| Editor-in-Chief | Alex Luu |
|---|---|
| Former editors | Larry Tazuma, Philip Chung, George Johnston |
| Staff writers | Arnold Gatilao, Spencer Lee, Alex Chan, Barbara Chen, Rita Yoon, Brett Tam, Jonathan Eun, Cat Cruz |
| Categories | Asian Americans, popular culture |
| Frequency | Quarterly |
| Circulation | 50,000 |
| Publisher | Tommy Tam, Tin Yen, Amy Lee Tu; Stanley Lim (YOLK 2.0) |
| First issue | Margaret Cho cover, 1994 |
| Final issue Number | Sanoe Lake cover, 2004 No. 31 |
| Company | YOLK |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | Alhambra, California |
| Language | English |
| Website | yolk.com |
Yolk was a quarterly magazine for young Asian Americans. It was published by InformAsian Media, Inc. (IAMI) between 1994 and 2004, [1] and it was headquartered in Alhambra, California, in Greater Los Angeles. [2] [3] The later incarnations of the magazine were titled Yolk: GenerAsian Next 2.0. [4]
It was founded in 1994 by Tommy Tam, Tin Yen, and Amy Lee Tu. Tommy Tam was in charge of operations, Tin Yen was the graphic designer/art director, and Amy Tu oversaw the financial aspects of the magazine.
Based in Los Angeles, Yolk's reflection of its generation combines sections on fashion, entertainment and music, book reviews, [5] with occasional in-your-face attacks on our society's misunderstandings of Asian culture. The magazine's premise is that there is something common to Japanese, Korean and Chinese Americans, as well as Vietnamese, Filipinos, Indians and other Asian American groups.
Yolk's first editor was Philip Chung, and managing editor, Larry Tazuma, came up with the magazine's name. "An egg yolk is yellow," he said," and so is the nominal color of Asian people's skin, regardless of nationality." [6] "YOLK draws a strong reaction. But it simply stands for the color of our skin," he says. "It's what connects all Asians." [7] Performance artist and professor Alex Luu served as its editor and graphic designer Max Medina/Mystery Parade served as the Art Designer of YOLK. Staff writers include XD Lim and Margaret Rhee.
As the business grew, operations expanded into the clothing business. YOLK was well known for producing its line of Got Rice? t-shirts under the Brand Fury name. [8] Popular sellers included phrases such as Got Rice?, Got Sushi?, Got Adobo? and Got Pho?
Circulation reached a high of 50,000 in 2000 and targeted English-fluent college-educated Asian Americans coming from various cultures. [9] In 2001, Stanley Lim [10] came in as the new publisher of the magazine. He proposed a new formula heavy on "guy stuff"—reviews of video games and tech gadgets, interviews with models and more bikini-clad women, both on the cover and throughout the pages. But Yolk was not able to sustain success, and folded in 2004 after a 10-year, 31-issue run. [3]
Tommy Tam is currently the VP of Marketing at Dream Tube Entertainment. Tin Yen is still involved with graphic design today and has taught at UCLA Extension in the graphic design program. He founded creative agency TYS Creative, Inc. Amy Lee Tu is currently the Head of Marketing at Indomina Releasing.
As Yolk was closing, Honda Motor Co. offered a four month advertising contract. Lim and the editorial staff changed the publication into a web publication, and asked Honda to provide online advertising banners in lieu of print advertisements. Honda agreed to the change, and Chopblock.com became active. [3]
The cover subjects have been well-known celebrities and other notable Asian Americans in the Entertainment field.
Monterey Park is a city in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately seven miles (11 km) east of the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It is bordered by Alhambra, East Los Angeles, Montebello and Rosemead. The city's motto is "Pride in the past, Faith in the future".
Wong Liu Tsong, known professionally as Anna May Wong, was an American actress, considered the first Chinese American film star in Hollywood, as well as the first Chinese American actress to gain international recognition. Her varied career spanned silent film, sound film, television, stage, and radio.
C-pop is an abbreviation for Chinese popular music, a loosely defined musical genre by artists originating from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This also includes countries where Chinese languages are used by parts of the population, such as Singapore and Malaysia. C-pop is used as an umbrella term covering not only Chinese pop but also R&B, ballads, Chinese rock, Chinese hip hop and Chinese ambient music, although Chinese rock diverged during the early 1990s.
Philip Ahn was an American actor and activist of Korean descent. With over 180 film and television credits between 1935 and 1978, he was one of the most recognizable and prolific Asian-American character actors of his time. He is widely regarded as the first Korean American film actor in Hollywood. He is not to be confused with Philson Ahn, another screen actor who broke into films in the late 1930s; Philson was Philip's younger brother.
Wah Ching is a Chinese American criminal organization and street gang that was founded in San Francisco, California in 1964. The Wah Ching has been involved in crimes including narcotic sales, racketeering, and gambling.
