Another questionable illustration choice, courtesy the Chosun Ilbo.
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43 Comments
Another questionable illustration choice
Yes, this illustrator apparently has no clue as to how to properly depict a redneck. I mean, he looks like a damn cowboy in that picture.
koreans doesnt seems to know that those kind drawings are very offensive and insensitive. somebody or an organization should send a letter to the cartoonist who drew that piece of trash to let him know that those kind of drawing make koreans look ignorant.
You would think some expat would have self-appointed himself as a political-correctness missionary and started a multy-culty sensitivity awareness program for Koreans by now.
some expat or any korean citizen SHOULD start a multi-cultural sensitivity awareness program bc koreans need it.
isn’t this a job for some VANK-like organization? i wonder if we could get funding?
Mightly insensitive of the artist. Forgetting to draw the bone pierced through his nose. And shouldn’t there be a spear? Or a giant pot in which whitey will be boiled?
LOL Seouldout, I was thinking the exact same thing.
Bluejives, of course, would be one of the first to complain were the New York Times to print a cartoon portraying a Chinaman complete with queue and buckteeth.
#2:
How can you be sure it was in fact drawn by a Korean? The fact is you DO NOT know. Unless you do know for sure, don’t automatically assume you know the artist’s race/nationality or go around perpetuating racial stereotypes based on your assumptions.
Also, let’s not forget when it comes to animation, “The Simpson”, “King of the Hill”, “Futurama” et al., have been successfully animated in Korea by Koreans for over a decade now without nary an accusation of being “ignorant”.
That being said, it’s idiotic to impugn the mores of an entire nation based on your personal dislike of one miniscule and obscure graphic of unknown authorship.
#8:
Dogbertt, down boy! First, the Chosun Ilbo is no NYT. Second, the graphic in question does not have any special meaning to Koreans — you are looking at it within an American context & interpretation. However, Koreans would not be able to understand this context, and therefore wouldn’t necessarily detect the racial animus that you and other Westerners do.
Third, your use of the highly offensive “C” word without quotation marks IS highly offensive and derogatory toward CHINESE and Asians. (You know better than that. I’d like to see if you would pull the same one with the “N” word.)
Fourth, have you ever seen the ending of “Harold & Kumar…”? If so, you would realize that it’s not just Bluejives and other AAs that would be offended by YOUR caricature of Asians — it is offensive in both a Western and Asian context.
H. Kim—I agree with you that one illustration does not a nation make (and, I should add, that was not the intention of the post), but I think at the same time it’s a bit silly to take to task kimchi2000—who I believe is Korean, BTW (not that it’s relevant)—for making what seems to be a rather natural assumption that the Chosun Ilbo probably doesn’t outsource the illustration work in its editorial section to India.
No doubt that’s what the Chosun Ilbo would argue. No doubt, either, that Koreans might view such a graphic in a different content from Westerners. But the manner in which the graphic is drawn—and if you read Korean papers regularly, you know this isn’t an isolated incident—didn’t develop in a contextual vacuum, either. And at any rate, this seems dangerously close to the arguments employed by the publisher of that racist comic book in Japan when asked about their use of the word “nigger”—namely, that in Japan, the word “nigger” isn’t offensive.
BTW, if I might also point out, you’re right that the Chosun Ilbo isn’t the NYT. Frankly, the NYT—or any American print paper, for that matter—doesn’t carry anywhere near the kind of clout within the United States that the Chosun Ilbo carries within Korea. Yes, such graphics are low on the list of urgent matters Korea—or even just the Chosun Ilbo—need to address, but they’re still not cool.
Right. As Robert correctly notes, it is far more influential in Korea than the New York Times is in the U.S.
Two points:
1) If it has no special meaning to Koreans, why did the Chosun Ilbo choose it?
2) I believe the Korean media adopted such blackfacecaricatures from the U.S. IIRC, the “Metropolitician” has written extensively on this.
I believe you underestimate many Koreans’ racial sensibilities. I think there is a definite feeling among Koreans in general that Africans are beneath them.
You understood, of course, that I used that term to illustrate the stereotypical offensiveness of such a caricature of Asians. As far as being derogatory to CHINESE and Asians, perhaps it is; I do not feel compelled to care until such time as CHINESE and Asians offer the same courtesy. That said, I of course seek not to offend gratuitously.
