excited,” said Conger, according to the O.C. Register. “It’s an opportunity for me to make up for a season that was disappointing for me.”

The Huntington Beach, Calif., native made the Angels opening day roster but was sent down after two months. He eventually played his way back on to the major league roster but didn’t contribute much upon his return.

Conger hopes to improve his defensive skills this fall.

“The hitting thing – I’m confident in my hitting. I know it’ll always be there,” Conger said. “I think any player can tell you that if you’re only playing once every three or four days, it’s tough (to produce offensively). But I didn’t earn the chance to get any more at-bats with my defense.

Gay former Army officer on trial in DC for protest
AP via Google News

A gay former Army lieutenant arrested for handcuffing himself to a White House fence during a protest is being treated differently because he is a prominent voice for gay rights, his lawyer said Monday.

Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and Iraq War veteran, is charged with disobeying police orders to leave an area in front of the White House during a November 2010 protest of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell policy.” During the protest, 13 people handcuffed themselves to the fence, some in uniform, chanting slogans including “let us serve.”

Choi’s attorney Robert Feldman said Monday at the start of his trial in federal court in Washington that people arrested for protesting at the White House are usually charged in local court where the penalty for disobeying a police order is a fine of between $100 and $1,000. But Choi was charged in federal court, where he faces both a fine and jail time of up to six months.

Survivor of human trafficking and sex slavery on set for film shooting in Kirkland
Kirkland Reporter (Wash.)

The movie, “Eden,” that was partially being filmed in Kirkland Thursday was inspired by [Chong Kim's] true story as a survivor of domestic human trafficking and sexual slavery. The film stars actress Jamie Chung and actor Beau Bridges.

Japanese journalists ‘offered $10,000′ for video of Kim Jong-Il
Russian International News Agency

Japanese journalists offered supermarket staff $10,000 for footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il’s visit to their East Siberian store, a spokesperson for the supermarket said on Tuesday.

To Foreigners in Korea: Please learn a little Korean
Marmot’s Hole

A video is circulating on the Korean Internet of a black gentleman yelling at and threatening an elderly Korean couple.

His violent behavior was the result of him misunderstanding the elderly man’s comment to him. The elderly man reportedly said “니가 여기 앉아” (a sign of consideration) but not knowing Korean, the man in question interpreted “니가” as the N-word which led to his violent outburst.

“Obstructing Business”: South Koreans on the March
Huffington Post

I was in Seoul, South Korea this month at the invitation of the wonderful EBS TV Documentary Festival, and was truly, happily surprised to see a resurgence of activism among ordinary Koreans. Don’t get me wrong. Since its founding, Korea has had a tradition of fierce, die-hard activism (which Koreans themselves may attribute to a diet high in garlic and red pepper, as well as their commitment to social justice), but this ferocity seemed to have gone dormant in the mid-nineties. I was overjoyed to find that this was no longer the case.

Angels’ Conger proud of Ocean View Little Leaguers
Orange County Register

ESPN’s cameras were in the Angels’ clubhouse before the game Sunday as part of the network’s ‘Baseball Tonight’ coverage. They caught several Angels gathered around the big-screen TV, watching the Ocean View Little League team beat the Japanese team, 2-1, in the Little League World Series championship game.

While there were “friendly wagers” among a few players, rookie catcher Hank Conger had the most direct rooting interest. The Huntington Beach native played for Ocean View and reached the West Region championship in 2000 before losing.

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