Born or Raised In the U.S., Why Are Entrepreneurs Returning to Korea?
Inc.
Seoul is home to a burgeoning corps of young entrepreneurs, a shocking number of them born or educated in America. Why aren’t they starting companies here?
Two More Sought in Connection with Duluth Murder
Patch.com (Duluth, Ga.)
Two suspects are in jail and two others are being sought in the murder of Kwang Ko, who was found stabbed and bleeding Dec. 8 in the Aldi grocery store parking lot in Duluth and later died from his injuries.
Duluth Police Capt. Mark Hunter reported at a press conference Wednesday (Dec. 14) that arrest warrants have been obtained for Yeon-Tae Kang Hill, 20, and Dongsoo Park, 25, who are still at large.
Two suspects were arrested early Tuesday (Dec. 13) by Duluth Police investigators for their involvement in the Ko homicide case, the city’s first in 2011. Seung Won Lee, 24, and Dong Ho Shin, 30, both of Duluth, each have been charged with one count of felony murder and one count of aggravated assault. They are being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center.
The arrest warrants for Hill and Park list the same charges.
Ko, 32, a Duluth resident, was found stabbed and bleeding in the parking lot of the Aldi at 2618 Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth about 7 a.m. last Thursday. He was discovered by a citizen using the ATM at the Bank of America who called police.
Hunter said that Ko had multiple knife puncture and slash wounds. Ko died either while being transported by EMS or after arriving at Gwinnett Medical Center-Duluth, he said.
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U.S., North Korea Hold Talks on Humanitarian Aid
New York Times
Officials from the United States and North Korea met in Beijing on Thursday to discuss the possible terms of resuming humanitarian aid shipments to the impoverished North.
The meeting followed a series of appeals from United Nations and private American relief agencies for urgent aid for the most vulnerable of North Korea’s population, especially its children and pregnant mothers, who they said suffered from life-threatening malnutrition.
Statue Deepens Dispute Over Wartime Sex Slavery
New York Times
The unsmiling teenage girl in traditional Korean dress sits in a chair, her feet bare, her hands on her lap, her eyes fixed on the Japanese Embassy across a narrow street in central Seoul. Within a day, the life-size bronze statue had become the focal point of a simmering diplomatic dispute as President Lee Myung-bak prepared to visit Tokyo this weekend.
The statue, named the “Peace Monument,” was financed with citizens’ donations and installed Wednesday, when five women in their 80s and 90s who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese military during World War II held their 1,000th weekly protest in front of the embassy, joined by their supporters.
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Armed N.Korean Soldiers Defect
Chosun Ilbo
Eight armed North Korean soldiers defected last month across the Apnok (or Yalu) River separating North Korea and China, prompting security to be tightened around the Chinese border town of Dandong, the Daily NK reported Wednesday.
Citing border guards in Dandong, the online news outlet said the soldiers crossed the border in Kuandian around Nov. 20, and that two of them were shot and killed while six escaped. Kuandian is around 100 km northeast of Dandong.
Exams in South Korea: The one-shot society
The Economist
ON NOVEMBER 10th South Korea went silent. Aircraft were grounded. Offices opened late. Commuters stayed off the roads. The police stood by to deal with emergencies among the students who were taking their university entrance exams that day.
Every year the country comes to a halt on the day of the exams, for it is the most important day in most South Koreans’ lives. The single set of multiple-choice tests that students take that day determines their future. Those who score well can enter one of Korea’s best universities, which has traditionally guaranteed them a job-for-life as a high-flying bureaucrat or desk warrior at a chaebol (conglomerate). Those who score poorly are doomed to attend a lesser university, or no university at all. They will then have to join a less prestigious firm and, since switching employers is frowned upon, may be stuck there for the rest of their lives. Ticking a few wrong boxes, then, may mean that they are permanently locked out of the upper tier of Korean society.
The 16 step guide for Korean samgyeopsal dining
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You may have already dined at Korean restaurants that specialize in samgyeopsal (pork belly) cooked tableside. There are quite a few establishments — stretching from Buford Highway to Duluth — offering the sizzling piggy that diners can order a la carte, or as an all-you-can-eat format.
This Korean pork belly smorgasbord can be confusing to the uninitiated, so allow me to relay a general guideline for your samgyeopsal adventure.
1. Pick a spot. Honey Pig, Iron Age, Sun and Moon Cafe, Star Daepo are some options in Duluth. Dongnae Bangnae off Oakcliff Road and Buford Highway is a closer option for intown residents. (Addresses and contact information provided at the end.)
Englewood Cliffs resident earns gold place in annual Calligraphy contest
Northern Valley Suburbanite (N.J.)
Learning calligraphy is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the favorite activities of a fifth-grader.
But for college student Andrew Cho, learning the art of fancy letter writing was something that made him grow as a person during his youth.
It comes as no surprise that he would later go on to win gold place in calligraphy during the annual Calligraphy and Asian Brush Painting Competition.
“It’s an honor,” said Cho, a student at Harvard University and Englewood Cliffs resident. “For that to be displayed for others to see and experience the beauty of this art, I think it’s great to show the benefits and the values of what this can have for the community.”
Korean-American entrepreneur discovers new possibilities for Korean cuisine in New York
Yonhap News
When popular online dining and drinking site Eater.com announced its search for the “Greatest Burger in America” in April, few expected the winning burger would be infused with a traditional Korean dish. The “bibimbap burger,” created by Korean-American entrepreneur Bobby Kwak, is a hamburger topped with ingredients from the popular Korean dish “bibimbap,” vegetables and meat mixed with steamed rice and hot pepper sauce.
The bibimbap burger was quietly nominated as a contender for the best burger in New York City, a surprise even to the owners of Social Eatz that served it. It won the honor soon after, and went on to win the title of “the Greatest Burger in America” via online voting, surpassing the best burgers from eight other cities.
75 guys we wish we were in 2011
Guyism.com
#68: David Choe (Artist, Podcast Host)
David Choe is the second craziest Korean alive (Kim Jong Il is number one, silly). This year, the artist whose paintings grace the Facebook offices dropped a series of podcasts called Koreans Gone Bad featuring candid conversations with other prominent artists and childhood friends. It’s largely unedited (often running past two hours) with topics ranging from self-improvement classes, tossing prostitute salad, and first experiences with psychedelic drugs. Aside from that, he also broke into Pablo Escobar’s vacation home.
Young Sun of ‘Work of Art’ on hugs, history and Prop 8
Windy City Times
Bravo Channel’s Work of Art: The Next Great Artist has openly gay rising artist Young Sun from Illinois as part of the competition. For this second season the artists once again face challenges in groups and solo to win an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum and $100,000.
The future looks bright for Sun and we brushed up on such topics as Prop 8 and hugging for 24 hours.
Windy City Times: Hello, Young. Tell me a bit about your background.
Young Sun: I am Korean. I was born in Evanston. I went to school in Chicago. I worked for a year abroad in London and in Germany. I worked as a teacher in Korea for a few months. I really got bit by the travel bug as a student.
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