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Jane Han

Jane Han

Dear Mr. Trump, don't (7)

By Jane HanFinally, after yet another long week here at home dogged with political battles and a fresh terror attack in New York, you'll be making your grand voyage to Asia.We know it, you know it ― it's not going to be any easier there.You'll be leaving your comfort zone to embark on the longest and most consequential trip of your short presidency, and there's a lot at stake. The pressure is on.You're certainly getting drowned with all kinds of advice ― some unsolicited, some not ― from all over the world, and I'd like to add to that, but hopefully with a more encouraging perspective.At least I'm going to try.As a Korean living in the U.S., I want to take this opportunity to speak for what many of us Koreans here have on our minds before we send you off to our motherland.First, we'd like to instill in you a sense of optimism.We, including you, know that this 12 ― gulp ― day trip can end up being a complete disaster, but there is also optimism that it can be a breakthrough.You've seen the news. There is a lot of uncertainty and hostility toward you in Korea.The Korean police have vow

Nov 6, 2017By Jane Han
Jane Han

Can Korean win suit against McDonald's?

By Jane HanNEW YORK ― McDonald’s and Koreans are going at it again. Only a few months after the seating feud in Queens, another brouhaha broke out at a hamburger joint just down the street. This time, it’s a $10 million conflict.A 62-year-old Korean man sued the mega fast food chain for an alleged racially motivated physical and verbal attack by one of its employees.The plaintiff, identified only as Kim, is seeking $10 million in compensation, according to Kim & Bae, P.C., the New York law firm handling the case.While the burger giant dealt with its share of outrageous lawsuits ― some over coffee spills and napkins ― legal experts say this case is downright valid and Kim has a good shot at winning.“This isn’t one of those ridiculous lawsuits,’’ says John Choi, a lawyer based in Los Angeles. “We’re talking about racism and physical attack. These two things alone make a strong case against a big business like McDonald’s.’’According to Kim’s attorney, a female manager hit Kim with a broom when he

May 15, 2014By Jane Han
Jane Han

About food trucks

By Jane HanNEW YORK ― Food trucks are finally legal in Korea, a country that already has a huge street food culture. Does that mean the new niche industry is going to get rolling easily? Not quite, experts say, if businesses try to stuff people with the same old snacks.``The Korean street food scene is awesome, but food trucks need to go beyond tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and hotteok (cinnamon sugar pancakes),’’ says Mike Kim, who runs a Vietnamese fusion food truck in San Francisco. ``Food trucks are a completely different business concept.’’As part of President Park Geun-hye’s deregulation drive, the government will allow the conversion of commercial trucks into mobile kitchens starting July. The regulatory reform is expected to open an entirely new market of food entrepreneurs.In the U.S., food trucks first started out as a fad during the recession, but are now going mainstream in most major cities. From gourmet food and desserts to late night snacks, food trucks have become a go-to dining solution for people who want high-quality restaurant fo

Apr 2, 2014By Jane Han
Jane Han

New tax worries some Koreans in US

By Jane HanLast week, a major news bomb was dropped on the Korean community in the U.S.The dreaded Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) deal has finally been agreed upon between Korea and the U.S., a severe headache for Koreans in the U.S. who have money in Korea.Under the agreement, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will receive information on bank and other financial accounts held by U.S. citizens, green card holders and residents in Korea. Starting in July, Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) will automatically send information to the IRS on accounts with a balance higher than $50,000.The IRS plans to use this information to track down offshore tax evasion. If money owed hasn’t been reported via the annual tax filing, violators may have to pay up to 50 percent of their foreign account balance.So if someone, for instance, left about 30 million won ($280,000) in his Korean savings account, he may end up having to cough up as much as 15 million won for not reporting this money to the IRS.Not everyone has this kind of money, but those who do are seriously contem

Mar 25, 2014By Jane Han
New tax worries some Koreans in US
Jane Han

Korean couple take US uniform beefs to heart

By Jane HanTodd Lodwick of the United States carries the national flag as he leads the team during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, Feb. 7. / AP-YonhapNEW YORK ― It’s been a week since the 2014 Winter Olympics kicked off and people are still talking about Team USA’s opening ceremony uniforms.While criticisms about them may not really matter to most people, there is one Korean couple in California who can’t help but take it personally.Why? They’re the ones who made it.``We put in our hard work and sweat into it, so of course it hurts,’’ Elizabeth Park, co-owner of the knitwear factory that made the controversial cardigan, said in a Korea Times interview.The shawl-collar, wool cardigan, designed by American fashion icon Ralph Lauren, features a navy blue base covered with patches of oversized red and white stars and stripes. While some compliment the uniform just for being made in the U.S. ― unlike the Chinese-made uniforms for the London Games ― the general public wasn’t exactly impressed with t

