January 23rd 2005: Issue 25 With the new year in full swing, there are lots of events going on the next few weeks. With the usual interesting screenings and exhibitions, next weekend also comes the much anticipated "Exiles On Main Street", held at Flushing Town Hall. The 3-day festival will be featuring the best that the Asian American arts scene can offer on the East coast, with notables including work and performances by renown playwright David Henry Hwang, poet laureate Ishle Yi Park (who performed on Russel Simmon's Def Poetry Jam), and the first New York screening of Bertha Bay-Sa Pan's movie, Face, featuring rapper Treach from Naughty by Nature. There's a great article in the Washington Post about what life is like for Kirogi—the many Korean families separated overseas with the husband staying in Korea to work while the mother moves to the United States to take care of their children. And soon enough, it will probably get harder than it already is for these families from Asia to immigrate, especially with Americans are probably soon to think that all Asians are terrorists too. A column on Englishspectrum.com, a site in which foreign English teachers can search for jobs and exchange information, has created a firestorm. Apparently, last week a column titled "Ask the Playboy", a man calling himself "the playboy" related his dating experiences in Korea and gave advice to those who asked how to "get" a Korean woman. -ubn

DISCUSSION Panel Discussion: Asian Americans in the New Mainstream Asia Society Wednesday, January 26th, 6:30pm - 8:30pm Asia Society and Museum 725 Park Avenue New York City $15 members, $25 nonmembers www.asiasociety.org/events Award winning journalist, novelist and media executive Guy Garcia will lead a panel discussion on the American business response to an increasingly diverse global market, specifically focused on Asian-American consumers. Topics for discussion will include: Why does this new Asian Mainstream matter? What does this mean for the US as a culture overall? What does Asians in the mainstream mean for the rest of the world? What are the business implications of the new mainstream? What strategies are organizations employing to gain market share in the new mainstream? What specific sectors are most influenced by the Asian mainstream? How does spending power drive changes in marketing and product development?

SCREENING A State of Mind: Life in North Korea The Korea Society Co-Presented by yKAN and Thirteen / WNET New York Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Time: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. The Korea Society 950 Third Avenue, 8th Floor Building entrance on SW corner of 57th Street & 3rd Avenue New York City Registration: RSVP required to grace.ny@koreasociety.org yKAN is proud to co-present a screening and discussion of "Wide Angle: A State of Mind" with The Korea Society and Thirteen/WNET New York. We had the opportunity to view this documentary a couple of months ago and thought it conveyed with no frills the daily life of the middle class in North Korea. We encourage you to check out this film on the 26th and take advantage of discussing the topic of North Korea with its experts that include the executive producer of the "Wide Angle" series. Admission: FREE! Panelists: Charles Armstrong, Associate Professor, Columbia University Stephen Segaller, Executive Producer, Wide Angle, Thirteen/WNET New York Donald P. Gregg, President and Chairman, The Korea Society The award-winning producers of "The Game of Their Lives," Dan Gordon and John Battsek, took one step closer to the core of North Korea in "A State of Mind." This daring documentary, which premiered on the widely acclaimed PBS program, "Wide Angle," on September 11, 2003, follows the lives of two teenage girls and their families over eight months as the girls prepare to participate in the Mass Games, an intricately choreographed display of dancers, acrobats, and soldiers, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the armistice in the Korean War. The end result is a rare, and surprising, glimpse into the individual and family life underneath the monolithic veneer of the North Korean society.

SCREENING Address Unknown (Suchwi-in bulmyeong) Korean Culture Service Thursday, January 27th, 6:30pm Korean Cultural Service 460 Park Ave at 57th Street New York City www.koreanculture.org 2001 South Korea. 117 min. Directed by Ki-duk Kim. Four people ravaged by war live in a quiet little town located on the outskirts of an American military base. Chang-guk and his mother live in a red abandoned bus. Chang-guk's mother writes to Chang-guk's father who was a black soldier stationed in Korea but who now has left them behind to go back to America. Although each of her letters come back to her stamped with "Address Unknown" she does not give up. Chang-guk despises his mother and often beats her for her actions who is defenseless. Ji-heum is a timid youth who does not attend high school but instead works at a local portrait studio. He is oftentimes overwhelmed by his overbearing father who claims he was a war hero. Ji-heum has a secret crush on Eun-ok, a girl who can only see out of her one eye. He tries in vain to protect her. Eun-ok lives in pain of having to live day to day with her condition, which was a result of her older brother's prank. She hides half of her face behind her hair and has also withdrawn from the world. She falls for James, an American soldier who promises to pay for her eye surgery. Chang-guk is abused and ridiculed by the town's people for being mixed and his sole patron is his boss, Dog Eye, who is the local dog butcher. All four lives collide as each individual's hope for a better future return to them unfulfilled.

