In the hectic and exciting nature of starting a new school year, students and parents alike often forget the precautions that must be taken in everyday life. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) brings light to a very widespread issue that could potentially be prevented: child abduction. Actor Tim Kang, most popular for his role as Kimball Cho on CBS’s The Mentalist, has partnered with NCMEC to instruct parents what they need to teach their children and what precautions they to take to keep them safe.

In a recent press release, Tim Kang, a father of a one-year-old daughter, shared:

“I understand how parents want to do anything possible to protect their children and keep them safe. Children need to know that it is ok to say ‘No’ and that if approached they need to yell, kick or runaway. Parents need to understand that spending a few minutes teaching their children about safety could literally mean the difference between life and death.”

Statistics show that there are nearly 800,000 children that are abducted a year, which is equal to 1 child every 40 seconds; these numbers are astonishing, and this issue is definitely one that needs to be addressed. The NCMEC has shared 10 basic tips to be applied daily in order to protect oneself from abduction. As much as we go through our lives with the help of others, safety is a personal responsibility as well. The NCMEC and Tim Kang are hoping that, with their efforts, they can see a dramatic decrease in the number of children missing each year.

[Photo: TV Choice]

If you watched The Mentalist on Thursday night, you saw the story revolve around Korean-American actor Tim Kang (Kimball Cho).  You know you’ve seen Tim somewhere because he’s been in numerous commercials as “that guy.”  Well, in the Thursday episode, Kimball Cho loses his former best friend David from what he thought was the result of gang banging.  However, that wasn’t the case and the story reveals the reasons for David’s death as Kimball Cho hunts for the real killer.  At the end of the show, Kimball shares his grief and regret to David’s mother and concludes the show speaking Korean….

“I’m sorry Mrs. Seung.  I’m so sorry.  Please forgive me.”

See below for an interview with Tim Kang about Thursday’s episode.

Tonight’s episode is being set up as Cho’s big moment on the show. What more can you tease?
I think it does feel that way. I think what you have to look forward to is a side to him that, with the shooting and all the things that we saw in the preview, is that when the s*** hits the fan — and the s*** definitely does hit the fan — instead of this divorced sort of approach to his work, you know, “Work is work, and I’m going to be very professional about it,” some of those emotions tend to seep into what he’s doing, and the loss of control and the efforts to maintain control is something that we’re gonna see. And I think that’s a fun journey that we go on. Like, oh s***! Is he going to lose his s***? Wait a minute. This is totally unlike how he handles himself day-to-day. So it’s just another facet to who he is. He’s not an automaton; he’s not a robot [laughs]. As much as people like to say, “Geez, do you ever smile? Are you a robot out there?” He’s not. He feels very deepy, and I think that we’re gonna get to see that a lot more from this episode.

And Cho has a girlfriend! Where the hell has he been hiding her?
[laughs] I think it’s fairly new. It’s something that has developed within the past few months, within the time line of the show. So they’ve reached a point of being fairly comfortable and interacting with each other. But it’s not like he’s been hiding her for three years or anything like that. It’s definitely sort of a brand new thing.

I know a love interest is something that you’ve wanted to see develop for a long time — and I think fans have, too.
Yeah. I don’t know if it was specifically a love interest; it was just something in his past that I’ve wanted to explore further, whether that’s a love interest, or a long-lost cousin or what have you. Just something. And in this episode, it turned out to be a couple of things — not just a girlfriend, not just a long-lost friend or any of that. So we get to see a lot of Cho’s past, which is nice.

Are we going to see more of this in future episodes? I was shocked when they showed Cho’s apartment in the preview.
[laughs] Right. True. Well, that’s actually Elise’s apartment, so we still don’t know … We don’t get to take a look at the piggy bank; we don’t get to take a look at any of the other stuff that we sort of referenced earlier. But hopefully. Again, that’s something that’s up to the writers. But it’s definitely a treat to delve into his past.

