Rumors, Gossip Flies in Post-KJI North
Wall Street Journal

In tightly-wound and tightly-scripted North Korea, the one moment of potential drama that people were looking for during the memorial ceremonies last week was whether Kim Jong Il’s eldest son, Kim Jong Nam, would show up from his Macau home and meet his now-in-charge younger brother Kim Jong Eun.

Ex-Singer Lee Ji-yeon Wins Over U.S. Critics with Culinary Skills
The Chosunilbo

After having successfully reinvented herself as a restaurateur in the U.S., where she runs the Heirloom Market BBQ in Atlanta, Georgia, former singer Lee Ji-yeon is now being noted for her culinary prowess by local media.

Heirloom Market BBQ dining review, Atlanta
Access Atlanta

Take a bite of the spicy pork sandwich ($6.50) – a lunch special at Heirloom Market BBQ – and you are tasting the future. The Berkshire pork from Georgia’s Riverview Farms first takes a dip in a marinade of Korean gochujang chile paste, then is slathered with a sugary rub and smokes for hours over hickory and fruitwood. It arrives chopped – a heap of crusty, black-pink porkiness on a toasted potato bun with kimchi coleslaw. How do you say “oink” in Korean?

Check out our feature piece on Jiyeon Lee here.

Kim Ji-Woon Returning To Korea After Arnold Schwarzenegger’s The Last Stand
Cinema Blend

A lot is being made about Kim Ji-woon’s The Last Stand, and with good reason. Here in the States, it has action junkies fired up for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return to a genre he basically defined decades ago. We’re all anxious to see if a stint in political office (and an advancement in age) has softened the former Terminator – though if anyone can make Ah-nold look like a badass, it’s Ji-woon.

N. Korea’s killing of 3 would-be defectors
The Dong-a Ilbo

The shooting of North Koreans who attempted to flee the Stalinist country Saturday shows the bitter reality after Kim Jong Un took control of the communist country. North Korean soldiers opened fire at three 40-something men who tried to cross the Yalu River near Hyesan, Ryanggang Province, to flee to China. The three who were desperately running away on the frozen river were shot dead. Their crime? Being born in a brutal totalitarian country. The inhumane North Korean government is calling its South Korean counterpart an “immoral” group, an absolutely preposterous act.

Sunmee Kim Allegedly Met Korean Businessmen Online Before Pulling Off Elaborate Thefts
OC Weekly

Look at Sunmee Kim. The 36-year-old does not appear as if she could hurt a flea.

But she was popped in Koreatown last month for allegedly stealing another woman’s identity, meeting an Irvine businessman through Koreancupid.com, reporting to Irvine Police under the other woman’s name that her “match” beat her up and, while he was being hauled off, cleaning out his home. Kim, who has been tied to similar crimes in Orange and Los Angeles counties, was apprehended due a cop’s nagging suspicions about who she said she was.

PGA Tour Welcomes Record Number of Players of Korean Descent
The Chosunilbo

A record-high number of golfers of Korean descent will vie for honors this year. Of the 11 on the list, the six Korean nationals are: 42-year-old Choi Kyung-ju, better known as KJ Choi; 2009 PGA Championship winner Yang Yong-eun, 40; Wi Chang-soo, or Charlie Wi, also 40; Bae Sang-moon, 26; Kang Sung-hoon, 25; and 21-year-old Noh Seung-yul. Bae and Noh are making their PGA Tour debuts this season.

2012 New Year’s resolutions for Seoul
CNN Go

No more freaky plastic surgery ads on public transportation

Blepharoplasty, dorsal augmentation, zygoma reduction, neurectomy calf reduction.

These words seem like they belong in science journals (or CSI autopsy reports), but in fact they are plastered all over subway stations and bus stops in Seoul.

In fact, it is impossible to ride any form of public transportation without seeing and hearing advertisements for flashy, high-end plastic surgery clinics, especially around the “Beauty Belt” near Gangnam (Sinsa-dong, Cheongdam-dong, Apgujeong-dong, Nonhyeon-dong, Yeoksam-dong).

A brief history of Korean robots
CNN Go

As one of the 12 robots on display in a mini-exhibition at the Seoul Museum of History, Mero is 65 centimeters tall, weighs 4 kilos and counts “care-giving for the elderly” and “telling jokes” among its many estimable qualifications.

