Tina Park is the first Korean American and the youngest female to be elected to the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees.  LACCD has nine community colleges under its supervision and is the largest community college district in the U.S., with an annual government-funded budget of US$1 billion. Seven members of the Board of Trustees, who are elected to four-year terms, approve and supervise all spending within the district.

“A lot of students are attending community colleges because of the economic crisis since tuitions are low there,” says Park. Her primary concern is the specialization and professionalization of community colleges. She says her biggest goal is to “nurture departments of nursing science, health management and eco-friendly industries so that our students, many of whom are from the lower strata of society, can graduate with jobs.”

Born in Seoul, Park’s family moved to the U.S. when she was six. She graduated with a degree in accounting from Hofstra University in New York and then worked as a financial auditor at the New York Stock Exchange. She survived the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, while she was auditing a firm in the World Trade Center.

At the request of her mother who complained that New York was too dangerous, Park relocated to Los Angeles in 2005 and took a job with a consulting firm. Moving to Los Angeles turned out to be a turning point in her life. Park worked on the fund raising team of the Hillary Clinton campaign during her presidential bid in 2008. That’s where Park drew the attention of political insiders, who suggested she run for a spot on the LACCD board.

“The chances weren’t in my favor because the opponent was an incumbent on the board at the time. I got 148,200 votes, edging the opponent by 23,000. It wouldn’t have been possible if it were not for the many Korean Americans in Los Angeles, who believed in me and supported me,” Park says. “I’ve taken great interest in volunteer work in the local community. I’ll try my best during my four-year term to transform the community in a positive way.”

Source: Chosun Ilbo

At the beginning of this year, who would’ve thought that a girl band from South Korea would be the opening act for one of the biggest musical tours in the U.S. this summer?  Well the Wonder Girls did the unthinkable and performed as the opening act for the Jonas Brothers.  In fact, 48 shows in 65 days is what they accomplished.  Monday night in Canada, the Wonder Girls performed their final opening act (48th) for the Jonas Brothers tour.  It all started in Portland back in June and it’s been a whirlwind run across America.  Along the way, they played softball with the Jonas Brothers and made numerous appearances on American airwaves.  They soared in popularity as they found their hit video “Nobody” as one of the top selling videos on iTunes.  This all happened because of entertainer extraordinaire, JYP, who imported the Wonder Girls to America.  What these very young ladies may have done is pave the way for other Korean artists to become accepted in American music.  BoA and Se7en have been struggling to find their way but the Wonder Girls look like the real winners in the summer of the Korean Wave, by correctly partnering with a big musical act which provided them a platform to introduce Kpop to the American masses.  They became somebody with their hit song “Nobody.”  It’s sad to see a tour end and you can see by the Tweets of the young ladies that they’re getting emotional about the end, but it may only be the beginning for greater things for these Wonder Girls.

What is with Koreans and suicide?  Ugh!  According to the JoongAng Daily, South Korea’s suicide rate ranks highest among advanced countries, according to the National Statistical Office (NSO) yesterday.

According to the annual death report, the NSO said a total of 12,858 people, or 24.3 people for every 100,000 Koreans, took their own lives in 2008, which is equal to 35 people killing themselves every day.  This represent an increase from 23.9 per 100,000 people in 2007 and 21.5 for 100,000 in 2006.

The NSO said given the fast growth in the suicide trend in Korea, no other OECD country comes close. “The figures for other OECD countries, even after they are updated, would not be as high as Korea’s recorded last year”, said Lee Ji-yeon, an official of the NSO, one of the report’s authors. “Not even the rates for Japan and Hungary are rising as quickly as Korea’s”.

Experts attribute the rapid growth in suicide in Korea to the rising unemployment rate among young people and the weak social safety net for senior citizens, among other factors.

South Korean golfer and LPGA rookie M.J. Hur won the Safeway Classic on Sunday by sinking a 6-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to beat Suzann Pettersen for her very first LPGA Tour victory.  Hur shot a final round 65 to roar into a playoff against veteran Petterson and Michele Redman.  In the end, it was Hur who was doused with champagne and was holding the trophy at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland.  M.J. Hur is another Korean player who’s won for the first time on the LPGA Tour this year.