This seems to be a favored meme among Asian-American activists: “You wouldn’t dis’ me like that if I were BLACK”.
I find it the kind of argument that leads the race to the bottom — if you find the comparison empowering somehow, well, fight the power!
Not only have I not seen the ending, I have not seen the beginning or the middle.
“How can you be sure it was in fact drawn by a Korean? The fact is you DO NOT know. Unless you do know for sure, don’t automatically assume you know the artist’s race/nationality or go around perpetuating racial stereotypes based on your assumptions.”
Well, it is signed with a Korean name.
In any case, I’d like to see more articles about slavery in Korea. With what seems like 3/4 of the population claiming some sort of aristocratic ancestry, you have to wonder what happened to all the ones who actually worked for a living during the Choson dynasty.
H Kim,
i suggest u to look at more cartoon by chosun ilbo. this is not an isolated case. what if nyt or any other american or japanese newspapers have a cartoon that portrays korean in very negative stereotypical way? how will korean react? I am korean by the way and i know for sure that koreans are racially insensitive to people who are darker than they are. also, since the drwaing was in chosun ilbo, i assume that the artist is korean. even if the artist is not korean, i assume that couple of korean editors saw the drawing before it was published.
Granted. Then what Kimchi2000 should’ve said is that ‘those kind of drawings makes the Chosun Ilbo look ignorant.’
I would argue that regardless of how such things developed, in the land of the cute-n-cuddly, most Koreans do not read into such images so intently, perhaps due to the fact that Koreans are unencumbered by all that historical and racist baggage that Westerners come with.
I think a more apt analogy is the Swastika dichotomy. For Koreans — and in fact, all Asians — the Swastika is quite innocuous, regardless of whether a Buddhist or not.
For Westerners though, b/c of history, it’s an entirely different thing with a totally different meaning. That being said, why would a Korean newspaper, published in Korean for Korean consumption, purposely make itself averse to the very readership it depends on by offending them with questionable images?
That a group of Westerners would be offended by it and would deign to ‘teach those Koreans a lesson’, speaks more to their own projection than any sinister motives on part of truly one of the most obscure newspapers in the world.
While not familiar with the comic you speak of, cartoonish illustrations and other graphic representations are STILL somewhat subject to individual interpretation — unlike the usage of racial slurs.
Have you ever seen a Korean graphic artist at work? It’s amazing — it really is. We Westerners still have notions of ‘pc-ness’, or what’s ‘appropriate’ according to essentially Judeo-Christian influenced cultural dictates and mores.
Koreans, on the other hand — especially those with an artistic bent who work professionally using graphics programs, desktop publishing, etc.– are curiously unencumbered by such things.(Try explaining, to a professional Korean graphic artist, why it’s wrong to do certain things from a commercial point of view, e.g., using copyrighted images w/o permission, photoshopping bodyparts and faces onto backgrounds/foregrounds, using un-pc graphics, etc., and you’ll prolly get blank stares or a dismissive wave of the hand.)
#11:
Precisely. It has no special meaning, therefore it was chosen. (If you were the photo editor of arguably the most important newspaper in Korea, would you go for the innocuous or the truly offensive imgage? Your call.)
The racial sensibilities of Koreans, in general, are irrelevant to this discussion. What is relevant is whether there was a racially discriminatory animus behind the image in question.
From a Korean point of view, I don’t think there is — or ever was — an intention to degrade, insult or look down upon Africans by using said image.
To the extent that someone using a purely Western frame of reference might disagree, well, I’d say you’re projecting.
Fair enough. I too, pray, that “my children will one day live in nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”.
Oh, man, where have you been? Harold & Kumar go to White Castle’s is a MUST see for anyone who wants to see racial stereotyping at its comic best — particular the last scene before the credits.:)
#12:
No it isn’t. It’s signed with a “사” followed by a golbaengi-looking swirl, which could be Dick Cheney for all we know.
Why do you want to know these kind of things? I can completely understand those people who want to discover their OWN genealogies or read about their OWN family histories.
But what I can’t understand for the life of me, is why someone — except a professional biographer or historian– would ever be interested in the genealogies of others. Perhaps a penchant for dirty laundry or just loading up on ammo to get back at Koreans?
“No it isn’t. It’s signed with a “사” followed by a golbaengi-looking swirl, which could be Dick Cheney for all we know.”
