Accidently on 34th Street

New York, October 2 – It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the television weather forecast promised an idyllic day. I couldn’t waste it, so I head over to Bryant Park to do some manga shopping at the local Japanese bookstores.

As I walk up to Herald Square, I was overwhelmed by a sea of Koreans with flags and Hanbok dresses. I found myself in the middle of Korean American Association of Greater New York’s (KAAGNY) autumn parade. I totally forgot about this parade, but it was a pleasant surprise. This kind of thing that only happens in New York City. The rich multi-ethnic culture and the pedestrian nature of the city leads to some amazing experiences.


Click on the image for higher resolution.


Since it was the 30th anniversary, the parade seemed exceptionally grand with huge floats and tons of spectators. It stretched from Harold Square (Koreatown) to Bryant Park.

SDCC 2010: Friday Comes In Like a Lion and Goes Out Like a Munko

Bill Poon
San Diego, July 23 – The morning started with a surprise visit from Bill Poon who is the All-Star slugger from the Giant Robot softball team. He briefly chatted with Eric Nakamura (Publisher, Giant Robot) and others.

Second David Choe Signing


Dave Choe
Just before noon, fans of David Choe began forming a line around the booth. Choe, a Los Angeles pop artist, arrived to sign merchandise including his new art book and Munko vinyl figures. His devoted fans were pretty excited to meeting him. One of them even showed me her Munko tattoo on her wrist. It was pretty awesome.

NYAFF 2010: Marooned in Seoul

Lee Hey-Jun (left)
NEW YORK, July 7 – I attended the second screening of “Castaway on the Moon” at the Walter Reade Theater. It was a part of the Korean portion of the 2010 New York Asian Film Festival (NYAFF).

The film is about Mr. Kim who is an unemployed office worker with a mountain of debt. He leaps off a bridge in an attempt to commit suicide. Instead of dying, he survives and is stranded on a deserted island located near Seoul. Despite being able to see the skyscrapers, he is completely cut-off from the rest of the world. Then Mr. Kim decides to go into survival mode and attempts to rebuild his life on the island. Ms. Kim, an agoraphobic blogger, spots the stranded office worker from her high-rise apartment, and she tries to communicate with him. It’s a hilarious romantic comedy about loneliness and modern love.

In the Q&A, filmmaker Lee Hey-Jun’s (이해준) discusses the movie’s themes such as urban alienation, technology, and the effects of the global recession in South Korea.





Related Links:

• Subway Cinema // Castaway On The Moon
  
• Castaway on the Moon (Korean Movie - 2009) - 김씨 표류기 @ HanCinema
  
• Castaway on the Moon - AsianMediaWiki
  
• YouTube - CASTAWAY ON THE MOON Trailer

Too Cute: American Style and the New Asian Cool (Day 1)

PRINCETON, March 3 — Princeton University hosted an academic conference about Asian American pop culture aptly named "Too Cute: American Style and the New Asian Cool Conference". The panels and schedules were arranged by Professor Anne-Anlin Cheng.

Child Love

Anne Higonnet, an Art Historian from Columbia University, started the panel with a presentation on the connection between the cultural concept of cute and definitions of childhood. She frequently referenced Haruki Murakami (村上春樹) and his artwork. Higonnet also mentioned Murakami uncanny ability to co-opt commercial product such as his line of custom designed Louis Vuitton hand bags.


Murakami's Version of the Louis Vuitton Hand Bag
Higonnet was followed by Christine Bacareza Balance. Balance, a University California - Irvine professor and vocalists for the Jack Lords Orchestra, conducted a presentation about Filipina Child Pop Stars. Her lecture was mainly focused on the cultural and political undertones in Filipino Pop Music. In her discussion, Balance talked about the impact of YouTube, American R&B influences, karaoke, and Filipino “palabas” concept. She used Charice Pempengco’s rise to stardom as a case study for her presentation.

Gertrude Ederle

Joon Lee, an English professor from the Rhode Island School of Design, read passages from one of his novels.

Girls on Girls

After a short lunch break, the conference continued with a panel about “Asian cool” from the perspective of girls.


Karen Tongson, a professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California, discussed the internet pop phenomenon known as “Rin on the Rox”. Tongson began her discussion by outlining the cultural factors that lead to the emergence of the two Filipino American internet pop idols. She also talked about the deeper cultural trends surrounding the duo. Tongson emphasized topics such as sexual undertones, homophobic reactions, and the modern perception of womanhood in the media.

The next presentation was conducted by Laura Miller, Anthropology professor from Loyola University. Miller’s lecture was primarily concerned with the Japanese concept of “kawaii”. As an anthropologist, she approached the topic by categorizing the different types of “kawaii” found in Japan. She made a clear distinction between regular “kawaii” (cute) and “kimo kawaii” (grotesque cute). At this point, Miller started to couch her argument in a resistance framework. She characterized “kimo kawaii” as a rebellious act by Japanese girls against the commercial exploitation of the “kawaii” paradigm.

