Posted on January 13, 2020
CYJO is a fine-art photographer known for her work on a project that explores identity and immigration through the eyes of Korean Americans. She was born with the name Cindy Hwang.
Judy Joo is a chef and TV personality, best known as the host of a Food Network show, one of four chefs on the cooking show Iron Chef UK, and a judge of Kitchen Inferno. She splits her time between NYC, London, and Asia! Lots of flying!
A lot of my favorite Asian American actors have Korean ancestry. They include Tim Kang (left), Daniel Dae Kim, Randall Park, Sandra Oh, John Cho, and Grace Park (below) -although she was born in LA but then grew up in Vancouver, Canada.
Michael Kim is an ESPN anchor, and he gets to cover the athletic endeavors of Korean Americans such as elite snowboarder and Olympic champ Chloe Kim, a whole lot of golfers including Michelle Wie and Kevin Na, and baseball players including Rob Refsnyder.
(First Monday after January 6)
Today is a commemoration of the first Korean immigrants to arrive on the shores of the United States (to be specific, the shores of Hawaii), on this date in 1903. Of course, the alliance between the U.S. and South Korea during the Korean War has led to a lot more immigration, and now vibrant communities of Korean Americans are scattered across the entire country, including big cities like L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, and NYC, but also including smaller towns and cities like two I've lived in, Hacienda Heights and Chino/Chino Hills.
Of course, Korean American Day is a good excuse to honor the contributions made by Korean immigrants and Korean Americans. Here is a very, very, very partial list - just to get you started!
Ahn Chang Ho, aka Dosan, came to San Francisco in 1902, along with his wife Helen. They were the very first married couple to immigrate from Korea to the mainland. He founded the first Korean American group - the Friendship Society, which later became the Mutual Assistance Society and eventually merged with the United Korean Society. Dosan returned to Korea through China in order to work against the Japanese takeover of Korea.
David Hyun was born in Korea but brought to the U.S. as a small child. He became the first Korean American architect and is best remembered for his design of the Japanese Village Plaza during the revitalization of Little Tokyo in downtown L.A.
CYJO is a fine-art photographer known for her work on a project that explores identity and immigration through the eyes of Korean Americans. She was born with the name Cindy Hwang.
Dennis Hwang is an artist known for some of the earliest Google doodles and for his work on Pokémon Go.
Shelly Hwang and Young Lee founded Pinkberry, a chain of frozen dessert restaurants. The first store was located in Los Angeles and was said to provide "the taste that launched 1,000 parking tickets." Now there are more than 260 stores in 20 countries!
Judy Joo is a chef and TV personality, best known as the host of a Food Network show, one of four chefs on the cooking show Iron Chef UK, and a judge of Kitchen Inferno. She splits her time between NYC, London, and Asia! Lots of flying!A lot of my favorite Asian American actors have Korean ancestry. They include Tim Kang (left), Daniel Dae Kim, Randall Park, Sandra Oh, John Cho, and Grace Park (below) -although she was born in LA but then grew up in Vancouver, Canada.
Lee Ann Kim is not only a reporter and anchor for TV news, she is also the executive director of the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
Michael Kim is an ESPN anchor, and he gets to cover the athletic endeavors of Korean Americans such as elite snowboarder and Olympic champ Chloe Kim, a whole lot of golfers including Michelle Wie and Kevin Na, and baseball players including Rob Refsnyder.
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