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April 26th 2004: Issue 07
There's been a few interesting things happening politically affecting Asian Americans in New York. An interesting article in the New York Times states that there is a push in the City Council to give legal immigrants the right to vote. A few liberal states have tried this, but if this measure were to pass in a city with such a large demographic of Asian legal immigrants (many of them our parents and their peers) as New York, the political landscape would drastically change. Candidates would actually have to listen to concerns of the Asian community! Speaking of which, Details has finally issued an apology to the Asian community. Damn, only took 20,000 signatures and 200 protestors. Better late than never... And Whitney McNally has a website! www.whitneymcnally.com. Well, sorta ;D
One event I usually don't miss out on every year is coming up soon. The Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival will take place next Sunday. I would highly recommend it--it's a good chance to get acquainted and talk to staff / members face to face with many of the Asian American organizations here in New York. They also set up a big stage where some up-and-coming Asian American acts perform.
And lastly, I'll be helping to plan an fundraising event for Korean American Community Foundation with rocker Maggie Kim on May 6th. So save the date! Maggie is a Korean American singer who performs regularly here in the city and for that night will performing a set for the sake of a good cause. And yes, you may not be a fan of rock music, but it will be a good excuse to check out a live music set. (When do you think you will again?). Check out her music at www.maggiekim.com.
-ubn
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DISCUSSION
"caucASIANS" - Asian Adoptees in White American Families
a Discussion on the Transracial Adoption Paradox With a Screening of "Unlocking the Heart of Adoption" by Sheila Ganz
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NYU Asian Pacific American Studies
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Friday, April 30th, 6:30 - 8:30pm
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NYU Cantor Film Center
Theater 101
36 East 8th Street
New York City
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www.apa.nyu.edu
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apa.rsvp@nyu.edu | 212) 992-9653
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Most noticeably since the Korean War, Asian international adoptions by white American parents have resulted in yet another version of the "typical" American family. From IKEA catalogues to Sears commercials, it is no longer unusual to encounter images of Asian children with white parents and siblings. More recently, the influx of girls adopted from China has brought about an increased awareness that international adoptees should learn about or be exposed to their cultures of origin -- from learning the language to celebrating holidays, such as Chinese New Year. But these Asian children are actually Asian Americans in a society where racism and discrimination are still present. Can white adoptive parents equip their Asian American children with the tools necessary to cope with what will inevitably be racially different experiences?
This discussion will be preceded by the 56 minute documentary "Unlocking the Heart of Adoption" by Sheila Ganz, chronicling her journey as a birthmother, interwoven with diverse personal stories of adoptees, birthparents and adoptive parents in both same race and transracial adoptions, including a Japanese American adopted woman, a Filipino American adopted man and an African American adopted man with his Caucasian adoptive father. They stirringly reveal the enormous impact that the complex reality of adoption has on the lives of regular people. Historical footage is threaded through the film and serves as an illuminating background. For more information on the film, visit http://www.unlockingtheheart.com.
The panel will include Sheila Ganz and individuals from Families with Children from China (FCC), Also-Known-As (AKA), and the NYU student club Adoptees United. Co-sponsored with Families with Children from China - NY Chapter, Adoptees United, and Unsealed Initiative
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Silmido, directed by Woo Suk Kang, is the newest Korean blockbuster to be shown on the big screen in America. Although there hasn't been that much media attention to this, I heard that this movie is apparently one of the best Korean war films ever. Silmido, (the name of a tiny island off the coast of Inchon) is based on the true historic events that occurred in the late 60's Korea, during which the escalation of the cold war between the North and South almost reached catastrophic proportions. In 2003, Silmido went on to be the top-grossing film of the year and sold over 11 million tickets, almost double the amount sold by the next runner up you may have heard of, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
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SCREENING
Silmido (2003, Korea, 133 minutes)
Synopsis: January 1968, 31 members of North Korean Special Unit 124 infiltrated South Korea with the ultimate mission of attacking the Blue House (Presidential Palace in Korea) and assassinating President Park Chung-hee. In retaliation, the South Korean government, trains an elite team of soldiers whose mission it is to explode the North Korean presidential palace and behead Kim, Il-sung, the North Korean president. To its all 31 members, mainly composed of of dysfunctional social outcasts and criminals under the death or life sentences, it is the ultimate patriotic mission with pride and loyalty; and it is the only chance they have to start a new life that is promised once the mission is successfully accomplished. With their hopes and promising vision, they survive through the most hellish inhumane ‘killing’ training and are reborn as human armories. They are the human killing machines, with strong comradeship and respect for each other. Meanwhile in 1970, with the peacemaking movement between the North and the South progressing, the government quickly decides to demolish Silmido Special Unit and executes all its members...