The Keynote Address: Eating Rice with a Fork


The day ended with an amazing keynote address by Eric Nakamura, co-founder of Giant Robot Magazine. Nakamura conducted a quick history of Asian American pop culture including personal stories about his own identity as a Japanese American. He described growing up as a product of two cultures that were intermingled. In an attempt to illustrate this “mashup” of identities, he humorously remarked that, “I eat rice with a fork.” The Ivy League audience enjoyed his wit and entertaining slide presentation. Towards the latter half of his address, he talked about the early days of Giant Robot Magazine and the evolution of the brand.

Queer Manga at NYU

Panel: (Left to Right) June Kim, Mari Morimoto, Hiroki Otsuka, and Ivan Velez
NEW YORK, October 21 – Erica Friedman, the President of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, moderated an interesting panel on Queer Manga. The event was being hosted by the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) Office at New York University (NYU) as a part of their LGBT Pride Month. The panelists consisted of Ivan Velez Jr. (American Comic Book Artist), Hiroki Otsuka (Japanese Managaka), Mari Morimoto (Manga Translator), and June Kim (Korean Comic Book Artist).

Friedman began the panel with a quick summary of LGBT manga, which was extraordinarily helpful to a majority of the college students in the audience. She quickly defined of terms like Yuri, Yaoi, Boys Love, Girls Love, Bian, and Bara. Then she went into a brief history of LGBT manga from 1923 to the present. It was impossible for Friedman to cover everything due to time constraints, but she managed to do a brilliant job giving the abbreviated Cliff Notes version. She covered a variety of topics like Riyoko Ikeda’s (池田 理代子) Claudine...! (クローディーヌ...!), Yuri Shimai (百合姉妹) Magazine, and Eriko Tadeno's Works.


Erica Friedman (Moderator)
Following Friedman’s introduction, the panelists discussed their personal experiences with creating and publishing LGBT manga and comics.

Ivan Velez demonstrated the varying degrees of gay manga. Velez began his portion of the panel with a home video of his trip to Akihabara. The video mainly focused on his exploration of gay manga stores. He showed the different types of stores and sections selling both the lighter gay manga titles and the more graphic gay material. After the video, he did a quick introductory slideshow of works from famous Bara mangaka such as Jiraiya. Velez argued that the genre was very masculine and sweet at the same time.

On a different note, June Kim talked about her experiences while working on the 12 Days manga. She said it was based on a real life story of tragedy and loss. Surprisingly TokyoPop, her publisher, did not have any problems with the openly lesbian and gay themes in the book. According to Kim, she never received any restrictive guidance or prohibitive directives from her publisher. This freedom allowed her to create an amazing manga with stunning artwork and a touching storyline. 12 Days was well received, and many of Kim’s readers tell her that the story literally moved them to tears.


12 Days by June Kim
Hiroki Otsuka discussed his transition from straight sex manga for young women to his open gay titles for gay men. He related his experience to the greater LGBT movement in Japan. He stated that Japanese society is still very conservative, and many gay mangaka don’t publicly declare themselves as gay or lesbian. There is still a heavy stigma attached to being openly gay. Kim interjected that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a very common phenomenon in most Asian cultures. Otsuka also discussed the slow growth of the gay community in the Second Street section of Akihabara. This burgeoning community of openly gay Japanese has led to the creation of two different groups: one group of Japanese leading openly gay lifestyles and another group of gay Japanese leading outwardly straight lifestyles. This stratification has created two divergent lifestyle philosophies concerning sexual identity in Japan.

In her portion of the panel, Mari Morimoto talked about the difficulties in publishing LGBT manga. She said that, “the publishing industry is very conservative.” The manga industry is not an exception. There are obstacles ranging from printing to distribution in regards to LGBT titles. In her efforts to promote and support LGBT works, Morimoto discussed her involvement with Prism Comics and LGBT manga panels at various anime conventions.

On the whole, Friedman successfully created an open atmosphere that allowed the panelists to share very personal experiences regarding LGBT manga. The audience seemed to appreciate the candor and honesty of the panelists and their discussion.

Related Links:

• Okazu: Event: Queer Manga Panel at NYU

The Big Green Korean Machine

JERSEY CITY, October 7 – Over the summer, there was a lot of buzz over a local Korean barbecue food truck. I looked into it and found the Krave Truck. It is a bright lime green truck that serves Korean inspired food in the downtown area.

The Krave Truck even has a website with up to the minute updates. You might ask: “Why does a food truck need updates?” Due to local laws, truck vendors cannot be idle for more than forty minutes. Therefore, the updates help customers to find the truck. Lately, they have been setting up shop near the Grove Street train station.

