Trump uses "accent" to mock Asian leaders at fundraiser

Because this is just regular shit he does on a Friday.



So this is where we're at. The President of the United States can openly mock Asians and it barely registers a shrug, because it doesn't even make the top ten list of Shitty Things Trump Said or Did on a Friday.

Trump Used Asian Accent to Mock US Allies at Fundraiser

At a Hamptons fundraiser hosted at the home of SoulCycle and Equinox majority owner Stephen Ross last week, Trump reportedly mimicked Korean and Japanese accents -- as if he knows the difference -- and mocked South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. He also re-declared his love for Kim Jong-Un, his BKF (Best Korean Friend).

They Call Us Bruce - Episode 39: They Call Us The Korean

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. Each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

On this episode, we welcome T.K., aka "The Korean," the pseudonymous blogger behind Ask a Korean! They discuss recent historic developments towards peace on the Korean peninsula, the long road that got us to this place, and the possibility of a reunified Korea.

Trump wanted the "Pretty Korean Lady" to negotiate with North Korea

Donald Trump had a "Where Are You From?" moment with a Korean American intelligence analyst.



By now, you've heard about Donald Trump's recent remarks describing Haiti, El Salvador and African nations as "shithole countries." And by now, none of this should surprise you. Given the consistent, overwhelming evidence of Trump's ridiculous inability to grasp anything beyond his own wealthy white male entitlement, we passed the point of surprise a long time ago. If you're surprised, it's on you.

And so, here is another entry into the long log of Trump's unsurprising racism and sexism. Amid the "shithole" backlash, NBC News reports on a previous exchange, in which Trump asked an Asian American intelligence analyst about where her "people" are from, then referred to her as a "pretty Korean lady," and suggested that she should be involved with his administration's talks with North Korea.

Yup. Trump pulled a "Where are you from?"

It's an annoying, perpetual line of questioning that some of us Asian Americans are way too familiar with. In this case, it came from the President of the United States, but it ran its predictable course like a steady river.

Steven Yeun and Conan O'Brien went to Korea and made a K-pop music video

And other epic Korean adventures.



As you may have heard, late night talk show host Conan O'Brien recently took a trip to South Korea after receiving a nice letter and box of snacks -- let's be real, no one can say no to Korean snacks -- from his number one Korean fan. The resulting show aired on Saturday night, and it's an epic adventure featuring food, martial arts, video games, k-pop, terrible pronunciation, Steven Yeun and the Demilitarized Zone.

Here are some highlights from Conan's trip to the Land of the Morning Calm:

Mike Huckabee thinks he's funny, tweets racist dog joke

"I trust Bernie Sanders with my tax dollars like I trust a North Korean chef with my labrador!"



I considered simply titling this post "Fuck You, Mike Huckabee." But that's just a regular, everyday sentiment. This post concerns a joke that the Republican presidential candidate posted during Tuesday night's Democratic debate. On Twitter, the former Arkansas made a racist crack while criticizing Senator Bernie Sanders:

Margaret Cho mocks North Korea at the Golden Globes

Well, that was rather uncomfortable.



So... did you catch the Golden Globe Awards? Hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual bash was the usual mostly white, self-congratulatory celebrity affair... punctuated by a rather uncomfortable recurring bit involving Margaret Cho as a North Korean official.

Golden Globes: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Margaret Cho Joke About Sony Hack

There were going to be jokes about North Korea. The controversy around The Interview and the fallout from the Sony hacking scandal were the biggest Hollywood stories of the year. They couldn't not joke about it. Among other jabs, the hosts joked that they were gathered to honor "all of the movies that North Korea was okay with."

They also took a moment to introduce North Korean journalist Cho Yun Ja -- played by a solemn, over-powdered Margaret Cho -- contributor for Movies Wow! magazine, and the newest member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who took her moment get a photo with the venerable Meryl Streep.

Yet another 'SNL' sketch about Asians... with no actual Asians

NBC's sketch comedy show skewers North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un



Really, Saturday Night Live? Yellowface again? Mm, nobody was rocking grotesque skin makeup or had their eyes pulled back, but over the weekend, NBC's perennial sketch comedy show kicked off its latest episode with a sketch about North Korea. So, of course, it included a bunch of white actors playing Asians.

The sketch features Bobby Moynihan as North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, who has been out of the public eye for more than a month, setting off international speculation about his health and/or the state of the North Korea leadership. SNL saw it as a good opportunity for some comedy. Sure, why not?

But as you can see, as usual, not an actual Asian face in sight:

North Korea calls 'The Interview' an "act of war"

Turns out, North Korea is not okay with a movie about a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-Un



A few weeks ago, the internet dropped the first teaser trailer for The Interview, the upcoming comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen as journalists who score the interview of a lifetime with Kim Jong-Un, only to be enlisted by the CIA to carry out a plot to assassinate the North Korean dictator.

