Project Obangsaek

Jazz for a night By Dexter Wang (From Obangsaek) on 24 May 2011 

Finding Jazz in Korea is surprisingly unchallenging, but you might want to get a good first impression and not just go anywhere. In that case, Club Evans could be a place to stop by as it is conveniently located in the famous strip along Hongik University and well known for the last several years. If you have time at 9pm.

The atmosphere is lively and there is not a whole lot of room to gather a huge party together, unless you head there early. The start of the performance came with a relaxing piano intro, not too overbearing to distract anyone but also takes your focus. The drummer, guitarist, and pianist all play seamlessly together and you can tell they’ve done it a million times but the passion still looks like the first. When the music heats up you realize they play for the audience, but they play more because they absolutely enjoy it.

The intermissions were entertaining. The musicians pop a few jokes here and there, and the pianist even dared to wear some rather tall high heels during the entire performance. Maybe if you can play piano like that you are given the right to do whatever crazy stuff you feel like. In the end, it’s a good way to toss up a basically music-driven atmosphere.

The last half was mainly about the singers. The singers stand on the right edge near the audience and move on stage. They perform various jazz vocals and more modern mainstream music like Alicia Keys. I was sitting near the exit door (presumably where the musicians take breaks) and they constantly weave in and weave out. It’s kind of a great way to see the artists as people and not as performers completely separated from the audience. Wherever you sit, the powerful performances are sure to capture your attention.

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Korea: The Next Face of Hollywood? (From Obangsaek) By Quinn on 28 May 2011 in Film, Hot Topics, Modern Korea

Type-casting and a dearth of roles for Asians and Asian-Americans has made it equally difficult for Asians to break into Hollywood and Broadway. But with the Asian minority increasing in the U.S. and a burgeoning growth of Asian actors in meatier roles, this seemingly immutable tradition might be changing. 

Of the Asians actors and actresses in Hollywood, Koreans are the largest minority. Kim Yunjin and Daniel Dae Kim had their breakout roles when they were cast in Lost in 2004. Sandra Oh followed with her character onGrey’s Anatomy. Currently, James Kyson-Lee stars as Ando Masahashi in the TV-hit-series Heroes. Daniel Henney, whose mother is Korean and father is American, has been generating a lot of hype in Korea. From acting in Korean dramas to his panoply of commercials and advertisements, he has also found a niche in Hollywood, most recently playing Agent Zero in the X-Men Origins: Wolverine action flick. Perhaps the most recognized Korean-American actor is John Cho, who was the co-leading man in the Harold and Kumar comedic movies, and played Sulu in the 2009 Star Trek movie.

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