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.

Who’s the latest power siblings to storm Washington D.C.?  Harold Koh and Howard Koh just took up residence in the District of Columbia last month and they are paving the way for more Korean-Americans into politics.  In this morning’s Wall Street Journal, there was a feature on the Koh brothers and their rise to prominence.  Harold Koh, former dean of Yale Law School and now top lawyer at the State Department, and Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, both were confirmed by the Senate late last month.

Their’s is a simple but common story that we all know very well:  Korean-American immigrant family instilling a work ethic and a super strong focus on education.  They are truly living the American dream; they just happened to have an earlier start than most Korean-Americans.  Their story is symbollic of the stories that Korean Beacon tries to share and it makes the staff here even more excited about Korean Beacon.  We are finally at a point in time where there are so many Korean-Americans who are really emerging and making a difference in the U.S.  Why now?  It’s because there’s a whole generation of Korean-Americans who have been educated or have made investments in themselves and we’re seeing the fruits of that labor.  What’s amazing is that we find a story of a Korean-American who is doing something very interesting almost every single day, and we know we’re missing a whole lot of other stories.

The Koh brothers are symbollic of the many Korean-American lives out there.  Their parents arrived in the United States when they were very young.   Through diligence and perseverance, they focused on education as a a path to something greater, but with this understanding from their parents:

“I guess like any immigrant parents they wanted their kids to succeed in this new country,” says Howard Koh, 57 years old, who was previously a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health. His parents’ mantra, he says, was, “It’s one thing to get a great education and do well in school, but it’s not important if you can’t ultimately use it to help other people.”

The Koh’s are paving a way for more Korean-Americans into politics.  There are others like Sam Yoon who’s running for Boston mayor; PJ Kim and Kevin Kim running for council seats in New York; and Eugene Kang who’s in the inner circle of President Obama.  There are many more Korean-Americans who are trying to make inroads into politics, and it’s exciting for all of us to see them try and succeed.  This is another story of the American dream.

We all have buddies we go play golf with on the weekends.  So who’s the golf buddy for President Obama?  None other than Korean-American Eugene Kang.  Thanks to our friend Deb Price at the Detroit News, she notified us today that Eugene Kang was at Camp David, playing some golf with the most powerful man in the free world: President Obama.  He was also last spotted playing with the President back in December during a Hawaiian vacation of then President-elect Obama.  No matter how good or bad Eugene may be in golf, it’s pretty damn cool to be so close to the President and be his golfing buddy.

Eugene Kang, confidential assistant to the president and a native of Ann Arbor, is golfing with his boss today at Andrews Air Force Base.

Kang is something of a mini celebrity in the Korean American community because of his closeness to Barack Obama. Kang sets up phone calls and plans events, such as the health care town hall earlier in the year in Dearborn.

Kang played golf in December with Obama in Hawaii. Kang says Obama has a “really good golf swing.”

Check out the interview with Eugene Kang at the Detroit News.  Korean Beacon gets a nice mention.

Who’s the most powerful Korean-American family in U.S. politics today?  The person closest to President Obama is Eugene Kang, but the most powerful Korean-American family is the Koh brothers: Meet Harold and Howard Koh.

Howard Koh was recently nominatd to be assistant health secretary for the Dept. of Health and Human Services, and he’s the brother of another Obama nominee: Harold Hongju Koh, the nominee to be the top lawer for the State Department.  Harold has also been mentioned most recently as a possible candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court, which would make him the very first Asian-American to be nominated for the highest judicial seat in the land.  I’m sure there’s also some sibling rivalry because Harold is the dean of Yale Law School and Howard is the director of the Harvard School of Public Health.  

They are two of six children and we can only imagine what the other four kids are doing.  They were born of Korean immigrants who’s parents were the first Asian professors at Yale.  I guess you can say that they stressed education in that household.  Hopefully both will get through the nomination process.