Right, because Cho’s sort of the odd man out in all of this; everyone else already has a backstory going on.
Yeah. I feel like that’s a good thing. But on the flip side of that, I’m also happy with the way that things are going, because Cho … he’s the ultimate team player. But he is more than capable, and actually prefers operating on his own. He’s sort of a lone-wolf character. I don’t see him as really depending on too many other people. So it kind of fits with the character; however, it also fits that he has a girlfriend and a life outside of the CBI.

Is there anything within Cho’s backstory that you would love the writers to develop?
Something in terms of his military background would be great, because in this upcoming episode, we get to see [that] his formative years were being spent being a gangster; being a punk. And I would love to go into the military part of it to see that transformation from this loose canon gangster kid to the disciplined military guy. It would be nice to see that transition and how he handled authority, let’s say, during his first day of boot camp or whatever. That would be an interesting thing to see. Maybe he got screamed at by his drill Sargeant or whatever, more than others because of his attitude, [with] him trying to buck authority and all that sort of thing. Also, his career in the police department after he got out of the army would be nice to see. And then probably Lisbon coming in and recruiting him from the police department into the CBI. That would also be something very interesting, I think.

I want to talk about my favorite episode of the season: ‘His Red Right Hand,’ which eventually ended with Bosco dead and Minelli retiring. Were you shocked when you initially read the script?
Absolutely. And plus, it was really great to work with those guys. It was a shock, storyline-wise, that we were losing these two great characters all in one go. But again, the powers that be just felt that that was a necessary thing. I personally thought that we could have had a little bit more stuff for them. But it did absolutely make sense, and did work the way that it happened. But certainly, I was in a little bit of, like, “Oh, wow! Okay. I’ll see you later, Terry! I’ll see you later, Greg!” But yeah. Those guys are so great and they took it all in stride.

Do you think there’s room for Gregory Itzin to return?
Absolutely. I mean, in the storyline, it was too much for him at the moment to lose three agents all in one go, and it’s understandable that something like that, especially after your track record of losing not a single agent in your entire tenure, in your term — it’s something that will shake you, and I’m sure that if that’s a storytline we want to explore, it’s certainly possible.

Minelli will be replaced by a new head of CBI, played by Aunjanue Ellis. Have you worked with her yet?
Yeah, I have worked with her briefly. She’s a fantastic actress; she’s really sweet. I haven’t actually had a chance to trade lines with her, but we did a scene …. This upcoming episode that we’re starting to shoot on Monday, I believe, is our first formal introduction to her character, Madeline Hightower.

How is Hightower going to change the dynamic of CBI?
I think, for Hightower, she is very much similar to Cho’s take on the unit, on taking care of business. Cho’s take on it is, “You know what, Jane? You’re gonna do your crazy stuff. As long as it gets the job done, and you’re gonna do it in an expeditious manner, then let’s do it; let’s do whatever crazy shenanigans you want to cook up and let’s get the bad guy. Done deal.” And I think Hightower kind of appreciates that in Jane, the fact that yes, his approach is unorthodox, but he gets the job done, and she doesn’t let Jane’s quirkiness and some of those oddball qualities about him get to her. As long as he’s producing, as long as he’s closing cases, he’s good; he’s golden. So I think in that sense, it’s a little different. But then again, Lisbon obviously had a bit of a disadvantage with Minelli tripping in her hair constantly about, you know, keep him in line; keep him in line; keep him in line. Hightower is actually flipping it and going, “You know what? You can do whatever you want. Just get the job done.” So that’s sort of a different approach, I think, to handling Jane and a unit as a whole.

She sounds like a love interest for Cho waiting to happen.
[laughs] Right. Absolutely! [laughs]

What was your take on Lisbon’s decision to ignore Rigsby and Van Pelt’s relationship? How will it change the unit? Because obviously, they’re not going to stop hooking up.
Well, that actually remains to be seen, because they both obviously passionately care about their carers and each other. I think it’s gonna kind of boil down to choices, the simple choice [of] one or the other; you can’t have both. So they’re basically going to be pushed up against a wall and they’re gonna be forced to make a decision on career, girlfriend or career, boyfriend; how should we handle this? And it’s that sort of struggle that’s gonna make that interaction interesting.

