New Study: Three-quarters of South Korean Adoptees Identify As White

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Linda

leannelehrer_narrowweb__300x4500For those of us who were not adopted, we can only begin to imagine what it would be like to be raised in a culture completely different from the one we were born into, but this may give us some insight: a new study by the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute finds that among first-generation adopted South Koreans, 78% of respondents considered themselves white or wanted to be white when they were children. The study was based on the responses of 179 SK adoptees with two white parents.

South Koreans make up the largest group of transracial adoptees in the U.S., and they comprise an estimated 10% of the total South Korean population here. The first generations of adoptive parents were told to assimilate the children into American culture without regard for the children’s native culture; as a result, older South Korean adoptees tended to have the mindset of being white or wanting to be white.

Nowadays, adoptive parents are encouraged to maintain ties to their adopted children’s native background. They send their kids to “culture camps” to learn more about where they came from. They take the kids on a family trip to their native country. They enroll them in classes to learn their native language. The adoption mindset definitely shifted in the right direction by encouraging kids to learn more about where they came from — instead of avoiding it.

Posted in (featured), Current Events, Family, Lifestyles, Observations | 40 Comments

Asian Bloggers to Speak at USC for BANANA

Posted on November 9, 2009 by Ernie

Why yes, this would be fellow 8Asians bloggers Joz and Jee, and here they are in a video promotion with Steve Nguyen to promote BANANA, the FIRST-EVER gathering and round-table discussion/panel of Asian American bloggers at the USC campus on November 21st. I’d go into more detail, but event creator Lac Su explains it all the more eloquently (he did write a book, after all):

BANANA, [is] where we will get into important discussions about the future of our voice, where it will lead to, and how we can come together to find common grounds and focused endeavors to voice our opinions about relevant issues affecting our community. Why? Because the time is a-changing. We rise.

Steve Nguyen, a television/film producer and head of the Los Angeles ChannelAPA.com division, will be there to co-host and capture the event on film to help promote our voices and to introduce the faces behind such blogs.

Unfortunately, Joz will be in Asia during the event, so attendees will have to put up with grumpy, cynical me traveling down from San Francisco to be one of three 8Asians representatives. Whether this event is an Asian love-fest or an all-out shouting match is anyone’s guess, and if you’re in the Los Angeles area, you’re more than welcome to attend and watch what happens.

Posted in Announcements, Lifestyles, Local, Southern California | 6 Comments

Ahn Cao, Vietnamese American Republican, Votes for Health Care Plan

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Kevin

225px-JosephCaoOfficialPhoto2009Unless you were trapped under a rock, you would know that the much debated and controversial Health Care plan passed in the house with a margin of five votes, 220-215. Despite a huge number of Democrats in the House, the plan barely limped through strange objections and a close vote.  And, it still has to push through the Senate.  While 36 Democrats voted against the Health Care plan, the sole Republican from Louisiana’s second district voted for the plan — Ahn “Joseph” Cao, the first Vietnamese-American Representative to ever serve in the House.

Cao won his seat over troubled eight time incumbent William Jefferson, who still received 47% of the vote despite charges of bribery and corruption (Louisiana politics, do you expect any less?).  Rep. Cao is very “moderate” for a Republican, as highlighted by his vote for the Health Care Plan; he has to be, if he wants to have any chance to be re-elected in a very blue district.

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

Toronto REEL ASIAN Film Fest: Reviews in 88 Words (Part 1)

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Xxxtine

The Toronto International Reel Asian Film Festival rolls into town — mine! — November 11 – 15th, 2009. In honor of the film festival, this is the first of a three-part mini reviews post of the features being presented. Watch the trailer and if you like, check out the limited edition shirts over at NIWE Style Clothing.
Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies, Reviews | Leave a comment

Santa Anita Race Track Opens Exhibit on Japanese Internment

Posted on November 8, 2009 by Kevin

cr0003sThe biggest news this weekend from Arcadia, CA was Zenyatta coming from behind to clinch her 14th win at the Breeders’ Cup Classic at the Santa Anita Race Track.  It was actually quite an amazing feat considering how far behind she was.  But lost beneath the headlines was the opening of the race track’s new exhibit about the race track’s often forgotten association with Japanese Internment.

