Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
It is midnight in Seoul when Shownu and Hyungwon log on for our Zoom interview. Despite the late hour – which they chose, rather than asking western media to stay up late for them – the two members of the South Korean group Monsta X show no signs of fatigue. They are dressed in immaculate white T-shirts and easily riff off each other as they share their views about their music and life in general.
For her upcoming novel “The Apology” (Little, Brown and Company) – which releases on Aug. 1 – Jimin Han culled on years of memories for parts of her book. “I’ve had fragments of it written out on my laptop for years but never knew what to do with them,” said Han, who resides with her family outside of New York City.
In the Netflix series “XO, Kitty” – which has been renewed for a second season – Peter Thurnwald plays the role of a high school teacher who happens to be a Korean adoptee who grew up in Australia. In real life, Thurnwald also was adopted from South Korea to Australian parents.
“The first show I did with the Go-Go’s was in 1978 at a legendary punk club called the Masque,” Belinda Carlisle said from her Mexico City home. “We played three songs – well, one song actually twice. The stage was about 12 inches off the ground. It was packed with kids. When we started in ’77, the punk scene (in Los Angeles) was small, but it grew really quickly. Everybody knew each other and was very supportive.”
For Molly Leary, giving up her music career in Austin to move back to California’s Gold Country was a no brainer. Both her young daughters had been diagnosed on the autism spectrum and California had the kind of resources to treat children with special needs that weren’t available to them in Texas. Another bonus was that Leary’s family lived nearby. Though she still performs occasionally when her boyfriend – the guitarist and songwriter Charlie Sexton – asks her to join him on stage, the entrepreneur said she’s fulfilled curating her one-of-a-kind online clothing store Squash Blossom Vintage.
With her first memoir “All You Can Ever Know,” Nicole Chung candidly offered personal reflections on being a transracial adoptee. The bestselling author’s latest book “A Living Remedy” (Ecco) deals with grief, classism and America’s broken healthcare system, which contributed to the deaths of both her adoptive parents.
“I’m Black and I grew up in the South, so I can only say that I’ve heard certain countries aren’t friendly to minorities,” said “Walker” actress Kearran Giovanni. “But honestly, I’ve felt unwelcome in places within my own country my whole life so nothing can shock me at this point. It wouldn’t stop me.”
A rapper, singer, songwriter and producer, Kim Han-bin has been known professionally as B.I since his 2015 debut with the South Korean group iKON. The multi-hyphenate musician is a solo artist now and is promoting his latest album, “To Die For.” That title along with the promotional poster’s YOLO message – dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today – may lead people to speculate that the 26-year-old musician’s own mortality was on his mind when he composed his songs.
Helen Park wasn’t awake when the Tony Award nominations were announced a few weeks ago. “My agent called me and I was still asleep!” said Park, who bears the distinction of being the first Asian American female composer on Broadway. “When I checked my phone, the first text I saw was, ‘OMG’ and the second was, ‘You’re Tony nominated.’ I just sat on my bed completely speechless for about a good 20 minutes.”
“I definitely don’t get to explore as much as I would like, but I try to get one thing in per city,” said Zurin Villanueva, who stars in “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.” “I went to Paisley Park – home of the late Prince – in Minneapolis. I left invigorated and very inspired. His moxy to be exactly who he wanted to be, his love for his craft and his generosity is still striking.”