Gil Asakawa's Nikkei View | yul kwon
404
archive,tag,tag-yul-kwon,tag-404,qode-quick-links-1.0,ajax_fade,page_not_loaded,,qode-title-hidden,qode-theme-ver-11.0,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-5.1.1,vc_responsive
October 30, 2010

I'm passing this text along from an email sent out, trying to reach Asian Americans, Native Hawai'ians and Other Pacific Islanders: Did you know that 20% of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs), and 17% of Asian Americans (AAs), are uninsured? That’s higher than the national uninsurance rate of 16%. Did you know that 30-31% of Korean-Americans are uninsured? That’s as high as the national uninsurance rate for Hispanic-Americans and Native Americans. Did you know that 24% of Native Hawaiians, 21% of Vietnamese and 20% of South Asians are uninsured? That’s higher than the national uninsurance rate for African-Americans. Did you know that 1 out of every 3 AA NHOPIs is Limited English Proficient? That's 20 times the rate for non-Hispanic Whites. Did you know that 1 out of every 8 AA NHOPIs lives in Poverty? That's higher than the non-Hispanic White poverty rate. America’s 2.4 Million uninsured, and 14.2 Million insured AA NHOPIs, have a vested stake in the Affordable Care Act. Wellness Matters. Informed Choice Matters. In fact, if you were to ask America’s 2.4 Million uninsured and AA NHOPIs “What does the Affordable Care Act Mean for You?” the answer would be:
May 29, 2009

Yul Kwon is the first Asian American to win one of the seasons of "Survivor." He won the "Cook Islands" season in 2006.The second interview lined up for visualizAsian.com's AAPI Empowerment Series is with Korean American attorney-turned-TV celebrity Yul Kwon. The interview will be held Tuesday, June 9 at 6 pm PDT (9 pm EDT). Erin and I were fortunate to see Yul speak during last year's Democratic National Convention in Denver, and more recently during Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month at an event in Denver. He's a great role model because of his accomplishments, and because he's on a mission to dispel myths and stereotypes about Asian American Pacific Islanders, and to urge AAPIs to enter the political process. Kwon has a diverse background in law, politics, technology, business, and media -- except for his exceptional "Survivor" victory, he's almost a model for the "model minority" myth!
May 14, 2009

Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Island, told stories about the show when he spoke at the Coors APA Heritage Month event. Call him Cool Yul. If you're a fan of "Survivor," you know who Yul Kwon is. He's the Korean American attorney who won the "Cook Island" season (season 13), helping to chip away at the myth that Asian men are meek and mild-mannered geeks. He was a good student, all right, and he works hard, so he fulfills the "model minority" stereotype in those ways. But he's also buff, handsome, an eloquent speaker (even though he says he hates public speaking) an Asian American activist and just plain cool. Kwon was in Colorado yesterday, as the main speaker for an APA Heritage Month celebration organized by the MillerCoors Asian Network, the beer-maker based in Golden just west of Denver. Also on the bill were traditional Filipino dances by members of the Filipino American Community of Colorado, and terrific Filipino food by local chef Leah Eveleigh's Tropical Grill Catering. The turnout was smaller than it should have been -- shame on the local Asian American community for not coming out to support this kind of event, which was free of charge and featured a nationally-known celebrity as a draw. But the crowd that was there about half Asian descent, and mostly curious Coors employees and their families, was appreciative of Kwon's speech, and the performances and food. I thought Kwon's speech was especially notable. He'd been to Denver before, last year during the Democratic National Convention, to urge Asian Americans to register to vote. He's still passionate about having AAPIs involved in politics, but he's not so interested in running for office himself, as he explained to a fan who asked. But his speech was all about his experiences growing up Asian in America, and how important it is for our future to have AAPIs to look up to as role models. He explained how he grew up without seeing anyone who looked like him on TV or in movies, except people who were subservient, foreign and exotic, or at the other end of the scale, martial arts masters.
August 27, 2008

Erin Yoshimura took these videos at an AAPI Caucus meeting during the Democratic National Convention. They include Tammy Duckworth, "Survivor" winner Yul Kwon and a young Obama volunteer, Brandon Simomura. Tammy Duckworth: Yul Kwon: Brandon Shimomura: ...