Signed in February 19th, 1942 by President F.D. Roosevelt, Executive Order 9066 granted military personnel the right to move en masse many Japanese Americans, of which the majority were American citizens, into internment camps for a good two years.  The move forced many of these individuals to sacrifice much of their possessions, property, and even family.  People like Star Trek star George Takei, Malcolm X’s confidant Yuri Kochiyama, civil activist Richard Aoki and about 120,000 others had their lives shaped by these internment camps.  In short, Japanese Internment is seen as a black stain in American history, and is often considered a hypocritical blind move by the American government by many due to its various associations with the Nazi’s concentration camps, but I digress.  The most well known of these internment camps is in Manzanar, CA but before much of the interned were forced into Manzanar, they first settled into temporary staging areas held at various stables and race tracks in places like Pomona, Fresno, Salinas, and so on; the most famous of them the Santa Anita Race Track.  The exhibit hopes to bring much of the forgotten history of Japanese Internment back into the forefront of our view on World War II, which is generally viewed as the perennial battle in which the good of the Allies defeated the evil of the Axis.

I grew up around the area and often drove by without drawing any connections between the race track and its dark, hidden past.   The race track sits right next to a modern mall and when I went to the mall in middle school, I always considered the track to be a relic of the past; mostly because I failed to understand the excitement of horse racing and failed to recognize the significance of the venue to the sport.  I guess it would be as if I looked down upon the Rose Bowl simply because I didn’t watch football.  I didn’t know of its purpose, let alone its role in 1942.  Therefore, I’m excited to visit the exhibit not only because I hope to catch some great exhibits and read some excerpts from primary sources first hand, but also because it gives me a reason to step into a place so heralded by horse racing enthusiasts.

Posted in Discrimination, Local, Politics, Southern California | 2 Comments

Kogi Truck’s Roy Choi Listed in CHOW 13

Posted on November 7, 2009 by Moye

Kogi BBQ Truck chef Roy Choi was featured this week in the new annual CHOW 13 list of foodie innovators, entrepreneurs and trendsetters.

The chef did more than just steamroll Los Angeles’ use of food trucks; he and his team essentially redefined the mobile food industry (and the Los Angeles restaurant world) by using Twitter to reach out to hungry fans and successfully combining two ethnic cuisines into a single delicious taco.

Choi sees his responsibility as a chef beyond the confines of the kitchen (or truck):

“… I’ve learned that there’s nothing more important than seeing the expression on somebody’s face when you hand them food, directly. How great would it be if the best chefs in the world brought their food to the people? I don’t mean the people who can afford the food. I’m talking about…[k]ids in Queensbridge projects or South Central LA, who may never get the chance to eat great food from the hands of a master like an Eric Ripert or Daniel Boulud. Imagine if they brought that food down to the people? If we made that fundamental shift in the industry, it would change the framework of who we are as humans.”

Kudos to Roy Choi on his success! Read the rest of the interview directly on CHOW.

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Rachel Lee: Asian Teens Behaving Badly

Posted on November 6, 2009 by Moye

rachelleeWe love it when Asians behave badly. It gives us something to gossip about and also, it makes us feel pretty badass. It’s true. It’s like a slap in the face to that annoying stereotype about being submissive model minorities. You want high SAT scores? How about a dumb lawsuit?

Of course, this doesn’t mean we condone any sort of bad behavior. No, you shouldn’t lie about getting job offers and you shouldn’t try to steal money from cute boys. Actually, what am I even saying? These people make us look bad. Maybe I shouldn’t write about this.

So I’ll just say that I’ve been enjoying the case of 19 year old Rachel Lee and her burglary “bling ring”. If you’ve ever needed proof that paparazzi sites like TMZ are bad for society, then here you go: thanks to the proliferation of Hollywood gossip blogs like TMZ (and probably Google Maps), Lee and her friends were able to track down and rob the homes of Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Lindsay Lohan, Audrina Patridge and other famous people who probably deserved it.