When you think of Brazilians, you think of soccer.  When you think of Koreans, you think of golf.  Once again, for the second year in a row, a Korean has won one of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the United States.  Byeong-Hun An dismantled Ben Martin in the finals of the U.S. Amateur on Sunday to become the youngest winner of this tournament, taking home the Havemeyer Trophy.  How prestigious is the U.S. Amateur?  Tiger Woods is a three time winner.  Jack Nicklause, Arnold Palmer and Phil Mickelson are previous winners of this tournament.   Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer of all time considers the U.S. Amateur as a major championship.  Last year Danny Lee, another Korean, became the youngest winner of the tournament; Tiger Woods was the previous youngest winner.  Now for the second time in two years, Byeong-Hun An officially becomes the youngest (17 years old) winner of the U.S. Amateur and this win punches his ticket to next year’s Master’s tournament, the U.S. Open, and the British Open; three of the four golf major championships.

An is the son of two Olympians.  Both parents won medals in table tennis at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, so he’s got championship DNA in him.  An moved to the U.S. 3 1/2 years ago and his biggest struggle wasn’t his golf game, but English.  He now trains down in Florida at the IMG Academy.  When asked in the post-tournament interview if Y.E. Yang’s win over Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship was any motivation, An said “After he won the PGA Championship…. for all of us Koreans and Asians, it made it possible for us to win.”

An’s win made it the 12th Korean to win a U.S.G.A championship. Coincidentally, M.J. Hur, a Korean LPGA golfer, won the Safeway Classic golf tournament today at Pumpkin Ridge. When you think golf, you there are two things you should think of… Tiger Woods and Koreans! Fighting!

Hollywood has come a long way when it comes to the roles that Asian-Americans play on the the screen. I was browsing through cable TV this morning and on ABC Family, I happened to land on a channel of an Asian guy, played by Aaron Yoo, kissing his girlfriend in the movie, Lindsay Lohan. Historically, it’s been nearly impossible for Asian actors to have a any type of romantic role in Hollywood. You won’t see a love scene or anything sensual, but if you check out Labor Pains, you’ll see history in the making. Go Aaron!

We saw Kero One perform as part of the Map the Soul Tour a few months ago. His style of hip hop most definitely stands out and his lyrics are pretty good. Below is an article talking about his style.

Published in the Nichi Bei Times Weekly Aug. 27 – Sept. 2, 2009.

By ANTHONY YAZAKI
Nichi Bei Times Contributor

Kero One is not the average hip-hop artist. He is not from the traditional hip-hop hot spots of Los Angeles or New York. He is the son of Korean immigrant parents, born and raised in the Bay Area. His style of music isn’t gaudy like many of his contemporaries, but is still eye-catching.

“My music isn’t in your face,” Kero One said in an interview with the Nichi Bei Times.

Listening to his newest album — entitled “Early Believers,” released in April of this year — his analysis seems correct. To describe Kero One’s style in one word, it would have to be “smooth.” He weaves together old-school jazzy beats with fresh rhymes in a way that seems to have gone all but extinct in the new millennium. Kero One proves that there are still times when less can, in fact, be more.

In Kero One’s music you can feel the influence from artists like Kanye West and Amy Winehouse, and you can hear a similarity to groups like The Roots, but the most striking resemblance is with Common, the emcee from Chicago who Kero One lists as one of his biggest influences.

Common has been well known for his rejection of some aspects of mainstream rap culture and for drawing together different elements from numerous genres of music to create his unique brand of hip-hop. Kero One has followed in those footsteps and put together his own mélange of musical tastes, past and present, to form his own style.

“I listen to all types of genres. I deejay and play everything from house, disco and electronica to soul,” he said. “In terms of hip-hop, I’ve listened to a lot of early ’90s pioneers. Guys like Nas, Pete Rock — the classic stuff. Anybody who makes hip-hop should be familiar with these guys.”

Though his beats and melodies have been influenced by an array of artists, Kero One does not look to his predecessors as much when writing rhymes.

“Lyrically, I’m inspired by everyday events — the things I go through,” he said.

With a lyrical emphasis placed on real life experiences, it is no surprise that Kero One likes to work with people close to him.

“A lot of the collaborations I’ve done were with good friends,” he said. “I had known many of these people for a while, but we had never made music together. That definitely took it to the next level.”

Regardless of any other musical analyses that can be made and similarities that can be drawn, Kero One sets himself apart from much of the modern music world by having built his whole career from scratch. While it may sound like many other trite stories of musicians trading in rags for riches, few have personally taken the time to fulfill every step of the music business from recording, producing and pressing to distributing and promoting their work.

“In the beginning, I had millions of questions,” said Kero One. “When I started, I had no label so I started my own, called Plug Label. Then I had no means to get my stuff out there so I did some research and sent out a few copies of my single — only about 50 — across the world.”

He soon got his break after a few weeks when a Japanese deejay uncovered the single and immediately asked for 3,000 copies. Since then, Kero One has gone on to tour across Japan and worked with Asian artists like Epik High from South Korea and DJ Kentaro from Japan.