Apart from the big episode, Red John has been mostly MIA this season. When should we expect his return?
I think Red John is definitely gonna make another visit before this season is up — if not a couple more visits. And as far as storylines or plot, I think that he’s gonna continue to tease Jane … I mean, he’s basically making Jane twist in the wind, and he’s enjoying every minute of it. I think right now he is following the unit’s progress and case load and that kind of thing, and [he's] just keeping tabs on Jane, I think. And there will be moments in the future for him to sort of “strike” … And I think it’s going to be interesting to also see how Hightower manages that crisis, that kind of a situation, because of the fact that, as soon as you bring in Red John, Jane becomes a completely rogue agent. He just goes off the reservation and just goes crazy, so I think it’ll be very interesting to see how she handles it as well.

Source: AOL

Have you noticed the significant increase in Korean-American actors and actresses on TV and movies lately?  Have you noticed there are more men than women in Hollywood?  You would think that there would be more women in front of the camera because let’s be honest, Korean women are great to look at which makes sense in such a visual medium.  Not that the Korean men aren’t studs but who doesn’t like looking at a Korean women?  They are undeniably beautiful women.  Then again, I guess it does take more than just looking good in front of a camera to make it in Hollywood.

This is a an anecdotal story I’m going to share and it does not provide any empirical evidence as to why there are more Korean guys than gals on the screen.  However, it does suggest something.  In my earlier days living in NYC, I roomed with actors and guys who worked at a movie studio.  I was the odd man out because I had a regular job unrelated to the entertainment industry.  I once asked one of my buddies if he ever saw Asian guys out on the audition circuit.  He quickly responded, “Are you kidding me?!  Those guys get more work than most actors out there.”  Huh?! What?  He continued to tell me that though there are only a few roles seeking Asian male faces, there were even less auditioning for them and he suggested that I just give acting a try – even though I had very little acting talent.  Well, to best illustrate this perception, let’s do a quick roll call here.

Ladies on a TV show or in a film in 2009
Smith Cho, Moon Bloodgood, Grace Park, Jamie Chung, Kelly Choi, Margaret Cho, Jenna Ushkowitz, Sandra Oh, Lindsay Price & Yunjin Kim

Guys on a TV show or in a film in 2009
Daniel Henney, Tim Kang, Ken Jeong, Aaron Yoo, John Cho, Rex Lee, C.S. Lee, Justin Chon, Rick Yune, Sung Kang, Rain, Lee Byung Hun, Daniel Dae Kim & James Kyson Lee

We may have missed a few folks but these are the Korean-Americans who were in a prominent role in their film or show.  Now 14 to 10 in favor of the men doesn’t seem like a big difference, but if we were to count up the hours of coverage or viewer impressions, then we would see the greater disparity. We don’t have time to count up every second and sum it all up but here are a couple proxies.

Weekly TV program comparison: Tim Kang, Ken Jeong, Rex Lee, John Cho, C.S. lee, Daniel Dae Kim and James Kyson Lee are in key roles on current weekly network television shows.

Movies: Only Moon Bloodgood and Jamie Chung were in big screen films this year versus John Cho, Aaron Yoo, Ken Jeong, Justin Chon, Rick Yune and Sung Kang.  And don’t forget that Hollywood is really gambling with Ninja Assassins and the predominantly Korean cast with Rain as the lead role.

So what are we trying to say?  Simple observations suggest that America is becoming more accepting of the Asian male and there are more opportunities for them.  But what about the ladies?  My conclusion is that there’s that much more competition on the female side of the fence where they’re competing against more open non-ethnic/racial specific roles.  Though they may be going on casting calls for Asian-American woman between 25-30, they’re also going on casting calls for (all) women between 25-30.  I thoroughly root for all the Korean women on the big and small screen, but I wish there were more of them up there.   Don’t you?

