As a nod to KoreAm’s 21st anniversary, we asked this month’s contributors:
How did you celebrate your 
Helin Jung
“I have no idea. I hate birthdays. I especially hate the song.”
Helin compulsively makes reservations at restaurants, and sometimes even shows up
for them. For KoreAm, she has written cover profiles on Momofuku chef David Chang (the one dripping with Beard Awards), actor Daniel Dae Kim (yeah, Jin) and for this issue, actress Jamie Chung.
Her story: “Sucka Free”
Is Jamie Chung, a former reality star, finally getting her serious actress makeover?
Namju Cho
“I celebrated at least five times with different groups of people. By the third time, I was embarrassed to be sung the happy birthday song—yet again. I definitely milked it that year.”
Namju is a freelance journalist in Los Angeles. She is determined to unveil the secret to Koreans’ recent obsession with adding cheap shredded cheese to every Korean meal (including chicken galbi). She blogs about cooking, eating and dining out at www.njeats.blogspot.com.
Her story: “Dak of the Town”
Meet the other dark meat.
Ellis Song
“By lying in dirt behind a bush.”
Ellis is a reporter and aspiring high school teacher from Torrance, Calif. He is infatuated with the sport known as mixed martial arts, and a great admirer of these fighters’ stories and sense of self-sacrifice.
His story: “The Man They Call Smooth”
Meet World Extreme Cagefighting’s former lightweight champion, Ben Henderson, who makes his debut this month in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Sung-min Yi
“By consuming vast amounts of fast food. The plan: fast food for breakfast, brunch, lunch, second lunch and dinner. But after second lunch, our bodies began to resist—and the night ended early. To this day, why this seemed like a good idea remains a mystery.”
Sung-min resides in Los Angeles, but in the above photo, he is clearly somewhere else. His story on tattoo artist Jun Cha left him wondering how he made it this far in life without getting inked. After the interview, Jun offered to commit the word “KoreAm” onto Sung-min’s arm. Sung-min, though intrigued, respectfully declined.
His story: “Ink In His Blood”
On tattooist Jun Cha, and an art form that goes beyond skin deep.
Jason Sperber
“Having dinner and champagne with my lovely girlfriend, who three years later, became my wife.”
Jason is a writer and stay-at-home-dad. A food lover and home cook, his own weight loss plan prescribes moving to Bakersfield, Calif., where there are hardly any good places to dine.
His story: “What To Hear & Read Right Now”
Reviews on Priscilla Ahn’s When You Grow Up, Lynn Chen and Lisa Lee’s website on weighty issues, and Ben
Ryder Howe’s memoir on “risking it all.”
Katherine Yungmee Kim
“I meditated at the Taktshang Monastery in Bhutan. Actually, the painful truth is, I don’t remember. But I was living in Cambridge, Mass., and do remember selling my cello because I was broke. So I’m sure that night involved (a lot of) cheap beer.”
Katherine is a Los Angeles-based writer and educator. Her book, Los Angeles’s Koreatown, will be released this fall by Arcadia Publishing.
Her story: “The Tides That Bind”
A profile on Brenda Paik Sunoo, who documents Jeju Island’s renowned female divers in her new book, Moon Tides: Jeju Island Grannies of the Sea.
