Korean chef Roy Choi who made truck food famous with his kogi tacos in southern California is now about to expand his food empire.  What started a year ago with a single truck and a bunch of Twitter followers has now become an empire of 4 trucks and a soon to be restaurant in west L.A.

The new, still unnamed restaurant won’t use the Kogi name, Mr. Choi says, and he doesn’t plan to serve the taco. Instead he will try to update the rice bowl. “I see bacon-fat-studded chestnuts and fresh herbs on braised lamb; steak with a soft-poached egg and hand-crushed sesame seeds; organic rice, braised pork-belly, fresh-water spinach in a beautiful broth with sesame leaves,” he says, rattling off ideas. The food, he says, will be inexpensive enough that people who normally eat McDonald’s can afford it.

We named Roy Choi as one of the most influential Korean-Americans in 2009 and his impact was truly evident with new Korean taco trucks popping up everywhere and restauranteurs serving up their version of a Korean taco.  Roy Choi embodies the hard working culture of Koreans and many Korean-Americans can relate to his life.  He may not be the most eloquent guy but his focus and diligence has brought him this far and his belief in himself has turned the food world upside down.  ”There is something very Korean about Roy being Roy,” says David Chang of New York’s Momofuku restaurants, who is also of Korean heritage and who met Mr. Choi last spring. “It’s about working your a— off, and not believing that you’re any good.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Comedian Steve Byrne made an appearance on The Jay Leno Show on Friday night.  He’s one of those big up and coming comedians and if you land on Leno, you know you’re almost there.  If you don’t know Steve, he’s half-Irish and half-Korean which means he can outdrink anybody.

A month ago we started our top ten countdown and now we’re into “twenty ten.” We’ve finally arrived at our #1 most influential Korean-American(s) for 2009.  Naturally the most influential people in our lives outside of our parents and friends are the educators, and they touch the lives of many young people.  Margaret Rhee and Jim Yong Kim share the top spot as they find themselves in very distinguished positions: Margaret Rhee is the chancellor of the Washington D.C. public school system and Dr. Jim Yong Kim is the newly minted president of Dartmouth College.

Dr. Jim Yong Kim became the first Korean-American to head up an American university and it happens to be Dartmouth College of the Ivy League. Dr. Kim came to the United States at the age of five, living in the middle of Iowa. Imagine being the only Korean in the Iowa in the 60’s. It sure ain’t Los Angeles of today. Of course he studied hard but he also was a student athlete in high school. Fast forward to today and after a distinguished career in medicine, at the World Health Organization, and at Harvard, Dr. Kim now heads up Dartmouth College. He is leading one of the elite universities and therefore molding the lives of our future generation.

Michelle Rhee is controversial but an innovator because she’s defying the status quo within the Washington D.C. educational system. Prior to arrival, the metrics were abysmal with kids failing out of the system and not coming close to meeting national standards. Ms. Rhee arrived on a mission to not simply reform but to put a jolt into the system by taking a radical approach with teacher evaluations and compensation. It remains to be seen if her changes are effective but she is influencing the direction of not only the Washington D.C. students under her leadership but her approach could radically influence other school systems if they’re found effective.

Michelle Rhee appeared on CNN’s Anderson Coopers 360 this past week. AC chose Michelle Rhee because she’s at the forefront of change and innovation within the educational system.

University of Maryland basketball player Choi Jin-Soo is doing what many college basketball players have done previously and that is leave school to go professional.  Choi Jin-Soo is entering the NBA…. uh, no.  Correction: He’s leaving an NCAA Division 1 basketball program from one of the elite conferences (ACC) to play in the ultra-competitive professional league of the Korean Basketball League (KBL).  That’s just a notch above the Korean church summer leagues that do fund raisers.  He cited the difficulties of studying and playing basketball.  I don’t know what his major was but he could’ve chosen what many solid student-athletes excel in and that’s the ever popular “communications” major.

“It is really hard to do both ― play basketball and study,” Choi told Korean basketball magazine Jump Ball.
“Studying causes me a lot of stress. I only want to play basketball, I don’t want to have to think about studying,” added Choi.

Good luck Choi Jin-Soo.  You’ll be missed at Maryland.  You could have been the second Korean person to play in the NBA.

