As I write this editor’s desk, I can’t help but think about Louis Kim, a Korean American recently killed in Iraq. A 19-year-old with a bright future, he is now among the long list of U.S. casualties. It’s hard to believe that after four years, we are still embroiled in this confusing conflict and that lives are still being taken. And when I see a young Korean American like Louis in the paper, it makes me think about how fragile life is.

I’m grateful I’ve been able to experience such a rich life. Obviously, KoreAm has had a lot to do with that richness. I’m not talking monetary terms, I’m talking about the joy of putting together a publication for 17 years. That’s right, loyal readers, this April marks our 17th birthday.

It’s a milestone I don’t take for granted, especially when I remember those first few years when I constantly worried that advertisers might not ever recognize the value in marketing to the Korean American community. To be honest, I sometimes still worry about that. But I know that just as we have evolved as a publication, so too has the rest of the world, and Koreans are now getting more attention than ever.

Take for instance our cover girl, actress Moon Bloodgood. Moon represents the changing face of Hollywood and we wanted to celebrate that by putting her in a vintage photo shoot that reflects a time when positive images of Asian Americans in the media were rare.

It wasn’t, in fact, that long ago when Koreans were demonized as heartless storeowners. I’m talking about the early 1990s and the Los Angeles riots. It’s a turbulent epoch we will never forget, and I hope that our stories on pages 76 to 87 do the anniversary of Sa-i-gu justice.  

It’s a credit to my staff that KoreAm can bring you luxurious pictures of an actress and hard-hitting journalism all in the same issue. I am incredibly proud of them and the product they put out, although lately I’ve had little time to tell them so. As we go to print, I’m putting the finishing touches on our first ever KoreAm Pro-Am, a scramble golf tournament with 27 Korean pros. With the growing Korean presence in the LPGA, an event like this will hopefully help these women make beneficial connections to the KA community.

It’s hard to believe the publication I started years ago can now host a golf tournament and has the power to link up Korean America. Who knows what we’ll be able to do when year 18 has finished.

For now, though, I am thankful for the moment.

Seventeen years has such a nice ring to it.