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FESTIVAL
25th Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival
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Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans
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Sunday, May 2nd, 12:00 - 6:00pm
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Union Square Park
17th Street between Park Avenue and Broadway
New York City
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www.capaonline.org
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Imagine yourself surrounded by over a hundred information tables of all kinds - advocacy groups, arts organizations, social clubs, professional associations, social service agencies, vendors, food stands, arts & crafts tables, even fortune tellers and Mhendi tatoo artists. A children's program is going on in one corner, and a mini-film fest is screening in a tent in another. At one end of the park is a demonstration area where martial artists are exhibiting their skills. On the other end is a performance stage where traditional and contemporary musicians and dancers are putting on a show. And all around you are thousands of people sharing and celebrating their culture and heritage. If you can picture this, then you are at the Annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival.
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POETRY READING
Voices Program
A Poetry Reading & Discussion with Suji Kwock Kim
Suji Kwock Kim reads from Notes from the Divided Country, her first book of poems, which won Discovery/The Nation Award, the 2002 Walt Whitman Award from the Academy of American Poets, and the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award. In April, Notes from the Divided Country was also named a finalist for the 2004 Griffin International Poetry Prize, the largest poetry prize in the world. Reviews in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, and Booklist praised it as "brilliant," "inspired," "punch-in-the-guts powerful," and "unforgettable."
Kim confronts some of the most difficult, most unanswerable questions on colonialism, the Korean War, emigration,
racism, love. She considers what a homeland would be, for a divided nation and divided self: what it means to enter
language, the body, the family, the community; to be a daughter, sister, lover, citizen, or exile. In settings from New
York to San Francisco, Scotland to Seoul, her poems question, what threads hold/our lives together?
There will be a Q&A session and book signing for this program. Copies of Notes from the Divided Country will be available for purchase and autograph. Free and open to the public.
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RECEPTION
Celebration of Asian Pacific Island Heritage
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The Asian American Federation
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Wednesday, May 5th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
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Surrogate Court Building Lobby
31 Chambers Street, corner of Centre Street
New York City
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www.comptroller.nyc.gov
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William C. Thompson, Jr., Comptroller of the City of New York, The Asian American Federation, and the Chinese American Planning Council cordially invite you to a celebration of Asian Pacific Island Heritage. Distinguished honorees include Le Lieu Browne, Founder / Chair of the Refugee Women's Council, Kwang S. Kim, President of the Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York (KCS), Howard H. Lee, President of World Journal, Leon Y. Lee, President of Professional Business College, Alfred V. Madrid, First Vice President and General Manager of Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, and Suki Terada Ports, Executive Director of Family Health Project. Special performance by New York Chinese School.
Reply to Office of Special Events at 212) 669-4466 or events rsvp@comptroller.nyc.gov. You must reply to be admitted.
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THEATER
My Mom Across America
written and performed by Tina Lee
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Saturday, May 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th, 7:00pm
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People's Improv Theater
154 W 29th Street at 7th Avenue, 2nd floor
New York City
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212) 563-7488
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Trapped on an all-Korean bus tour across Canada, Tina grapples with her Korean-American identity, her mother, motion sickness, and other family baggage. Watch Tina accrue massive karma points as she steers through the prickly terrain of mother-daughter relationships and tries to survive her family vacation from hell.
"In her 45-minute show My Mom Across America, Tina Lee explores her Korean identity, mimics her mother, and struggles to survive the family vacation from hell...a story full of humor and painful misunderstandings" —BBC Radio
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PERFORMANCE
International Sejong Soloists Young Prodigies from The Julliard School
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Korean American Community Foundation
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Saturday, May 15th, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
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New York Society for Ethical Culture
2 West 64th Street at Central Park West
New York City
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$40 for adults / $10 for children(12 or younger) in advance
$50 for adults / $20 for children(12 or younger) at the door
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http://www.internationalsejongsoloists.org/ | www.kacfny.org/
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KACF is hosting a group outing to watch the International Sejong Soloists on Saturday May 15th. Proceeds will benefit KACF's community outreach and ISS's youth programs. Refreshments and a punch reception will immediately follow the concert. Please RSVP by May 5, 2004. Open seating. Attire is Casual.
