In a bi-monthly series of posts, we will spotlight different Korean-American cities, selected not only for their numbers, but also for their visibility in mainstream America. Our research was guided by the following criteria: population, famous and/or influential locals, programs, and hotspots.

Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN.

The Twin Cities—Minneapolis and St. Paul—are known for many things, such as its many lakes and thriving art and music scene, but it’s also home to a flourishing Korean American community.

We asked Minnesotan Kevin Ost-Vollmers, founder of and blogger behind Land of Gazillion Adoptees, about what makes the oft overlooked city “Korean American.” Here’s what he told us:

Minneapolis is home to a thriving Korean American community. Difficult to believe? For evidence, go to the University of Minnesota’s Dinky Town area during the lunch hour and walk into any of the numerous restaurants and coffee shops, and chances are you’ll see a lot of Koreans. Go to the Korean Presbyterian Church, which serves the sizable Korean population in Brooklyn Center and Columbia Heights, on Sundays and view a sea of black hair.

Some of the most recognizable Korean adoptee names within the broader adoption community reside in Minnesota as well – Ami Nafzger, executive director of AdoptSource, social worker JaeRan Kim, and writer Sun Yung Shin, to name a few.

The booming population of Koreans in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and in Minnesota in general, is due not only to a vast number of immigrants, but also to adoptees from the Motherland—the latter of which is estimated to comprise 50% of the state’s rich Korean population (Korean Quarterly, 2008). As a result, many of the people and organizations we are about to highlight have ties to the KA adoptee community.

Numbers

• 16,813 (Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area – 2010 Census)

Visibility

Kevin Ost-Vollmers and Jane Jeong Trenka

• Award-winning writer and activist Jane Jeong Trenka is most notable for her books The Language of Blood and Fugitive Visions: An Adoptee’s Return to Korea. Her highly personal accounts illustrate her struggles of growing up in rural Minnesota, her birth family reunion in 1995, and the assimilation challenges she faced when she moved back to Seoul in 2004. She continues to add to the adoption discourse through her blog, Bitter Angry Ajumma.
• What better way for children to connect with their heritage than through song and dance? The Chang-mi Korean Dance and Drum group was created in 1984 with that purpose in mind, and since then has provided a creative outlet and community for Korean adoptees to explore their cultural roots. Brooke Jee-in Newmaster is the founding member of the group and is now the artistic director and owner of Korean Heritage House. She is currently leading a Kickstarter project that aims to help fund her group’s travels to perform at the ChoongHyun Babies’ Home Memorial at the end of March.

Brooke Jee-in Newmaster (right) with her Chang-mi Korean Dance and Drum Group

• A passionate social worker and writer, JaeRan Kim explores the history and current issues of her fields on her personal blog and Harlow’s Monkey. The latter blog humanizes the ‘monkey love experiments’ of Harry Harlow by exploring the ideas of biological attachment in international and transracial adoptions. Through her blogs, Kim gives voice to adoptees who are often forgotten in the gatekeeping discussions about the ethics and politics of adoption.
• There are many adoption-related blogs, but no other centralizes and supports the visibility of the adoption community as Land of a Gazillion Adoptees (LGA), run by Kevin Ost-Vollmers and Shelise Gieseke. Himself an adoptee, Ost-Vollmers devotes his creative energy to the LGA blog which highlights, raises questions, and celebrates the accomplishments of Korean American adoptees in Minnesota, the U.S., and beyond.

Programs

Korean Culture Camp

• One of the oldest cultural camps in the U.S., the Korean Culture Camp of Minnesota is a nonprofit summer day camp program that aims to help Korean American children embrace being Korean without emphasizing the adoption factor. Typical camp activities include Korean language lessons, Taekwondo instruction, and learning the history and culture of the Motherland.
• “Giving Voice to the Korean American Community,” Korean Quarterly is a nonprofit publication serving ethnic communities of the Twin Cities and and northern Midwest. The publication’s entire staff consists of Korean American immigrants, adoptees, and adoptive parents. Features include profiles of notable Korean American organizations and leaders, and coverage of events deemed relevant to the KA community.
• AdopSource is a nonprofit organization that helps Korean American adoptees and the greater adoptee community in Minnesota have “a sense of belonging through their shared experiences.” Services offered by AdopSource include Korean culture and language classes and birth family reunion support.
• The Korean Heritage House provides the meeting grounds for a previously mentioned organization: the Chang-mi Korean Dance and Drum group. In addition to dance and music classes, members can participate in Korean cooking classes or a number of clubs including the Asian Adoptee Youth Club, Chingu Kids & Parent Play Club, and K-Pop Dance Club.
• AK (Adopted Korean) Connection is a nonprofit run for and by Korean American adoptees in MN. The site’s mission is to foster a community for adult adoptees, and each month, a social event allows members to gather and have fun. February’s event will be an exciting afternoon of rollerblading at the Metrodome!