Who’s the closest Korean-American to President Obama?  So close he sees the President everyday?   Meet Mr. Eugene Kang of Michigan, who is featured on the front page of the Detroit News.  The quick political history of Eugene Kang starts when he ran for City Council in the Ann Arbor area while a college student at the University of Michigan, but that failed bid didn’t deter him.  He soon found himself working on the early stages of the Obama campaign and the rest is history.

His most special moment, he says, came when he first walked into the Oval Office.

“Seeing (Obama) behind that desk, to see the payoff of all the work we had done,” Kang said. “To see him in place where he was getting to start making real all the things we had talked about during the campaign … that was definitely a ‘pinch me’ moment. I couldn’t quite believe I was standing in that room.”

It’s a great article written by Deb Price and she writes about how Eugene Kang is symbolic of this generation of Korean-Americans entering into other areas of work that aren’t so traditional.  This is obviously a result of growing up in the U.S. and having been educated here.  It’s great to see not only Eugene Kang become part of the political fabric, but it’s also great to see other Korean-Americans entering into other areas of work that may not have been so obvious to our parents such as media, entertainement and sports.  To read more about Eugene Kang, go to the Detroit News (we’re also quoted in the article)>

The Chosun Ilbo makes note of how many Korean-Americans have influenced President Obama.  Here’s a quick roster of influential Korean-Americans in the Obama administration:

• Eugene Kang – Special Assistant to President Obama – holder of his calender.  The only one aboard Air Force One who is of Korean descent and also named one of President Obama’s 52 most trusted people according to the New York Times.
• Harold Hongju Koh – Dean of Yale Law School and soon to be top legal adviser to the state department.  Also speculated to be a possible Supreme Court nominee – could be the first official Asian-American nominee.
• Michelle Rhee – Chancellor of the DC public school system who is subtly referenced by President Obama for her radical reforms.
• Other peeps in the administration: Christopher Kang, Elizabeth Kim, Helen Hong, Anna Kim

Christopher (Kang Jin-young) – special assistant to the president for legislative affairs

Eugene Kang – special assistant to the president.

Betsy Kim – works for the State Department

Anna Kim – will be White House liaison officer to the Defense Department

On this momentous day, let’s celebrate the wonderful democracy of America. Think about this – when Obama was born, a black man did not have a chance getting hired into any white collar job. Today, Obama was inaugurated into the presidency of the United States. Putting political leanings aside, we’ve witnessed a historic day. Now how does this relate to Korean Americans? Let’s revisit an Oct 31 article from the Dong-A Ilbo about the Korean American faces who were part of the staff helping Obama get elected.

• Eugene Kang (24) – Considered a close confidant to Obama. Working as a political assistant in charge of Obama’s campaign schedule.
• Betsy Kim – Deputy director of Obama’s Asian-American and Pacific Islander voter outreach effort in Chicago. She joined the Obama camp early and became a key member of his inner circle. A second-generation Korean American in her early 30s, Kim directs Obama’s strategy to woo Asian Americans.
• Kim Dong-suk – Led the grassroots movement for passage of Comfort Women Resolution through Congress, has worked as voting director for the Obama camp.
• Jun Choi, mayor of Edison, New Jersey, and Sam Yoon, city councilor of Boston, are also influential Korean-American politicians who have long worked to support Obama.
• Christopher Kang - Recently named special assistant to the Obama administration.

Eugene Kang – staffer to the Obama administration playing golf with President Obama in Hawai’i

Having a man of diversity at the head of government will only increase opportunities for diversity.  It’s very cool that Christopher Kang – a U.S. Senate senior floor counsel whose Korean name is Kang Jin-young – was on Tuesday named special assistant to U.S. president-elect Barack Obama for legislative affairs.  As a White House staffer for Obama, the 32-year old will carry out jobs related to Congress and law bills, assisting the presidential chief of staff and the presidential legal advisor.

Apparently Obama is cornering the market on Korean Kangs because there’s a Korean American that’s even closer to Obama and his name is Eugene Kang.  Part time golf buddy to Obama and calendar keeper for the President.  Read>