Tag: Korean-American

Go Away With … Jimin Han

Jae-Ha Kim

“A Small Revolution” author Jimin Han says, “When I was about 10 years old, we drove to Boca Raton, Florida. My great aunt joined us, flying in from South Korea. We went to the beach a lot, but one afternoon we went with her to a cemetery. She knelt at a grave and cried. I heard later that it was the grave of her estranged son, who had been a marine biologist and died in a scuba-diving accident. I’ve developed a novel around that visit and that mysterious great aunt.”

Go Away With … Randall Park

Jae-Ha Kim

When Randall Park was a student at UCLA, he thought about pursuing a career in academia. Thanks partially to some creative writing classes — in which he wrote a part for himself in a student production — he decided to try acting instead. After playing a governor on “Veep” and North Korean dictator Kim Jung-Un in the controversial film, “The Interview,” Park landed the role of family patriarch Louis Huang on the ABC sitcom, “Fresh Off the Boat.” The third season premiere will air on Oct. 11.

Assembly line

Jae-Ha Kim

Long before I became a fancy reporter (stop laughing, ya’ll!), I worked in a factory. It was one of the most mind numbing jobs I’ve ever had. At that job, I learned how difficult it was to earn a few dollars. I also learned that prejudice sometimes is harbored by other minorities, who are afraid that their own social status will decline if they align themselves with another person of color.

I Am Smart

Jae-Ha Kim

On this particular day, my son couldn’t think of anything to tell me about school. And I grew angry. The kind of silent anger that I didn’t voice, but he could sense. I saw him nervously flipping through his binder of schoolwork containing words that he didn’t understand. He was looking for something — anything — that he recognized so that he could make me happy.

Go Away With … Bobby Lee

Jae-Ha Kim

Born in San Diego, Calif., actor Bobby Lee’s career started after he dropped out of college. He got a job doing whatever needed to be done at the Comedy Store, before he worked up the nerve to try his hand at doing stand-up. Many television viewers remember Lee from his days on Fox’s MADtv.” He may currently be seen in the Blu-ray release of “The Dictator,” which is being promoted as ‘“banned and unrated,’ the version you couldn’t see in theaters.” Lee also is one of the co-stars of the NBC series “Animal Practice.” To stay in touch with the comedian, you may follow him on Twitter @bobbyleelive.

Go Away With … Steve Byrne

Jae-Ha Kim

When Vince Vaughn suggested that Steve Byrne create a sitcom, the comic — who’s Irish and Korean — came up with the premise for the TBS series “Sullivan and Son.” Vaughn — a longtime friend and supporter — is an executive producer of the show, where Byrne plays a fictionalized version of himself. “My daughter was born the day before the first table read,” says Byrne, 38. “My wife gave birth at 9:30 at night and I got in to work at 7 or 8 in the morning and I was beaming. The whole cast and crew were clapping and congratulating me. It felt like a good omen.”

Go Away With … Sung J. Woo

Jae-Ha Kim

With his critically acclaimed debut novel “Everything Asian,” Sung J. Woo succinctly and poignantly captures a year in the life of a 12-year-old immigrant who tries to navigate life in the United States, while also trying to understand his estranged father. A resident of Washington, N.J., the 38-year-old author chats about his recent trip to Alaska, how he gets the best hotel deals and why he often feels like a tourist — even when he’s not far from home.

Go Away With … Rex Lee

Jae-Ha Kim

Best known as Ari Gold’s much maligned assistant Lloyd on “Entourage,” Rex Lee has become a fan favorite on the hit HBO series. With just a stare and a well-placed word, Lee is a scene-stealer, especially when he spars with his cantankerous boss Ari (Jeremy Piven). “I found out after I got the role that they didn’t have an Asian American actor in mind for the part originally,” says Lee, 39. “Women auditioned, African Americans, everyone. I was told they didn’t quite know what they wanted until I walked through the door and showed them what they wanted.” Laughing, he adds, “And I choose to believe that!”