Hotspots

A heavenly pie of Korean BBQ pizza from Pizzeria Lola

• Green Spoon is a cross between a sooljib and cafe, offering a full espresso bar omelets in the morning, and soju and delicious odangtang (declared a “super soup” by the Star Tribune) at night. On Wednesdays, Green Spoon serves unlimited wings and fries and unlimited beer for only $20!
• Having undergone a remodeling makeover, Hoban Restaurant exceeds all expectations in serving authentic Korean food. We recommend sticking to the classics; get the pajun, soondubu, or dolsot bibimbap.

  Kimchi Jjigae and bulgogi from Sole Cafe

• Escape from the cold with a hot meal at Sole Cafe. Voted “Best Korean Restaurant in 2011,” Sole Cafe is vegan-friendly and prides itself on using fresh produce from the local farmer’s market.
• With a menu that boasts Korean-inspired pizzas, Pizzeria Lola has quickly grown to become the go-to place for a tasty pie in the Twin Cities. Co-owner Ann Kim is one of 90 certified pizzaiolos in the U.S., and LGA’s Kevin proudly endorses the pizza joint, saying: “Nobody combines kimchi, banchan, and pizza dough like Ann Kim, one of the new superstars in the restaurant community.”
• Open until 2AM (4AM on Fridays and Saturdays), Do Re Mi Karaoke is a great place to feel like a rockstar among your friends. Do Re Mi’s menu is provided by Hoban, and the karaoke offers a Happy Hour Sunday-Thursday from 6-9pm.

Locals

Mayda Miller and Ed Bok Lee

• Deborah Johnson is the CEO of Kindred Journeys International, columnist for Adoptive Families magazine, and the ex-director of the Ties Program, an organization that helps adoptive families travel to their children’s birth countries.
• Kim Jackson established the HERE Project, the first portrait book of Korean adoptees living in Minnesota. She also works with the Korean Quarterly as a Graphic Designer.
• After earning his MFA from Brown University, Ed Bok Lee went on to write a national bestseller in poetry titled Real Karaoke People. His latest book Whorled has been named one of the 2011 Minnesota Book Awards finalists.
• Sun Yung Shin received the Asian American Literary Award for Poetry in 2008 for her first book of poems titled Skirt Full of Black. She is also the co-editor of Outsiders Within: Writing on Transracial Adoption with Jane Jeong Trenka and Julia Chinyere Oparah. Her next book of poems, Rough, and Savage, is set to be released in the Fall of 2012.
• Other notable locals include playwright Katie Hae Leo, soulful pop singer Mayda Miller, Hak Cheol Shin, who was a speaker at the first TEDxHanRiver and is 3M Company’s Executive VP of Industrial Business , and comedian Amy Anderson, who is currently based in LA but was raised in the city of lakes.

We’d like to give a special thanks to Kevin of Land of Gazillion Adoptees, the folks at Korean Quarterly, and Slanty of Slanty Eye for the Round Eye for helping us with the legwork for this article.

Have a city you’d like to see featured? Get in touch and give us some inside tips.

Melissah Yang contributed to this post.

If you’re down for a night of good vibes and a bunch of laughs, don’t forget to buy your tickets to the inaugural Koreatown Comedy Festival.

Koreatown Comedy Festival will be hosted by Paul “PK” Kim, host of Mnet’s Beats Per Mnet and founder of Kollaboration, and rapper Dumbfoundead. The lineup is packed with well-known comedians such as Amy Anderson, Danny Cho, David So, and PK and Dumbfoundead themselves (full list above)!

The show starts at 7:30 pm on the evening of Thursday, January 12th at CGV Cinemas in Los Angeles. Buy your tickets at a presale price of $11 here.