Asian pride is a term that encourages celebration of Asian ethnicity and culture, with various interpretations and origins. In international relations, it can involve advancing Pan-Asianism and critiquing the West. In the United States, it has roots in counter culture, rejecting stereotypes and empowering Asian Americans. The term gained modern use through hip hop culture, promoting a positive stance on being Asian American. The phrase "Got Rice?" emerged as a symbol of cultural identity and pride, often tied to Asian Pride. It humorously references rice as a staple food in Asian cultures. The term was adopted in T-shirt campaigns and seen as a way for Asian Americans to define their identity and counter stereotypes.
Dương Triệu Vũ is the stage name of Tuấn Linh, a singer on the popular Vietnamese diaspora music show Paris By Night.
Lâm Nhật Tiến is a Vietnamese American singer who was affiliated with the music label Asia Entertainment Inc. from 1994 to 2016. He gained prominence through numerous appearances in Asia Entertainment's music videos, establishing himself as one of Vietnam's leading male pop stars.
Lee's Sandwiches International, Inc., is a Vietnamese-American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in San Jose, California, with locations in several states and in Taiwan. Lee's Sandwiches specializes in bánh mì, "European-style" baguette sandwiches, Vietnamese iced coffee, and Vietnamese dessert chè. It is credited with popularizing Vietnamese sandwiches and iced coffee among mainstream American consumers and inspiring several other Vietnamese-owned bakery chains.
Trần Thị Minh Tuyết better known as Minh Tuyết, is a Vietnamese-American pop singer, currently performing on Thúy Nga's Paris by Night. Her sisters are Cẩm Ly and Hà Phương who perform with her as part of the cast of Paris by Night. She is known in the Vietnamese American culture as the Vietnamese Pop Princess. Her real name is Trần Thị Minh Tuyết, which in English literally means "Morning Snow."
William Reynold Brown was an American realist artist who painted many Hollywood film posters. He was also briefly active as a comics artist.
Russell Charles Leong is an academic editor, professor, writer, and long-time Chen-style tai chi student. The long-time editor of Amerasia Journal (1977–2010), Leong was an adjunct professor of English and Asian-American Studies at University of California, Los Angeles and currently serves as senior editor for international projects. He is the founding editor of the CUNY FORUM: Asian American / Asian Studies, published by the Asian American / Asian Research Institute - CUNY, and served as a Dr. Thomas Tam Visiting Professor at Hunter College/CUNY. He is the author of Phoenix Eyes and Other Stories which received the American Book Award. His most recent publication, MothSutra, a graphic poem about New York City restaurant bicycle deliverymen, was released in 2015.
La Chinesca is a neighborhood located in the Mexican city of Mexicali. The location is home to about 15,000 people of Chinese origin, historically the largest Chinese community in Mexico. While this number does not compare to other cities worldwide with a prominent Chinese diaspora, early in the 20th century Mexicali was numerically and culturally more Chinese than other immigrant groups. The Chinese arrived to the area as laborers for the Colorado River Land Company, an American enterprise which designed and built an extensive irrigation system in the Valley of Mexicali. Some immigrants came from the United States, often fleeing anti-Chinese policies there, while others sailed directly from China.
Life Without Principle is a 2011 Hong Kong crime drama film produced and directed by Johnnie To and starring Lau Ching-wan, Richie Jen and Denise Ho. This film was screened in competition at the 68th Venice Film Festival on 9 September 2011. The North America distribution rights was purchased by Indomina Group shortly after the Festival. The deal was made between Indomina and the film's sales agent Media Asia Group.
Hong Kong Americans, include Americans who are also Hong Kong residents who identify themselves as Hong Kongers, Americans of Hong Kong ancestry, and also Americans who have Hong Kong parents.
Asian Californians are residents of the state of California who are of Asian ancestry. California has the largest Asian American population in the United States, and second highest proportion of Asian American residents, after Hawaii. As of the 2020 US census, there were over 6 million Asian Americans in California; 15.5% of the state's population. If including those with partial Asian ancestry, this figure is around 17%. This is a jump from 13.8% recorded in 2010.
Ip Man 3 is a 2015 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film directed by Wilson Yip, produced by Raymond Wong and written by Edmond Wong with action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping. It is the third film in the Ip Man film series based on the life of the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man and features Donnie Yen reprising the title role. Ip Man's pupil Bruce Lee is portrayed by Danny Chan and Ip Man's fellow Wing Chun expert and rival Cheung Tin-chi (張天志), also known as Sum Nung, is portrayed by Zhang Jin. The film also features Mike Tyson. Principal photography commenced in March 2015 and ended in June of that year.
Võ Nguyễn Hoài Linh, better known by his stage name Hoài Linh, is a Vietnamese–American comedian and actor. A frequent collaborator of Thúy Nga center, he is known for his comedy performances alongside other artists such as Vân Sơn and Chí Tài.
American Born Chinese is an American fantasy action comedy television sitcom created by Kelvin Yu for Disney+. It follows tenth-grader Jin Wang, who is struggling to fit in with his peers. When he is tasked with showing new exchange student Wei-Chen around, he is unexpectedly thrust into a battle between mythical Chinese gods, including Sun Wukong and Guanyin. The series is based on the 2006 graphic novel American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang, who drew inspiration from his own adolescent years in the 1990s, incorporating elements from Chinese folk tales and mysticism found in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West.