The Seoul Museum of History exhibit runs until January 15 and is being held in conjunction with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology. The exhibit places special focus on care-giving humanoids, ranging from Silbot, “Friend of Grandparents,” to the apron-clad Small Wonder-esque (remember that TV show about the robot daughter?) Mahru-M.

Tim Kang reads from Adam Johnson’s THE ORPHAN MASTER’S SON

North, South Korea exchange recalls previous historic meeting
Los Angeles Times

REPORTING FROM SEOUL -– Though brief, Tuesday’s meeting between North Korean and South Korean leadership families smacked of another historic get-together more than a decade ago that led to one head of state winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Lee Hee-ho, center, and Hyun Jeong-eun, right, in Paju, South Korea, on their way to North Korea on Monday to pay respects to Kim Jong-il and meet the North's new leader, Kim Jong-un.

New North Korean Leader Meets South Koreans and Assumes Leadership of Party
New York Times

South Korea had said it would send no official mourners to Kim Jong-il’s funeral, which angered North Korea as a sign of disrespect. But Kim Jong-un’s meeting with the private delegation of mourners, which included the former first lady of South Korea and a top businesswoman, appeared to be cordial.

The South Korean visitors, Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former President Kim Dae-jung, and the chairwoman of Hyundai Asan, Hyun Jeong-eun, which had business ties with North Korea, were the only South Koreans allowed by the government in Seoul to lead private delegations to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, to express sympathy over the death of Kim Jong-il on Dec. 17.

From Dear Leader to Marilyn Monroe, defector mocks Kim
Reuters

North Korean artist Song Byeok once proudly drew the “Dear Leader” in propaganda paintings. But he was sent to labor in one of the reclusive state’s notorious prisons after hunger forced him to try to flee.

Now a defector living in the South Korean capital, Seoul, Song has turned to mocking a ruler who led his country into famine, isolation and economic ruin.

“The day I finished this, he passed away,” Song said of his painting and the death of Kim on December 17.

Did Kim Jong-il death ruin breakthrough deal on North Korea nukes?
The Christian Science Monitor

The death of Kim Jong-il has disrupted an American plan to encourage North Korea to curb its nuclear arsenal, and the uncertainties surrounding the “dear leader’s” replacement mean US officials have little choice for now but to sit tight.

Before the announcement of Mr. Kim’s death Sunday, the US was on the verge of completing a deal to exchange humanitarian assistance for North Korean steps toward denuclearization.

But as Kim’s replacement and youngest son, Kim Jong-un, tries to establish himself in his father’s place, it will likely be months – and potentially tense and surprise-laden months – before the North Korean leadership will be ready to reengage diplomatically, many North Asian analysts say.

North Korea Presses South to Implement Economic Pact
New York Times

In its first interaction with visitors from South Korea since the death of its leader, Kim Jong-il, North Korea on Tuesday called for the implementation of the inter-Korean summit agreements, which would have brought massive South Korean investments had the South Korean leader, Lee Myung-bak, not scuttled them.

Recalling a Trip to North Korea Before the Death of Kim Jong-il
New York Times

Mun Ho-yong placed the bouquet of flowers at the foot of the towering outdoor portrait of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea. Then he turned to the Chinese businesspeople and tourists, and to the foreign journalists. “Now please bow to our leader,” he said.

Most of us had set foot in North Korea for the first time just hours earlier. We had no idea what protocol to adopt when faced with the “Great Leader,” as North Koreans call him. So we followed Mr. Mun’s lead. We bowed.

2NE1 and SNSD ranks in SPIN’s 20 Best Pop Albums of 2011
Soompi

Girl groups 2NE1 and SNSD are receiving worldwide attention.

The two groups, who are leaders in K-pop’s Korean Wave thanks to their unique performances and refined music this year, have been favorably noticed by famous foreign magazines. SPIN, a popular music magazine in the United States, announced their 20 Best Pop Album of 2011 on December 22 (local time) and the two groups were listed.

Five arrested including two members of Hawthorne Fire Department arrested after drug investigation

The Gazette (Hawthorne, N.J.)

A month and a half-long narcotics investigation resulted in the arrest of five Hawthorne residents, two of whom are members of the Hawthorne Fire Department, on Dec. 21.

At sentencing, Choi apologizes for slaying three in a Tenafly home
North Jersey

“We have three individuals who no longer walk the earth,” said Judge Donald Venezia. “You brought havoc to three individuals and to a community. Anything less than a life sentence and I’d be condoning what you did. There’s no way you’re getting a break. You did not give Mr. [Han Il] Kim a break.”