FESTIVAL Exiles On Main Street: A Festival Of Next-Generation Asian American Arts And Culture Friday, January 28th - Sunday, January 30th Flushing Town Hall 137-35 Northern Blvd Flushing, New York Price per event: $15 general / $10 students www.flushingtownhall.org/aaf.php | Box Office: 718) 463-7700 x 222 Celebrate the dynamic voices of Asian America's second generation-from Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly & the groundbreaking reworking of Flower Drum Song) to filmmaker Greg Pak (Robot Stories) to performance poets Ishle Yi Park (Poet Laureate of the Borough of Queens) and Regie Cabico (winner, MTV's "Free Your Mind" contest) Festival Program Of Events: Friday, January 28th, 8:00pm: Spoken Word "Slammin' and Jammin': New Voices in Asian American Spoken Word" Asian America's most exciting performance poets-including Regie Cabico, Julie Hyun Jung Hwang, Emily Chang, and Queens poet laureate Ishle Park-perform some of their best work, and discuss how the medium has transformed as it has surged out of the underground and into the mainstream, through venues like the movie Slam and Broadway's Def Poetry Jam. Saturday, January 29th, 4:00pm: Theatre "Into the Next Stage: Reinventing Asian American Theatre" Three of the community's top playwrights, including David Henry Hwang ("M. Butterfly" and the groundbreaking reworking of "Flower Drum Song"), Sung Rno ("wAve"), and Ralph Peña (Flipzoids; artistic director of Ma-Yi Theatre) present some of their most notable monologues, talk about the challenges facing Asian American theatre, and look at how next-generation playwrights are confronting and addressing those challenges. Saturday, January 29th, 8:00 pm: Dance "eMotion: New Asian American Danceworks" BiTriP-which stands for Bi-Triangle Performance-is a novel contemporary dance troupe that fuses many styles of dance, from hiphop to jazz, modern, and traditional ethnic folk, while incorporating other forms of performance into their pieces, such as mime and the art of illusion. Prepare to be inspired, entertained, and amazed. Sunday, January 30th, 2:00pm: Film "Framed: New Films, New Directors, New Directions in Asian American Cinema" Blue Hour (2 p.m.-4 p.m.) Francisco Aliwalas's second independent feature is an adrenaline-drenched, pulse-pounding neo-noir action thriller that was shot guerrilla-style in the streets of New York, featuring a principal cast composed entirely of Asian American performers. As with his acclaimed debut feature Disoriented, Aliwalas played many roles with the production: he produced, wrote, directed, shot, edited, and even scored the music. Face (4 p.m.-6 p.m.) This wonderful debut film by Bertha Bay-Sa Pan is a New York City-based drama spanning three generations of Chinese-American women as their lives and relationships are shaped by devastating choices. The superb ensemble cast includes Bai Ling (Anna and the King), Kristy Wu (What's Cooking) and the rapper Treach (of Naughty by Nature). Robot Stories (6 p.m.-8 p.m.) Winner of over 30 awards, Greg Pak's Robot Stories is science fiction from the heart, four stories in which utterly human characters struggle to connect in a world of robot babies, robot toys, android office workers, and digital immortality. Panel- (8 p.m.-9:30 p.m.) Author Jeff Yang (Eastern Standard Time; Once Upon a Time in China) moderates a panel discussion with the directors on the future of Asian American cinema.

CELEBRATION Lunar New Year Events in Chinatown 1st Two Weeks in February All Over Chinatown www.explorechinatown.com | CNN Article | NYC & Company: 212) 484-1222 The Year of the Rooster begins on February 9, and the Lunar New Year will be observed all over Chinatown during the first two weeks of February. Firecracker demonstrations, lion dancers, a parade and a flower market are among the festivities planned to mark the holiday. Lanterns are strung throughout the streets, and the Chinese characters for good fortune and prosperity are posted on many buildings. Go to www.explorechinatown.com or call NYC & Company, the city's visitors' bureau 212) 484-1222. Free maps and brochures at the Chinatown Visitors Kiosk, at the intersection of Canal, Walker and Baxter streets. February 5th - 6th: Flower market in Sara D. Roosevelt Park, at Grand and Chrystie streets. February 9th: Firecracker ceremonies, at noon at Mott and Bayard streets, and at 2:00pm at Market Street and East Broadway. Dancers and singers perform at both locations, noon to 4:30pm. Dance troupes costumed as lions, dragons and unicorns march along Mott, Bowery, East Broadway, Bayard, Elizabeth and Pell. February 13th: Parade, noon to 4:30pm, featuring floats, bands, acrobats and dancers, along Mott, Canal, Bowery, East Broadway, Chatham Square, Forsyth, Division and Worth streets, with performances by musicians, dancers and martial artists. Museum of Chinese in the Americas: 70 Mulberry St, 212) 619-4785. Open Tuesday to Thursday, noon to 6:00pm. Fridays, noon to 7:00pm. Saturday and Sunday, noon to 6:00pm. Adults, $3; free on Fridays and for children under 12. Walking tours: Call for schedules and reservations. Museum of Chinese in the Americas. Big Onion Walking Tours, 212) 439-1090; Discover New York Walking Tours, 212) 935-3960 or Jami Gong's Walking Tours.

