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This article appeared in
"Korean Journal" May 2005 issue. Also in
Donga-Ilbo Atlanta March
25, 2005.
"Why 6-party talks are unfavorable
to U.S.?" |
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color
| This article appeared in
Dong-A
Ilbo, a Korean daily in Atlanta, on April 7, 2005.
"Pope and Collapse of Communism" By Tommy Kwon To read in Korean ,click here. |
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| This article appeared in
Amateur
Dancers, May/June 2004, p. 7
Why ballroom dancing is good for you: mentally and hysically by Tai-Hyung Kwon, Ph.D. |
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At a weekly dance in the local senior citizen's center, I was dancing with Jenny when she tripped and fell to the floor, landing softly on her behind and then on her back and pulling me down on top of her. As I helped her up, I asked if she was okay. "I know one thing for sure," Jenny said. "We fell for each other." Full Story >> To MENU
| This article appeared in
The
Korea Herald, April 16, 2004 and in The Asian Herald, May 2004, p.14 U.S. security and North Korea By Kwon Tai-hyung |
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At the dawn of the 20th century, the Americans lost a golden opportunity to secure the Korean Peninsula for the future security of the United States by helping Koreans remain free. Consequently, the Americans paid a heavy cost in World War II and then the Korean War.
The 1882 U.S.-Korean Treaty contained the "good offices" clause, wherein the United States promised to bring about an amicable arrangement if any country dealt with Korea unjustly or oppressively. Full Story >> To MENU
| This article appeared in
The
Korea Herald, March 22, 2004
Impeachment of U.S. Presidents By Kwon Tai-hyung |
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Korea is a land of morning calm inhabited by a noble people. The first impeachment of its sitting president by the National Assembly jolted the calm land and dazed the noble people. While Koreans await the trial and ruling by the Constitutional Court, and in the absence of their own precedent, it might be of interest to them to see how impeachment of presidents fared in the United States. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
Taipei
Times, Friday, January 16, 2004, page 8
Will Taiwan be forsaken just like Korea was? By Kwon Tai- hyung |
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From Afghanistan to Iraq, US President George W. Bush is bent on spreading freedom and democracy and says so every chance he gets. But when it comes to Taiwan, he is ambiguous. This became apparent recently when Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (???) visited the White House.
"We oppose any unilateral decision by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo," Bush said. His comment was prompted by recent moves by President Chen Shui-bian (???), who has called for a referendum in March calling for China to withdraw all missiles aimed at Taiwan and renounce the use of force against the island. Beijing views the referendum as a move toward independence. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
The Korea Herald, November
17, 2003
America blind many times By Kwon Tai-hyung |
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Korea is little known to most Western people, although to the three nations surrounding her - China, Russia and Japan - she has been well known for centuries and highly valued. In ignorance, Americans threw away a golden opportunity at the dawn of the 20th century to help Koreans build a strong independent free nation - a bulwark in Asia.
Had the Americans been sufficiently informed through history, they would have relentlessly opposed the Japanese takeover of Korea in 1905 and would not have yielded to Stalin's demand in 1945 to divide Korea at the 38th parallel. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This is the speech I gave to 1530 students, faculty and guests
at Vestavia Hills
High School on the day before Veterans' Day, November 10, 2003
A Tribute to American Veterans on the 50th Anniversary of the Korean War By Tommy (Tai-Hyung) Kwon |
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The Korean War broke out Sunday morning, June 25, 1950, my high school senior year, and dragged on until July 27, 1953. In the three years of fierce fighting up and down the peninsula, 103,284 Americans were wounded, 5,178 Americans were taken prisoner or reported missing, and 33,629 Americans lost their precious young lives.
Had it not been for the enormous sacrifices made by American veterans and the commitment made by President Truman to fight the communist aggression, North Korea would have crushed South Korea in less than two months and I would not be standing here this morning, speaking to a distinguished group of high school students at Vestavia Hills. Instead, I would be somewhere in communist Korea, if I am still alive, most likely starving like most North Koreans today. I might be digging wild weeds for food in the hills of Korea. I might be scraping off inner barks of pine trees to be pounded, boiled and then eaten. Or I might be risking my life trying to cross the Yalu River in the darkness of night to reach China, as many desperate North Koreans do today in their desperate attempt to seek freedom-freedom from starvation, oppression and communism. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in Dancing
USA, Sept/Oct 2003.
