Hyphen magazine - Asian American arts, culture, and politics

It was my first press line at Korean Film Festival Los Angeles.

Press was given a photo reference guide, the red carpet and the photo backdrop set-up were Hollywood-ready, and security people and stanchions ensured that press weren’t encumbered. There were several PR people guiding celebrities to the photo area and slating their names for us, and there was a live arrival-cam projected on the wall. Those touches made the event very exciting.

My compatriots worked together instead of fighting over the best spot. I got into the spirit, and shouted for Miss Universe 1997 Brook Lee to take photos. A slew of API notables arrived: Karin Anna Cheung, Brian Tee, James Kyson Lee, John Cho. I noticed that our press numbers were somewhat low.

Suddenly half the courtyard converged upon the entrance gate. The rest of us looked up at the arrival-cam projection. We didn’t know what was going on. The mass followed the center of attention like a moving clump of molasses. The PR people slated their names before the clump made it to the photo area. Korean names. Those not in the clump surged forward upon the press area, shouting excitedly. We realized those who ignored the API American stars were actually press -- press from Asia. Conversely, we locals made sure we got an ample amount of photos even though we were ignorant as to who they were.

They were the main attraction for the night: stars Kim Jeong-Eun and Jin Ku along with director Baek Dong Hun of Le Grand Chef 2: Kimchi Battle. I wasn’t prepared for the crush of the crowd. But I was elated that there was such fervor for APIs. I became part of the clump, voracious for any shot that I could get and yelling at my photographer friend Wilki Tom to shoot more photos for me.

After the stars departed the area, it was as if a vacuum slurped away the mass. But the excitement remained. More or less, it remained throughout the four-day festival. Kimchi Battle was more than just a soap opera set in an Iron Chef milieu. Like the creative concoctions that the competing chefs prepared, it combined a cornucopia of intense drama, heart wrenching stories, raucous and subtle humor, and vibrant visuals. And it did make me very hungry. I longed for my great-Aunt Hannah’s (2nd cousin Donald’s) famous Kohala Kim Chee which, at its peak, sold at Ralph’s, Vons’s, and grocery stores everywhere. It was SO GOOD!!

During the festival, I caught two Ryu Seung-Wan films, City of Violence and Arahan. Adrenaline-laced action and inconceivable, mind-blowing stunts mixed with humor, intense thrills, and charismatic actors. I want to see all his films.

Did I mention the guys are smoking hot? Including the director who also acts in some of his films.

Memories of Murder was fascinating with startling cinematography -- the Director of Photography is an AFI alumnus and returned to the campus for a post-screening talk. Unfortunately closing night coincided with the Academy Awards or else I would have taken in more films.

KOFFLA is returning after a three-year hiatus. As press or not, the festival definitely had an impact on me. I wasn’t too exposed to Korean film prior to the festival, but now I am definitely proud to be part of the clump that passionately follows Korean film.

Photo: KOFFLA Celebrity Spokesperson John Cho at Opening Night. Courtesy of Wilki Tom.