This is the launch of the “Dear Johnny” Dating Column for Korean Beacon.  Each Friday, I will post some thoughts and insights on the dating life of Korean Americans so that when 5pm hits every Friday, you’ll either be inspired or just know better.

Every Korean guy should mark September 24th 2009 as the start of a new beginning, especially when it comes to their dating career.  From John Cho to Tim Kang to Brian Tee and even Ken Jeong, the sex appeal and marketability of Korean men has reached a new plateau thanks to the roles played by Korean Americans on major Primetime TV shows.  Korean American men are portrayed as funny, sorta bad ass, smart, tough, and at times even kinda sexy.  Why is this important to point out?  Because ever since I can remember, the number of Korean guys dating non-Korean girls is dwarfed by the number of Korean girls dating non-Korean guys.  And to be honest, for a long time, it felt as though despite being raised with solid family values, obtaining a world class education, and even picking up some manners along the way, Korean guys were an unwanted species by the female population.  Sure we may not be the most gifted physically, but we are loyal, caring, and believe it or not, super charming!  And big props (no pun intended) to Hollywood to finally acknowledge it!

As I was browsing through the multitude of Koreans on TV on Thursday night, I noticed Ken Jeong playing a rather funny teacher in the NBC series Community.  But, in the box office hit, The Hangover, Ken pulls of a full nude frontal that probably didn’t leave the ladies drooling for more, but I guess you gotta start somewhere.  I’m sure Megan Fox would have made a special appearance in the movie had it been Rain pulling off the exhibition.

Next, I noticed Brian Tee ,who is half Korean and half Japanese, in the season premiere of C.S.I.  He’s been known to play the badass in many movies including Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.  In the episode, Brian plays a wealthy guy who tragically lost his white girlfriend, played by Tahnya Tozzi, of almost 1 year, to a homicide.  Even though he didn’t get major airtime showing the relationship develop, I was convinced he loved her, especially when the cops came to interrogate him at the craps table and he pulled out a bling bling engagement ring and said something like “I was going to give this to her.”

Last but certainly not least, you’ve got John Cho, aka Harold, from Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.  He’s an FBI agent in the new ABC series FlashForward with a pretty major role.  I guess after his sword fighting scene in Star Trek, Hollywood was convinced he could fight more than Romulans.  However, the reason I saved John for last is because of his break through role he can potentially play as the fiancé of the character played by Gabrielle Union. Yes, you read that correctly, the Gabrielle Union from the movies Bad Boys II and Deliver Us From Eva.

Pairing a Korean-American and a Black woman as a romantic couple on TV? I hope trends like this continue so that if I ever do fall in love with the likes of Halle Berry or even Beyonce, my parents will appreciate that in America, it’s all good. More importantly, I hope everyone can embrace that if you’re attracted to someone and get along with someone, nobody should care what the norm is and what others might think, just do it.

Korean-American actors own Thursday night television this fall.  On Thursday night, four Korean-American actors were in very prominent roles on four major TV shows on the major networks.  It’s must see TV on Thursday night!

• John Cho plays FBI agent Demetri Noh in ABC’s heavily promoted TV show FlashForward, which premiered at 8pm EST.  Note: His fiancé in the series is portrayed by Gabrielle Union!
• Sandra Oh plays Dr. Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy.  She happened to be nominated this past weekend for an Emmy Award.  Grey’s Anatomy is back for its sixth season premiere at 9pm EST on ABC.
• Ken Jeong is in the new NBC comedy Community as the Spanish teacher Senor Chang.  It premiered last week and the show starts at 9:30pm EST on NBC.  Ken Jeong was finally introduced on the show as the cantankerous Spanish teacher.  Hilarious!
• And finally, Tim Kang is in the second season premiere of The Mentalist, the biggest hit from last television season.  He plays agent Kimball Cho and the show kicks off at 10pm on CBS.
• Well, if you really want to keep it going, Elizabeth Kim is a contestant on CBS’ Survivor and Brian Tee is a guest star on the season premiere of C.S.I.