(I mean, let’s be real. They didn’t even have to break in: these people never locked their doors. Plus, like Paris Hilton ever wears the same outfit twice? Rachel probably put good use to those diamond watches.)

Conclusion: Rachel needs a book deal so she can tell us what exactly is inside Lindsay Lohan’s house. Cocaine? Discarded hair extensions? What’s left of her career?

Rachel. You’re Asian. You should be smart enough to get yourself out of this mess. Make us look good!

Posted in (featured), Current Events, Entertainment, Fashion, Southern California | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Hip Hip Hooray for MVP Hideki Matsui

Posted on November 6, 2009 by jee

MLB 2009 - Orioles Beat Yankees 7-5I am devastated — still — about the results of the World Series. I make no secret of the fact that I loathe the Yankees. To put it simply, I loathe any team except for my beloved Dodgers; I am a die-hard, bleeding blue, Dodgers fan. And, as upset and heart-broken as I am about our (Dodgers’) loss, I have the consolation of knowing that Hideki Matsui was crowned World Series MVP. Matsui is the first Japanese-Born player to win this award and I could not be happier for him.

It pains me more than you can know to praise someone who wears anything but Dodger blue, but I need to give our fellow Asian brethren recognition when it’s due. To put it simply, he played exceptionally well – especially considering he plays with bad knees. Not only is he the first Japanese-born player to win this honor, he’s also the first player to win as a full-time DH (designated hitter) in the series. And although his future with the Yankees is unknown, the world knows that Matsui is an exceptional baseball player and has left them (Yankees) with a memorable game.

Posted in Sports | 1 Comment

Disneyland: Next Stop Shanghai

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Tim

Disneyland Hong KongAs someone who grew up in the U.S., I never really got the Disney bug as a child. Maybe it’s because I grew up in New York, far away from either Disneyland and Disneyworld. My first experience with Disneyland wasn’t until I was in college and visiting an aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. There also wasn’t much to pick from in animated Disney films as I was growing up. Fast forward, and today, thanks to having a 4 year old daughter, I’m in over my head in Disney paraphernalia. I can tell you the name of every Disney Princess, including the one who’s going to be introduced this December.

We’ve spoiled our daughter and taken her to Disneyland for her birthday each year, so we’ve gotten pretty familiar with the theme park. In addition my company has even held an event in EuroDisney, which I got to attend. What I didn’t realize until reading about the latest Disneyland planned for Shanghai, is that there’s already one in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

The park in Shanghai has been in planning for the last 20 years, and finally won approval this month. It’s estimated it will be completed in 5 to 6 years and be a little larger in size than the current Disneyland in Anaheim, CA. Disney hopes this theme park will create the kind of marketing engine that the other Disney parks have, encouraging families to buy into the paraphernalia the way my family has.

In part, the promotion of Disney within my own family has been largely my fault, as I was looking for role models for my daughter, and thought Mulan, with all its flawed images of Chinese culture, was at least a good independent Asian female role model, and not the helpless princesses of other Disney classics. Unfortunately, my daughter never took to Mulan and instead favors Snow White, who relies on others to save her. Disney to their credit did also produce an American Native Princess, Pocahontas, and East Indian Princess, Jasmine. And finally this Christmas season, the African American Princess, Tiana. My daughter can’t wait to go see this latest movie, so I think I’ll refrain from letting her know there’s another Disneyland she can visit until she’s a little older.

Posted in Entertainment, Family, Movies | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Is David Chiu or Carmen Chu the First Asian American Acting Mayor of San Francisco?

Posted on November 5, 2009 by John

After San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced that he was withdrawing from running for governor of California, he disappeared without some of his staff knowing his whereabouts (maybe Newsom was hiking the Appalachian Trail?). In reality, Newsom jetted off to Hawaii to join his wife and baby who was already on vacation. In an unsigned letter, Newsom designated Supervisor Carmen Chu as acting mayor. Legally, if the mayor of San Francisco is not available, the Board of Supervisors President, which would be David Chiu, would be acting mayor. In either case, congrats to David or Carmen for becoming the first ever (I believe) Asian American acting mayor of San Francisco!

