To the Editor:

Dr. Vernasius T. Tandia’s commentary (Jan. 7, 2012) regarding stereotypes harbored by South Koreans toward North Korean refugees among them, and the way that these stereotypes harm hope for reunification enlists the reader in the call for an idealizing and accommodating vision about North Korea that doesn’t seem at all realistic about what such idealization could invite. The bias in Dr. Tandia’s work is clear in his hope for peaceful reunification under South Korean government. North Korea has for a very long time regarded South Korea as an alien imposition. Read the full story

From left: Sterling Luke, Bettie Luke, Andre Loh, and Marge Young

The Ho Nam Association recently announced its new officers for 2012. They are Sterling Luke, Bettie Luke, Andre Loh, and Marge Young. Read the full story

The Kawamoto girls relay team

Jenn Doane, a Whitman College graduate, recently participated in the Kawamoto Ekiden — a 26-km, 8-leg relay race that loops around town — in an all-girls team. Kawamoto is a small town located in the Ochi District in Shimane, Japan. Read the full story

On Dec. 30, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra added 18 new members to its board of directors.

Among them is Judith Fong-Bressler, a retired hospital administrator. (end)

LIHI Executive Director Sharon Lee (middle, left, in green) breaks ground with Seattle Councilmember Larry Gossett, Shelly Young, LIHI staff members, and LIHI supporters. (Photos from LIHI)

On Jan. 12, the Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI) celebrated the groundbreaking for a new senior housing project in Seattle’s Central District. Construction is underway on the 61-unit development, located at 2010 South Jackson Street. The building will provide permanent supportive housing for homeless and low-income seniors. Read the full story

By Hyung-jin Kim
The Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea will issue special pardons for convicts to commemorate milestone birthdays of its two late leaders, state media said, in the first such dispensations in more than six years. Read the full story

BEIJING (AP) — A stamp designed to mark China’s upcoming Year of the Dragon is drawing unusual criticism for its fang-bearing monster. Read the full story

Compiled by Stacy Nguyen
Northwest Asian Weekly

French author Andre Maurois famously wrote, “A man cannot free himself from the past more easily than he can from his own body.” Read the full story

Nate Miles (Photo from UW)

Keynote speaker Nate Miles rocked Mt. Zion Baptist Church with his fiery delivery, passionate cry for social, economic, and civil rights justices, and dramatic storytelling at “Leaders and Leadership” last Friday, an event in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. Organized by the Seattle Community Colleges, the annual event brought together the young and old with an audience of more than 1,000. Read the full story

Michael So, Hong Kong opera star and former owner of Honey Court Restaurant, passed away recently. Most people are unaware that he was kidnapped in 1982. (The two criminals were Wah Mee killers in 1983.) They robbed him at gunpoint at his Queen Anne home and later locked him in his own car trunk, leaving him for dead. Luckily, his wife, Shirley, never gave up and found the car outside. He was saved.

The Seattle Chinese Post was the only paper reporting the story at the time. Read the full story

Chinatown organizations’ members hold Inslee signs in front of Hop Sing Tong (Photo by Rebecca Ip/SCP)

Three Chinatown organizations impressed Congressman Jay Inslee, a gubernatorial candidate, with their history, a toast, Chinese welcoming sign, and reception in his honor on Jan 8. What Inslee didn’t know was that some of the members of these associations had already given money to the campaign of his opponent, Attorney General Rob McKenna. Read the full story

By Michelle Locke
For The Associated Press

Fresh, dried, candied, or pickled, the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale — ginger root to you and me — is a hot commodity at the moment.

Used quietly for years to add zip to everything from stir-fries and sushi to breads and cookies, ginger happens to be a key ingredient for the noodles and dumplings traditionally eaten for Chinese New Year, the two-week celebration of food and family that begins Jan. 23. Read the full story

By Vivian Miezianko
Northwest Asian Weekly

With the Lunar New Year approaching, Asians around the world are looking forward to a variety Read the full story

By Nina Huang
Northwest Asian Weekly

Image by Stacy Nguyen/NWAW

Jan. 23 marks the first day of the Lunar New Year, and this year happens to be the Year of the Dragon. Occupying the fifth position in the Chinese Zodiac, the dragon is the mightiest of the signs. Read the full story

By Andrew Hamlin
Northwest Asian Weekly

“All is of one, and one is in all.”

So says an alchemist — a fancy term for magician — at the beginning of “Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos,” the second feature derived from the popular Japanese manga and TV anime “Fullmetal Alchemist.” Over the course of the film, its characters struggle to put broken worlds and broken bodies right. But the forces of magic often overwhelm their honest efforts.

The two major characters, Edward “Ed” Elric and his brother Alphonse “Al” Elric, know very well the dangers of commanding magic. The characters are voiced by Romi Pak and Rie Kugimaya in the Japanese print (the Grand Illusion Theatre also offers an English-language dub, see details below). Read the full story

Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese, some Japanese, Tibetans, Mongolians, and other ethnicities are all celebrating the Lunar New Year this week. While the traditions of each culture differ somewhat, there is one unifying aspect to all of them. Read the full story