Before being sentenced, Choi apologized via his Korean translator.

“I’m very sorry to the victims and their families,” he said. “I’m sorry to my own family.”

James Kim: Recent College Grad Feels Pain Of Uncertain Job Market
Neon Tommy

Kim, 23, is one of the “Millennials”- a group defined by a 2010 Pew Research study as 18- to 29-year-olds who are mostly newcomers to the American labor force and who, more recently, have become the last hired and the first to lose their jobs.

According to the study that surveyed 50 million Millennials nationwide, only 4 out of every 10 participants said they had full-time work, and the unemployment rate among the group was 37 percent – the highest it had been in over 30 years.

Ji Hyun Kim: New Face
The Telegraph (U.K.)

Who’s that bright and breezy young tenor playing Gastone in the current revival of La Traviata at Covent Garden?

He’s 28-year-old Ji Hyun Kim, currently a hard-working member of the Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Young Artists Programme.

Perilla, ggaennip, shiso: By any name, a fine addition to garden
L.A. Times

It’s telling that with such limited ground — not even 20 square feet — the gardeners at the Korean Resource Center have dedicated a majority of their space to the perilla plant, a member of the mint family known as ggaennip in Korea and shiso in Japan.

‘Brazen’ contracting scam: Records provide a window into audacious swindle
Washington Post

The plan was straightforward but effective: A tight team of savvy contractors and government employees allegedly inflated invoices by $20 million, approved them and split the proceeds.

And they lived large — on the taxpayers’ dollar. Porsches, real estate, flat-screen televisions and Cartier watches: The men bought it all with impunity, prosecutors say.

The Strangest Man in Ikea
Gizmodo

Taeyoon Choi isn’t at this Ikea, the second largest store location in the world, to buy a coffee table. He’s not there for delicious meatballs and lingonberry sauce, either. He’s in Ikea to create crazy-weird experimental noise machines.

7 best ski and snowboard resorts in Korea
CNN

Given that almost three-quarters of Korea is covered by mountains, it’s no wonder thousands of tourists fly in every winter to hit the slopes.

Now that it’s finally snowing, even in Seoul, here’s where to find the best snowy runs in Korea.

UNM students deface El Morro rock
Santa Fe New Mexican

Dana Choi, a Korean student at The University of New Mexico, admitted to etching the words Super Duper Dana’ into rock at El Morro National Monument in October. His graffiti covers a portion of an inscription that reads Pedro Romero 1758.’ Although officials at monument won’t talk about how they plan to erase the markings, the restoration costs have been estimated at nearly $30,000.

Forever 21 expands in China with support from L.A. mayor
Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles-based fashion retailer Forever 21 signed an agreement Tuesday to open a flagship store in Beijing, part of a greater plan by the company to expand into the world’s largest emerging consumer market.

In a ceremony attended by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the clothing maker committed to a 24,000-square-foot retail space in a multi-story mall located in the Chinese capital’s central shopping district, Wangfujing.

Woman pleads guilty to criminally negligent homicide in death of University Park boy
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Alaska)

A Fairbanks woman pleaded guilty Monday to criminally negligent homicide for killing a University Park Elementary School student with a vehicle this fall.

Yiki Kim, 68, could be sentenced to up to four years in jail at a hearing scheduled for May, under the terms of a plea agreement.

Prosecutors said Kim was driving an SUV that ran off the road and struck 11-year-old Jamison Thun, who was standing 15 feet from the street. She originally was charged with manslaughter and reckless driving.

During Monday’s hearing, Superior Court Judge Randy Olsen spent about half an hour working with a Korean interpreter to make sure Kim understood the trial rights she gave up by entering a plea agreement. Defense attorney Gary Stapp said Kim has a second-grade education and has trouble with the legal language. But he said he is convinced she understood the plea agreement.

Man killed in Winnipeg rollover mourned by friends
CBC News (Canada)

Friends of a man who was killed in a car rollover in Winnipeg over the weekend say they are still in shock.

Donghyun Kim, 21, died after the car he was a passenger in rolled over on Pembina Highway, south of the Jubilee underpass, early Saturday morning.

Three other men, all in their early 20s, were in the vehicle at the time of the rollover.

The 21-year-old driver of the vehicle has been charged with a number of offences, including impaired driving causing death and criminal negligence causing death.

Also known as Ryan and “DK,” Kim was a kind man who wanted to be a dentist, according to friends.