That’s right, you can watch almost all of them between 8pm to 11pm on Thursday night, with the exception of the overlap between Sandra Oh and Ken Jeong going head to head at 9:30.  They’re all represented across 3 of the 4 major networks: ABC, NBC, CBS.  What’s up Fox?  No Love for the Koreans?  I know Bobby Lee is on MADtv, but that’s Saturday night.   Btw, it doesn’t stop there.  More Koreans will be be seen on other shows that have yet to premiere.  EXCITING!!! For more on these Korean-American actors on Korean Beacon, click on the name: Tim Kang, John Cho, Sandra Oh, and Ken Jeong. You can follow Korean Beacon on Facebook and Twitter.

Tim Kang is back as agent Kimball Cho for the second season premiere of The Mentalist, which premieres on Thursday night on CBS at 10pm EST.  Tim’s had a great run the past couple years on TV with appearances on The Sopranos to The Office, and now he’s found his groove as a co-star on The Mentalist with a great cast that includes Simon Baker.  What you may not know about Tim is that his education includes Berkeley and Harvard.  He’s a smart dude in a smart show.

THE MENTALIST stars Golden Globe Award nominee Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, an independent consultant with the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who has a remarkable track record for solving serious crimes by using his razor sharp skills of observation. Within the Bureau, Jane is notorious for his blatant lack of protocol and his semi-celebrity past as a psychic medium, whose paranormal abilities he now admits he feigned. Jane’s role in cracking a series of tough high-profile cases is greatly valued by his fellow agents. However, no-nonsense Senior Agent Teresa Lisbon openly resists having Jane in her unit and alternates between reluctantly acknowledging Jane’s usefulness and blasting him for his theatrics, narcissism and dangerous lack of boundaries. Lisbon’s team includes agents Kimball Cho, Wayne Rigsby and rookie member Grace Van Pelt, who all think Jane’s a loose cannon but admire his charm and knack for clearing cases.

Bio of Tim Kang from CBS
Tim Kang can be seen in the upcoming feature film “Mr. Sandman.” His other film credits include “Rambo,” “The Forgotten,” “Two Weeks Notice” and “Robot Stories.”

His television credits include “Third Watch” and “The Unit,” on the Network. He has had guest-starring roles in “Ghost Whisperer,” also on the Network, “The Office,” “The Sopranos,” “Monk,” “Chappelle’s Show,” “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” and “Law & Order: Trial By Jury.” Kang can also be seen on a wide variety of national commercials spots.

Kang graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a B.A. in Political Science and went on to receive an M.F.A from the A.R.T. Institute at Harvard University. He was born and raised in San Francisco and currently lives in Los Angeles. His birth date is March 16.

Find out more on Tim Kang on Korean Beacon.

You can now follow Korean Beacon on Facebook or Twitter.

So who are the Korean-Americans that are on television today?  You might be clicking on the remote going from one channel to another, but along the way you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the numerous Korean-Americans who are on American TV: they’re on reality shows, they play gay characters, and of course they show some skill and intelligence.  You’ll find a Korean-American actor or host on a show almost every night of the week.  Here’s a roll call of Korean-Americans who are living large on your high definition television this summer.  Don’t forget, John Cho and Daniel Henney will be leading another group of Korean-American actors into new shows this fall.

Tim Kang: The Mentalist is one of the highest rated shows on television and Tim Kang plays Kimball Cho, one of the main characters who assists Simon Baker’s character.  Even if you haven’t seen The Mentalist, he’s probably familiar to you because he’s had a great run on commercials.  You can see him on Thursday nights @ 10pm on CBS.

