Back in the ‘80s, I went to a Michael Jackson concert at The Forum in Los Angeles. He performed hits like “Billie Jean” and “Beat it” and just wowed the audience. He truly was the King of Pop. It was an amazing performance. At the time, I never imagined I’d one day see a Korean artist who could sing and dance like that.

Two decades later, enter Rain, better known in Korea as Bi. Voted one of People magazine’s 100 most beautiful people, the pop star has attracted millions of fans across the world. Time magazine called the Korean heartthrob “the face - and well-muscled torso - of pop globalism.”

I watched Rain’s performance in Vietnam via the Internet and was blown away by his dance moves. He’s known as the Justin Timberlake of Asia, but to me, this guy is the new Michael Jackson.

We’ve been trying to get an interview with Rain for the past two years, but with his whirlwind schedule, hadn’t been able to pin anything down. Finally, with the help of Andrew Kim of VOI, responsible for organizing his upcoming Los Angeles concert, we were able to send managing editor Corina Knoll to Atlanta last month to meet up with Rain for an interview. It was perfect timing since he is now attempting to become as successful in America as he is in Asia.

Fortunately, I’ll get to see Rain in concert at the StaplesCenter on June 30 with a handful of Korean American celebrities, some of whom also came to our anniversary party last month. (See photos of the celebration on page 26.)

Of course, we also covered a few more weighty issues in this issue, such as the lives of transgender people (page 38) and the community’s response to Virginia Tech (page 44). And be sure to check out the motorcyclist pictorial in our Looking Glass section. Who knew there was a Korean American club for easy riders?

Thanks for tuning in to another jam-packed issue of KoreAm. Hopefully, I’ll see some of you cheering along at Rain’s concert.

 

James Ryu

Editor in Chief