Rabbit Punch Indiegogo Pitch from HJK on Vimeo.

Film Shoot Launch Party with James Kyson Lee, Henry J. Kim, on Dec. 15 in San Francisco
FoundAsian.org

Join James Kyson Lee and Henry J. Kim at a special event (http://on.fb.me/sfseoul) to support “No Rest for the Righteous,” a short film leading into a feature that will be the first joint project between San Francisco and Seoul production companies.

South Korean robot prison guards: R2-D2 maybe, not the Terminator
L.A. Times

South Korea is ready to wheel out its latest weapon in the war against crime: a 5-foot-tall, four-wheeled prison guard robot that will patrol the behind-bars hallways of penal institutions, even assess the mental states of prisoners.

This won’t be just any new guard to join the team. There will be no breaks, no demands for higher pay, no unprovoked attacks and not even a chance of accepting a bribe.

As South Korea battles Japan for supremacy in robot technology, designers have invented what they call a team of “friendly robots” that will not just guard prisoners but keep an eye on their well-being to boot.

South Koreans buying up iconic blue jeans preferred by Steve Jobs
L.A. Times

This holiday season, South Korean youths are snapping up a new fashion statement -– the Levi’s 501 jeans made famous by the late Apple Inc. founder Steve Jobs.

South Koreans buy tons of Apple products, but, style-wise, the jeans are the new hip thing.

A poll taken by Shinsegae, a major department store here, found that the Jobs-inspired 501 look was one of the hottest sellers this year.

At $150 per pair here, the jeans cost almost as much as one of Apple’s technology products.

Whitecaps, Lee Young-Pyo agree
AP via ESPN.com

The Vancouver Whitecaps have agreed to contract terms with veteran South Korean midfielder Young-Pyo Lee.

The 34-year-old has earned 127 caps for South Korea and played in the past three World Cups.

Vancouver coach Martin Rennie said Lee can also play fullback and will help strengthen the team’s defensive backline.

Lee, who has played in South Korea, England and the Netherlands in his career, spent the past two seasons with Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal. The move to Major League Soccer is pending receipt of his international transfer certificate.

Benson Henderson Talks Meeting His Korean Family and Japanese Fans
Bloody Elbow

Benson Henderson spent time in Korea while in Asia for the UFC’s press conference to formally announce UFC 144 in Tokyo, Japan. During his time in Korea he trained with Chan Sung Jung and Korean Top team and did media appearances. The big news was that he also got a chance to spend time with his mother’s side of the family in Korea. It was Ben’s first time meeting them…

7 ways to love winter in Korea
CNNGo

As anyone who has wintered in Seoul will tell you, Korean weather can be brutal.

Cold, windy and dry, winter is a nightmare for skin care. January in Seoul can make you wonder if humans were meant to hibernate after all.

But fight the cold-induced lethargy, put on a coat and go outside. Not only do you save on heating and cable bills, but more importantly, these exclusively winter activities will make it worth it.

Check out Samsung’s transparent and flexible concept tablet (video)
Venture Beat

Tablo: With “Fever’s End” Comes Happiness
Wall Street Journal

Tablo just released his first solo album “Fever’s End” – actually a two-parter with five songs each — after staying out of the public eye for almost two years.

The albums debuted very high on Billboard’s World Album chart. “Fever’s End (Part 2)” was ranked second and “Fever’s End (Part 1)” was ranked fifth.

“I didn’t have concrete expectations, so the warm reception is a surprise to me,” Tablo said in an interview with the Journal earlier this week.

Toby Dawson to Coach National Freestyle Team
The Chosun Ilbo

U.S. skier Toby Dawson, a Korean adoptee who won the bronze medal in mogul skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics, was officially named as the coach of the Korean national freestyle skiing team on Thursday.

Dumbfoundead: Koreatown rapper inspires a tremendous following with his unlikely story
L.A. Weekly

During two hours in Koreatown’s Chapman Plaza, meanwhile, Park is stopped three times. He’s something of a local celebrity in this part of town, and one group even asks to pose for a photo with him.

“Everything changed when I really discovered YouTube two years ago,” he says, sipping soju and OB beer at Gaam Restaurant, a phosphorescent late-night lounge for the upwardly mobile. “Success on YouTube isn’t only about rapping well. It’s letting viewers share your life experiences and daily routine. A lot of them have followed me on every step of my journey and feel a personal connection.”