Feb 12, 2014By Jane Han
Korean couple take US uniform beefs to heart
Jane Han

Some Americans annoyed by 'East Sea' bill

By Jane HanNEW YORK ― After years of lobbying and hardcore campaigning by Korean-Americans, Virginia lawmakers finally passed a bill last week related to the naming of the body of water between Korea and Japan.Great news for Koreans, but many Americans don’t seem psyched about the impending change. All the time and effort spent on the East Sea vs. Sea of Japan issue is just too much, they say.``Good grief, why are U.S. lawmakers in the business of renaming geography a world away?’’ said a Virginia public school official, who wanted to be named only as Michael. ``I think it is a waste of time. It’s only going to cost taxpayers more money to make new textbooks.’’The Virginia House of Delegates approved on Thursday a bill that would require school textbooks to label the water between Korea and Japan as both the East Sea and Sea of Japan. Ahead of the highly anticipated decision, Koreans and Japanese have waged an intense years-long battle to lobby lawmakers in their direction.``I see why this matters to Korea. I see why this matters to Japan. Why

Feb 10, 2014By Jane Han
Jane Han

US needs Korean-style maternity hotels

By Jane HanNEW YORK ― I recently learned something new about America at the most unexpected time and place ― in hospital, right after giving birth.I guess I’d been used to the Korean hospital system where newborns are typically kept and taken care of at the maternity ward’s central nursery. So naturally, that’s what I was expecting. That is, until I found out an hour after delivering twins that my room was the nursery ― a full-time nursery.There was no prep time, no warning, no nothing for the new mom. The nurse came to drop off the babies just after I got settled into my room and never came back to pick them up.It was the so-called rooming-in practice that I was thrown into fresh after a cesarean section.It turns out that this new baby-friendly approach is a trend spreading quickly in many of the hospitals across the U.S.A few hospitals in Korea offer rooming, only if a mother wants it. But U.S. hospitals are aggressively advocating this new nursery policy to help mothers and babies get acquainted better and faster. This sounds quite the opposit

Jul 30, 2013By Lee Jong-eun
Jane Han

Missy USA shows 'ajumma' can set things straight

By Jane HanNEW YORK ― It wasn’t the police, media or some high-ranking authority that broke the news of the latest sex scandal that instantly spiraled into an embarrassing saga for the new Park Geun-hye administration. It was a community of ``ajumma,’’ or middle-aged housewives, that first shed light on the incident.Missy USA, a popular Internet site with nearly 320,000 members, is a super active, close-knit online community intended for married Korean women in the U.S.Covering everything from celebrity gossip, politics and personal finance to parenting, cooking and fashion, the Web site is the go-to place for most Korean-American women who don’t want to miss out on the information loop.And this hot spot is the very channel where the first news of former spokesman Yoon Chang-jung’s alleged sexual assault surfaced.Early morning last Thursday, a brief entry was posted saying that Yoon sexually harassed a Korean embassy intern in Washington D.C. The person who wrote the posting asked readers to spread the word, especially to reporters and Korean news c

May 14, 2013By Jane Han
Jane Han

America - heaven for obese

By Jane Han NEW YORK ― A few weeks ago, I went to an eyeglass store in town and noticed something other than glasses ― chairs. They were typical commercial chairs as you see at random public places, but wider. Not wide enough to fit two people, but definitely too wide for one person with an average physique.I thought it was just a special arrangement made by the store, but I recently saw the same size chair at the hospital. Also at the bank. And the bookstore.So, it turns out, this is a new furniture trend.Not a trend born for style, but out of necessity. America really is getting big.Larger waistlines call for larger chairs, so that’s what furniture companies are starting to introduce. And chairs aren’t the only things that are getting supersized in the U.S.Here are some other new accommodations being made for the up and coming obese generation. Transit companies nationwide are expanding the size of bus and train seats per passenger for a more comfortable commute. School bus companies are introducing wider front doors so plumper kids won’t get s

Apr 29, 2013By Jane Han
Jane Han

NK spoils images for all Koreans

By Jane HanNEW YORK ― Koreans who’ve been abroad have probably, at one on point or another, come across an odd situation where the statement ``I’m from Korea’’ immediately triggers the question ``North or South?’’Pure ignorance, some may think, but the reality is that a lot of people who couldn’t care less about the peninsula in the Far East can’t quite tell the difference between the two sides.``Remember the former East and West Germany?’’ says John Silver, a New York-based image specialist. ``How many people can identify right off the bat which one was communist?’’``Simply put, people surprisingly don’t know much about the world outside of where they live,’’ he said.For South Korea, the common confusion doesn’t exactly work to its advantage, especially during times like now when the nuclear neighbor is continuing to unleash an almost daily string of dramatic threats.Believe it or not, many people are actually mixing up which Korea is which.``I believe that the confusion will never g

Apr 15, 2013By Jane Han
NK spoils images for all Koreans
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