I ventured into downtown Jersey City to find the green Korean monster. It wasn’t difficult to spot. I strolled up to the truck and checked the menu to find only three items:

1. Taco with your choice of meat
2. Kimchidilla (Lots of Kimchi in a quesadilla)
3. Rice Platter with your choice of meat

It was a simple menu, and everything is served with Kimchi. Umm… The food is simply tasty Korean barbecue served in corn tortilla or soft taco wrap.


Kimchidilla with Kimchi and Sesame Chicken
The Krave Truck’s barbecue creations have garnered a devoted following, and many downtown denizens buy dinner from the truck on a regular basis. If you’re ever looking for a quick tasty Korean meal, look for the lime green truck in downtown Jersey City.

Related Links:

• Twitter: The Krave
• Political Indigestion: Castagna Probe Leaves Food Trucks’ Plight in Limbo | The Jersey City Independent

NYAFF09: Crushing and Blushing with Kong Hyo-Jin

NEW YORK, June 25 – This is the first in a series of blog posts covering the New York Asian Film Festival. The film, Crush and Blush (미쓰 홍당무), was screened at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue).

Crush and Blush is a Korean romantic comedy about a bizarre love pentagon between teachers at a Korean middle school / high school. Kong Hyo-Jin (공효진) plays Yang Mi-sook, a homely school teacher with an obsessive crush on Lee Jong-hyeok (이종혁). The movie is a hilarious comedy of errors with a heart warming story.

Kong Hyo-Jin, the lead actress, introduced the film and provided a short commentary. She spoke briefly about the qualities that attracted her to the role of Mi-sook. She talked about her desire to play the underdog and her efforts to make her character a more sympathetic and lovable figure.


Related Links:

• Crush and Blush - AsianMediaWiki
• Crush and Blush - NYAFF09
• Crush & Blush Trailer (Youtube)
  

Korean Toys: Cross-Cultural Traffic: Toying with Brands, Borders and Bootlegs

Panel: (Left to Right) Eric Nakamura, Joshua Bernard, and Seho Kim

NEW YORK, May 28 — On a warm and humid night, the Korea Society (950 Third Avenue) had a special panel discussion about the early Korean toy industry. The panel complemented the recent Korea Society exhibit called Toy Stories: Souvenirs from Korean Childhood. I cover the gallery opening of that show in a past blog post.

Panelists:
Joshua Bernard, editor, CollectionDX.com
Eric Nakamura, publisher, Giant Robot Magazine
Seho Kim, creative director, The Korea Society

The panel covered the early years of the South Korean toy industry, which included the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The period was a time of growth for the Korean economy. However, the large Japanese and American toy corporations did not penetrate the Korean market until the 90s. This lead to the development of a domestic toy industry in South Korea.

The panel began with a power point presentation by Joshua Bernard, editor of CollectionDX.com.

In his presentation, Bernard covered a lot of different Korean toys and related merchandise. It was interesting to see some of the most bizarre toys ever conceived. In order to create new toys, Korean toy makers would use the head mold of one robot and attach it to the body mold of another robot. This lead to a very Postmodern Kitsch design sensibility.

After the presentation, the panel addressed several questions about the history and influence of Korean toy design. They also discussed the broader commercial Korean influence in cinema and television.

Eric Nakamura autographing issues of Giant Robot Magazine
At the end of the panel, I had an opportunity to talk to the panelists. I knew Eric Nakamura from my annual trips to Los Angeles. My trips to L.A. largely consisted of loitering at the Giant Robot HQ for several days. This time he came to New York. It was totally cool to hang out with Eric over here.

Related Links:

• The Korea Society
• CollectionDX.com
  
• Giant Robot Magazine

Exhibition: Helen Cho's "Ideal and Emergence"

NEW YORK, February 23 — On a gloom and cold Saturday night, I attend the opening of Helen Cho's "Ideal and Emergence" gallery show at the Derek Eller Gallery (615 West 27th Street). Cho is a Korean born Canadian artist who lives and works in Berlin. Her work is main illustrative with noticeable influences from both modern American pop culture and tradition European fine art traditions.


"Ideal and Emergence" exhibition was mainly populated by her ink on leatherette works. They make references to movies such as Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). They are displays of highly refined technical skills with line art. The precision and quality of her work are remarkable. Most of the leatherette pieces were monochromatic. The inks were all black, and the canvases were pale beige colored leatherettes with a slight hint of pink. Cho selectively added the red highlights to some pieces to break up the monochrome rhythm in her show. It also added a bit of flair.

In a back room, the Derek Eller Gallery also displayed two larger computer generated works by Alyson Shotz. They were full color symmetrical compositions of flower arrangements. They look like center pieces for a wedding. The computer generated colors and tones are very stiff and cold, which is very typical with Western printing standards.

As for the gallery opening, crowd was packed with a young hip New York crowd. The exhibition had a heavy turn out, and the space was crowded. I was initially impressed by the size and energy of the crowd. After I walked around the gallery for a bit, I found a huge ice bin of cold beer at the front of the gallery. Maybe, this had something to do with the large crowds.

Related Links:

• Derek Eller Gallery