Floorplay Orlando Swing Dance Vacation 2003 By Tommy Kwon |
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On the Easter weekend, close to 400 west coast swingers flocked to the heart of the sunshine state and savored Floorplay Orlando Swing Dance Vacation, an annual event hosted by the dance clubs of Orlando, Tampa, Melbourne, Jacksonville, and Daytona Beach. For three days and three nights, the swingers danced, partied and vacationed in paradise.
Soon after our arrival on a sunny Thursday afternoon at The Rosen Plaza Hotel on the International Drive, a mile from the Sea World, we went down to the ballroom for registration. At the center of the huge ballroom was the empty wooden dance floor, about 42 feet by 39 feet, glistening warm and golden under soft light diffused through an array of crystals hung high upon the coffered ceiling. Loud swing tunes were blaring out of four large speakers set along the front of the raised music stand on the far side of the dance floor. Two staggered rows of round tables, clad in black tablecloths, enclosed the dance floor on three sides. Full Story >> To MENU
| This article appeared in "5678
DANCE" Spring 2003
Bop on the Lake 2002 By Tommy Kwon |
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Arriving at Hot Springs, Arkansas on a fine September afternoon, we drove past the famous Bathhouse Row on Central Avenue and found Arlington Hotel on the next block. This was the site for the 10th annual 'Bop on the Lake' swing party hosted by the Little Rock Bop Club. Exactly 440 swing dancers flocked here from 28 swing dance clubs to bop and party from Thursday night through Sunday morning.
The semicircular arch at the entrance to the ballroom was adorned with white and pink balloons illuminated by red light. Loud swing tunes were booming out of four speakers set along one side of the hall. Hanging over the wall behind the music stand was a banner reading "Little Rock Bop Club: Bopping in the Rock Since 1992." (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in Dancing
USA, March /April 2003
Tennessee Waltz in Helsinki, Finland? By Tommy Kwon |
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As soon as we arrived at our hotel in Helsinki, Finland in May 2002, we asked about ballroom dancing at the front desk. A lady showed us two places listed under Dancing and Dining in "Helsinki This Week" magazine. Maestro: Fredrikinkatua 51-53, tel 612-9900. Live Finnish dance music by Finnish artists and dining in the heart of the city. Wanhan Tansikellari: Mannerheimintie 3, tel 684-4900. Delicious lunches and dinners, dancing in the evening to live Finnish dance music.
Around 9 p.m. on our first night there, we went out to look for Maestro. It was only a block from our hotel. We paid 6.7 euros ($6.00) each for admission and walked up wide stairs to the second floor. It was roomy with a bar on one side, the dancing floor in the middle, about 25 ft by 40 ft, and a high raised bandstand on the other side. A huge neon sign "M" blazed green on the wall behind the bandstand with a large heart glowing red at its center. The dance floor was enclosed by seating area with tables and chairs. The band, composed of a keyboardist, a guitarist, and a drummer, was playing a rumba. A slow foxtrot, 2 tangos, and 2 cha-chas followed. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in The Asian
Herald, March 2003 Want Yankees to go home for the third time? By Tommy Kwon |
"Yankee go home! Yankee go home!" chanted a nun toward the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, holding a lighted candle in one hand and her tiny feeble clenched fist in the other punching at the cold evening air in Seoul. She stood with other nuns from the Korean Catholic convent, Buddhist monks, ministers, pop stars, and teachers-citizens who normally would not be on the picket lines.
The demonstrators were venting their boiling anger and seething frustration over a U.S. court-martial verdict that acquitted two American soldiers who accidentally crushed two 14-year old middle school girls to death with a huge mine-clearing armored vehicle on a narrow country road during a training exercise last June. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
"Dancing USA" Jan/Feb 2003
issue.
