All right, friends. It's time to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, spotlighting you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's Angry Reader is the Hong Kong-bound Kai Ma.
Who are you?
I am a Korean woman with a Chinese-sounding male name.
What are you?
Until recently, I was the editor in chief of KoreAm, one of the last remaining Asian American monthly magazines. Before becoming editor, I worked as the magazine's staff writer and covered topics such as international adoption and Proposition 8's Korean American vote. It was a tough, intriguing job that allowed me to expose both the triumphs and flaws of Korean American culture, and its role in Hollywood, public office, pop culture, healthcare reform, education reform, and more. But in the end, a huge part of my job boiled down to frantically asking my friends to write, design or take photos for me -- for less than half their normal rate, and sometimes, for free.
Where are you?
Los Angeles. But next week, I'm moving to Hong Kong to work for TIME's Asia bureau. I also plan to live in Shanghai for a spell. No, I don't speak Cantonese and Mandarin. Let's just pray I find restaurants with photo-heavy menus that will allow me to point and grunt.
Where are you from?
I was born in Baltimore, but grew up near Los Angeles. I've also lived in New York, eastern Washington and Berkeley. My parents, however, were born in what is now North Korea. My mother is from the artistic city of Kaesong; my father is from the eastern North Korean coastal town of Wonsan, known for its beaches. When they were babies, both migrated with their families to Seoul during the Korean War, my mother's family by train and my father's family on foot. To this day, I can't believe I am only one generation removed from that. My parents were born into a war. Meanwhile, I'm the brat in America ordering a nonfat, no-foam cap.
What do you do?
I'm a writer and journalist. Before editing KoreAm, I worked as a freelance reporter in New York, covering Bronx shootings, booking clubs and hot wives.
I am also currently starring in a short film that I wrote, produced by Form Follows Function Media. The film will premiere this summer at the Architecture + Design Museum in Los Angeles as part of an exhibit called Rethink LA.
What are you all about?
Art, punk rock and change we can believe in. Just kidding. I have no idea.
What makes you angry?
Arrogance, entitlement, apathy, indifference. Traffic. Beautiful men in bad clothes. And most of all, my abusive, decades-long relationship with Mr. Parliament Light.