For more information check out the event’s Facebook page. All proceeds will be donated to LiNK (Liberty in North Korea) and Kollaboration.

Here’s a snippet from PK’s past show at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood to tickle your funnybone:

KAs@Work is a new series that profiles Korean Americans and their jobs. Want to share what you do, or know of people with interesting jobs? Get in touch.

After years of experience, comedian Amy Anderson knows what skills are necessary to make it in her business. With her daughter Aubrey just starting as the new baby Lily on ABC’s Modern Family, she is definitely taking on a new role within the entertainment industry. Read on to find out how Amy handles being a woman of comedy and a mother of talent.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m a comedian, actress, writer and “momager”…. I manage my daughter’s acting career! I was born in Seoul and adopted at age 5.5 months to my family in Minnesota which is where I spent my entire childhood. A great place to grow up, but too cold and too many mosquitoes!

We heard that you’re a skilled classical musician and graduated with a Bachelor’s in music education. What made you turn towards comedy?

I knew by the end of my junior year in college (which was a classical music conservatory), I didn’t want to pursue music as a profession. I always loved comedy and was a total class clown as a kid, so really it was a natural transition for me. I started taking a comedy improv class in 1997 and have been making people laugh ever since.

It seems that very few women comedians manage to achieve the same acclaim and fame as their male counterparts. What’s it like being a woman, more specifically, a Korean American woman in the comedy scene?

I hate to cry “unfair”, but it is difficult being a woman in comedy. We are definitely a minority, and women often are judged more harshly and for things that have nothing to do with what we say – mainly our looks. However, things are shifting – with women like Tina Fey, Kristin Wiig, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman and SO many more, people are starting to respect women in comedy which is refreshing. And veteran stand ups like Wendy Liebman, Kathleen Madigan, Tammy Pescatelli have been fighting the good first for years – as have I! I’ve been doing stand up for almost 15 years! As an Asian American woman, it’s weird sometimes. People often expect me to do “Asian” jokes but then they find out I grew up in an all-white family and it surprises them. I don’t do stereotypical Asian jokes – nail salons, happy endings, etc. Hahaha! It’s just not my thing and it’s so hack and been done.

Aubrey Anderson-Emmons plays “Lily,” the daughter of dads Mitchell and Cameron, on Modern Family

Your four-year-old daughter Aubrey just started as the new baby Lily on the third season of ABC’s Modern Family. How has Aubrey adjusted to her new job? And what’s it like being on the set of an Emmy Award-winning show?

Aubrey is loving her job as Lily on Modern Family. She truly is a natural and she wasn’t a child actor before she landed the role. It was kind of a fluke how we heard about the re-casting and everything happened very quickly. But she loves it. She literally begs to go to the set to be with her “TV friends” on days she doesn’t work. She does attend regular preschool on days she’s not shooting, and we’re trying to keep her life as normal as possible. The vibe on the Modern Family set is so great – it really is like a family and everyone there is so nice and clever. We are having a blast and feel very fortunate to be a part of such an amazing show. I recently wrote a blog post about our experience with Modern Family which talks about some of these things.

Can we expect a future mother-daughter acting collaboration?

Who knows? I could see something in the future, and I’d love for us to work together. I could imagine an animated project where we do voices! That would be so fun, and she loves cartoons since she’s only four. She’s also very musical so I could imagine something there too. Lots of potential.

Anything you want to say to those who want to slap the dreaded “stage mom” label on you?

I’m aware that “stage mom” is mostly regarded as a negative term especially with shows like Toddlers And Tiaras out there, but I was an actress before Aubrey booked Modern Family. I know the ups and downs of this business, and I know how to conduct myself on a set. I also wasn’t actively pursuing a show business career for Aubrey. I wanted her to have a normal childhood and to not suffer an artist’s life like I have – it is not an easy one. But it really did sort of fall into our laps and while I’m not a spiritual person at all, it did seem like a divine order of events that were just meant to be. We rolled with it, and I don’t doubt for a second we made the right choices. My main concern is for her safety, happiness, health and proper behavior. I am her mom first, then her manager. I still want her to be a good, happy girl much more than I want her to be famous or rich.

Finally, any words of advice for struggling comedians and actors?