Here, smartypants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L.....#.E3.85.85
Sa/사
“Why do you want to know these kind of things? I can completely understand those people who want to discover their OWN genealogies or read about their OWN family histories.
But what I can’t understand for the life of me, is why someone — except a professional biographer or historian– would ever be interested in the genealogies of others. Perhaps a penchant for dirty laundry or just loading up on ammo to get back at Koreans?”
I am interested in my own family history. My father has traced out family tree, last I heard, as far back as the 8th century. Given that my son is Korean, my question is a valid one.
“Why do you want to know these kind of things? I can completely understand those people who want to discover their OWN genealogies or read about their OWN family histories.
But what I can’t understand for the life of me, is why someone — except a professional biographer or historian– would ever be interested in the genealogies of others. Perhaps a penchant for dirty laundry or just loading up on ammo to get back at Koreans?”
Wanting to discuss the issue of slavery in Korea is not discussing the genealogy of an individual. We’re talking about the history of an entire society, and part of the shared cultural history of the world. Sorry, but I have just as much reason to learn about Korean slavery as you do. If I don’t, then you should probably forget everything you learned about, say, the Triangle Trade. It’s not your “OWN” history, isn’t it?
I think you have an issue with my “OWN” and your “YOURS”. Comments like the quoted above smack of a certain ‘non-Koreans shouldn’t be able to know about Korea’ sentiment.
LOL TOO BAD!! WE DO!!
Those who have a genuine interest in studying Korean genealogy/ history/ culture/ language/ whatever-makes-you-happy — whether they be Koreaphiles, history buffs, Asian afficionados, human rights activists, foreign-in-laws, or simply out of curiosity — have NO reason to be defensive or hostile when queried about the reasons for their interest. It’s just a question afterall, like “Why are you so into computers?” Anyways, if a certain topic stokes your fire — no matter how obscure — go crazy I say.
However, in my experience, those with predominately lurid or prurient motivations are the quickest to cop an attitude and get all defensive and opaque when asked. Those types will always be suspect in my book.
Re: “사”
Without its corresponding Hanja, we can only guess its meaning. It could be “4″, “death”, or the surnames 史, 舍, 謝. “Sa” just by itself is meaningless.
H. Kim,
You would make Nick Naylor proud.
“However, in my experience, those with predominately lurid or prurient motivations are the quickest to cop an attitude and get all defensive and opaque when asked. Those types will always be suspect in my book.”
Ironic when you follow with this:
“Re: “사”
Without its corresponding Hanja, we can only guess its meaning. It could be “4″, “death”, or the surnames 史, 舍, 謝. “Sa” just by itself is meaningless.”
Well, in my experience, artists sign their works with their names.
“or the surnames 史, 舍, 謝”
…and now you’re contradicting yourself. Aren’t those ‘Korean’ surnames?
“have NO reason to be defensive or hostile when queried about the reasons for their interest.”
“what I can’t understand for the life of me, is why someone — except a professional biographer or historian– would ever be interested in the genealogies of others. Perhaps a penchant for dirty laundry or just loading up on ammo to get back at Koreans”
The above is an accusation, not a ploite query into someones interest….
“How can you be sure it was in fact drawn by a Korean? The fact is you DO NOT know. Unless you do know for sure, don’t automatically assume you know the artist’s race/nationality or go around perpetuating racial stereotypes based on your assumptions.”
The most interesting part about the commencement of the H.Kim “in denial” series is that in the relevant comment, Kimchi2000 never actually claimed that the the cartoon was drawn by a Korean. H.kim has automatically assumed that inference. The interpretation I took was based on the context of it being published in a korean publication, hence inference “those kind of drawing make koreans look ignorant.”.
It’s a stupid comic which happened to have been published in a Korean newspaper, and hence was probably drawn by a Korean. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that it makes Koreans look bad, but it certainly raises questions about the newspaper’s editorial staff.
I would. It makes Koreans look bad. Kimchi2000 et al. know it, and those who don’t are indulging in denial.
You don’t get it do you? “사” might be someone’s surname — or it might not! And while NOT all works of art are signed, All of the following listed below are Hanja equivalents for “사”.
As you can tell, unless you know the EXACT Hanja or have some greater context (like a sentence or paragraph), your guess is as good as mine!
