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Living Dangerously in America’s Own Killing Fields

  • April 26, 2012 9:30 am

K.W.

At 82-years-old, K.W. Lee is considered the “Godfather of Asian American journalism.” He immigrated to the U.S. in 1950 on a student visa and became the first Asian immigrant to be hired by a mainstream news daily and has reported for the Kingsport Times and News in Tennessee, the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia and the Sacramento Union. He has covered stories ranging from the plight of coal miners in the Appalachians to the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South to the unjust incarceration of Chol Soo Lee. K.W. founded the Korea Times English Edition and continues to work and lecture across the country. On the eve of Sunday’s 20th Anniversary of the L.A. riots, K.W. looks back.

With the 20th anniversary of the April 29, 1992 LA Riots just around the corner, it’s déjà vu time again.

On sobering reflection, I dare say that our Sa-I-Gu (Korean for 4-2-9) didn’t explode on that date.

Long before the greatest urban upheaval in modern America, hardy Korean mom and pop storekeepers, along with their long-suffering and stoic Latino and Black neighbors, had been living dangerously every waking hour, seven days a week, all year round in the seething inner-cities.

Only God knows how many of these bedraggled newcomers from Korea — some call them wannabe Kamikazes —have been mugged, robbed, maimed or slain in their dogged pursuit of an elusive dream in America’s own killing fields.

EDIBLE BYTES has had some spicy adventures.

  • February 4, 2012 12:32 pm

As a child, I was coddled, shielded from anything and everything that could bring me even the slightest measure of discomfort. That meant learning to ride a bike; roughhousing at school; and sports in general. There was even an embargo on spicy foods.

So really it must have been a delayed reaction to the latter that I started to love spicy food because honestly, I don’t think I actually fancy its ‘taste.’ What appeals to me more is the sense of achievement – however small – that comes with consuming something other people shudder at tasting.

Korea Hearts Uneducated White Female English Teachers with Big Boobs

  • September 7, 2011 1:43 pm

There’s a long tradition of Americans and other Westerners working as English teachers in Asian countries like Korea. And with that comes certain occasional “controversies”…one of them being rumors that certain employers have a preference for hiring attractive white women with…uh… big Western tits specific qualifications.

Well, dedicated YOMYOMF reader Kurlykolly stumbled across the following posting on Seoul Craiglist from one such woman looking for a teaching job in Korea (click to see the full ad here until it gets taken down):

The Kim Sisters

  • August 1, 2011 12:05 pm

It’s rare to find out about Asian musicians in the US mainstream from the ’60s and ’70s, aside from the likes of Kyu Sakamoto or Pink Lady. But, the Kim Sisters from South Korea, were also part of this legacy. Three sisters, Sook-ja, Mi-a, and Ai-ja, they were the daughters of famous Korean music conductor Kim Hae-song (1911 – 1950), a classical music conductor and popular composer who was captured and killed by the North Koreans during the Korean War, and Lee Nan-Young (916 – 1967), one of Korea’s most famous singers before the World War II, best known for her 1935 nationwide hit song, The Tears from Mokpo.

Korean Artist Creates Recycled Tire Art

  • July 26, 2011 12:01 am

Korean sculptor Yong Ho Ji is best known for creating elaborate sculptures from pieces of used automobile tires. And because we here at YOMYOMF are about more than just porn stars, inbred white people and online orgasms, we present to you some of Yong’s work ‘cause we’re also about art and shit. 

Super Gonorrhea, Penis Cutting & Homophobia, or Why Asians Ain’t Getting Laid This Week

  • July 14, 2011 1:01 am

Message to my Asian peeps: what the hell is going on this week? Did you all get together and decide to unleash all this shit at the same time to make non-Asian folks afraid to have sex with us? ‘Cause I think I missed that evite.

First comes reports that a “super” strain of gonorrhea that’s immune to all antibiotics was discovered in Japan. Scientists first identified this new and improved STD in a Japanese sex worker, but don’t know much about it or how it came to be. Well, I’m not a medical expert, but let me just throw this bit of advice out to our Japanese friends…maybe you should stop fucking octopus tentacles and robots. ‘Cause you don’t know where that shit’s been and what sort of new super STDs you’re creating.

Next, there’s Catherine Kieu Becker who allegedly cut off her husband’s penis on Monday and disposed of it in the garbage disposal. Now, on one hand, Kieu definitely doesn’t sound like your stereotypically submissive Asian woman so I applaud her for that, but she certainly hasn’t helped dispel the image of Asian women as craaaazy.

An Open Letter to Korean American Parents About Naming Their Child

  • July 1, 2011 12:01 am

Dear Korean American parent-to-be:

A couple of weeks ago, I posted the following message on Facebook/Twitter:

Dear Korean soon-to-be parents with the last names of Lee, Kim or Park, do not name your child John or Grace. It’s getting too damn confusing.

And I know I’m not the only one who has this problem. I know many of you reading this have had an experience like the following:

There are multiple John Kims in your address book so you accidentally send the following email to the John Kim who is the pastor of your church instead of the John Kim who is your trusted business partner:

I have disposed of the body. No one will know. :)

Or you get confused by the multiple Grace Lees you know and send the following text to your 55-year-old aunt Grace Lee instead of the super freaky 25-year-old Grace Lee you met at norebang last weekend:

Girl, that thing u can do w/your tongue & the ice cubes is wicked awesome! Can’t wait 2 see what u do 2 me this weekend with the whipped cream, riding crop & midget dressed like Tattoo from Fantasy Island. LOL.

Why St. Patrick’s Day Should Be a Korean Holiday

  • March 11, 2011 12:01 am

So come next Thursday, we will all be Irish again for one day—wearing green, pinching those who aren’t wearing green, drinking, clubbing errant snakes and drinking some more. Yes, once again St. Patrick’s Day will be upon us. Now, nothing against my Irish brothers and sisters, but I think it might be time to finally come clean and acknowledge what a lot of us have been thinking for the longest time:

St. Patrick’s Day should also be a Korean holiday.

Koreans do already celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and it’s allegedly growing in popularity every year. This shouldn’t be too surprising because Koreans are often referred to as the “Irish of the Orient.” Our two peoples definitely have a lot in common and it makes sense that this holiday should therefore be shared equally between our two great nations.

A Cautionary Tale for ‘Tiger Moms’: Deeds, not Ivy League Degrees, that Matter

  • January 17, 2011 12:05 am

K.W.

At 82-years-old, K.W. Lee is considered the “Godfather of Asian American journalism.” He immigrated to the U.S. in 1950 on a student visa and became the first Asian immigrant to be hired by a mainstream news daily and has reported for the Kingsport Times and News in Tennessee, the Charleston Gazette in West Virginia and the Sacramento Union. He has covered stories ranging from the plight of coal miners in the Appalachians to the civil rights movement in the Jim Crow South to the unjust incarceration of Chol Soo Lee. K.W. founded the Korea Times English Edition and continues to work and lecture across the country. He is also working on a project to document the Korean American experience during the L.A. riots.

A tribe, a people or a nation is likely known or judged by its heroes by whom it reveres above all others.

Such is Abraham Lincoln, an icon of all humanity beyond borders.

So are Korean diaspora pioneers Dosan Ahn Chang Ho (Island Mountain) and Charles Ho (Nobody) Kim who are now among the pantheons of not only Korean but American heroes.

These towering figures from our American heritage share one common trait: They couldn’t afford attending a day in college.

Lincoln, the great emancipator born to a log cabin, mostly taught himself in the frontiers of the slave-owning republic.

Dosan and Nobody, upon arrival for American education a century ago, gave up their dream to devote their lives as freedom fighters for their conquered kingdom as well as for their struggling migrant workers in the apartheid West.