International Sejong Soloists (ISS), is a conductor-less string ensemble comprised of today's leading young soloists who perform a broad range of orchestral and chamber repertoire for strings. Since its inception in 1995, ISS has established a distinctive musical identity, winning acclaim for its brilliant ensemble playing, tonal refinement, and fresh interpretations. Its players, all prizewinners at prestigious competitions, hail from nine different nations. The ensemble has been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, the Kennedy Center, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and at the Ravinia in Chicago, among other leading venues. ISS is ensemble-in-residence at the Aspen Music Festival and tours worldwide annually. ISS has also released two highly praised compact discs. The ensemble is based in New York City, where it works with its artistic director, Hyo Kang, a violin professor at the Juilliard School.
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SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY
OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship Program
The Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) is partnering with UPS to present the 2004 OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship Program. Twelve scholarships of $2,000 each will be awarded to Asian Pacific American (APA) students who are the first in their family to attend college and will be entering their first year of college this fall.
"OCA and UPS are dedicated to education in the APA community," commented OCA National President Raymond
Wong. "UPS recognizes the need to provide opportunities to APA students who do not have access to the financial resources necessary to pursue higher education."
Scholarships and financial aid are critical in helping students from lower income families attain a college
education. According to 1999 statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 12.6 percent of the U.S. APA population of nearly 12 million lives at or under the poverty rate. This is of 12.6 percent, compared to nine percent of non-Hispanic Whites. Although APAs are often victims of the "model minority" myth, and thus lack access to additional financial resources to pay for college, most APAs do not fit into the highly educated and wealthy category dictated by this stereotype. The OCA-UPS Gold Mountain Scholarship Program will provide opportunities to APA students who
wish to pursue higher education while facing financial difficulties.
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CASTING CALL
ImaginAsian TV Casting Call for Television Show Hosts
America's first 24/7 Asian American network has arrived! Looking for all ethnicities to host comedies, dramas, music videos and other programs for ImaginAsian TV. Auditions will be held on Saturday May 1st in Hollywood, CA. We are looking for enthusiastic people of all ages (18+). Submit your headshot and resume to talent@imaginasiantv.com.
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JOB OPPORTUNITY
Account Executive
Fast-paced, mid-size advertising agency has an exciting opportunity for an Account Management superstar! We're looking for outgoing, energetic and pro-active individuals who are passionate about advertising! The qualified applicant will have 1-3 years of experience in the Advertising business. This agency specializes in advertising for US clients to the Asian market. Responsibilities include all facets of advertising including T.V., print and radio. The applicant must be fluent in English and either Korean or Chinese. Must be able to read, write & speak fluently.
Key Responsibilities:
Daily client contact
Juggle several accounts at the same time
Garner input from internal and client contacts
Assist Account Supervisor as needed
Partner with creative team to meet marketing objectives
Key contact for executional time line development
Manage executional time line, ensuring completion of tactical requirements
Responsible for requesting job codes
Create weekly execution status report, inform agency and client constituents of updates
Interface with production managers
Oversee traffic
Maintain executional job jackets
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INTERNSHIP
27th Annual Asian American International Film Festival
Asian Cinevision is seeking interns to fill the following film festival positions: Archive/Database Intern, Marketing/Outreach Intern, Administrative Intern. Internship positions are unpaid with college credits offered. Asian CineVision, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer.
Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:
Assist in maintaining ACV's database
Assist in membership outreach and renewal drives
Assist in updating ACV's website by compiling text and images
Assist with the coordination and execution of special screenings and events sponsored by ACV
Research community organizations for outreach of ACV/AAIFF programs and events
Administrative support as needed
Qualifications:
Must be able to work on Mac environments, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and the Internet
Knowledge of FileMaker Pro, Quark, Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, HTML, is highly desired
Strong interests in Asian/Asian American culture, media, arts, and the community
Desire to work in an entrepreneurial non-profit environment
Must be able to work independently as well as in a team environment,
Must be self-motivated, flexible and willing to take on additional/different responsibilities
Must be able to commit no less that 15 hours a week during ACV’s hours of operation
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INTERNSHIP
Gallery Korea Seeks Part-Time Intern
Position responsibilities:
Curating and exhibition preparation / Assisting exhibition installation
Assisting at diverse events hosted or sponsored by Gallery Korea
Researching and collecting information
Translation from Korean to English or vice versa
Details:
Schedule: 9:00am - 5:00pm, at least 2 days/week
Salary/Wages: Small stipend to cover lunch and transportation expenses
Requirement: -Korean / English fluency written and spoken
Current student in art-related field
Please send a cover letter and resume to: Jin-Yong Chung, 460 Park Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022,
F: 212-688-8640.
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