It’s the New Year and you’re finally back to work and back to your morning routine, but hopefully you’re watching Good Morning America because Juju Chang became the newsreader for ABC’s Good Morning America. For those of you who may not know, this is huge in the news media business. A job on the morning network shows is one of the most coveted roles and the next best thing is the national evening anchor seat and there are only three of them. It’s pretty awesome that Juju Chang, who started off in the news business as a producer is now firmly seated in front of the cameras every morning. Many folks here in New York know Juju Chang and the people who are most excited are here kids.  We hear through a very close confidant that according to her little boys, they’re now on the same sleep schedule because she goes to bed early just like her little ones. How cute!

This week, GMA did a get to know segment on Juju Chang. Did you know she’s a graduate of Stanford? She happened to be a nationally ranked swimmer at a young age and she got her name Juju because her swim coach couldn’t pronounce her Korean name. And William Shatner of Star Trek fame was part of her wedding proposal? So get to know Juju at Good Morning America’s website.

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerindex?id=9479966

A little bit about Juju Chang from ABC.

Emmy Award-winning Correspondent Juju Chang debuts as the news anchor of “Good Morning America” in December 2009.

As news anchor, Chang joins Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos and Sam Champion in the Times Square Studios where she will bring viewers the news headlines from around the country. Chang will also regularly contribute news and feature stories to “Good Morning America.” Additionally, she will continue to contribute reports to ABC newsmagazine “20/20.” Chang’s most recent Emmy was for breaking news coverage of California wildfires. She previously won a Gracie for a “20/20″ story on gender equality in the sciences. Her other recent stories include an hour-long examination of the long-term impact of foreign adoptions; the struggles of people with Albinism globally, including the plight of Tanzanian albinos; and an in-depth portrait of one family as it deals with the gender transition of the dad. Chang has also reported on the case of Hannah Overton, a young Texas mother of five, sentenced to life in prison for the salt-poisoning death of her foster son Andrew Burd. She has reported for “Nightline” on a wide variety of topics including the Heparin tainting scandal, the diet wars and the state of the in vitro fertilization industry.

Chang also won a Gracie for a story about judicial activism on PBS’ “Now,” and a Freddie for a series she hosted, also for PBS, called “The Art of Women’s Health.”

From 1999 to 2000, she anchored the early morning newscasts of ABC News’, “World News Now” and “World News This Morning.”

Chang previously reported primarily for “World News Tonight,” covering such stories as the U.S. Embassy bombings in Kenya, Hurricane George, and the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.

Chang was based in Washington, D.C. from 1996-97 where she covered the White House, Capitol Hill, and the 1996 presidential election for NewsOne, ABC’s affiliate news service.

Prior to her assignment in Washington, she was a reporter for KGO-TV in San Francisco, from 1995-96, where she covered a variety of state and local issues.

Before her on-air career, Chang served as a producer and off-air reporter for “World News Tonight.”

Born in Seoul, South Korea and raised in California, Chang graduated with honors from Stanford University with a BA in political science and communication. At Stanford, she was awarded the Edwin Cotrell Political Science Prize.

She is married to Neal Shapiro and has three sons. She’s a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a founding board member of the Korean American Community Foundation.

Just because it’s 2010, it doesn’t mean our top ten countdown ended for most influential Korean-Americans of 2009. Please excuse us for the past week’s hiatus as the whole staff was out west escaping the arctic weather, but we’re back and so is our countdown. Obama becoming the first minority President of the United States was not only symbolic but it also caused ripples across the political spectrum. Obama’s entry into the White House will undoubtedly stir up ambitions for Korean-Americans and minorities to pursue politics and that’s why we’ve chosen to group Eugene Kang and the Koh Brothers as the second most influential Korean-Americans of 2009. They are the face of the changing political spectrum for Koreans and though they may not actually be in elected positions, they are influential nonetheless, more than we may know. Eugene Kang is a special projects coordinator and direct assistant to President Obama and when you’re with the “prez” every day and have access to him, you’re going to be doing some influencing. How many of you have a direct line to Obama? Not many people out there do. Eugene also represents the influence of youth in an arena where gray hairs have ruled politics.

We’ve also grouped the Koh brothers, Harold and Howard, with Eugene and their influence.  They may be two of the most powerful brothers in America, this according to the Wall Street Journal.  Harold is the former dean of Yale Law School who is now the top lawyer at the state department which means he will be very influential in how the U.S. interprets international law. Harold’s brother Howard is currently the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Health for the Department of Health and Human Services and advises the administration on healthcare policies and practices for the country, and we all know about the heated debates over healthcare reform. There are other Korean-Americans who should be named in this grouping, but these three are the faces of today’s politics and they are all in positions to influence policy and law. More importantly, they’re blazing a path for other Korean-Americans to consider a life in politics.

