One of the absolutely wonderful things about growing up an APA is to befriend people from racially diverse backgrounds and, as a natural result, to be able to teach them a thing or two about your own culture. As a Korean American, I’ve personally enjoyed welcoming my “foreign” homefries to the wonderful world of chopsticks, dolsot bibimbap, and Daniel Henney…among other things.

But the one form of recognition that I truly delight in the most is when my friends randomly tell me about their other beloved Korean friends or some influential Asian that they met on their life journeys. Most of the time, the only thing I share in common with these lovely strangers is my Asian ethnicity, but my friends still feel compelled to directly involve me by emphasizing on the Asian-ness of their positive experiences. I have discovered that it doesn’t matter whether they are constantly surrounded by other Asians or if befriending me popped their “token Asian friend” cherry, but my buddies absolutely love to inform me of their close encounters of the Korean/Asian kind.

Here’s how it usually goes down:

Me: Hey, so do you believe that peace will ever be achieved in the Middle East?
Non-Asian Friend: Omg, I saw/heard a Korean/Asian on the street today!
Me: !!!

Me: Hey, so what are your thoughts on thermodynamics?
Non-Asian Friend: Oh, I made a new Korean/Asian friend! (then proceeds to tell me the friend’s life story)
Me: !!!

Me: I just thought of the one-and-only answer to the meaning of life.
Non-Asian Friend: Uh-huh, I’m dating a really great guy/girl and guess what? He/She is Korean/Asian!
Me: Dude, share the wealth, I have to marry an Asian guy to remain alive, remember? But yeah…!!!

Sure, I would selfishly like to remain their sole beacon of Korean/Asian friendship light, but hearing my friends’ excitement over meeting fellow APA brothers and sisters actually brings me great joy. Every mention, story, anecdote lets me know that my friendship is being valued in such a way that my racial and cultural background is comfortably seated in the backs of their minds. I find myself doing the same thing with my non-Korean, Asian friends as well, and they all seem to have similarly slap-happy responses as me.

Friends are what make life worthwhile, especially the APA ones!

Tags: Headline by happyhatts
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In high school, I was bullied. Or should I say tormented, verbally abused, treated like I was nothing in the eyes of the older junior high school girls. I was a freshman who entered high school as a fairly new kid in the neighborhood. My friends were the popular girls and I was the only Asian girl in a sea of blonds and brunettes. My school literally was 40% Asian, 50% Caucasian, and 10% others and the groups usually split evenly. You rarely saw an Asian hanging out with other races besides themselves, so you can imagine I stuck out like a sore thumb.

From day 1 the popular junior girls hated me, particularly a Korean-American girl named Dana*. Dana hated me with a passion that I had never seen in another person’s eyes. Her mission in life was to destroy mine and there was nothing and nobody who was going to stop her from torturing mine. I was 13. I was naive, scared, innocent, and most of all clueless to what I was going to face in the coming year.

“Slut, whore, bitch, hoe,” were familiar names thrown at me on a daily basis. I couldn’t walk through the hallways without getting pushed into lockers or having nasty songs sung about me and my “slut ways.” Was I some promiscuous adolescent that slept around with boys everyday after school? I kissed one boy in 8th grade and all of a sudden I was the biggest “whore” to ever walk the halls of my high school.

[Read more →]

Tags: Headline by ellie
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If you ever wanted to emulate an Asian hangout for a weekend with your friends, these are some of the things you must do.

1. We’re always down for karaoke. It sounds stereotypical and we know it, but there’s something about rounding the troops and hitting up a karaoke bar that we love. Get some good ole’ soju and a couple packs of beer and we’re good to go.

2. We love dessert and we’ve got plenty of places to get the Asian deserts we love. Girls, especially, love sitting down at an Asian cafe and ordering a bunch of goodies. Here are some of the deserts we love consuming during girl-time:

Bubble Tea

Pat-bing-soo

Asian pastries

More after the hop!

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Tags: Headline, Uncategorized by ellie
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I think it’s safe to say that most Asian girls are on the thinner side of the weight spectrum. I was never part of that percentile and I can guarantee you I will never be.

I was born on April 10th, 1987 to a thin mother and normal-sized father. When I popped out, I had a set of cheeks and a cone-head. As a toddler, I detested milk. The taste of it made me gag and I refused to drink it. As a result, the only thing I would put down my throat was pineapple juice. The sugar turned me into a fast chubster and my love for everything sweet stayed with me until my teenage and adult years. I have always struggled with my weight. I’ve never been overweight by any means but I was definitely on the chubby side and I was always aware that my arms couldn’t fit into certain sleeves and my belly always plopped out more than the 5 Asian girls put together sitting next to me in chemistry class.

For years people thought I couldn’t swim, but it wasn’t because I couldn’t swim, it was because I wouldn’t get into the pool. I was that weird person who wore large t-shirts in the pool for fear someone would snicker and laugh at my tubby tum-tum. Summer wasn’t all happiness, tanning, and cocktails for me, it represented mockery, sweating in between stomach rolls, and shame. How did I get like this and where was my confidence hiding?

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Tags: Headline by ellie
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Yesterday I was singing parts of this Korean song and the lyrics went, “I gave you everything but you left,” and in the back of my car I hear my mom screeching, “That’s why you never give them everything, Ellie!” I laughed and then she shot me a look and then I knew that she wasn’t talking about “love” she was talking about the word, “sex.”