Though Kero One grew up in the United States and said he identifies most strongly with the Bay Area, he also said his Asian heritage has definitely affected his life.

“When I was a kid and wanted to go out skateboarding with my friends, I would sometimes have to go home early and kids would wonder why,” he said. “There is a difference in the discipline and I think it has helped me.”

This dichotomy between Eastern and Western culture can be observed in Kero One’s choice to embrace both the old and the new.

“Every artist has their time and starts to fade away. It’s time for the new guys to come in,” he said. “There is so much hidden talent in the Bay Area alone. With all the changes in the industry, it’s a very interesting time not just for hip-hop, but all music in general.”

Read more about Kero One or his latest album, “Early Believers,” by visiting his Website, www.kero1.com.

One of the ultimate classics whether sung at karaoke or in your car

Shin-soo Choo is a major league baseball player a lot of pitchers would rather not face.  As the clean up batter on the Cleveland Indians, he was also a key component on the Korean national baseball team during the World Baseball Classic.  Below is an excerpt from an interview he did with Dong-A Ilbo.

Dong-A: Koreans such as Park Chan-ho, Kim Byung-hyun and Seo Jae-weung succeeded as pitchers in Major League Baseball, but you seem like the first to do so as a batter. What does it feel like to become a major batter in the majors?

Choo: I’m not satisfied with myself at the moment. I feel like I need to do more to prove such a reputation. This is only my first season as a full-time runner and the season has yet to end. I’m maintaining a good sense of batting but there’s no end in learning when it comes to baseball. I see new techniques coming out every day, and I have to get used to the balls thrown by new pitchers. You simply cannot survive with old techniques. You have to keep working. I tape my batting every day and analyze it to see whether I’m doing anything wrong.

Dong-A: You are the first Korean to be nominated for the Hank Aaron Award. How does that feel?

Choo: It’s nothing. It might be a big deal in Korea, but not in the United States. It’s an honor to be a nominee, but I know I’m not going to be the winner. There are so many other outstanding batters in the majors. Every team gets two to three nominees, so I’m just one of them.

Dong-A: What was your most difficult moment?

Choo: I had the hardest time in 2001 and 2002 when I first came to the United States after graduating high school in Korea. I had problems with communication and I was lonely because I had no friends. I can communicate well now, though my English might not be perfect.

Dong-A: Do you take English lessons?

Choo: I didn’t take any lessons but I learned by talking to other players. I had a dedicated interpreter for the first two years but not anymore.

Dong-A: Are you aware of your popularity among American fans?

Choo: Many American fans seemed to notice me after the second half of last year, when I began to bat well. We have individual mailboxes and mine is full of fan mail usually asking for my autograph. Unfortunately, I cannot reply to all of them.

Dong-A: What advice do you have for Korean players who wish to play in Major League Baseball?

Choo: I played with my Korean teammates in this year’s World Baseball Classic and the national team is one of the world’s best. Baseball itself is not much different between the two countries, but rather a matter of culture and style. It all boils down to how well Korean players can adapt to the style of American baseball, which is different from Korea’s. I might be doing well here in the States, but I might struggle in Korea. Any player who comes to America should be ready to start from scratch. Even if you were the best player in Korea, you have to swallow your pride.

Dong-A: You might still have to serve your mandatory military service as a Korean male. Is the Asian Games next year your last chance to get a draft exemption?

Choo: That’s a very tricky issue I’ve been discussing with the team, but I’ve not received any confirmation. I want to play in the Asian Games but I’d need permission from my current team.

Dong-A: You have a sticker of the Korean national flag on your bat. Why?

Choo: Many Americans do not know about Korea. I want to let them know more about my country. I had the sticker at the end of the bat since it is often captured on camera. These days, many fans come to the stadium with a picture of the flag.

Dong-A: How do you manage your health?

Choo: I try to sleep a lot, at least eight to nine hours a day. I can get rid of fatigue by sleeping. I also eat red ginseng jelly and juice every day. I even eat jelly in games as a snack. I used to sweat a lot, but after eating red ginseng, I began to sweat less and grew less tired.

Dong-A: What is your ultimate goal?

Choo: I first want to do my best in the United States. I want to be remembered as a long-time starter instead of doing well just for a couple of seasons and then disappearing. I still have a long way toward achieving that goal.

According to ESPN.COM this week, PGA Champion Y.E. Yang and Tiger Woods could face each other again at the HSBC Champions Tournament taking place in Shanghai this November.  The question is whether Tiger is going to be look forward to a rematch or if “home court” advantage could mean that Y.E. Yang beats Tiger for the 3rd time!  What do you all think?