Tuesday’s Link Attack: Kim Jong Un, Racial Tensions in Dallas, Hello Kitty Planes
Y. Peter Kang
Author: Y. Peter Kang
Posted: February 7th, 2012
Filed Under: BLOG
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Age, military ties mark Kim Jong Un’s inner circle
Associated Press via Google News




South Dallas protest fails to articulate the real problem [OPINION]
Dallas Morning News

A clerk working for Kwik Stop owner Thomas Pak, a Korean American, opened fire during the 2010 confrontation witnessed by a Dallas County sheriff’s detention officer. The cash register thief didn’t just try to run off, he also tried to assault the clerk, a relative of Pak. In December, another man brandished a knife during a confrontation with Pak. This neighborhood is one of the toughest in the city. Over the past month alone, within a five-block radius of Pak’s store, police have responded to at least 73 crimes, including 10 assaults and more than 12 robberies or thefts. Since October, there have been three homicides within a 10-block radius. There are at least two open-air drug markets nearby.

Does that make Pak a great humanitarian for braving all these dangers to keep his business open there? No. In fact, he openly admits he used a racial epithet during an argument in December with Jeffery Muhammad, a student minister at a nearby mosque. And Muhammad apparently responded with his own racial epithet. Pak apologized. But is his racial outburst really the issue here? If he apologized and is seeking mediation to end the dispute, why isn’t that enough to bring a pause to the picketing? Perhaps there’s more here.

K-Pop Leads Record Earnings from Cultural Exports
Chosun Ilbo

Korean pop culture generated record profits from overseas last year. According to statistics released by the Bank of Korea Monday, the industry earned US$794 million from exports of cultural and entertainment services last year, up 25 percent from $637 million in 2010.

This was the highest amount since statistics in the sector were compiled for the first time in 1980.

N. Korean women popular as brides: JoongAng Ilbo
Marmot’s Hole

The JoongAng Ilbo reports that female North Korean defectors are increasingly popular with South Korean men as brides.

One 46-year-old man running a Japanese restaurant in Cheonan who married a 37-year-old North Korean defector said he was hesitant at first to enter a relationship because he thought there would be a huge cultural gap, but his thinking changed “180 degrees” after meeting her.

He said he liked her purity/innocence, which was hard to find in South Korean women. He also liked her deep thoughts and her vitality, a product perhaps of the great difficulties she has faced.

Chicago restaurant couples must get creative to celebrate their relationships
Chicago Sun-Times

Yvonne Cadiz-Kim, who owns Belly Shack with her husband, chef Bill Kim, likes to surprise him with last-minute vacations.

Political Star Starts Fund to Benefit South Korea
New York Times

A South Korean software magnate and university dean, whose presidential ambitions are among the biggest unknowns in this election year, said Monday that he would start a charity to help tackle widening social and economic inequality, a major grievance here.

“I continue to reflect on what roles I can play for our society’s change for the better,” said the magnate, Ahn Cheol-soo. “Politics can be one of them.”

How Fashion Week Gets Made With Richard Chai

For our inaugural edition of “How Fashion Week Gets Made,” Richard Chai, who will show his men’s and women’s collections together on Thursday, and was just named creative director at Filson, tells us about his design process, lack of sleep and reveals the location of his after party.


Actor Robert Redford has joined the fight to prevent a military missile defense system from being built on Jeju Island.

I think the least that environmentalists, peace activists and supporters of democracy can do is express our outrage. You can take action now by visiting the Save Jeju Island Campaign website.

S. Korea’s ancient ‘farmer drink’ to hit US
AFP via Google News

A centuries-old Korean rice wine is enjoying a renaissance at home and in Japan, and is set to make inroads into a major new market as it gains ground on better known beverages such as soju.

Makgeolli, a smooth milky-white drink famed for its purported health benefits, will be produced overseas for the first time later this year when a brewery opens in Chicago, South Korea’s Baesangmyun Brewery has announced.

Under a deal with an entrepreneur based in the US city, some 50,000 bottles a month of makgeolli will be produced, a spokeswoman for the company said.

“This will be the first makgeolli brewery outside the country,” she told AFP without being drawn on the cost.

Independent Voter Project with Randall Park
channel APA

Comedian Randall Park is in a new PSA about the Independent Voter Project. Joining him in the PSA are actresses Jae Suh, Lynn Chen, and Joy Osmanski.

The Independent Voter Network (IVN) is a new kind of news network, an online news platform for communication between independent-minded voters, public officials, civic leaders, and journalists. The Independent Voter Network is dedicated to providing political analysis and rational commentary in an effort to elevate the level of our public discourse.

Playwright Lloyd Suh Talks About a Rebel Finding His Cause: Jesus in India
SF Weekly

We are all familiar with the story of Jesus Christ. But what about his lost years? Lloyd Suh, the author of American Hwangap, about a Korean father’s 60th birthday celebration, is back at the Magic Theatre with Jesus in India, exploring Jesus’ teenage years, when he runs away from home with his friend, Abigail of Galilee, to the East to explore who he is and who he wants to become. The play continues through Feb. 19. Suh talked with us recently about prequels, destiny and the universality of coming of age stories.

Hello Kitty jets: Cutest airplanes ever




Oh the Lin-Sanity! China Has a New Hardcourt Hero
Wall Street Journal




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