(EDITORS NOTE: Mabel Teng was acting mayor of San Francisco in 1995. Thanks to Jim at SFCitizen for the hat tip.)

Posted in (simple), Local, Politics, San Francisco Bay Area | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Jeffrey Chiang: Business School Asians Behaving Badly

Posted on November 4, 2009 by Guest Writer

By Elainejeffrey-chiang

We Asians finally have our own version of Aleksey Vayner, the Yale graduate who applied for a job on Wall Street a few years ago with an eleven page resume (complete with video) that claimed he could bench press 500 lbs, leg press 1650lbs, and was employed by the CIA and Mafia, among other things. Meet Jeffrey Chiang — current student at The McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin — whose unfortunate story has been spreading throughout the interwebs like crazy.  This 2010 graduate supposedly lied to not one but two big firms: Bank of American and Morgan Stanley.  According to Bess Levin of Dealbreaker:

Chiang apparently interviewed at Bank of America, where he was asked if he had any offers from other firms. Jeffrey claimed that he was in his second round of interviews with Morgan Stanley. An associate at BofA then contacted his friend at Morgan about Jeffrey’s prospects. The Morgan guy said that contrary to popular belief, JC had only had a phone interview, at which time he claimed to have gotten a full-out offer from BofA. As proof, JC provided a fabricated email allegedly from a recruiting woman at Bank of America, who would probably be surprised to be informed she’d offered Chiang a job (and that she didn’t know how to spell “America”). The Morgan people forwarded the faux letter of employment back to the people at Bank of America who were doing recon and from there it was forwarded to the entire free world.

Both Blippitt and Dealbreaker also have copies of Chiang’s emails, along with his resume where he claims to have run a “5k marathon.”

Am I the only one truly appalled not by Chiang’s conduct, but by the fact of how boring his fake email was?  At this point, lies and deceit in business are all par for the course, and what really gets my goat is the utter lack of creativity and spellcheck he displayed. Levin seems to agree, saying “Obviously, the lies here are not good form but what’s most upsetting is the lack of effort.” Misspelling “America?” Come on!

I have to admit, this story is especially near and dear to my heart because I too am a UT student, albeit one on the opposite side of the spectrum – The College of Liberal Arts. As many of you may know, UT is known for its business school, which usually ranks very highly. This story comes at a rather timely moment; UT is planning major budget cuts with what seems to be extremely vague reasoning.   According to the Texas State Employees Union and Communications Workers of America, The College of Liberal Arts may lose 20-33% of non-tenured instructors (about 78-300 people). 40 support staff from IT and the College of Engineering were laid off in the past two weeks.  As one of my professors Tom Palaima once questioned, if UT has one of the best business schools in the nation, how are we in this financial mess?  I’ll agree with him, and raise him this: If UT is truly one of the best colleges in the nation, how come we make internet news not with stories of success but with stories of ridiculous budget cuts and Jeffrey Chiang?

Photo courtesy: Blippitt

ABOUT ELAINE: Elaine Wang is currently a senior at the University of Texas at Austin.  She stumbled upon 8Asians while at work in a research lab.

Posted in Business, Education | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

ABC’s Modern Family: “I’m from Denver.”

Posted on November 4, 2009 by John

Of all the new shows this fall season, one of my favorites is ABC’s Modern Family which tells the story of three inter-related families in a mockumentary style – sort of The Office meets a family sitcom. One of the families is represented by a same sex couple, Mitchell and Cameron, who have adopted a Vietnamese girl, Lily. In the most recent episode, Mitchell accidentally bumps Lily’s head against the ceiling – and being concerned, Mitchell and Cameron take their daughter to see a doctor, who happens to be an Asian American woman who grew up in Denver.

Cameron, being white and feeling he needs to justify the adoption of Lily, makes some inappropriate comments and hilarity ensues.

Posted in Entertainment, Observations, TV | 17 Comments