Don’t be lazy! Making it in this business is brutal and very competitive. You need to put in the work so you are ready when a great opportunity arises. If it’s your passion and you can’t imagine yourself doing anything else, you know it. Stay true to yourself, work hard and trust that if you are doing what you were meant to be doing, then things will fall into place for you. Maybe not in the way that you imagine, but hard work is often rewarded in surprising ways.

Check out Amy’s blog, http://funnyyellowmom.blogspot.com, and follow her on Twitter
Watch Aubrey on Modern Family on Wednesdays @ 9/8c on NBC and follow her on Twitter.

[Photos: Courtesy of Amy Anderson]

In a weekly series of posts, we will present the Top 5 Most Korean-American cities, selected not only for their numbers, but also for their visibility in mainstream America. Our research was guided by the following criteria: population, famous and/or influential locals, programs, and hotspots.

#1 Los Angeles, CA

We’ve finally reached the end of our countdown, and Los Angeles is our #1 Most Korean-American city! After immigrating and settling in the city with dreams of a new life, many Koreans found themselves suddenly displaced after the 1992 L.A. Riots (Sa-i-Gu) took its toll on businesses and homes in L.A.’s Koreatown. But since then, K-town has progressively grown into a vibrant neighborhood that combines cultural traditions with new and modern attitudes. While this may be one of those Captain Obvious moments, let us prove it to you by sharing the countless reasons why the City of Angels tops our list.

Numbers

• 324,586 – Los Angeles metro area (population data compiled using the 2010 Census)

Visibility

Dr. Sammy Lee (left) and Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddy (right)

• Los Angeles is home to three Korean American pioneers: Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Lee, Susan Ahn Cuddy and K.W. Lee.
  • A doctor and two-time Olympic gold medalist in the past, Dr. Samuel “Sammy” Lee, the first Asian American to represent the US and win an Olympic gold medal in diving, is an inspiration to anyone with an ambitious dream. Last summer, a square in Koreatown was named after the diving hero.
  • Not only is Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddy the daughter of the first Korean married couple to immigrate to the U.S. in 1902, but she is also the first female gunnery officer appointed to the U.S. Navy; making her an important figure in Korean American history.
  • K.W. Lee, known as the “godfather of Asian American journalism,” is the founder of The Korea Times English Edition and still continues to serve on the editorial board of Color Lines Magazine. The award-winning journalist-activist also has a center inspired by his lifetime of service called the K.W. Lee Center for Leadership—a non-profit organization teaching youth how to become future leaders.

  
  Phil Yu (left) and Paul “PK” Kim (right)

• Phil Yu, the blogger behind Angry Asian Man, recently celebrated his 10th anniversary of being one of the most influential voices in our community. Through his posts, Phil has centralized Asian America by facilitating ongoing discussions about racism, activism and mainstream media’s (mis)representations of Asian Americans. This weekend, Phil will be judging Kollaboration SF 2 along with singer-songwriter Clara C.
• Paul “PK” Kim is a multi-talented leader who not only created Kollaboration, the largest Asian American talent show in the world, but co-founded LiNK, a non-profit organization raising awareness to the pressing issues of North Korean refugees. PK is now the co-host and producer of MNET’s BPM: Beats Per Mnet, a daily series covering the latest and greatest in Asian pop culture. You can watch clips from the series here.
• Ever since “coming out” as an undocumented immigrant, 21-year-old UCLA student David Cho is one of the handful of Asian American students putting a “human face” on the DREAM Act issue. Having recently won the Freedom From Fear Award, David founded ASPIRE (Asian Students Promoting Immigration Rights through Education) to unify undocumented Asian American students on and off campus. He’s also the 1st Korean American drum major of the UCLA marching band!

Programs

Kimchi Chronicles’ Marja Vongerichten visited KYCC this past July.

• Established in 1975, the Koreatown Youth & Community Center (KYCC) offers programs and services specifically aimed towards immigrated and economically disadvantaged children, youths, and their families. Some of KYCC’s programs include clinical services, tree planting, and business education.
• Through education, leadership development, and community organizing, the Korean American Coalition Los Angeles (KACLA) seeks to promote the civic and civil rights interests of the Korean American community in L.A. Last month, we covered KACLA’s 3^rd annual KBBQ Cook-Off, which brought out all of the top KBBQ restaurants in K-town for all of the foodies’ delight.