1. 사 [社]
2. 사 [私]
3. 사 [紗]
4. 사 [辭]
5. 사 [死]
6. 사 [史]
7. 사 [事]
8. 사 [賜]
9. 사 [謝]
10.사 [瀉]
11.사 [辭]
12.사 [士]
13.사 [史]
14.사 [嗣]
15.사 [寺]
16.사 [詞]
17.사 [師]
18.사 [社]
19.사 [事]
20.사 [辭]
21.사 [巳]
22.사 [四]
23.사 [司]
24.사 [沙/砂]
25.사 [詞]
26.사 [使]
27.사 [祀]
28.사 [舍]
29.사 [砂]
30.사 [射]
…and many, many, many more…
Here we go again, back to square one.
First, it is not a “comic”. It is one graphic, image or illustration — big difference. (A comic incorporates images with associated text –here we have NO text.)
Second, just b/c something appears in a Korean newspaper does not mean that it was created by a Korean.
Third, just b/c you don’t like an image or graphic representation doesn’t necessarily that image is necessarily bad or reflects poorly on its editorial staff that allowed it to be published. It just means you didn’t like it.
Finally, haven’t you ever been to an art museum? Is there only one interpretation, one motivation, one angle, one definition, one idea in which to take in a graphic image or understand a picure?
Remember, “Art is in the eye of the beholder”. It’s also what you make of it. So if you only see a racial caricature and cultural insensitivity, you are certainly entitled to your opinion.
However, you are grossly mistaken if you expect the vast majority of Koreans to see what you see, or to interpret it the way you interpret it, or that the editors should somehow be contrite for using it. Don’t make mountains out of molehills.
“You don’t get it do you? “사” might be someone’s surname — or it might not! And while NOT all works of art are signed, All of the following listed below are Hanja equivalents for “사”.”
No, you don’t get it. It’s called sarcasm.
Call up Chosun Ilbo and ask, if you’re so sure they’ll refer you to some artist named something like Ivana Krapp or Andy Wanke.
Nitpick on ‘comic’ all you want, it’s a comic in the sense that it is ‘related to a comic strip’ in its style.
“Second, just b/c something appears in a Korean newspaper does not mean that it was created by a Korean.”
Once again, the odds are pretty strong that this was created by a Korean. It’s not as if graphic artists/cartoonists are in short supply in Korea.
“However, you are grossly mistaken if you expect the vast majority of Koreans to see what you see, or to interpret it the way you interpret it, or that the editors should somehow be contrite for using it. Don’t make mountains out of molehills.”
Have I ever set foot in a museum?
Really, grow up. All I said was that it was signed by a Korean name, and you speak of making mountains out of molehills. It’s just a stupid comic.
H. Kim wrote:
“Remember, “Art is in the eye of the beholder”. It’s also what you make of it. So if you only see a racial caricature and cultural insensitivity, you are certainly entitled to your opinion.
However, you are grossly mistaken if you expect the vast majority of Koreans to see what you see, or to interpret it the way you interpret it, or that the editors should somehow be contrite for using it. Don’t make mountains out of molehills.”
H.Kim, as a Korean-American, how do you think African-Americans would react to the crudely drawn image of the slave with white sausage lips and white panties? At least the cowboy-slave owner (did cowboys even own slaves?) was endowed with a nose.
Who you gonna believe? H. Kim or your lyin’ eyes?
BTW, I am now posting links to the cartoon at a couple of online black forums to elicit opinions on the cartoon. If I get many responses, I’ll link to them on this thread.
Even more offensive than Little Black Sambo is the depiction of an English slave trader with a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a lasso. Anybody bother to read the story? It’s a brief history of English participation in the slave trade. Guess the cartoonist is unable to distinguish between the English and the Americans.
BTW, I am now posting links to the cartoon at a couple of online black forums to elicit opinions on the cartoon. If I get many responses, I’ll link to them on this thread.
Great idea! Be sure to let them know this picture originated in Korea, as in those people who run all the liquor stores and suck all the money out of their neighborhoods. This should be interesting.
