I AM KOREAN AMERICAN: A Spoken Poem

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Edward


I present to you a spoken poem that is both a personal project of mine and a poetic front to the website with the same name, I AM KOREAN AMERICAN. From self-hatred to fierce love, I AM KOREAN AMERICAN is how I came to accept my Korean American identity. With this poem, I reveal myself to you all here at 8Asians as you get to see who I truly am. But this poem would not have been possible if it weren’t for the people in my life that believed in me so a huge thank you is in order.

I am thankful for Steve Nguyen (Channel APA head and fellow 8Asians contributor) who contributed his amazing talent to shoot and edit this personal project of mine. I am thankful for Tommy Su and his amazing TSJ Studios for allowing us to shoot in the space and also contributing his time to help with the lighting. I am thankful for the IAKA folks for accepting this poem into their website and taking a chance with me with this raw and personal poem. But most of all, I am thankful and incredibly blessed to have the people in my life who have in many ways helped me in more ways than I can count. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here in Los Angeles, pursuing my dreams and making the most out of it. If it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t be alive. Life can take you in many ugly places and so it is a blessing to have the people that love you take you out of it.

So with that being said, I present to you all:

I AM KOREAN AMERICAN.

Posted in Discrimination, Observations, The Arts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mari Inukai’s Akuma Tenshi

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Moye

I’m a big fan of Japanese artist Mari Inukai for her colorful and imaginative characters who are so adorably drawn with a nice bite. Does that even make sense? It does. Trust me. Munky King is offering her AKUMA TENSHI piece ($400) from the gallery’s DIY Pusher Show, which featured custom designed and original pieces based on Thomas Han’s PUSHER toy.

Posted in Art | Leave a comment

Asian Americans and Lowered Cars

Posted on December 17, 2010 by Koji Steven Sakai

When I was in high school, all I wanted for Christmas was a lowered Honda Civic or Acura Integra. The ones that hug the ground so closely you have to drive sideways over a speed bump. The ones that have the fancy rims, the big exhaust pipe, and the tinted windows. I know, I know… An Asian American guy driving a lowered “Asian” car is very stereotypical, but I didn’t care!

I begged my parents to buy me one. I thought all the Asian kids at my school who had one were cooler, hotter, and more gangster than me… especially the girls! I thought my coolness/hotness/gangster level would increase exponentially if I had one. And I was super frustrated because it seemed everyone at my school had one but me! (To be fair, I HAD a car and should have been thankful for even having one but why lie, I wasn’t.)

Fret not, dear readers, I did eventually get one to call my own. A red 2 door lowered Honda Civic with tinted windows. I named it Bernie. I had the car through college until I was about 30. I realized around my 30th birthday that I was too old for such a car. I exchanged it for a more sensible gray Toyota Yaris named Bernie II, “The Revenge.”

Anyway, I bring this all up now because when I drive around, I don’t see as many lowered Hondas/Acuras. And when I do see them, they aren’t being driving by Asian/Asian Americans.

I guess what I’m wondering is whether Asian/Asian American kids still drive those cars. If you do or know someone that does, send me a picture and let me know if it’s okay to post it.

One final thought. If the stereotype of the Asian/Asian American driving a lowered car is no longer valid. Is there a new stereotype that replaced it? May I suggest, Asian/Asian American guys with a gray Toyota Yaris? Now that’s gangsta!

Posted in Lifestyles | 20 Comments

Does K-Town’s Scarlet Chan Look Korean?

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Ben

Scarlet Chan - Dave Contreras. Permission given for use.

I don’t usually pay attention to reality shows so when it flashed across my Facebook that Scarlet Chan had written something, I thought, “Hey, neato. Let me comment, even though she’ll never read it.”

“I don’t look Korean at all… well according to my mom, but she gave birth to me so her opinion is not valid.“

This is a funny statement coming from a Chinese American girl, but considering her K-Town Reality Show is about a group of Asians hanging out in Koreatown, I could see why people might think that Scarlet would be Korean. But it brought up a perfectly good point: how do Asians identify other Asians? Is this something that white people do in a similar fashion?

Ever hear about how Asians all look alike? I’m sure you have. For Caucasians, defining features that differentiate people are often hair color and eyes; yes, I understand that there are other obvious differences, but on a bigger picture level, that’s what you would look at to identify a person. But Asians all have black hair and black eyes, so that methodology doesn’t quite work out.