• Founded in the wake of California’s Proposition 8, Koreans United for Equality (KUE) unites straight and LGBTIQ Koreans in order facilitate a larger acceptance within the Korean community.
• The Southern California Korean College Student Association (scKcSA) is the oldest and largest non-partisan, non-profit Korean American student organization in the US, connecting college students from eleven campuses in Southern California. scKcSA promotes a sense of Korean American heritage among students by serving the community and building a strong social network.
• The KHEIR Center was initially founded in 1985 to provide quality healthcare for low-income, non-English speaking Korean immigrants. KHEIR now operates the only full-time community clinic in the country with Korean, Spanish, and English language capabilities and services 30,000 patient visits per year.

Hotspots

• Roy Choi’s Kogi Truck was the food truck that started it all, and while many try to compete with it, nothing beats the original. Initially parking alongside curbs all over L.A., Kogi Truck now has expanded, making trips to cities in the Valley and in Orange County.
• Cafe Mak is a great café to study for exams, finish up some work from the office, or catch up with your friends. The venue is spacious yet intimate with a peaceful ambience and offers free parking (gasp!) after 8pm.
• Always the spot for running into people you know, Chapman Plaza boasts several sooljibs (Korean bars) and restaurants, a hookah lounge, and NRB. In the plaza, Gaam is one of the more popular sooljibs in K-town with its contemporary décor and vaulted ceilings.

• Belasco is the new “it” club among today’s young Korean Americans in L.A. on Saturday nights. Hosted by Korean promo companies, Belasco’s events are notorious for keeping the party alive and well into the night. Make sure to get there early because lines have gone around the corner before. Other notable club spots are Le Circle and VR.
• As a 21+ NRB, Bobos Karaoke is always a fun place to sing and drink the night away. Bobos offers rooms of many different sizes to accommodate groups of any size. With flat screens in the front and back of each room, you’ll feel a rock star performing for your friends while they sing along as your groupies.
• With all of the KBBQ choices in L.A., we couldn’t narrow it down! Check out our list of L.A.’s Top 5 All-You-Can-Eat KBBQ spots to get your meat fix.

Locals

• L.A. is home to Hollywood so we have to acknowledge the many Korean American actors and actresses who are eliminating stereotypes within the entertainment industry. Comedian Amy Anderson’s daughter Aubrey Anderson-Emmons will soon play the adopted Lily on ABC’s Modern Family while Jenna Ushkowitz sings her heart out on Glee. John Cho is coming out with the new Harold and Kumar movie this winter, and Sung Kang will star in Sylvester Stallone’s new action flick Bullet to the Head. Also be on the lookout for the Ktown Cowboys who are set to start filming their movie version of the wildly popular webisode series.
• On the flip side, KAs are also making a name for themselves behind the camera. UCLA grad Grace Lee wrote and directed The Grace Lee Project, a documentary that tries to breaks down the “Grace Lee” stereotype (i.e. “reserved, dutiful, piano-playing overachiever”). Her new film on Detroit activist Grace Lee Boggs, American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs, is currently in post-production. Previously based in L.A., Michael Kang has directed the Korean American feature West 32nd, which starred John Cho, Grace Park and Jeong Jun Ho. His new film, Knots, is scheduled to release sometime this year. Other filmmakers include Chil Kong and Dennis Lee.

Dumbfoundead and Priscilla Ahn

• As for musicians: Priscilla Ahn‘s musical career blossomed after she touched base in L.A. to follow her music career dream. Her latest album, When You Grow Up, encompasses her growth and journey as an artist in every song. K-town’s new pride, Dumbfoundead (Jonathan Park), recently caught the attention of the L.A. Times with his track “Are We There Yet.” Singer-songwriter and YouTube extraordinaire David Choi, Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn, and Korea’s “National Fairy,” Lena Park, also call L.A home.
• Known for his “dirty style,” David Choe is a K-town originated artist whose work can be distinguished by its raw, graphic and abd layered qualities. Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe, an art documentary based on David’s work, was recently released on DVD.
• Other locals include: Quest Crew‘s Victor Kim and Lydia Paek, Angry Little Girls‘ Lela Lee, AMN Radio‘s Sung Lee, Christina Lee and Eddie Kim, and Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD)’s amazing Chief Deputy, Emile Mack.

This concludes our countdown of the Top 5 Most Korean-American Cities!

Melissah Yang and Eunice Roh contributed to this post.