I wondered why the Chosun Ilbo would run this short piece on the English trading in African slaves until I reread the last paragraph:
지난 주말 런던 빅토리아공원에서 양손이 쇠사슬에 묶인 백인 6명이 한 흑인 여자 앞에 무릎을 꿇었다. “씻을 수 없는 백인 선조들의 죄를 깊이 사죄합니다.” 흑인 여자는 백인들을 껴안고 “고맙다”며 용서했다. 노예거래금지법 제정 200년을 기념해 성공회가 주도한 노예무역 참회행사였다. 작년 6월엔 최초의 노예상 존 호킨스의 후손 앤드루 호킨스가 아프리카를 찾아가 감비아 사람 2만5000명 앞에 무릎 꿇고 선조의 잘못을 대신 빌었다. 불과 몇 십 년 전 일도 막무가내 아니라고 버티는 우리의 이웃나라와는 달라도 너무 다른 풍경들이다.
I’ll provide a brief summary in English:
In London’s Victoria Park, six whites in chains knelt before a black woman and declared apologetically that there was no way to wash away the stain of guilt for slavery. The black woman then expressed forgiveness to the whites. This was all part of an Anglican Church commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the English ban on the slave trade. The story’s closing sentence declares, “How different this scene is compared to our neighboring country’s stubbornness regarding matters of several decades ago.”
Anybody bother to read the story? It’s a brief history of English participation in the slave trade.
Which is FURTHER proof, along with accompanying sambo illustration, that once again Koreans are racist bastards!
I wondered why the Chosun Ilbo would run this short piece on the English trading in African slaves until I reread the last paragraph
Because “Amazing Grace” is out in the theaters about now and many Koreans are familiar with the story of John Newton even without the benefit of a movie.
#26:
No, you don’t get it at all, which is why you keep on insisting there is meaning, when in fact, there is no meaning. And it’s somewhat disingenuous of you to attempt to pass off your rambling prose as “sarcasm”. Nice try.
Yes you certainly did, however, can you correctly identify the corresponding Hanja? You CANNOT, so you can’t say with certainty that it is a Korean surname.
Your guess is as good as mine, as I am contending that the “Sa” in question is not a surname as you allege, but corresponds to the Hanja for 4:四.
#28:
You remind me of a group of children I once saw touring the Art Institute of Chicago. Without their all-knowing docent, they’d be totally lost and incapable of forming an opinion of their own in the world of Seurat, Chagall, Cezanne and Picasso.
#27:
Well, like I said, it’s an illustration, it’s art, so it’s subject to interpretation. To each their own opinion I say.
#29:
And don’t forget to contact the Reverend Jesse at Operation PUSH as well as Al Sharpton. And where is Johnnie Cochran when you need him the most? I can just imagagine what he’d say: “If the image is depicting, we must be convicting!”
#30:
Hear! Hear! Fantastic idea. I’m all for starting another race riot of Rodney King proportions as well as inciting unrest and strife between disparate groups of people separated by 8,000 miles of ocean over imagined slights! What a wonderful world this is!
H. Kim wrote:
Those cartoons used subcontracted South Korea firms to do the production work only. The creation (original artwork) was directed by the originators (silly Americans). It’s very good production work I might add.
Your continued defense of the cartoon would make Rhie Won-bok proud. As long as American Jews/Blacks don’t find out…
우리들끼리
One of those kids must’ve had a massive cock like a Pepsi can and balls bluer than a Blue Screen of Death.
Where were you when the Bubble Sisters needed a defender? I mean, with your supreme analytical skills, I’m sure you could’ve answered criticisms of the fat skanks’ blackface routine with questions like “How do you know they’re really Korean?” and “Have you seen their passports?”
Seriously though, can you expound a little further on how the fact that a Korean company animates “The Simpson” (tragedy that only one of them remains) has any bearing on this? Because out of all the hilarious, disembling horseshit you’ve thrown out in this thread, that ranks up there with some of the funniest.
“Koreans aren’t responsible for that graphic…but if they are, they’ve already proven they can draw a mean Mr. Burns, so that absolves them of any wrongdoing! But I’m not saying they did anything wrong! They’re just insensitive and don’t care about perceptions. Unless Jay Leno makes a joke about eating dog, or Dustin Hoffman’s movie Outbreak includes them in a plot. Then they’ll file lawsuits and have a national tantrum, proving how insensitive they are. Because when its Koreans on the receiving end, they break the fucking sensitivity meter. But when its someone else, they don’t give a fuck. Which justifies all the spear-chucking, bone-through-the-nose graphics that NON-KOREANS at the Chosun Ilbo want to produce.”
