"...H Mart’s ascent reflects more than just a better or more affordable version of what most Americans already shop for. The company’s expansion across the US has coincided with decades of demographic shifts in which Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing group, and South Korean culture in particular has given rise to juggernauts in pop music and beauty...roughly 30% of the specialty grocer’s shoppers are now non-Asian."

https://archive.ph/1NJtf#selection-1875.0-1895.1

"Even the etiquette and the rules of certain mannerisms would’ve been uncomfortable for me when I was younger, but it was kind of a fun challenge for me to understand. I enjoyed my time there even though I think I also used to feel so upset that I was never embraced as a Korean person. When people say, 'But you’re not Korean,' I’m not so bristly about it because I understand what that really means."

https://www.vulture.com/article/michelle-zauner-japanese-breakfast-for-melancholy-brunettes.html

"The show also takes an irreverent look at the expectations heaped onto the shoulders of the children of immigrants, who are sometimes expected to live a version of the 'American Dream' that just doesn’t feel possible anymore. It somehow manages to deftly navigate turning heavy issues like racism, assimilation, and Islamophobia into the butt of many jokes."

https://www.eater.com/2025/3/6/24379282/deli-boys-philadelphia-show-hulu-tv-watch

"Park found the Friends set to be a 'toxic' workplace and said he witnessed a crew member using racist language to refer to fellow guest actor James Hong. The incident galvanized Park to file a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild and write a headline-making 'mission statement' calling for better treatment of Asian Americans in Hollywood."

https://ew.com/steve-park-recalls-racist-friends-incident-mission-statement-11690068

Really fascinating piece of SF history: The Chinatown Telephone Exchange

"Both male and female operators had to remember nearly 1500 names along with the owners place of residence. They had to know all of the languages spoken in Chinatown as well as all of the different dialects. These operators knew all of the 4-5,000 residents of Chinatown. They knew all of the extensions for the businesses and residences in the area. They handled more than thirteen thousand calls a day. The phone system was also a method for contracting labor. Employers called with job offers and the operators would know to whom to put them through."

https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Chinese_Telephone_Exchange

“The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA), an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), announced the 2025 winners of its Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature today..."

https://www.apalaweb.org/2025-asian-pacific-american-awards-for-literature-winners/

President Biden @potus formally recognized the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Peoples and communities of the Pacific Islands by renaming the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument as the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.

He also became the first President to formally honor the Hui Panalāʻau, Native Hawaiians sent to secure United States territorial claim to the islands in the run up to World War II. #Indigenous #aapi #uspol #uspolitics #politics #PacificIslands #environment https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/02/fact-sheet-president-biden-recognizes-fuller-story-of-pacific-islands-heritage/

I was unpacking my Asian groceries that I buy from Weee! (An app) in the lobby of my building.

My elderly neighbor came to stand next to me and ask how much each item costs. She then gave me the neighborhood Asian grocery price for each item, did all the math, told me good job for saving money, and gave me cooking advice.

She reminds me of my grandfather, who used to have the same passion for grocery accounting, math and recipes in Teochew.

@bicmay A cool #AAPI story, thanks!

People say media representation doesn’t matter but it was because of Minari that we got really important cultural conversations: everyone realizing that most East Asians have dry ear wax, and East Asians being surprised to learn there’s a wet kind.

The big news in the AI ethics world today is that an MIT expert on AI ethics went on stage at NeurIPS and said some horrific things about Chinese people.

FWIW the organizers seem to be taking this seriously.

Some days when I am exasperated about America, I think about how the Bay Area is where I found hundreds of queer Asian immigrant lesbians and bi and trans women who came here to build a life and community that we couldn't have wherever we came from.

https://popagandhi.com/posts/wives-and-lives/

From @josephinelee in our magazine: A story unknown to most, since the 1960s, Taiwanese-Americans have been fighting for freedom in their motherland from the Bayou City. https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-hotbed-taiwanese-nationalism/

#AsianaamericanHistory #aapi #TaiwaneseAmerican #China #Taiwan #culture #history #Houston #GulfCoast #immigration #news #politics #USpol #Texas

Many people may not know that Taiwanese Americans exist, that we have a distinct culture and language from that of the Chinese, that the first wave of migrants here fought to end a dictatorship back home and are still fighting to maintain their freedom there. I wrote about my family’s and others’ journey here in Houston. #AAPI #Asianamericanhistory #taiwaneseamerican https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-hotbed-taiwanese-nationalism/

Speaking of #AAPI, it’s true that the label needs to be far more inclusive of south and southwest Asians and also the P!

I also think it was important for me to read about how the hyphen in Asian-American is now dropped many places. The late great Henry Fuhrman advocated for it to be ‘Asian American’ to include non-citizens and undocumented people.

It was only after reading about this that I started identifying myself as Asian American.

https://consciousstyleguide.com/drop-hyphen-asian-american/

APIQWTC (a Bay Area-based queer activism group for the #AAPI community) is giving out two scholarships ($3500 each) to uplift current or future API queer and trans community leaders.

Applications close Feb 14 2025 (details in PDF here) and if you need a more accessible version let me know (I just got this from the organizers)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JcEPWrdYeWSmf3CHd1dSN9U2Us5qeLpO/view

As a recent ethnic Chinese immigrant to California (via Southeast Asia) I am always stunned by the random acts of violence committed against Chinese immigrants not too long ago. There was a Chinese fishing settlement here, which ‘mysteriously burned down’. Same shit in Sausalito and China Camp outside San Rafael. The entire city of Antioch had TUNNELS under it because Chinese people were not allowed to walk above ground after dark.

"Harris has spurred a gender gap among Asian American voters for the first time in polling history"

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/harris-spurred-gender-gap-asian-american-voters-first-time-polling-his-rcna178319

"After the vice president took over the Democratic ticket, support from Asian women jumped to 72%, compared with 59% for Asian men."

South Asian film festival this week at the Roxie

https://www.thirdi.org/