Ballroom Dancing at Bergen Danser
2002 |
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On our last day in Bergen, Norway this spring, we struck a gold mine. I could not believe my luck. It was the day for "Bergen Danser 2002," the fourth annual dance exhibition day in the market place. The park-like area in the middle of a street with fountains and monuments was a block or so from our hotel. The place was already crowded when we arrived there at around 10:45 a.m. The exhibition was to start at 11 a.m. and last till 5 p.m. A huge raised stage measuring about 30 feet by 30 feet was set about 3 feet off the ground, a white canvas tent pitched over the stage shielding the bright sun. With the sides of the tent rolled up, you could see the stage from three sides, the rear side being blocked except for the entrance. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in "5678
Country" Dance Magazine, Decemder2002/January 2003 issue.
Bergen Danser 2002 By Tommy Kwon |
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Today was our last day in Bergen, Norway. By a pure stroke of luck, today was also the day for "Bergen Danser 2002," an annual dance exhibition day in the market place. The park-like area in the middle of a street with fountains and monuments was already crowded when we got there at 10:45 a.m. The exhibition was to start at 11 a.m. and last till 5 p.m. The only seat we could find was a slab bench on one side of a raised stage that was covered by a white canvas tent, shielding the bright sunrays. The sides of the tent were rolled up so you could see the stage from three sides. (To continue, click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
"Korean Journal" February 2003 issue.
"Do South Koreans really want Yankees
to go home?" |
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| This article appeared in
Dong-A
Ilbo, a Korean daily in Seoul, on January 13, 2002.
"Do South Koreans really want Yankees to go home?" By Tommy Kwon To read in Korean ,click here. |
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| This article appeared in "Korean
Journal" January 2003 issue. This is a Korean translation of
the article that appeared in The Birmingham News on Novemver 10, 2002.
"US veterans, who were
they?." |
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| This article appeared in
"Amateur
Dancers" Jan/Feb 2003 issue.
Christmas Dance in the Magic City
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The Scene
At the annual Christmas dance of Birmingham
Ballroom Dance Association, a USABDA chapter, dancers waltzed to the tune
of "Silver Bells" and padded silently to the enchanting rhythm of "White
Christmas." It was as if by magic we were dancing in a winter wonderland.
The roomy square ballroom at Concordia Club was beautiful, the polished parquet floor glistening warm and amber, mirrored walls rearing up to the ceiling and reflecting warm yellow gleams of lamplights. The mirrors facing each other across the hall were playing back the reflected images of lights, back and forth endlessly, creating depth and perspective. Overhead near the center of the ballroom, a large silvery mirror ball was turning slowly, dappling the floor with light spots and splotches that swirled slowly like a stream of stars. At the center of each table sat a cluster of poinsettia, its bracts blazing scarlet against rich green leaves and its small inflorescences blooming yellow like a flower. (to continue, click here) To MENU
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| This article appeared in The Birmingham
News, Commentary, page 4C, Sunday, December 1, 2002, the Sunday before
Pearl Harbor Day.
Korea key to preventing Pearl Harbor
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At 6 a.m. on December 7, 1941, the first wave of Japanese bombers took off from six carriers in the Pacific about 230 miles north of Oahu for Pearl Harbor. "It was like the sky was filled with fireflies," bomber pilot Abe Zenji recalled. "It was a beautiful scene-183 aircraft in the dark sky."
Together with the second wave of 170 aircraft that followed an hour later, the Japanese raiders sank or seriously damaged 21 ships, destroyed 347 planes, wounded 1178, and killed 2403 Americans by 9:55 a.m.
Was Pearl Harbor fiasco inevitable?
In 1899 and again in 1900, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay proclaimed the "open door" policy in China, seeking an equal trade opportunity for all nations and urging major powers to respect the independence and territorial integrity of China. The United States feared that partition of China would damage American trade and sought to preserve equal privileges. "As long as no nation achieved hegemony over East Asia, the security of the United States would not be endangered," was the underlying thought. (to continue, click here) To MENU
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| This article appeared in The Birmingham
News, Commentary, page 4C, Sunday, November 10, 2002, the day before
Veterans Day.
U.S. veterans saved Koreans from slavery
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Had the Americans not landed in Korea in 1945 at the end of World War II and expelled the Japanese from the country they had been occupying since 1910, our lives today would be much different. Most Korean-Americans would still be living in Korea, slaving under the Japanese. While Americans were battling the Japanese in the Pacific, Koreans were slaving under the Japanese in their own country. Our lives under the Japanese were like hell on Earth.
