Friday, February 28th, 2020 | 6PM – 9PM | Dynasty Typewriter, 2511 Wilshire Blvd
What is the ROAR Story Slam?
KoreanAmericanStory.org’s ROAR Story Slam is a live storytelling competition held in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago where 6 finalists, who have been specially selected from our submission pool, will perform on stage presenting their unique, creative, and authentic Korean American story. Each finalist will have no more than six minutes to tell their stories, without the use of scripts nor props. Special thanks to Sheila Ivy Traister, veteran actress, director and story coach who provided professional coaching sessions to all of our finalists. The LA Story Slam, hosted by Ellie Lee, will feature a musical performance by Year of the OX and six storytelling finalists will be competing live for cash awards with a distinguished panel of judges.
Prizes:
1st Place: $1,000 | 2nd Place: $500 | 3rd Place: $200
Ticket Info:
General Admission: $30 | With Student ID: $20
Each ticket includes free Korean food at the event.
Emcee:
Ellie Lee (@ellieyjlee) is a TV host, actress, and social media influencer. You’ve seen her on VH1 News, Big Morning Buzz Live with Nick Lachey, MTV, E! News, People Style, iHeartRadio, Complex, and iHeartRadio. She has appeared as an entertainment correspondent on E! News, E!’s Daily Pop, The Wendy Williams Show, and The Steve Harvey show. Ellie has appeared in several independent films including the 2018 feature length drama “I Can I Will I Did”, which won her the Garden State Film Festival’s Rising Star Award and she just wrapped the indie horror film “Rick and Ruby”, and is currently starring in one of Snapchat’s first original scripted shows, “The Daily Realness,” a mockumentary series about a clickbait-driven website.
Featured Performer:
Year of the Ox is a rap duo with Lyricks (@yox_rick) and JL (@yox_jl), both hailing from Virginia. The duo personifies the traits of the Ox, according to the Zodiac, which are strength, familial loyalty, stubborn ideals, and quickness to “snap on anybody who might violate tradition.” In 2016, the tag team released “Seven Rings,” garnering millions of views while definitely answering the question “Can Asians rap?” YOX’s song “Word to the Hyphen” was written for KoreanAmericanStory.org’s first feature-length film, Happy Cleaners, as a part of its original soundtrack.
Judges:
Phil Yu (@angryasianman) is a writer, speaker and host best known as the creator of Angry Asian Man, one of the most widely read and longest-running independent websites covering news, culture and perspectives from the Asian American community. He is also co-host of the podcast They Call Us Bruce (with Jeff Yang). The Washington Post calls Angry Asian Man “a daily must-read for the media-savvy, socially conscious, pop-cultured Asian American.” Mixing humor with criticism, Phil’s commentary has been featured and quoted in the New York Times, National Public Radio, CNN, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed and more.
Minji Chang (@minjeezy) is a lead producer of the Asian Pacific Filmmakers Experience, an annual celebration of AAPI filmmakers at Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, Comic-Con, & Toronto Film Festivals. She is the former Executive Director and current Board Member of Kollaboration, a grassroots movement and non-profit organization focused on discovering, connecting, and elevating AAPI in arts and entertainment. She is an actress, voice artist, producer, writer, and she hosts a weekly podcast called First Of All to discuss modern culture, mental health, and empowering the next generation of storytellers and leaders. Minji is deeply passionate about advancing diverse and authentic representation of POC and other marginalized communities.
Ien Chi (@ienthekorean) is the Creative Director at Jubilee Media, which aims to create a movement for empathy and serves a global audience of 4.5M+ subscribers. In the past he has created works for NASA, Apple, Nike, The New York Times, NBC Asian America, and Youtube among others – his digital media work has collectively garnered more than 750M+ views to date. He is an INFP, officially the world’s 11th best whistler (as of 2012), a pastor’s kid, and is known among his friends for saying “life is such a trip!”
Amanda Suk (@sukistyles) is an actress/dancer born and raised in St. Louis, MO. After graduating from NYU, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her creative endeavors. You can see her as Amy Minoru in Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu. Amanda also self-published her own children’s book titled “Life Lessons with Libra Ryan” about embracing your differences and marching to the beat of your own drum.
Kyung B. Yoon is the President and Co-Founder of the Korean American Community Foundation (KACF) in New York City. A longtime community leader and advocate for promoting philanthropy in the Asian American community, Kyung is also a gifted storyteller. Formerly an award-winning correspondent for WNYW Fox Channel 5 News, Kyung was the first Korean American broadcast reporter in New York. She went on to join the World Bank as the Executive Producer of Television where she created and hosted Global Links Television, an international documentary series focused on stories in economic development which has been broadcast in more than 60 countries around the world. She is currently a contributing reporter to CUNY-TVs Asian American Life which is broadcast nationally on PBS stations and for which she received an Emmy nomination in 2015. Kyung was also a finalist at our 2017 ROAR Story Slam!
Finalists:
Kyle Chang (@kylekdim) is a Korean American transracial adoptee, husband, and UX designer based in Dallas, Texas. His experiences growing up uncomfortable in the Midwest inform his sense of humor and justice. He believes that summer camps, going away to college, and studying abroad are essential experiences for cultivating comprehensive self-love.
M.J. Kang is a playwright, actress, stand up comic, and improvisor based in Los Angeles. She’s currently studying at Groundlings, UCB, Westside Comedy Theater and Impro Theater. Thank you to her husband, Oren, daughter Mia, her two sisters and her grandfather whom she knows is watching after her. Thank you to Korean American Story for this opportunity.
Alexander Jun (@dralexanderjun) is a Professor of Higher Education at Azusa Pacific University. He is an author of several books and articles on race and racism in American universities as well as churches. He is a Presbyterian elder at his local church in southern California, is married, and has three teenagers.
Lowell Rojon, born Shin Sung Ho in Paju Korea in 1955 was adopted in 1957, and raised in southern California. Lowell moved to northern California in 1976 and majored in design, film, and video from California College of Arts & Crafts. He also does martial arts, voice acting, and is a member of a funky, tribal, world music group called “OJOLO”.
Sora Seung-Hyun Chung (@shchung0313) (he/him/his) is a Busan-born, OC-raised youngster trying to become a dramatist, actor, and interpreter for Korean, English, and Japanese. He gave himself the name “Sora” because he really likes the waterbird called sora and the word also feels quite soft and fluffy to him. Before embarking on his wildly unstable creative aspirations, he worked as a kindergarten English teacher in rural Japan.
Minzi (@thelastminzi) is an artist who lives in Los Angeles.
Sponsors:
Korean American Foundation (KAF) was formed in 2018 to be the trusted steward of charitable funds for our community and establish a legacy for good for years to come. Our mission is to (i) improve the lives of the must vulnerable and marginalized members of our community with a particular focus on Korean Americans, (ii) promote philanthropy and be an effective and diligent steward of charitable funds, and (iii) collaborate with community based organizations to build their capacity to increase their effectiveness and ensure their sustainability.
Community Partners:
The contest organizers reserve the right to adjust the judging process and prizes.
Questions? Please contact roar@koreanamericanstory.org.
KoreanAmericanStory.org is a non-profit organization whose mission is to capture and preserve the stories of the Korean American experience.