I’d say those are extremely rare moments in an Asian child’s life. If you’re Asian, you know what I’m talking about. Our parents never mention anything to do with the 3-lettered hellish word, that is s-e-x. Asian American kids aren’t raised like your typical American family. I was always fascinated at how open some of my white girlfriends were with their parents when it came to their sexuality. The only time the word “sex” flew around in my house was when we checked off “male” or “female” under the sex gender part of an application.

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Tags: Headline, Uncategorized by ellie
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Let’s be honest. Men love Asian women and I’ll tell you why. We’re exotic, well-mannered, and mysterious. Conceited, much? Some men just love women of all colors, but there are those men who just love them some Asian sensations. Let’s look at some celebrity macho men who wed an Asian lova.

Nicolas Cage and Alice Kim. The A-list actor first spotted the Korean beauty at Le Prive, a restaurant in Los Angeles where she was a waitress. The two were engaged in 2004 and married the same year. The two are 20 years apart and have one child together.

Who did better in this relationship? Definitely Cage!

More couples after the jump!

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Tags: Actors/Films, Headline by ellie
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The 28th Annual San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival took place during the week of March 11th to March 21st and showcased in three major California Bay Area cities: San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose.

This is a major Asian American event and it’s pretty much a big thing. Last year, I was unable to attend SFIAAFF, so I made it a goal of mine to make it to the event this year.

Even though I live in the Bay Area with relative access to many of the places it took place in (Go BART & CalTrain!), I was only able to watch one film out of the 120 films presented during the festival.

(Thank goodness for multiple showings, San Francisco and San Jose be close to one hour away from each other, and friends being up for the drive. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!)

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Tags: AA events, Actors/Films, Headline by gogosaurus
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 A few weeks ago, I launched Project CSTT. I created a video asking viewers to send in their stories and experiences that dealt with racism, ignorance and discrimination. The goal of this project is to share our stories and hopefully learn how words of hatred affect the lives of minorities worldwide. At the end of each expierence, the writer either writes “CTT,” which means Change the Theory for a negative experience, or “STT” which means Spread the Theory for a positive expierence. Remember, this is not limited to only Asians, this is an on-going project which will continue to update each week so please send your letters, pictures, stories, to the following address:

AAtheory
P.O. Box 75
Closter, NJ 07624

Here are some of the letters I received this week:

We can make a difference. Spread the movement.

Tags: Headline by ellie
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rac·ism:/ˈreɪsɪzəm/
–noun
1.
a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others.

b. hatred or intolerance of another race or other races.

Racism affects everyone. It has the ability to destroy one’s pride, confidence, and self-image. Over the years, I have personally fought discriminating and ignorant battles from those who were either blatantly racist or those who were never taught to know anything better. Whether you’re a minority living in the states or one living in a foreign country, you’ve most likely come across someone who has mistreated you because of the color of your skin. For so many years, I was weakened by hurtful words and I felt ashamed because of who I was and what I looked like.

ig·no·rance: /ˈɪgnərəns/
–noun
the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.

Though I am stronger today that I was yesterday, I am still sensitive to ignorant and discriminatory words. I have witnessed and heard of so many stories amongst peers, relatives, and strangers who have undergone some kind of racist experience in their lives that have left them feeling dejected and angry towards who they were. But while there are stories of the bad, there are also the uplifting and positive experiences people have gone through that shines a light on this dark journey that so many of us fallen victim too.

dis·crim·i·na·tion: /dɪˌskrɪməˈneɪʃən/
1.
treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit: racial and religious intolerance and discrimination.

This is where Project CSTT comes in. You the readers and viewers are the core of this project and without you, Project CSTT cannot be successful. I’ll let the following video explain it all:

The goal of this project is share our experiences and spread awareness. If one person changes their ways because of another person’s story, then we have just climbed a step into reaching equality and putting an end to racial discrimination. Every week a headline of various letters, post-it notes, pictures, etc., will be put up on this site.

Remember, if it’s a negative experience, please don’t forget to write “Change The Theory/CTT” at the end of the experience. If it’s a positive one, please write “Spread The Theory/STT.”

Our stories can make a difference. Help spread the movement.

A very special thanks to:
The AAtheory team: Karrol, Janice, Hatt, Junior, Jeny, Jennifer, Sarah, I could not have done it without guys.
8asians.com
angryasianman.com
ningin.com
seoulbeats.com
a-tunes.net

Tags: Headline by ellie
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Pioneers of the Asian American hip-hop movement, Far East Movement have been hustling in the game long before most of the AA artists you see today. Their energy is contagious, their style is off the hook, and their music is fly. Kev Nish, Prohgress, J-Splif, and DJ Virman continue to pave the way for not only hip-hop, but for the Asian American movement as a whole. Their singles have been heard in clubs all across the country and featured on hit shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “America’s Best Dance Crew.” They are hands down thee most successful Asian American group in the Land of the Free and they continue to astound their fans with breaking news and kick ass music.

Recently wrapping up their tour with Grammy-nominated, Electro/Hip-Hop group, LMFAO the fellas of FM announced their biggest achievement yet;Far East Movement officially signed with Cherrytree Records, home to mega-artists like Lady Gaga, Tokio Hotel, Keane, Space Cowboy and more. On March 16th, 2010 FM announced tour dates in Japan with multi-platinum artist, Lady Gaga.

Prohgress, Kev Nish, and J-Splif took the time out to sit down with yours truly for one of my personal favorite episodes of “EMT.” Watch, enjoy, and support here:

Tags: Headline by ellie
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