My name would still be Yasuhara Daigyo, the Japanese name I had at the end of World War II. In their desperate effort to bury the last vestige of Korean identity, the Japanese forced all Koreans to adopt Japanese-style names. Can you imagine? Koreans could not even keep their own names. Before the Japanese police and military power, Koreans were as helpless as ants that could be stepped on any time without mercy. (to continue, click here) To MENU
| This article appeared in
"5678
Swing" Dance Magazine
July/August 2002.
Smoky Mountain Boogie: A spring break for swing dancers By Tommy Kwon |
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On the final weekend of March, exactly 790 swing dancers from 14 states flocked at Gatlinburg, Tennessee to savor a four-day dance party called "Smoky Mountain Boogie," an annual event co-hosted by the Atlanta Swing Dancers Club and the Smoky Mountain Shaggers of Knoxville. Day and night, the dancers boogied, partied and quenched their thirst for fun like college kids on the beach during a spring break.
Arriving in Gatlinburg around two on a Thursday afternoon, my wife and I were surprised to see the streets of that quaint little town, so crowded. Then we remembered, it was a spring break.
Our room on the third floor of Gillette Motel had a view of distant mountaintops immersed in a blue haze and nearby hills covered with gray bare oaks, dark green pines, new green leaves and all these dappled with redbud blossoms that shined purple and pink under a bright sun in a blue clear spring sky. (to continue click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
"5678
Swing" Dance Magazine
May/June 2002 issue.
What's Feng Shui got to do with dancing? By Young Kwon and Tommy Kwon |
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"I have been doing Jazz and Tap since I was three, and I started swing at seven and went on to International Latin when I was sixteen," says Heidi Groskreutz, 18, who together with her partner Benji Schwimmer, 17, snatched the First Place in the Showcase Division at the 19th Annual U.S. Open Swing Dance Championships held Anaheim, California on November 22-25, 2001.
"I took tap as a little kid and only picked up Jazz and Tap again over the past couple of years-pretty late in life, but I have been dancing since I was a tiny kid," says Benji, who grew up in a dancing family. His parents, Buddy and Laurie Sschwimmer, are well known in the dancing community and are running a dance studio in California. (to continue click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
"5678
Swing" Dance Magazinethe
January /February 2002 issue.
Shag-A-Rama at Panama City Beach By Tommy Kwon |
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In October we had a chance to observe and experience a five-day dance event called Shag-A-Rama that unfolded at Panama City Beach, Florida. Each day there was like taking a youth pill. It energized our body, invigorated our mind and lifted our spirit.
On a fine October Wednesday, my wife and I drove down to Panama City Beach from Birmingham and the moment we walked into our room at Howard Johnson on the beach, we could hear a loud swing tune. When I stepped out to the balcony overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, I could spot right away where the music was coming from. It was the Boardwalk Hangout, an open party pavilion nestled at the edge of the white-sand beach shaded by green crowns of palm trees. Through open sides, I could see a few couples dancing inside. Outside the Hangout, there were people looking in or dancing on the cement ground in the sun. (to continue click here.) To MENU
| This article appeared in
Dancing USA,
June/July 2001 issue, page 17
A Traditional Irish Tea Dance |
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We have been touring Ireland for the last 10 days, thirty-one ballroom dancers from Birmingham, Alabama. On our last day there, we had a chance to observe and experience the Sunday Afternoon Tea Dance at Jury's Ballsbridge Hotel in Dublin. To weary travelers it was like a drink from a mountain spring on a hot August day.
When we entered the Grand Ballroom the dance lesson was already in progress. "Hand-two-three, elbow-two-three," the instructor Everna was yelling out to her students. Eighteen couples on the floor were being drilled in Viennese waltz-to induce lateral wave motion by lowering man's left "hand" and then right "elbow." In the next instant she was shouting, "Nine o'clock, six o'clock, three o'clock, twelve o'clock," indicating the directions each couple should be facing after each quarter turn. The pattern they were following was four sets of counterclockwise quarter turns, three sets of forward steps, four sets of clockwise quarter turns, and then three sets of forward steps. (to continue click here.) To MENU
FENG SHUI
| This article appeared in
Dancing USA,
October/November, 2000 issue, page
14
FENG SHUI FOR DANCING By Elita Clayman & Tommy Kwon |
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"Dancing was really fun when I tried it," says 12-year old Kymberli Nance, who became the Pre-Teen Champion at the US National DanceSport Championships held at Provo, Utah on March 1999. "I was afraid my friends would say, 'Oh, what a nerd!' But now they are really excited about it."