Go Away With … Margaret Cho

Jae-Ha Kim

Margaret Cho knows a thing or two about traveling. After beginning her standup career at 16, she toured the United States nonstop, bringing her unique brand of comedy to venues across the country. At 26, she broke barriers with her short-lived ABC sitcom “All-American Girl,” where she played a fictionalized version of herself. It was the first American television series where all the lead actors were Asian-American. In her standup routines, Cho talks frankly about how producers asked her at times to try to be more — and less — Asian. Now 39, Cho is ready to debut her new VH1 series “The Cho Show.”

Go Away With … John Cho

Jae-Ha Kim

It has been a busy year for John Cho. He has been cast as Sulu in the upcoming “Star Trek” film to be released in 2009 and he reprised his role as the stoner Harold in “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” – the sequel to the 2004 hit comedy “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.” But the 35-year-old actor — who was born in Seoul, South Korea, and raised in Los Angeles — is about to tackle his most important role: that of dad. Cho and his wife, actress Kerri Higuchi, are expecting their first child – a son – at the end of May. “I’m taking a maternity leave with my wife,” Cho says, laughing. “We’re really anxious to meet this baby. I can’t wait.”

Asian stars are rising — Latest TV breakthroughs look like the real deal

Jae-Ha Kim

We live in a time when the media tell us who we are. What “Lost” has done is tell the world what Asians aren’t. We aren’t all martial arts experts. We aren’t all college educated and over-employed. We’re not always the model minority. We don’t all own dry-cleaning businesses. And just as importantly, we’re not all nice.

Cho ‘Notorious’ for unstereotypical laughs

Jae-Ha Kim

Over the past few years, Margaret Cho has grown comfortable with herself–a funny, whip-smart comic who doesn’t fit any of the glorified stereotypes of what an Asian American woman should be. She doesn’t play the violin. She doesn’t figure skate. She’s not good at math. She never wanted to be an anchorwoman. And if she knows how to make sushi or give a good back rub, she’s not telling.

Margaret Cho: Tears of a clown

Jae-Ha Kim

Margaret Cho has more than a few reasons to be bitter: At 8, Margaret Cho’s classmates dubbed her “Pee Girl.” At 12, she was ostracized by kids at church. At 14, she was raped by a 22-year-old man she met at a party. And at 16, Cho began a year-long relationship with a 26-year-old who tried to convince her to engage in a threesome.

Margaret Cho’s comic flair drives `I’m the One That I Want’

Jae-Ha Kim

At the end of “I’m the One That I Want,” Margaret Cho declares, “I’m gonna stay here and rock the mike until the next Korean-American, fag hag, shit starter, girl comic, trash talker comes up and takes my place!” Any takers? This film version of Cho’s savagely funny one-woman show is true to the tour she took on the road last year.

Culture Clash: Ethnic Portrayals and Television

Jae-Ha Kim

I don’t necessarily love her semi-autobiographical show “All-American Girl” yet, but I relate to Margaret Cho, the star of ABC’s new comedy. Cho is Korean-American. I am Korean-American. She is the antithesis of the ideal Asian woman (geisha girl). No one would mistake me for Suzy Wong. She snorts when she laughs. I snort when I laugh. She’s big (chubby). I’m big (tall). Once, a Korean friend’s father helpfully advised me to “stop growing” if I wanted to land a husband. She’s not a doctor, but a comedian. I’m not a doctor, but a journalist – kind of like a comedian. Cho dates losers. When I date, they’re usually losers. She’s 25. I’m . . . well, never mind.

Sooyoung Park, 26, Musician

Jae-Ha Kim

Sooyoung Park’s theory is there’s a time and place for everything. When he majored in math in college, he didn’t worry that school was holding back his music career.  And when Seam’s singer-songwriter-guitarist felt ready to tackle music full time, he put grad school on hold.

`Emperor’ star Maggie Han has leg up on other actresses

Jae-Ha Kim

Maggie Han has a leg up on other actresses in Hollywood. While she waits for suitable acting roles, she doesn’t have to wait on tables to supplement her income. The Korean actress-model is the spokeswoman for L’eggs Shear Elegance pantyhose. “It’s nice to have that to fall back on,” Han said in a telephone interview from her Westwood, Calif., apartment.