North Korea Recruits Hackers at School
Al Jazeera
Two defectors: a former hacker and a hacking teacher say North Korea is shoring up its cyber-warfare units to battle its southern rival as well as the United States.
Following an expedited two-year program at university, students are sent to China or Russia for about one year to solidify their knowledge of hacking and and other technical skills. After the overseas training, they are placed in various warfare units to serve as “cyber-warriors”, Kim said.
The publication said the cyber-warfare unit had its agency status upgraded last year which prompted a boost in hackers from 500 to approximately 3,000.
These “cyberwarriors” are provided with the best environment, and if they graduate with top grades, their parents in the provinces are given the opportunity to live in Pyongyang, Kim said, citing verified information from his former students who are still operating as hackers in the North.
Photo via Al Jazeera
Korea’s Food Identity Crisis
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star‘s food editor published a long piece on the country’s food “quandary” as the government seeks to promote global popularity on the scale of China and Japan.
“There’s a disconnect between what the Korean government is trying to promote and what people are eating at home.”
Photo via Toronto Star
‘Secrets of New York’ host Kelly Choi likes digging deep into forgotten stories of the city
New York Daily News
Kelly Choi is hosting a new show on NYC TV called Secrets of New York, which uses archival photos and vintage footage to tell stories about New York City that you might have forgotten about.
Choi may be best-known for her work in the food arena, first as host of “Eat Out New York” on NYC and Bravo’s “Top Chef.” On “Secrets,” though, Choi conveys a mysterious image by wearing black, thanks to help from designer Natalia Danilova.
“I’m imparting that information in an intriguing way,” she says. “I purposely wear a deep red lipstick. I appreciate the visual aspect. Whatever works to get me in the mood for that, I’m open to.”
Photo via NY Daily News
Norristown eyed as potential location for South Korean university (video)
The Times Herald (Pa.)
South Korea’s Dongseo University is considering opening up an annex campus in Pennsylvania.
Congressman Jim Gerlach and Montgomery County Commissioners Joe Hoeffel and Bruce Castor were among those who convened on Monday afternoon to show their support for an East Coast annex of the major private university in South Korea that provides education in a wide spectrum of majors including IT, Film & Image, Design, Engineering and Communication.
Tumblr Founder Loves Kim Jong Il Blog
CNN
The founder of the popular publishing tool was profiled by CNN and mentioned that one of his favorite blogs is Kim Jong Il Looking at Things. It’s exactly what you would expect. Pretty hilarious, actually.
‘Maria the Korean Bride’ married 50 times in every State
International Business Times
Performance artist Maria Yoon staged mock weddings in all 50 states. Continue Reading »
Funnyman Ken Jeong puts in some “community” service with this just-released public service announcement about hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for the American Heart Association. See what I did there?
Ken graced the cover of our June 2011 issue.
If you think jumping out of the trunk of a car naked was revealing, Ken Jeong, co-star of The Hangover 2, gives perhaps his most intimate interview to date. In this profile by Oliver Saria, the actor, comedian and M.D. talks about the mentor that changed his life, why he hearts his Ho (don’t worry, that’s his wife) and politely addresses the haters.
by Oliver Saria
IT WAS THE WINTER OF 2005, and I had just moved to Los Angeles to pursue a writing career. Prior to that I had dabbled in stand-up comedy and my friend Amy Anderson had asked me to perform for the “Chop-SCHTICK” showcase she was producing at the Friars Club of Beverly Hills. At that point, I was debating whether or not to trade in the trauma of bombing on stage for the relative ease of bombing on paper. That night, I had a decent set, certainly no better or no worse than I had performed in the past. For a second I thought, “Hey, maybe I ain’t so bad at this after all.” Then Dr. Ken hit the stage—by all appearances your standard, somewhat nerdy middle-aged Asian professional, an actual doctor irreverently posturing as a thug. He was a rising comic at that point, and it was immediately apparent why.
He killed it that night. He knew how to balance smarts and vulgarity—at turns throwing up the “West Coast” sign and razzing his patients. He deftly worked stereotypes while simultaneously turning them on their heads, adding unexpected turns to his punchlines.
He giddily lampooned his wife Tran’s last name, Ho (she’s also a doctor)—a joke she probably heard before:
Ken Jeong is always ridiculous. And we love it.
Last night, he hammed it up on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
He’s also part of Thumb Wars, a national campaign to stop texting and driving. An important project, indeed!
See Ken in his upcoming film, Furry Vengeance, on April 30!
The 67th annual Golden Globe Awards will air January 17th and I can’t help but notice a dearth of Asian faces or names from their nomination list. In fact, the only nod I could find was for Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Korean American frontwoman Karen O for the original score to Where The Wild Things Are, shared with veteran film composer Carter Burwell. Congrats, Karen!
But only one Asian/American nod for the entire year? We didn’t even get a Best Foreign Film nod!
Truth be told, there aren’t a lot of people of color nominated this year. With O and four Black actors’ nods (Gabourey Sibide, Mo’nique, Morgan Freeman, and Chiwetel Ejiofor), that brings the grand total to…5. Out of 25 categories. But, there’s always a chance that some of the producers for the winning Best Motion Picture and Television Series will bring diversity to the Golden Globes award stage. And in the Best Animated Feature Film category, two films feature Asian American and African American characters (Up and The Princess and the Frog), which is cool. If we can’t have more Asian and Black actors in the flesh, we might as well have them in cartoon form!
Continue Reading »
FOR ONLY $28!
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
LINKS
Featuring Recent Posts Wordpress Widget development by YD