But because we have the same color hair and eyes, Asians seem to identify other nationalities with more subtle differences at first glance. Obviously, I haven’t actually done any research into this, and it was just a conversational piece that I had with my wife about identification since usually there are some features that are dominant with certain ethnicities. But back to the question itself: does Scarlet look Korean? And if not, why?

Let’s be honest: This was also a perfect chance to put up a semi-nude shot of Scarlet. Scarlet Chan approved. Boo-yah.

Posted in Entertainment, TV | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Gay Activist Dan Choi Hospitalized for Breakdown

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Ernie

“Last Friday, [gay military activist] Lt. Dan Choi was admitted to the psychiatric ward at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Brockton, Mass., telling supporters in an e-mail that he had experienced a “breakdown and anxiety attack.” Choi, who had chained himself to the White House fence three times in protest of the law that bans gays from openly serving in the military, said all veterans carry “human burdens.” … “My guess is that [Choi] has something in his genes or in his background of either being depressed or anxious,” said [professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University] Dr. Una McCann. “The campaign he has been waging has been extra stressful and my guess is he has not been getting sleep and it has influenced his ability to cope.””

Posted in (simple), Current Events, Discrimination | Leave a comment

Tibetan Yak Herders + Doing Good for the Holidays

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Guest Writer

If you haven’t already seen this post over on GASP!, then you’re missing out: this week, Holidays of Good is featuring Shokay as the company of the week and giving 8Asian’s readers an exclusive extra 10% discount on the items being featured (use code “8asiansdeals”).

Shokay was created by Carol Chyau and Marie So in an effort to help Tibetan Yak herders continue to sustain a reasonable living while maintaining their traditional lifestyle.  All of the products they create are made from yak fibers that are hand combed from the yaks found in the Himalayan regions of Western China.

Holidays of Good is a virtual pop up shopping site that will run through February 2011 (afterwards, Days of Good will launch).  Each week a different company committed to making a quality good while supporting a disadvantaged population will be featured.

So, if you haven’t already checked it out, go to Holidays of Good and receive an extra 10% off the already discounted price of the Shokay featured items simply by using the code “8asiansdeal”.

Posted in Fashion | Leave a comment

On Kickstarter: HIBAKUSHA, An Animated Documentary of a Hiroshima Survivor

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Ernie

Anime and Kickstarter fans as well as people learning more about the horrific atomic bomb attacks during WWII should listen up, as a Kickstarter page has been created in an attempt to raise $2,000 for the film Hibakusa, an animated documentary/drama featuring Kaz Suyeishi, an 84 year old woman who recalls her experiences as an 18 year old Japanese American student during the morning of August 6, 1945. Mrs. Suyeishi will delve into three particular moments in Hiroshima that affected her throughout the course of her life.

ChannelAPA.com (and 8Asians contributor!) Steve Nguyen & Daisuke Suzuki are attached to direct the film and acclaimed animator & music video director Choz Belen is set to animate the film.

Inspired to bring awareness to the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings in hopes that nothing like this will ever happen again and over time, they hope to release the film on August 6, 2011, when the 66th commemoration of the Hiroshima & Nagasaki bombings will take place.

Posted in History, Movies | Leave a comment

Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Ernie

Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon ($9.93) “is a beautifully written fable for people of all ages, not just those in grades 3-6. I just finished reading this story to my five year old. I think I may have gotten more from it than she did but she was enraptured as we read three chapters ever night for the last few weeks.

Minli is a girl whose family is very poor. Her mother is embittered about their lack of fortune while her father tries to cheer the family up with fanciful tales. All day the three work in the rice fields and eek out just enough from the harvest to provide one bowl of rice each night. Determined to change their fortune, Minli sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon. Old Man of the Moon holds the book of fortune and can not only tell the future, but also change the future. ” – Reviewer, Amazon.com

Posted in Books | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Chinese Launches Communist Version of Twitter

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Ernie

Via Mashable: China Launches Communist Version of Twitter. And what do you know – I was able to get a sneak peak at some of the code.  Just check out line 182 in particular:  if (TWEET==’TAIWAN’) { user.imprison(); }  Wow. You’d think they’ve have a better job encrypting their Javascript, it being a nation of a couple billion and all.