#35:
No kidding Elgin. It’s called “OEM animation”. A friend of mine, who is in the industry, does work for “King of the Hill”, “Simpsons”, etc., for Korean studios like AKOM Production and DR Movie at their offices in Gangnam.
Incidentally, she and hundreds of other Korean animators working on those series draw each and every image by hand. Their turnaround time is short once they receive the specs, so they work like dogs for mediocre pay — while sustaining major repetitive-use hand injuries in the process. (She has to wear a handbrace just to do her work.)
#36:
You have your opinion Sonagi, and I’m just playing Devil’s advocate. (Quite frankly, I don’t care for the image either.)
And one image that you happen to dislike, does not, a Rhie Won-bok Nazi primer make. That’s a cheap shot.
And no, there is no Korean conspiracy to secretly denigrate and insult the races of the world with lurid images galore. Keep on projecting though, you’re doing a helluva job!
Bears repeating.
“Yes you certainly did, however, can you correctly identify the corresponding Hanja? You CANNOT, so you can’t say with certainty that it is a Korean surname.”
By your own admission it is highly likely that it is signed by a Korean given name, if it isn’t a surname, and even more so that the artist is Korean (as you suggest that us foreigners are too unrefined to grasp the intricacies of 漢字 and 우리말). Well, I have studied 漢字. As a matter of fact, I usually have a 辭典 at hand to look up words I don’t know (like most Koreans do, I sure). So, spare me the lecturing on whether 사 is a 姓, 乭, or something else.
With that said, you really need to stop assuming that ‘foreigners’ can’t learn Korean or Hanja. Most of the people who post here are at least bilingual, if not polyglots (I know I am (as most linguists should be). Heck, English isn’t even my first language).
My…my, where does one even begin?
After years of living in America and hearing a certain group of people telling other groups of people to “stop playing the race card”, or “don’t be so oversensitive - it’s just a joke” etc, it is really refreshing to encounter these folks being so concerned about matters like how black people are portrayed in the media in Korea. Now, if only these same types of people would be equally concerned about such matters back home, where, like there’s actually lots of black people living here, unlike in Korea…why, it would be fantastic!
They. . .don’t care about perceptions. Unless Jay Leno makes a joke about eating dog, or Dustin Hoffman’s movie Outbreak includes them in a plot, [or James Bond sees them leading an ox]. Then they’ll file lawsuits and have a national tantrum, proving how insensitive they are. Because when its Koreans on the receiving end, they break the fucking sensitivity meter. But when its someone else, they don’t give a fuck.”
The saddest thing about many Asian jokes in the American media is that most of them haven’t changed much since I was in elementary school (that’s over two decades age). I personally got over it when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. Most of them were of the *chink* variety though. Yes, in America I get to be both a *chink* and a *gook*, even though I am just a gook. I used to think I had it bad until I got a little older and realized that Asian women had to endure a rather peculiar combination of racism and sexism that seems endemic to them.
I suppose I could go on, but I don’t want to bore you because I realize you could care less about it than I do about sambo cartoons or whatever race card that conveniently happens to satisfy your resentment fetish with Koreans (you know who you are). But you would forgive me if I roll my eyes everytime this tired and predictable exercise repeats itself.
Netizen Kim, you don’t care? I thought your view was that most minorities in America are keenly sensitive to things that whites would dismiss as insignificant or stupid.
“The saddest thing about many Asian jokes in the American media is that most of them haven’t changed much since I was in elementary school (that’s over two decades age).”
Why do you feel the need to specify that it was 2 decades ago? Should we have reason to doubt you?
As for Asian jokes, I’d say they most certainly have changed of late. ‘Harold and Kumar Go to Whitecastle’ may or may not have been your cup of tea, but it did, to some extent, succeed in reshaping the perception of Asian-American men in the media.
You also seem to miss the fact that some of the top stand-up acts are Koreans (off the top of my head: Margaret Cho, Steve Byrne, Dr. Ken, Bobby Lee, and Kevin Shae).
PS. Cho Yong Fat, Jackie Chan and Jet Li are probably the top action movies stars in North America, so that pretty much destroys the assertion that Asian men are emasculated by the American media. TV characters like ‘Jin’ on Lost (probably the toughest guy on the island) played by Daniel Day Kim (I’m sure he has many female fans) have also contributed to a more balanced image. (Let’s not forget that Yunjin Kim’s character, ‘Sun’, on Lost is a very intelligent and assertive woman).