"I became involved with ballroom dancing because my mom was doing it," says 16-year old Tiffany Fung, who with her brother Victor has been the undefeated US Ballroom Dance Champion for the last three years. "There is so much to like about dancing. I love dressing up for competitions and the traveling is definitely a bonus. I love the excitement when I have to compete and I love the people I meet." (to continue click here) To MENU
This article appeared in
Perfect Harmony Story by Tommy Kwon |
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For years, many people dreamed of building a log home in Western mountains. Last summer's wildfires made many of them who had built on land there wish they hadn't. Perhaps their misfortune was caused, at least in part, by the land itself.
Nothing can be more important than placing your log home in a favorable setting. Feng shui can help you do just that. The ancient Chinese art of placement promotes harmonious living with the environment.
Do you dream of the ideal piece of land for your log home? Can you visualize a site with green rolling hills in the rear, a wide open space in front and a sparkling river meandering leisurely within your view? Can you imagine a place where you can feel the cool breeze in summer, smell the pine in the air, and listen to the chirping of crickets by day and the croaking of frogs by night? The feng-shui masters believe the landscape surrounding your log home must reflect harmony and balance with nature for you to enjoy a healthy, prosperous and happy life. A few feng-shui tips will go a long way toward selecting the ideal site to build your log home. (to continue click here) To MENU
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| Following article appeared in Birmingham Ballroom Dacne
Association Newsletter, August 2000
The Tradewinds at Oxford Recreation Center
Dance Birmingham Ballroom Dance Association Newsletter, Sept 2000 |
When my friend Buddy said, "Tradewinds is playing tonight at Oxford Recreation Center," I was hooked. It was a Friday afternoon, and I couldn't think of anywhere else to go dancing in Birmingham. Six of us--Buddy and Teresa, Don and Jane, Tommy and Young--took off around 6:00 pm in Buddy's shiny new van that seated six of us comfortably, each with one's own air vent to control, Buddy's taped big band tunes oozing out of all four speakers. The drive along the Lake Logan Martin on a scorching July afternoon was an experience by itself. The view of sparkling water, a wide open space, and the dark green forest that lined the lakeshore on the far side made me feel cool and uplifted. I could not help being reminded of the ancient Chinese art of Feng Shui that relates the unmistakable influence the environment has on our physical as well as spiritual well-being. (to continue click here) To MENU
| Following article appeared in Birmingham Ballroom Dacne
Association Newsletter, January 2001.
Tradewinds Celebrates 25th Anniversary with Ballroom
Dance and Exhibition Birmingham Ballroom Dance Association Newsletter, Jan 2001 |
"Life may not be the party you hoped for, but while we're here we should dance," says Craig Marcott, the author of Three Minutes of Intimacy: Dance Your Way to a Sensational Social Life.
So last Thursday night three hundred fifty plus Birmingham ballroom dancers packed the huge dance floor at the Cloud Room and swayed and swung and spun to the rhythm of "In the Mood," rocked to the provocative cha-cha beat of "Tea for Two," rumbaed to the seductive tune of "Evita," and turned elegantly and swirled and twirled gracefully to the enchanting melody of "Tennessee Waltz," celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Tradewinds, one of the most popular ballroom dance bands in the Birmingham area. (to continue click here) To MENU
| Usage of Articles (a, an, the) Which expression is correct? a, b or c? 1 (a) It is an historical moment. (b) It is a historical moment. 2 (a) Are highways safe? (b) Are the highways safe? 3 (a) A lion is scary. (b) The lion is scary. (c) Lions are scary. 4 (a) I want a cake. (b) I want cake. 5 (a) French wine is excellent. (b) French wines are excellent. For answers click here.
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