Posted in (simple), Observations, Technology, WTF | Leave a comment

Ninja Shuriken Magnets

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Moye


Admit it. Your fridge is kind of boring. Sure, the inside holds such amazing items like ice cream and butter and guacamole, but don’t get us started on the outside. Why not spice up your fridge door with the Ninja Shuriken Magnets ($16) which boosts your coolness factor twofold. For one thing, your guests will be amazed that there’s a ninja lurking somewhere in your house AND your guests will be amazed that you–of all people–are dangerous enough to have been attacked by one. Also, you’re so fearless that you’ll even use dangerous weapons to hold up your grocery lists. Get it? Do it. Done.

Posted in Home Decor | Leave a comment

Giveaway: Win a 5-disc Martial Arts DVD Prize Pack; in honor of Ong Bak 3’s premiere on VOD, XBOX, Playstation & Amazon.com

Posted on December 15, 2010 by jozjozjoz

Hey martial arts fans! Did you know that Ong Bak 3 premiered Friday December 3 on VOD, Amazon.com, Xbox Marketplace, Playstation Network? It also opens in theaters January 14, 2011. Don’t know what I’m talking about? Read on…

Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior (Thai: องค์บาก), also known in the United States as “Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior” was a Thai action film from 2003 that was considered the breakout film of Tony Jaa. Because of Ong Bak, Jaa was hailed as the next international martial-arts star. Ong Bak 2: The Beginning set Jaa in an epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past– featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants and showcased him as a master of a wide range of martial arts styles.

Now, Jaa returns to screens in Ong Bak 3, the third and final installment of the action series. Picking up at the cliffhanger ending where Ong Bak 2 left off, Jaa ramps up the epic supernatural elements of the previous film, while still maintaining the trademark bone-crunching action that the series is known for. This time he must face his ultimate enemy: a fierce supernatural warrior named “Demon Crow,” played by fellow martial arts sensation Dan Chupong (Dynamite Warrior). Eagerly anticipated by martial arts aficionados for some time, the matchup of Jaa and Chupong is explosive.

Why not get a refresher course of all this by watching the Ong Bak Martial Arts DVD Prize Pack, which you can win right here on 8Asians!

The Ong Bak Martial Arts DVD Prize Pack features five titles:

In addition to the first two Ong Bak movies, a DVD of 2008 Thai action film Chocolate (Thai: ช็อคโกแลต), also known as Fury! (Chocolate was directed by Prachya Pinkaew and has martial arts choreography by Panna Rittikrai, the same pair who directed Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak.) Dynamite Warrior features Dan Chupong and Exiled is a Hong Kong action crime drama film. If you love martial arts and action films, you need to check these movies out!

Ong Bak 3 premiered Friday December 3 on VOD, Amazon.com, Xbox Marketplace, Playstation Network; opens in theaters January 14, 2011.

What you could win from 8Asians:
The Ong Bak Martial Arts DVD Prize Pack (5 DVDs):

How do you enter?
Simply leave a short comment stating why you want to be chosen as the winner for the Prize Pack.

How many winners will there be?
Just ONE lucky winner will be randomly selected.

Rules for entering:
1) Please be in the USA. Sorry, I will not be shipping anywhere else!
2) Contributors to 8Asians and their immediate family members are not eligible to win.

Prize courtesy of: 8Asians.

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Promotions | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Asian Dolls for Christmas

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Tim

Ivy Ling, American GirlWhen you have a five year old Asian American little girl who believes in Santa, finding the right Christmas present isn’t always the simplest task. There’s the easy part of the list of course, the presents she’s already asked Santa for, like a set of Disney Princess dolls, a Build-a-Bear bed and armoire, and a remote controlled car for Strawberry Shortcake.

As I mentioned in an previous posting about a new movie on Mulan, the difficult part is finding toys that will help reinforce her cultural identity and make her proud of her Asian heritage. It doesn’t help that she idolizes blond hair and wishes she had some herself.

So her first Disney Princess doll was of course Mulan, but after that it’s been rather difficult to find anything that’s age appropriate and a good role model of Asian culture. That’s why I was happy to come across this article on Suite101.com, offering suggestions for Chinese and Asian dolls for this Christmas season.

See the list after the jump. Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Entertainment, Family | 14 Comments