yKAN April 2004 General Meeting April 14, 2004

Guest Speakers: Hyun Kim (Lifestyle/Tech Editor, VIBE), Edmund Lee (Features Editor, W), & Donnie Kwak (Assistant Editor, VIBE)

Moderator: Mike P. Shin (yKAN Social & Networking Co-Chair)

With the recent release of the highly controversial article "Gay or Asian?" in this month's Details Magazine, Asian Americans are once again conflicted whether to laugh at themselves or protest vehemently against negative stereotypes. This month, yKAN intends to directly address this issue in our general meeting with a panel discussion on "Asian Americans in Media and the Depiction of Asian Americans in Media." yKAN has gathered a select group of well-established editors from VIBE and W Magazines to provide their perspectives on the issue and to also illustrate a
personal look at their own work in mainstream media. Editors Hyun Kim and Donnie Kwak from VIBE Magazine along with Edmund Lee from W Magazine will be joining our discussions.

"Hyun Kim, 27, has worked his way through the ranks at Vibe magazine, starting as an intern in 1997. Kim then went on to be a staff writer at Blaze before Vibe/Spin Ventures suspended the publication in 2000. Prior to joining Vibe as lifestyle/tech editor in 2000, Kim was Content Director of SOHH.com. Since reuniting with Vibe, he has written feature stories including the last print interview with the late Aaliyah, and is now responsible for the magazine?s lifestyle section, Play. Born in Korea and raised in Ithaca, NY, Kim graduated from Cornell University with a degree in communications.

Edmund Lee is a features editor at Women's Wear Daily, a unit of Fairchild Publications. Including brief stints as a freelance writer, he has worked at the New York Daily News as a business and technology reporter and the Village Voice, where he reported on technology, pop culture, and Asian American issues. Edmund is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association and is a former union representative of freelance writers in New York. His writing has appeared in various magazines and newspapers, including A. Magazine, Vibe, New York Magazine, and the New
York Times.

Donnie Kwak, 27, currently works as an assistant editor at Vibe. After interning at the magazine in 1997, Kwak held a variety of media jobs, including stints as news editor of 88HIPHOP.com, researcher for WCBS-TV, and writer of the Gridlock Sam traffic column in the New York Daily News. As a freelance writer, Kwak has been published in magazines like XXL, King, Complex, and KoreAm Journal. In 2002, Kwak returned to Vibe as part of its research department, and was promoted to the editorial staff the following year. Born in Takoma Park, Maryland, Kwak graduated from New York University with a degree in journalism."

Please join us for this month's provocative and relevant discussion!

Admission: $20 per person (includes dinner of soda, salad, Korean entree, & ice cream desserts)