Grace Park: She’s a rising star who’s coming off of a successful run on Battlestar Gallactica.  She’s well known for her lingerie shoot on Maxim and for being voted FHM Magazine’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World, but you’ll find her weekly with Benjamin Bratt on The Cleaner, Tuesday nights @ 10pm on A&E.

Margaret Cho: She’s the most famous Korean-American comedian.  Whether you like her jokes or not, you can’t argue her success.  She’s been going strong for a long time, and she’s currently on a cross country comedy tour.   You can find her on two different television channels: her comedy special, Beautiful, on Showtime and on  Drop Dead Diva on Sunday nights @ 9pm on Lifetime.

Kelly Choi: She’s the ex-Ford model who’s gone from local NY TV host to a national TV show.  She’s not just a pretty face either, because she has degrees from William & Mary and Columbia University.  It’s hard to believe that she’s a foodie because she’s so skinny but some people are just blessed with great genes and metabolism.  Check out Top Chef Masters on Wednesday nights @ 10pm on Bravo.

Rex Lee: How did a gay minority become one of the favorite characters of a show fueled by male testosterone?  He started out as the abused assistant to power agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Pivens), but the audience came to love the guy because of his banter with Ari and the boys.  Sunday nights are back with Entourage – 10pm on HBO

Moon Bloodgood: She made a big splash this summer in the blockbuster, Terminator Salvation.  She’s one of People Magazine’s most beautiful people.  She’s got one of the coolest names and you can see Moon Bloodgood on Burn Notice on Thursday nights @ 9pm on USA.

Korean actors and singers are the most popular across Asia, and with that success, many of these artists are trying to break into the biggest country for entertainment: the good ol’ USA.  A couple of magazines have taken notice such as this week’s People Magazine highlighting the attempts of the Wonder Girls, Se7en and BoA entering the U.S.  BoA just released her self-titled American album in mid-March.  Se7en is touring the coutry from New York to Atlanta (this weekend) and the Wonder Girls just finished off their first set of concerts in the U.S. with the JYP Tour.  

Complex magazine has taken notice as well but they must have an affinity for Koreans because they’ve done polls on the Wonder Girls and Girls Generation as well as features on Jarah Mariano and Grace Park.  In a recent issue, Complex raises the flag on the Korean invasion into the American market:  ”Which Korean entertainer will become an American star?”

In their (subjective) opinion, they rate the crossover potential of Boa, Se7en, Jeon Ji-Hyun, Rain, Bae Seul-Ki and Lee Byung-Hun.   There’s certainly challenges for these artists to import their brand and talents into the U.S. market, but there are a few folks who reside state side that are doing it organically:  Tim Kang, Aaron Yoo, Sung Kang, Kim Yun-Jin, Daniel Dae Lee, John Cho, Grace Park, Justin Chon, Moon Bloodgood  and many more.  I guess it’s attacking the U.S. market domestically and internationally.  

You know you’ve seen him but you can’t put your finger on it.  You’ve probably seen Tim Kang in a series of commercials for Shell Gasoline and AT&T/Cingular.  Well, Mr. Kang is quietly becoming the most successful – as in booked gigs – Korean-American TV actor in the U.S.  He’s currently in CBS’ latest hit, “The Mentalist.”  He’s had various stints in “The Office,” “The Sopranos,” “Ghost Whisperer” and many more TV shows.  Most recently he’s made a jump onto the big screen in “Rambo IV” and “Mr. Sandman.”  

There’s a nice little feature of Tim Kang in Chosun about his latest success.  Interestingly, he started out with a regular job but everytime he passed by the American Repertory Theatre on this way to and from work, he was compelled more and more to become an actor.  It’s obviously worked out for him but the road was certainly slow at the beginning.  It’s great to see Tim and others like John Cho, Aaron Yoo, Justin Chon and others make in roads with Hollywood.  It’s still a long way till we see a Korean-American be the featured actor but we’ll get there.