BANQUET Asian American Tsunami Relief Fund Raising Banquet Asian Women in Business (AWIB) et al Tuesday, February 1st, 6:30 - 10:30pm Golden Bridge Restaurant 50 Bowery New York City Individual Tickets: Platinum $500.00 Gold $250.00 Silver $100.00 Table of 10 Platinum $5,000.00 Gold $2,500.00 Silver $1,000.00 Registration form | 212) 653 - 9141 Join Asian Women in Business and other area organizations in an Asian American fundraiser for the victims of the recent Tsunami in South and Southeast Asia. Organizers: Asian American Federation of NY Asian Americans for Equality Asian Women In Business Chinese-American Planning Council Golden Bridge Restaurant Korean American Counseling Center Organization of Chinese Americans - NY Thanks to the generosity of Golden Bridge, which is donating the 10 Course Banquet, 100% of your donation is tax-deductible. To RSVP, send the completed registration (http://www.awib.org/content_frames/TsunamiFundRaiser.pdf) form to Asian American Tsunami Relief Fund Raiser, c/o AWIB, 150 Lafayette Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Please make your check payable to: "U.S. Fund for UNICEF Tsunami Water & Sanitation Fund". All of the cost of your ticket will go directly to UNICEF's Water and Sanitation Fund. If you would prefer another Tsunami relief organization, you can also make your check payable to that organization and send it with a completed registration form for admittance to the event. Tickets will be held at the door.

EXHIBITION OPENING "Yellow Peril" Exhibition Opening NYU APA Studies February 3rd, 6:00 - 8:00pm NYU A/P/A Studies Gallery 269 Mercer Street #609 New York City www.apa.nyu.edu From February to May 2005, New York University’s Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program & Institute presents Archivist of the “Yellow Peril.” This exhibition features artifacts from Yoshio Kishi & Irene Yah-Ling Sun’s comprehensive collection of Asian Americana. For over 30 years, Asian American collector Yoshio Kishi has relentlessly tracked over 10,000 artifacts that relate to the imagined “yellow peril.” These historically and culturally significant items, that date from the mid-1700s to the 1990s, include books, films, photographs, political cartoons, pulp magazines, sheet music, journals, recordings, manuscripts, newspapers, artifacts, and other paper ephemera. Notable are images of Fu Manchu, posters of American silent film idols Sessue Hiyakawa and Anna May Wong, as well as early novels by Asian American pioneers. “This is a researcher's archive. I deliberately sought the artifacts, images and cross-links that foster curiosity and encourage investigation in areas one would not expect to travel,” said Mr. Kishi. Archivist of the “Yellow Peril” provides a glimpse into this collection. Curated by award-winning historian, cultural activist and A/P/A Studies Founding Director John Kuo Wei Tchen, the Kishi/Sun Collection will become the foundation for new scholarship examining the history of Asian representation throughout the Western hemisphere. “Yoshio Kishi is Asian America’s Arturo Schomburg, collector of the Black diaspora during the Harlem renaissance. Kishi’s visionary collection meticulously documents U.S. orientalism and yellow peril. It also documents the emergence of Asian American voices and activists challenging these stereotypes with a vision for a new America,” said Tchen.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY he AALDEF Korean Workers Project Asian American Legal Defense And Education Fund (AALDEF) www.aaldef.org | schoi@aaldef.org AALDEF seeks volunteers! The AALDEF Korean Workers Project seeks creative help in designing and creating a short Korean-language pamphlet about unemployment insurance in New York State. The content of the pamphlet will be approximately 1,500 - 2,000 words. Korean-language ability is desirable but not necessary; interested persons should contact Steve Choi at schoi@aaldef.org or at 212) 966-5932 x 223. Founded in 1974, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) is the first legal rights organization on the East Coast serving Asian Americans. We were founded by a group of lawyers, law students and community activists who believed that the law should be used as a tool to achieve social and economic justice for Asian Americans and all Americans.