If you happen to be celebrating Christmas in Las Vegas, then you may want to drop by Caesar’s Palace on the Las Vegas strip to see Korean pop sensation RAIN.  He’ll be performing two nights on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day.  It’s his first concert in the United States in three years.  He’s bringing his RAINISM tour so watch out!

The Godfather of Korean-American actors is still in his 30’s but it would be safe to say that John Cho is really the guy who paved the way for many young Korean-American actors into Hollywood.  John Cho had a real breakout year.  He was Sulu in this summer’s re-ignition of the Star Trek franchise, and he also found himself in a co-starring role in ABC’s FlashForward.  That’s not just big for being a Korean-American actor, but that’s big for anyone in Hollywood: to get a co-starring role in a large scale movie franchise and then a leading role in a network television show in a single year.  I’d call that a damn good year for any actor.  And to make things real interesting, he found himself stretching the racial boundaries as the fiance of Zoey, played by Gabrielle Union.  Big props to the writer for installing a Korean-American guy in a romantic relationship with an African-American gal.  Oh and btw, just to finish off the year, John was once again named as one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive for the second year in a row.

John’s been in Hollywood for a long time and all that pounding of the pavement is finally paying off.  When you think of Korean-Americans at the forefront of Hollywood, John Cho is probably the first guy that comes to mind.  He’s come a long way from being the guy who said “MILF” in American Pie and smoked pot in his pursuit of White Castle burgers in Harold & Kumar.  He’s really made it in Hollywood and has become truly recognized.  There’s a good number of up and coming Korean-American actors in Hollywood trying to make it big, but they can all thank John Cho for being the pioneer and showing the way.  And that’s why John Cho has beamed up to #4 as one our top ten most influential Korean-Americans in 2009.

Ken Jeong became “that” guy this year.  Y’know, the guy you keep seeing in a bunch of movies but you don’t know his real name.  Ken Jeong made a huge splash in the surprise summer hit, The Hangover, when he jumped out of a car’s trunk in his birthday suit.  He kept on rolling with roles in The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard, All About Steve, Couples Retreat and a co-starring role as the cantankerous Senor Chang in NBC’s new show Community.  He already has a full slate of work in 2010 and the future keeps looking brighter.  This is pretty incredible for a guy who gave up medicine to pursue a career in comedy and acting. Ken was a doctor in residency down in New Orleans, but he decided to give it up to go to Hollywood.  How many Korean parents would’ve rolled their eyes if their sons or daughters said that they were going to Hollywood after having gone through medical school and residency?  Ken defied a parent’s logic and believed in his comedic abilities.  Now he’s “that” guy that cracks people up in the hilarious character roles he plays.  What Ken Jeong showed us was that even in Hollywood, you can still make it even without looking like Brad Pitt.  As long as you have dedication and talent, the dream is possible.  There are many kids out there who are doing what they’re parents want them to do because it’s the most conservative route.  Ken just showed us that you can follow your passions and beat the odds, and that’s why he’s #5 on our list of top ten most influential Korean-Americans in 2009.

How did an all-girl pop group from South Korea find itself on one of the biggest concert stages in America?  They did it by sheer will and ignoring the critics.  It also helped that they had JYP working behind the scenes for them.  No one would have thought that these young ladies would get noticed in America, but they caught the attention of the Jonas Brothers and there they were on stage all summer with them, opening up for one of the biggest summer concert tours in 2009.  Along the way, they made a lot of fans and believers that Korean singers could be successful in the biggest music market.  A year ago, they were the cute girls who stormed South Korea with their singing and dancing to “Tell Me.”  Fast Forward to today, and they’ve toured all of America with the Jonas Brothers, made numerous appearances at different red carpets, and found themselves singing in front of a nationally televised audience on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”  If more Korean artists find their way into the American market, they can thank the Wonder Girls and JYP for figuring out a formula and laying the groundwork for a path across the Pacific.  The Wonder Girls sang their hit song “Nobody” all year, but in the end, they became somebody and have sang their way to #6 on our list of top ten most influential Koreans in 2009.