The Seoulite

타블로가 10년전에 찍었던 S.E.S영상 화제

This is my notoriety for the year.

http://www.diodeo.com/starfollower/001091639

http://www.ietn.co.kr/2007/entertainment/view.php?idx=33588&code=0178

http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=200812140953381002

People sang it. Do they know what it means? Auld Lang Syne means in the days of ‘old long ago’ or rather in the good old days in Old Scots. So on New Year’s you’re supposed to remember the good from the past year while you move into the next year.

New Year’s over the past few years have been transitions for the Seoulite. So he’s gonna take a moment to make up for December 2007 along with December 2008. He went from San Francisco to Los Angeles to Seoul in the span of two new year’s celebrations. It turns out that during New Year’s 2007 to usher in 2008 - which he spent in Korea - this horrific article was printed in the San Francisco Chronicle! Always the last to know… a year later too!

Well, he’ll just take it as a compliment that his departure from San Fran was so tragic to the industry that it qualified as the ‘lowest’ moment in 2007! Oh Bobby Hurwitt… why were we always your favorite company you loved to bash.

The Seoulite was never able to properly say good-bye to the precious memories of being an activist in the States. He is glad to leave this hat for a while. It can be such a mindscrew to be in America. The Seoulite will tell you it is such. a. relief. to be in Korea... so Auld Lang Syne to that baby!

Above and below are videos of two of his role models and mentors… David Henry Hwang and Philip Kan Gotanda. May they keep thriving in their artistic endeavors and find great success in 2009!

Rob Hurwitt… a concession since it is the new year… and it appears you had redeemed yourself in late 2008 with this article. Much love and best wishes for a successful new year for Asian American Theater Company and the Chronicle.

And of course Rob… I am very grateful for your support at the beginning… kicking it back to 2003!

And I forget how sassy I was. See my sassy quotes:
Sassy Article #1
Sassy Article #2

Sandra Oh just hits it on the nail. Christina Yang. Rocks. The Anatomy.

The Seoulite doesn’t have many pictures from his time at AATC on his computer in Seoul but he was able to find a couple on the internet… why aren’t there more photos?

A montage of one of the many magical moments of working together towards a mission to better the world. For real. It feels good. Everyone at AATC… the Seoulite misses you!

Here’s an Australian’s take on racial politics… maybe if Asian Americans all had Australian accents things would immediately change. It’d be a mindscrew back in the other direction!

And the Seoulite was happy to discover on Youtube that the student theater group (originally started by David Henry Hwang in 1979), which he helped revive while at Stanford, is still alive and so funny! This is a spoof the Asian American Theater Project did on ‘The Office’. The more things change… they really do stay the same.

Regrets for 2008… I had a few… but then again really really too few to mention. More grateful than anything else. Many prayers for a roaring 2009! It’s an 11 year!

Oh… and Auld Lang Syne. We need to hear someone sing it. Sing it Mary Poppins!

To the world he is known as ‘Tablo’, the leader of Korean hip-hop group Epik High. At Stanford he was known as Daniel Lee. Then Daniel ‘Armand’ Lee. And now this talented renaissance man has published his first novel - a collection of short stories written during his time at university.

‘Pieces of You’ is the title and though originally written in English, it has been translated in Korean for its release in Korea earlier this month. 50,000 copies have already sold out and the publisher ordered an additional 20,000 copies. The English edition is expected to launch in February 2009.

The stories focus on broken individuals searching for their identity - troubled, but tenacious characters who keep chasing their dreams.

'Every era puts importance on different social values. Once, it was arts and at times, religion or truth,' says Tablo. 'At present, people value comfort and money the most, which limits their passion for other things, like the arts.'

The Seoulite and Tablo were friends for a while in college. Here is a music video they made when they were dorm mates in Okada. Tablo stole his sweaters. But the Seoulite stole his jackets. They did it for art.

Daniel Armand Lee (born July 22, 1980), more commonly known by the stage name Tablo (Hangul: 타블로), is a Korean hip hop musician, rap artist, songwriter and lyricist. He is best known as the rapper and leader of the South Korean hip hop group Epik High. Tablo produces almost all the songs of Epik High with DJ Tukutz, and writes the lyrics with Mithra Jin. He has also produced and featured on many songs in South Korea. His work incorporates numerous musical styles, ranging from hip hop, to electronic music such as trance, trip hop, as well as rock.

Order the book in Korean here.

Note: The Seoulite also underwent a name change/modification for artistic purposes.

Hi, I’m Sean Lim, an American expat living in South Korea.  This is my blog about becoming a Seoulite.

What is a Seoulite?
A ‘Seoulite’ (서울깍쟁이) is a citizen of Seoul, just as a ‘New Yorker’ is a citizen of New York. Of course the label ‘Seoulite’ doesn’t simply denote a place of residence [...]