Charles H. Kim

To them, education was a life-long learning journey.

Korean Moms Object To TV Show’s Gay Storyline

  • October 8, 2010 12:01 am

A group of Korean mothers are so upset that the SBS Network’s popular Korean TV drama Life is Beautiful includes a “positive” portrayal of a gay couple that they have taken an ad out in the Chosun Journal to express their outrage.

The ad reads, in part: “If my son becomes gay and dies from AIDS after watching ‘Life Is Beautiful,’ SBS must take responsibility! ‘Life Is Beautiful’ has glamorized the culture of gays against what is realistically, healthy and proper for the citizens of Korea.”

This has opened up a flurry of heated comments from both sides including the following reply from openly gay Korean actor Hong Seok-cheon: “If such logic was true, all of those children that were on a part of the show with me should be gay by now, but they aren’t. The gay couple that is shown on ‘Life Is Beautiful’ is so beautifully and realistically drawn. If there really is a son out there that becomes gay after watching the drama, it is not because he became gay but because he actually was gay and finally earned enough confidence to come out.”

Now, let’s put aside Mr. Hong’s well-articulated plea for tolerance because…well, quite frankly, it’s boring and instead focus on the statement from these concerned mothers. Look, I have sympathy for these mothers. Not only do they have to deal with a major kimchi shortage, but now they have to also worry about their sons turning gay and getting AIDs because of a TV show. As far as the DNA tests prove I know, I’m not a parent but I can feel for these mothers so I want to do my part to support their efforts.

An Open Letter To Korean Parents Celebrating Their Child’s First Birthday

  • August 23, 2010 12:01 am

Dear Parent:

If one or both of you are Korean and your child is about to have his or her first birthday, you’re most likely in the midst of planning a big celebration. In the Korean culture, the first birthday is a major occasion. The Dol or Dol Janchi is important because in the olden days, the infant mortality rate was very high for babies and it was considered a milestone to reach one’s first birthday (the first 100 days were also important) and the special day was marked with a big party.

This tradition still continues and one of the things that happens at this celebration is a ritual called the dol jabi. Here’s how it works–a number of items are left in front of the child and whatever he or she grabs is supposed to predict the baby’s future. Traditionally, items such as a book (to represent a scholarly future), string (long life) or money (wealth) are placed in front of the child. So if the birthday baby chooses the money, for example, he or she is supposed to become rich. More modern items can also be used such as a football (to signify a future athlete), a mouse (future computer genius) or even a movie camera (future filmmaker).

Now I’ve been to a number of dol celebrations recently and while this tradition may be my favorite part of the festivities, there’s one problem with it: It lacks serious drama.

Why? Because every item the baby can pick represents something “positive.” So let’s say that he or she chooses long life over money…is that really a bad thing? Nope, what we need to do is introduce a sense of danger to this ritual to make it more interesting by including items no Korean parent would want their kid to ever choose. Along those lines, here are some suggestions for things that you can include to increase your dol jabi drama…

12 More Things Overheard During The Filming Of The Koreatown Reality Show

  • July 30, 2010 12:01 am

I previously blogged about 10 things overheard during the filming of the upcoming reality show set in L.A.’s Koreatown.  This week, new photos of the cast of the Tyrese-produced series have surfaced and, in a related story, a new study says crimes like robbery and rape could increase in neighborhoods where reality shows are set so watch your back, Koreatown!  But to commemorate this latest news, here are more things overheard during the production of the “Asian” Jersey Shore:

1. If I projectile vomit all over you, will you still sleep with me?

2. You mean Brad Pitt didn’t start his career as a gay porn star/reality show train wreck? Ah, fuuuuuck me! I wish someone had told me that sooner!

3. “My totem is a spinning soju bottle.” “OMG, mine too!” “OMG, me too!” “OMG, me too!” “OMG, what if we’re all dreaming right now?” “OMG!!!!” “OMG!!!”