KCRW StoryCorps – Roy Choi [AUDIO]
StoryCorps (KCRW Los Angeles)

Roy Choi of Kogi Korean taco fame, shares stories with his friend Jude Angelini about growing up Korean-American in Los Angeles.

Backbeat: ‘The Voice’s’ Dia Frampton Steps Into The Great Wide Open
Billboard.biz

Dia Frampton, runner-up on the first season of NBC’s “The Voice,” performed four songs Thursday for the employees of Reveille Productions, the producer of “The Biggest Loser” and “The Office,” among other shows. The appearance, booked as part of Reveille’s monthly Brown Bag Lunch Series, had a two-fold purpose promote her album “Red,” due Dec. 6 on Universal Republic, and provide footage for an NBC.com series that will air around the beginning of “The Voice’s” second season.

1 Year Later: Who Gunned Down Studio City Man in His Driveway?
Patch (North Hollywood, Calif.)

When Jong Kim’s killers gunned down the businessman outside his home near Universal Studios last Nov. 18, they left a distinctive clue.

The three men had driven to Kim’s house on the 10600 block of Chiquita Street in Studio City near the border with Toluca Lake and North Hollywood, in a car with an unusual two-toned paint job. The Honda Prelude, a 1988-1992 model with a sun roof, after-market rims and modified exhaust, was caught on surveillance tape. The images were shown here and in a few other local media outlets—but, eight months later, detectives have not yet found the car, which could possibly lead them to the killers.

Redmond man arrested in connection with Bellevue homicide: Formal charges still pending
Redmond Reporter (Washington)

A Redmond man was arrested after investigators said he shot and killed a man, who was allegedly having an affair with his wife, at a downtown Bellevue apartment building Tuesday morning.

At 10:07 a.m. Tuesday morning, Bellevue police responded to the Belle Arts apartment complex, located at 111 108th Ave. NE, where they found Jin Kim, who was pronounced dead at the scene from a single gunshot wound to the head.

‘Korea has respect for design’
The Korea Times

“There’s something about Korean designers I like very much. First of all, they like to work with media, electronics and digital technology. They are comfortable with them and use them in a poetic way,” Antonelli said. “So even though some artists are traditional such as painters and sculptors, there is a great search of digital and multimedia art here.”

Samie Kim Falvey: ABC’s comedy queen
Variety

Credit for ABC’s comedy resurgence goes to many, but Samie Kim Falvey is clearly due some praise. The exec, who was named senior VP of comedy development in 2006, oversees a healthy laffer lineup that includes two-time Emmy winner “Modern Family,” “Happy Endings” and “The Middle,” as well as freshmen “Suburgatory” and “Last Man Standing.”

3rd-generation ethnic Korean helps dig up oil
The Korea Times

AKTOBE, Kazakhstan ― Dmitri Lim cannot speak any Korean but thinks of himself as at least half-Korean and even roots for the national football team of his great grandfather’s country.

The 32-year-old engineer is working for Firm Ada Oil, a joint venture established by two Korean companies, which produces oil in Aktobe, western Kazakhstan.

Firm Ada Oil’s majority stakes are shared by Korea National Oil Corp. and LG International.

“One of the reasons I decided to work for Ada Oil is that it is run by Korean companies,’’ said Lim who has worked for the oil developer for the past one and a half years.

Amid the number of Korean families sending their high-school age kids on a solo mission to America to get an education, many of these “wild geese” students are flocking to Seattle, according to an article published today by the Korea Times.

Receiving a top-notch public school education is just one criteria for the parents footing the bill. Another? Rock-bottom real estate prices. The newspaper reported that Seattle offers Korean parents — many who are top corporate executives — a way to subsidize their child’s living expenses via investment properties.

“It’s a heavy burden for them to send thousands of dollars every month,” said [property advisor Paul Kim], “so what they do is purchase a condo or two in Seattle and use the monthly rent to support their kids.”

David Cho, an agent at John L. Scott, says many of his clients do the same.

“People sell their expensive Gangnam apartments, trade down and use the remaining money to invest in income-generating property here,” he said, adding that condos and commercial real estate such as shopping plazas, are typically the most popular.

WED's Links: Asian Ams grab Obama’s attention, Jenna Ushkowitz, SK's 1st Chemical Castration Pedophile; Uglydoll Makers http://t.co/w9gRr0sH

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

I uploaded a @YouTube video http://t.co/NnQFpSdq SMTOWN World Tour - EXO, SHINEE, f(x) Performance P.2