Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
True story: When I was in college, we didn’t have access to The Internets like all you young whipper snappers today. So, instead of drooling over all the photos of food on Pinterest and Instagram, I used to look at recipe books and imagine that I could be eating that instead of the dorm food my parents had paid for.
K-CULTURE WITH JAE-HA KIM is the space where I curate my reviews and views about Korean-centric things happening in the pop culture realm (and beyond) that pique my interest…and I hope yours, too. Won’t you join me?
“I think travel shouldn’t turn into work, so I usually don’t do any songwriting while I’m away,” said singer-songwriter Song Sohee. “However, when I visit a place that inspires me or go somewhere peaceful where I can enjoy quiet reflection, I sometimes end up writing lyrics. None of those songs have been released yet, though.”
“I’m still scared sometimes, and there’s so much I’m still learning. But one thing I know for sure is that I feel freer and stronger than ever. For the first time, I’m not hiding. I’m finally moving toward what I really want — not what I think people expect from me.” —BAIN
An interview with the Korean German actor on why he joined the cast of “The Recruit”
The Korean-Australian singer-songwriter Hannah Bahng is winning fans with her confessional indie-rock songs. My latest exclusive for Rolling Stone.
Kim Suhyun’s bestselling book “I Decided to Live as Me” (Penguin Life) reminds readers about the importance of self-care and self-love. The Seoul-based writer said that reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations piqued reader interest. And she also credits BTS member, Jungkook, for spiking interest in her book after the pop star was spotted reading it.
The K-pop sensations and TODAY’s latest cover stars open up about self-care, sisterhood, and their new project, “With YOU-th.”
“When you’re in a new country by yourself, there’s nothing greater for character development than putting yourself out there,” said P1Harmony leader Keeho. “Having traveled so much as a kid helped me adapt to new environments. Honestly, it was not difficult for me when I moved to Korea. There was some culture shock, but it was overall just fun for me.”
In this essay, writer Jae-Ha Kim celebrates BTS’s 10th anniversary as a group by looking at the dreams they achieved on behalf of the Korean diaspora. They rose to the top and took us with them.
Back in my era, the teachers encouraged immigrants to only speak English at home so that we wouldn’t fall behind. But what they didn’t know at the time — or perhaps they didn’t really care about — was that in the rush to make us understand English, many of us lost our ability to converse in our birth language.
“My first overseas performance as a musician was in Japan,” says singer-songwriter SHAUN. “It was a club performance during the time I was playing in a band. We performed at a small venue called Eggman. I have fond memories of the enjoyable time we had. Prior to that, I visited several European cities in England, France and the Netherlands.”
“I’m still in awe of the great passion and amazing support by Latin American fans,” said Jehyun, one of OMEGA X’s 11 members. “I’m truly thankful for them enjoying our concerts as passionately as we do!”
Alicia Hannah-Kim makes her “Cobra Kai” debut as a powerful sensei in the popular Netflix series. “My character felt like a step in a new direction – not only for representing women, but Asian women,” said Hannah-Kim, who hails from Sydney, Australia.
BTS approaches their music as art, because that’s what they want to create – something beautiful and meaningful that withstands the test of time.
To no one’s surprise, BTS – one of the world’s most famous boy bands – won the MTV Video Music Award’s inaugural award for Best K-pop group for their song “Boy With Luv.” The septet didn’t attend the ceremony to accept their Moon Man trophy. While the new category appears to be a nod to the popularity of Korean music in mainstream U.S. pop culture, fans have been vocal that the category is suspicious at best and borderline racist.
Hallelujah! After spending 1 year, 11 months and 13 days (but who’s counting?) serving mandatory military duty, Lee Min-Ho will be discharged on Thursday, April 25th. The A-list actor has chosen to re-enter civilian life without fanfare.
Ten years ago, Epik High was in jeopardy when online trolls went on a malicious rampage to defame frontman Tablo. “I took my family to Tokyo and then to Hawaii to keep them away from the awe-inspiringly hellish thing that was happening to me,” he says. “I remember everything about that trip. It kept me sane for a little bit. Call it a sane-cation.”
When Big Hit Entertainment announced that it was launching a new boy band, the internet went wild digging for more information. Why? Because Big Hit is home to the world’s most famous boy band — BTS — and everyone wanted to know who TXT was.
“After 50 years of being in America, I took my mother back to Korea,” says actress Lindsay Price. “She had been adopted at age 12 and had never been back since. I was seven months pregnant with my first child and I wanted to understand where she came from in a deep and true way. It was the most profound trip ever for the both of us, but it was also no vacation. Talk about coming home exhausted. But I’ll say it will be the trip of my lifetime as far as meaning and transformation goes. And man, do I love Seoul.”