Well, we can confirm that the real North Korea has seen the trailer, and they are not happy about it.

North Korea's take on new US movie: "Act of war"

The release of The Interview would apparently equate an "act of war." According a spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry, if the U.S. government doesn't stop the movie's release, it will face "stern" and "merciless" retaliation. Turns out, North Korea does not have a good sense of humor about this kind of thing.

Steven Yeun to star in 'Aquariums of Pyongyang'

Based on the memoir by North Korean concentration camp survivor Kang Chol-Hwan



When he's not kicking post-apocalyptic zombie ass and romancing the farm girl on The Walking Dead, he's making moves on the big screen. Steven Yeun is set to executive produce and star in the adaptation of Kang Chol-Hwan's autobiographical book The Aquariums of Pyongyang.

'Walking Dead' Star Adapting 'Aquariums of Pyongyang'

Produced by Radar Pictures, and based on Kang's 2005 memoir The Aquariums of Pyongyang: Ten Years in the North Korean Gulag, the film will tell the true story of one survivor's harrowing escape from a brutal North Korean concentration camp. Steven is attached to star as Kang Chol-Hwan.

Sevenly partners with LiNK to rescue North Korean refugees

Sevenly is a t-shirt company that raises money for charities. This week, they're donating $7 of every item sold to help LiNK (Liberty in North Korea). Support funds will go towards the undercover rescue mission of North Korean refugees who are currently in hiding. Every $2500 funds another rescue mission:

American sentenced to 15 years hard labor in North Korea

An American citizen, detained in North Korea for six months, has been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the state: North Korea sentences American to 15 years' labor.

Kenneth Bae, a devout Christian and tour operator from Washington, was tried Tuesday by North Korea's highest court, accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Details on his supposed wrongdoings are extremely vague, but according to the state's official Korean Central News Agency, Bae was sentenced to "15 years of compulsory labor for this crime":

American accused of plotting to overthrow North Korea

In North Korea, an American tour operator is facing indictment on charges of plotting to overthrow the government: North Korea Expected to Indict American It Is Holding.

Kenneth Bae, an American born in South Korea, has been detained for nearly six months. Details are unsurprisingly vague, but Bae was reportedly traveling with a group of businessman from China to the North Korean special economic zone of Rason last November, when he was taken into custody.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency, the government had already finished its investigation, and Mr. Bae admitted his guilt to charges that could draw the death penalty:

Saturday Night Live Fail: Bobby Moynihan as Kim Jong-un

I understand. Making fun of North Korea is pretty easy. From threats of missile strikes to bad Photoshop jobs boasting false military might, to ridiculously outrageous claims about Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has made itself the easy target of copious lampooning. And that's where Saturday Night Live went this weekend: 'SNL': Kim Jong-un Endorses Gay Marriage in Cold Open.

With all the crazy-ass stuff that's been in the news lately, SNL couldn't not do something on North Korea. But the problem that always arises when the show attempts sketches about China or North Korea, is how they depict Asian characters -- there are no identifiably Asian cast members on Saturday Night Live to fit those roles, so it usually ends up being some kind of mild yellowface. On Saturday, it was Kim Jong-un.

This time around, the best they could do was put Bobby Moynihan in a funny haircut and had him mumble a really uncomfortable "wallawallawalla" gibberish approximation of the Korean language (kicked off with a "watashi-wa" -- Japanese, by the way) that lasted through the whole skit. See for yourself:

Evil Asian terrorists take over the White House in Olympus Has Fallen

Oh hell no. So you couldn't get enough of those villainous North Korean invaders in Red Dawn? Well, I have just the movie for you. In the newly released trailer for Olympus Has Fallen, evil North Korean terrorists infiltrate the White House and capture the President. Think Die Hard in the White House, but not to be confused with that the other upcoming Die-Hard-in-the-White-House movie White House Down.

In Olympus Has Fallen, Gerard Butler stars as a disgraced former Presidential guard who must step into action when a terrorist mastermind orchestrates a nefarious plot to take control of the White House. Good ol' Rick Yune plays Kang, the North Korean terrorist who disguises himself as a South Korean ministerial aide. Those sneaky Korean bastards! Sigh. Here's the trailer:

Racist idiots watch Red Dawn, tweet about it

I don't know who created it, but I got this image passed along to me several times... No surprise, lots of idiotic people went to go see the Red Dawn remake over the holiday weekend. Also no surprise, some of those people took to Twitter with their reactions -- which included quite a bit of anti-Asian sentiment. I am saddened by your stupidity. Take a look: