Posts by Jen
I’m a Korean-American living in the bay area, I studied public health and social work in grad school, and I have an obsession for anything theater related, especially ballet and Broadway musicals. I just spent three years in NYC so I am still adjusting to normal winter weather and having a car, and most of the time, I am busy funding my passion for theater with a full-time job in healthcare public relations. On any given day, you can find me watching Project Runway, shopping, doing yoga, skipping to the theater, or looking for the perfect cocktail.
Fell + Cole: San Francisco Inspired Ice Cream Arrives in Seoul
When I heard about a new ice cream store that had opened in Seoul, inspired by San Francisco’s gastronomic ice cream shops that are so popular, I put Fell + Cole on my schedule, during my recent vacation to Korea. With this Seoul ice cream shop offering beloved ice cream flavors such as salted caramel and honey lavender –favored by SF fans, I was curious to visit. I, too, am a big fan of beloved [...] Continue »
Visitors in Yantai Park Must Pay to Relax on Park Benches
An interesting news story reports that Yantai Park in Shangdong province, eastern China has installed coin-operated park benches that allows visitors to relax in the park only if they input coins for that privilege, or else metal spikes will ‘encourage’ the imposter to stand instead. Peter Grosz from The Colbert Report recently shared this news tidbit on NPR’s hilariously funny Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me radio show as part of their trivia game “Bluff the [...] Continue »
Mao’s Last Dancer Movie Premieres This Friday
…Or the first American movie ever where an Asian male does ballet and falls in love with a beautiful Caucasian female. Mao’s Last Dancer is a movie that is scheduled to appear in some theaters this Friday, August 20, based on an autobiography by Li Cunxin, a beautiful Chinese dancer (see his real photo to the right). Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy) and starring gorgeous British dancer Chi Cao from the Birmingham Royal [...] Continue »
Japanese Cat Videos Robbing Americans of Productivity
Maru the Cat, arguably the cutest cat in the world, resides in Japan and was recently covered in a New York Times article talking about the popularity of dogs and cats among the American audience. Slightly chubby, Maru‘s star power comes from his penchant for jumping into boxes, tight spaces (i.e. sticking his face in a paper bag) and his adorable antics, winning him over 56 million views on Youtube. The NY Times article argues [...] Continue »
Hee Seo: First Korean Soloist Ballerina at The American Ballet Theater
Hee Seo, a ballet dancer with the New York based American Ballet Theater, will be promoted to soloist this August. Recently cast as Juliet and other amazing prima ballerina roles even as a corps dance member, Seo stands out among the crowd with subtle grace and beautiful natural smile. As the first Korean to be promoted at American Ballet Theater, I hope she inspires many young dancers. Seo began dancing in Korea at the Sun-hwa Arts Middle [...] Continue »
Asian Countries Makes a Strong Start for the FIFA World Cup 2010
Every four years, I turn from a ballet and classical music fanatic to a crazed soccer fan. This year brings the same, with the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Just recently started: shockers such as Spain’s loss to the Swiss yesterday (yikes!), the U.S./U.K. tie thanks to the butterfingers of the British goalie, host South Africa’s devastating loss to Uruguay. The Asian countries have rocked the cup so far: Japan wins their first World [...] Continue »
A Bridge in Nanjing, A Hero: Chen Sah
One of my favorite podcasts is This American Life, a radio show that tells stories of “ordinary people,” with each show focusing on a simple theme. This particular podcast was titled The Bridge, covering several unique stories about bridges all over the world. The first story focused on the Yangtze River Bridge in Nanjing, China, popular among suicide jumpers — with a special man Chen Sah who spends his weekends on this four-mile bridge, saving [...] Continue »
So You Think You Can Dance: The Return of Alex Wong
Good news for So You Think You Can Dance fans, because Alex Wong is back! A gifted ballet dancer who most recently performed with the Miami City Ballet as a soloist, he initially auditioned in Season 5 but had to leave due to his contractual obligations with MCB. He is back on the show, and sadly not listed on the MCB website anymore. Hopefully, Alex will return to Miami but he wowed the judges in [...] Continue »
‘Dancing Across Borders:’ Movie Documents Ballet Talent Found in Cambodia
‘Dancing Across Borders‘ is a documentary featuring Sokvannara (Sy) Sar, a beautiful Cambodian dancer who caught the eye of Anne Bass, a huge supporter of ballet in New York City. The documentary follows teenaged Sy as he transforms from a traditional Cambodian dancer into a Western ballet dancer in only a year. Incredible journey aside, this story had additional significance because it documents Sy as the first ever professional Cambodian (Western) ballet dancer. It’s a [...] Continue »
Shopping Alert: Eugenia Kim Hats at Target
Eugenia Kim, Korean-American milliner for celebrities, fashionistas, tormented hipsters and those with large wallets — found her calling after a bad haircut inspired her to make a feather hat to cover her hair. She caught the attention of J. Lo and Carrie, who wore Eugenia’s fabulous pink fur hat in “Sex and the City” . I became a fan of her hats when living in NYC allowed me to check out Eugenia’s sample sale — [...] Continue »
Billy Elliot the Musical To Debut in South Korea
This amazing story about a British boy named Billy living in a mining town while seeking his passion for ballet has, in movie form and musical form, charmed audiences all over the world. The Broadway musical has opened in London, U.S., Australia and guess who’s next? South Korea. Broadway musicals have always done very well in South Korea, where I’ve enjoyed watching Cats in English, a Korean version of Rent (which was really fun and [...] Continue »
How to Cook Korean Food: Maangchi’s Korean Cooking Blog
I love to cook. I take Italian cooking class (making my own ricotta cheese!), love watching the Food Network and make pizza, bread, cakes and homemade ice cream during the weekends. Korean cooking, on the other hand, has always been a source of trepidation for me. My experience in learning Korean cuisine brings back memories of catastrophic cooking scenes in my college apartment, where I’m sweating over a smoking pan on top of a stove, [...] Continue »
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